# Fickle Flounder - Rockport



## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

The last 3 nights showed just how fickle flounder gigging can be, just like any other kind of fishing. The action went from "hero to zero" really quick, even with nice weather conditions each night. I never expect slow trips, but they occasionally happen, and they really hurt my pride. Even though the customers still had fun, I know that the fishing wasn't up to par, making me second-guess myself at every stop. After talking to several other gigging guides after my trip tonight, I found that I wasn't alone, and that everyone struggled to find fish tonight. That makes me feel better, but still uneasy going into the next few nights...

*7/5/2018*
I was back on the water tonight after a well-deserved 5 day vacation. I had repeat customer Carey S. group of 6 onboard tonight (only 5 people fishing, mom was along for the ride). Weather conditions were perfect, with East winds at 5mph becoming dead-calm after dark, and low tide levels. We got off to a slow start, with lots of murky water in areas that normally hold very clear water. After moving around several times, and finding lots of cloudy water, we only had 8 fish in the boat at 11pm. After a couple more stops, we finally found where the fish wanted to be, and we made quick work of them over hard sand bottom, gigging our last 17 fish in just over 1 hour. We ended with a 25 flounder limit plus 3 sheepshead and 2 black drum by 1am. The largest flounder tonight was 23".

*7/6/2018*
I had repeat customer Mark H. group of 6 onboard tonight. Conditions were perfect, with dead calm winds and very low tide levels. We got off to a decent start, gigging  10 fish in the first 2 hours. After that, the action went nuts, finding lots of active flounder over hard sand bottom. We ended with a 30 flounder limit plus 3 sheepshead by midnight. The largest flounder was 22".

*7/7/2018*
I had new customer Chuck E. group of 3 onboard tonight. Conditions were nice with 5-10mph SE wind and slightly low tide levels to start. Winds increased to SW at 15mph after midnight. We got off to a very slow start, with only 2 fish after 2 hours of gigging. We made a bunch of moves, never finding any concentrations of fish, even in areas that held large numbers of flounder the previous 2 nights. No matter how hard I tried tonight, the fish just weren't in the mood. My customers called it at 1:30am. We ended with 7 flounder plus 3 sheepshead and 3 black drum. I gave them a discount on the trip, hoping they will come back on a better night in the future.

*Upcoming open dates:*
*July: 24, 30, 31
August: 7, 8, 12-15, 19-23, 26, 28, 29, 31
September: 4-8, 18-21, 23-26, 28-30*

Price: $450 for 2 people, $100 each additional person, up to 6 people

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, TX
nightstalkerguideservice.com
361-229-6053

#floundergigging


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Better results tonight*

*7/8/2018*
I had the Mike B. group of 5 onboard tonight. Conditions were fair, with SSE wind at 10-15mph and very low tide levels. We got off to a good start, gigging 5 fish in the first 30 minutes over hard sand bottom far from shore. After that, things got tough, making 3 more moves, and not finding any fish. Water clarity was good, but the fish just weren't there. At midnight we had 5 flounder in the boat. We finally dialed-in on some consistent action over mud and grass bottom around 1am. We ended with 22 flounder plus 2 sheepshead and 2 black drum by 2am. This group was okay with heading in 3 fish short of a limit, with a long drive ahead of them back to Houston. I was glad that they stuck it out as long as they did, because the action was definitely better later in the night.

*Upcoming open dates:
July: 30, 31
August: 7, 8, 12-15, 19-23, 26, 28, 29, 31
September: 4-8, 18-21, 23-26, 28-30*

Price: $450 for 2 people, $100 each additional person, up to 6 people

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, TX
 nightstalkerguideservice.com
361-229-6053


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