If the bay is flat, and there is no weather predicted, and the entire region is under a high pressure dome, go for it. But I would not go out in anything over a foot, or with any weather front anywhere nearby. If there are large boats out there, their wakes could capsize you. Those bass boats have practically no free-board. FWIW, I have a flat bottom drag boat that I occasionally will take out on Lake Michigan. But only when under a high pressure dome that is not moving. I always wear a vest, as the passengers must also, the vests are Lifelines which are bulkier than the standard orange ones most use, always wear the kill-switch lanyard, always test the kill switch, always have my portable radio, always my cell, always have a fixed radio, always test the radios, always let at least one landlubber know when to expect me to return and where I intend to go, and always with full fuel. I have a much better chance then most boaters who think it won't happen to them. Plus, the boat will outrun any incoming weather.