trout frenzy, I've been contemplating your request and, depending on where you live, what flats appropriate equipment you have and how much time and money you intend to invest, it can be done but not necessarily easily.
The first issue is in the United States or abroad and driving or flying. Wadeable flats are not exactly commonplace and many of the more productive ones involve boating and navigational knowledge. Also DIY in an unfamiliar habitat and local involves a steep learning curve hence the popularity of employing local guide.
My age and legs have had me go over to the dark side of staying in lodges and fishing from guided skiffs but when younger, a small group of friends and I did annual DIY bonefishing trips to the Bahamas. We would fly to Nassau then travel to lesser known, smaller Out Islands where we had arranged in advance to rent a house and simple boat. We would bring in Styrofoam cases of frozen meat and buy produce and fish locally. Each of us brought our own special knowledge and experiences to the group and one of us was a boating authority and all of us could cook, grill and mix drinks. We went places where there were no lodges and it was uncommon to see another fly fisher. We figured out tides, flats and channels on our own and explored...sometimes we would find fish and catch a few. We did this for 25 years and learned lot including self reliance.
Today, fishing out of lodges, guides take me places we would never have gone on our own, if we have a technical problem they get on the cell or radio...back when we were doing it ourselves, if we went to some of these remote flats up a creek and encountered a boat problem, maybe eventually some one would have found our bones.
Besides the Bahamas that I love and depending how much of an explorer you are, there are great opportunities in Mexico, Belize, Honduras an other Caribbean locals and the South Pacific and Indian Ocean offer unlimited all but unknown flats opportunities.
You can spend a lot or little money DIY fishing but one thing you have to have is abundant time.
