cast as close as i can and leave it, usually all night. after my first casts the only time i reel in my rods is when i have a fish or im getting ready to go home, and yes its a disgusting feeling when ya let a bait sit all night with no action an ya start packin up,grab your rod and instantly realize your hung up and have probably been hung all night :roll:  blues is  a differant story,ill refresh bait about every 30-45min since i use cut for blues.

in the river i fish i use LIVE bait and cast it as close to the piles of wood and logjams as i can. usually if there is a flattie around and hes hungry it wont take long for him to find your bait !! be sure to check your bait at least once an hour and be sure it is LIVELY !!!

i have only caught one flattie on cut shad in my 2 years of flattie fishing !!!  i do know a friend of mines nephew catches alot of smaller flatties on a big ball of night crawlers on a hook but most of them are in the 5-10 lb size range !!!