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Note: The chart shows the running depths if not allowed to sink. They may be counted down to sink as deep as you allow them, to 20-30 feet or deeper. The exception is the 77 SU model which suspends only a few feet deep and does not sink deeper. The 66 and 77 SKs, however, will sink as deep as you allow them. So the depth that the SK models reach can vary from only a few feet to as many as 20 or 30 feet deep. They're versatile for shallow to deep. The 66 XH model can be counted down and fished deepest of all - or simply start reeling as soon as one hits the water, and it will remain in the depth range shown in the chart.
Flatt Shads look identical. The 66 sizes match the size of lipless lures ordinarily used by bass anglers. The 77 sizes are a little larger than usual, and appeal to a little bigger bass.
SEBILE Lures are labeled under the tail so you always know what model you've got tied on.
 The Flatt Shad 77 SK (3/4 oz) on left looks identical to the shallow suspending 77 SU (1/2 oz) on right.
Now that you know how to tell the models apart, let's learn more about each one:
Tactics to TryHere are some of my favorite tactics to try: Before we get started, note that the Flatt Shads work more off vibration than they do rattling noise. True, they do make some rattling sound, but not as loud as most other brands of lipless rattling baits. The Flatt Shad's pronounced vibration, however, is its advantage. Straight Retrieves: You can simply cast and retrieve the Flatt Shad back to you, covering a lot of water that way. With all the Flatt Shads (SK, SU, XH versions), you can fish them on normal, fairly straight retrieves, and this simply can be productive. Fish it like you might otherwise use a spinnerbait, and the Flatt Shad's vibrating body will evoke a similar kind of reaction. All Flatt Shads will have action even when you go slow. The design concept includes a belly that is wider than the back. This causes big water turbulence on the sides and belly. That turbulence creates instability, which creates action. So you can go slow and can still have action. Whatever model or size of Flatt Shad, you can slow way, way down with the retrieve speed until you barely feel the lure throbbing in the rod handle.
Sinking Action: About the only time that Flatt Shads won't have a lot of built-in action is while they sink. They are designed to sink perfectly horizontal so they won't spin or foul the line while they sink. They can be popped with the rod tip as they fall, or you can shake the line. As soon as you pop or shake them, they'll instantly start wobbling as long as there is even slight line pull to activate them. Burning: Another tactic with all the Flatt Shads (SK, SU, XH versions) is to try burning a Flatt Shad by reeling rapidly, That can cause fish to react and chase after and snap at it instinctively. This burning can be more effective at times than a more placid pace. This seems logical when bass are acting aggressive and chasing, but burning can be the ticket anytime. Even when fish seem lethargic or inactive, sometimes burning a Flatt Shad may be the only way to trigger an instinctive bite. Whipping: Yet another great approach is to whip a Flatt Shad (SK, SU, XH), by sweeping the rod tip quickly up from water level to say 11 o'clock, pausing slightly at the top of the sweep, and then reeling in the slack on the downstroke as you lower the rod to whip again. The whipping tactic gives you the fast lure movement on the upstroke that causes the instinctive reaction - plus a falling hesitation each time you reel down to match the sinking Flatt Shad's fall on the downstroke. With this whipping tactic, be prepared for hits that come right at the top of the stroke, as soon as you start following the lure down with the rod tip. It's a little different in the 77 SU's case, you get a suspending, standstill hesitation each time you pause and reel down with the rod tip in order to make the next whipping stroke. Most often, bites will come during this suspended pausing moment, and you may not even detect a fish is on until you go to whip again. Managing Slack Line: One time-saving tip that can salvage precious casts for you, if you let these fall on a slack line or if one tumbles on a cast, the line can get tangled in the hooks. Ninety percent of the time, you can shake it and it will untangle without reeling it in. The way this works is to shake it when it's sinking. You can shake the tangle off the hooks 9 times out of 10 as you let it sink. If you pull on it as you shake, forget it. So just shake it loose on a semi-slack line as it sinks. You'll be surprised how effective this works once you get the knack. Of course, the best way to avoid tangles is not to let them happen. Often it is the angler (not the lure) who causes a tangle by letting his lure sink on too slack of a line. So always manage the slack and be conscious to keep slack out of the system. Once you start doing this, it becomes natural and easy. You do need to let the baits have a little freedom of action that is enhanced via a semi-loose line, but giving total slack never helps anything, can cause you to miss undetected bites and slack is what makes tangles. So always follow a sinking lure down with your rod tip on a semi-loose line, and you will be far more productive and indeed you'll certainly catch more fish. Following a Falling Bottom: Now that we've talked about managing slack, one more Flatt Shad technique with the SK and XH models is to 'walk' the lure down any sloping bottom, be it the side of a cliff, the sloping tip or sides of a point, a rounded hump, or gradually-falling creek channel - most any sloping shoreline or bottom. Simply cast to where you want to start, meaning the shallowest part you want to fish is where the lure should land, and then simply hold the rod tip up around ten o'clock and follow the lure's sinkage down with the rod tip, so the lure has a semi-loose line to develop falling action. When the rod tip gets close to the water, lift gently again to 10 o'clock and follow the lure's descent back down until the rod tip nears the water again. You can let the lure sink further or 'count it down' at the very beginning of the cast until it gets to the depth you want to start at. Also, any time during the retrieve, just wait longer until it hits bottom or falls deeper. But basically perform this lift-and-fall tactic for the entire retrieve, thereby following the contour of the sloping bottom back to the boat. When you whip it, it moves real quick and then it slows down, stops and starts to sink like it can't continue any longer. Many hits will come on the falling portion as you follow the lure down with the rod tip. Jigging the Bottom: Another tactic for when bass are on or close to bottom in deep water, the best tactic is letting it hit bottom and then jigging it a few inches off the bottom. This works with the SK and especially XH models. Just let the Flatt Shad hit bottom and then continually jigging it a few inches off the bottom. Just lifting and letting it fall back to bottom, almost the same as vertical jigging a spoon in deep water. However, very small flicks or draws of the rod tip - only a couple of inches - are all that's needed to get bit this way. So, you don't necessarily need to rip the Flatt Shad a few feet and let it fall (as usual with a spoon). True, that may work with the Flatt Shad, but what also works is just moving the rod tip a scant few inches (3 or 4) and letting the Flatt Shad hit bottom - and pause. Fish will scrape it off the bottom. With thin braided line, I routinely jig the Flatt Shad up to 50 feet deep. Hovering Above Bottom: Another method to fish deep, snaggy or rugged, irregular bottom, is you can let a Flatt Shad SK or XH hang straight down on the end of your line barely above bottom (the closer the better). Again, just pop it once or twice to lift it only a few inches with the rod tip. Then let it free fall those few inches. You just raise it a little as you give it one or two gentle pops or shakes, then lower the rod tip and wait to feel a slight tug as the line comes tight after the lure falls. In this case, the tug is not the lure hitting bottom. The tug is the lure coming tight on the end of the line so it hangs very close to (but not on) the bottom. Just wait after you feel the lure tug the line tight, which is when you will get bit - during the pause. In this way, the Flatt Shad hovers above the bottom debris, avoiding a lot of contact with snags, and it also stays more visible to fish by not falling down below sight. It's kept raised slightly which helps more fish see it better from further distances. Ripping the Grass (with SK models): SEBILE pro-staffer and major tournament winner Stephen Johnston was one of the first anglers in Texas to recognize the value of the Flatt Shad 77 SK. At the Texas Stren tournament at Sam Rayburn in February in 2007, Johnston won that tournament by 11-1/2 pounds, and that was fishing against 200 pro anglers. What he was doing, he was throwing the Flatt Shad 77 SK so that it would get down and get hung in the grass, and then just rip it out of the grass to get that reaction strike. That's how Johnston was using it when he won the Stren Series Texas Division event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in February 2007. However, any lakes that have hydrilla, or any kind of eel grass, whether in Texas or along the whole southern coast from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, all the way to Florida, that big Flatt Shad 77 SK is a hard bait to beat in the grass. "Everybody down here, we throw lipless rattle baits quite a lot. The whole deal with the Flatt Shad 77 SK is totally just the action of the bait. The movement and vibration is totally different from anything else and it puts off a total different sound than any other lipless bait out there. These fish, they hear so much noise that I think they get used to it, and then when something comes by with just a total different sound, they're all over it. The SEBILE Flatt Shad is one bait I will always have tied on a rod while fishing the heavy hydrilla lakes around here," says Stephen Johnston. Ripping the Grass (with 77 SU model): The 77 SU suspends no more than a few feet deep, making it ideal for shallow cover situations where the other models of Flatt Shads (which sink) could easily get hung up. However, if the 77 SU does get hung up in brush, grass or whatever momentarily clutches onto it, just rip it free so the 77 SU pops loose and ... do nothing (which is when you'll get bit). The 77 SU will rip free, wiggle a little ways and then pause perfectly motionless. That's something that other sinking lipless baits cannot do. Slow-Swimming the Grass: Sebile pro-staffer Cajun Phil Broussard also favors fishing the Flatt Shad in grass. He uses the 1/2 oz 66 SK more than anything else. He cuts the bottom-facing tine off both the belly and tail treble hooks, and this lets Cajun pull the Flatt Shad very slowly through grass. "I throw the Flatt Shad up into the grass and pull it slowly through the grass, and they just step out of there and they hammer it," smiles Phil. With the downward-pointing hook points removed, that leaves just the two upward points, and those actually tuck up under the belly, one on each side of the belly. He also cuts the downward-facing point off the tail treble too, so you have no hook points facing downward. "It's just a steady retrieve I make right through the grass. I don't have to rip it back. I don't have to hold my rod tip way up high and reel it real fast like I would have to do if it had all the hooks hanging there. I can actually throw it in the grass and work it slow through the grass, and not worry about it hanging up. That's my secret bait!" says Broussard.
Suspending Action (with 77 SU model): The Flatt Shad 77 SU (suspending) is unique in that it has an almost neutral buoyancy. In the water, the 77 SU will barely sink. Instead it suspends no more than 2-3 feet deep, making it ideal for shallow cover, for fishing over submerged weedbeds and through the tops of brush. If you hold the rod tip low and reel steadily, even burn it fast, it will not get more than 2 feet deep. So it is great for shallow water, for fishing over submerged weedbeds and through the tops of brush where other Flatt Shad models can't easily go. When fish are hiding in thick, shallow cover where they are holed up waiting to ambush bait, you can work the 77 SU right up to a bush, and then just stop it right where you think is best, right in front of the bush where you think a bass is holed up. That's what the 77 SU is made for. When you let it suspend there, that truly antagonizes them. It's not like something that's swimming by, that's passing through. It stops and stays right in front of their bush. So it's kind of like sitting there in their space, and they're going to attack it for that reason. That's a reaction strike you can really only evoke with a neutrally suspending bait like the Flatt Shad 77 SU.
Sebile Flatt Shad 66 SK Sinking
Sebile Flatt Shad 66 XH
Sebile Flatt Shad 77 SK
Sebile Flatt Shad 77 SU Suspending
Sebile Flatt Shad 96 SK and 96 XH Extra HeavyThe four most popular models for freshwater bass are the Flatt Shad 66 SK, 66 XH, 77 SK and 77 SU, but for trophy bass hunters, the 96 SK is a bigger, perfect option. The 96 is the ideal size for monster trophy bass in Texas, Florida, Mexico or California, for example - and of course, a great size for pike, muskie and big striped bass.
Note: The chart shows the running depths if not allowed to sink. They may be counted down to sink as deep as you allow them, to 30-40 feet or deeper. They're versatile for shallow to deep. The XH model can be counted down and fished deepest of all, well over 50 feet deep on thin braided line - or simply start reeling as soon as one hits the water, and it will remain in the depth range shown in the chart.
Sebile Flatt Shad 96 XH Extra Heavy
Sebile Flatt Shad 54 SKThe four most popular models for freshwater bass are the Flatt Shad 66 SK, 66 XH, 77 SK and 77 SU, but for light tackle enthusiasts or for small streams, tanks and ponds, the 54 SK is a smaller, perfect option.
The 54 SK is small enough to 'match the hatch' and makes a good imitation of young-of-year shad, sunfish or crappie. Best of all, the 54 SK will cast like a rocket, incredibly far for it's small size.
In the 54 SK's case, you cannot use the same grade of tackle with it as you'd with its bigger brethren. The Flatt Shad 66 SK, 66 XH, 77 SK and 77 SU can all be handled on the same rod and reel if need be. But with the 54 SK, you ideally need to drop down to 6 lb test (approx.) to get the most out of this diminutive lure. Anything higher, 8 lb test or above, you lose action on the 54 SK and it tends to torque over on its side with line too heavy for it. Due to the smallish hooks on it, there's no problem setting the hooks with 6 lb test - and you get the best action from the 54 SK within that line range.
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