I'm still new to this. Been reading, googling....

I've labeled this as a spawning flat. This area is under about 6' of water when the lake is full (it is now).

Does this look like a goo area to hit?

Doesn't look very protected though.

I will have to see the cove that it is setting in. If that is a main lake point then the answer is No. There will be a 3 degree difference in water temp. if that spot was in the back of a North Cove that Dog Legs West.

Also that point doesn't appear to have any cover on it. Go as far away as you can get. There must be heavy bushes, lay-down, grass pods or hardwoods for those fish to relate to during the spawn.

In all my years of sight fishing I've never seen a "spawning flat". They will spawn on whatever bank is more conducive to spawning. Might be a north bank might be a south bank. Might just be on points. It all depends on the lake. Every lake they spawn different. Can't go wrong with a major creek that has small feeder creeks within it. I'd start around the points going into the feeder creeks

There are these areas with this type of cover....but they are all soft bottom. I though from my reading hard bottom was a very important factor.

Agreed. The entire back 25% of Glade Creek at Fork is one big spawning flat. Acres of 2-3 foot deep water with tons of brush, laydowns & scattered grass. Lots of little ditches running all thru it. Tons of fish will spawn back there every year and never be near the shoreline.

So apparently I am not learning anything :-).

Here is the lake the above flat was taken from, but it is on the main lake.

Where would you start here?

txfour, you are asking a loaded question. If it is Feb then I would start in the far NE pockets. There can be as much as 10 degrees water temp delta in early spring from the NE shallow coves to the far southern coves.

As the water warmed I would work my way down toward mid-lake. By this time of year I would be looking on the south end. Just know this. Typically there are three waves of spawning that occur on most NE-TX lakes with the most activity in March.

The mainlake flat you showed above may have fish on it at some point but it is pretty barren of cover. Bass, like cover and the bigger bass like heavier cover. It is pretty rare when a bass over 5# will be spawning out in the open with no cover present.

Another key thing is water clarity. That will help dictate how deep the fish will spawn. I've never been on Bridgeport but if you drop a white spinnerbait in the water and it disappears in 18" I would be concentrating most of my efforts in less than 2' of water during the spawn.

Does that make sense?

Which brings up another question, how far will bass travel to spawn?

The following is just a guideline--where to start the problem solving

1. Divide the lake into thirds.
As stated above, the earliest spawners tend to be in the north eastern part of the lake (protected from cold north winds and gets the most sun)

2. Go back in time on Google Earth until you can see more of the bank (on the posted pic, I've circled the whitest/rockiest looking banks) Sometimes it'll be the rockiest area and sometimes it'll be the transitional area where softer bottom meets the rockier ground

3. Banks that are close to a channel swing toward the bank tend to be better

4. Areas with grass, other cover, and other structure will be better

300, maybe 400 yards. I believe a bass lives out it's entire life within a few hundred yards of where it hatched.

I sent you an email, btw.

Great 411 right there!

With the bigger fish, about as far as they have to

Some great information here. Since its getting closer towards the end of spawn, I would look at the lower end of the lake, closer to the main lake for spawners.