# December flounder gigging - Ups and Downs (PIC HEAVY)



## Redfish Rick

This December has been a strange one to say the least. One night there are flounder everywhere, and the next there are none to be found. Gigging has been best on lower tide levels, especially on nights with light wind. We have been getting our share of big flounder, but nowhere near the levels I saw the previous 2 years. I have been working hard, covering a lot of ground, and going to "old school" spots that I haven't been in years to find the majority of my fish. The rest of this winter looks promising, with some larger fish continuing to run, and plenty of smaller fish staying behind...

*12/10/2017*
This years flounder run continues to be slow, even after a strong cold front and 4-6â€ of snow in the area Friday morning. We are still finding some big fish, but having to put in a lot of time looking for them. Since the limit is 2 fish per person right now, I am telling my groups to only gig fish over 20â€, and this makes for an extra challenge when things get slow.

Tonight I had the Roy S. group of 5 onboard. Conditions were perfect, with dead calm winds and low tide level. We got off to a fast start, gigging several big fish before it got dark. After that, the flounder thinned out, but black drum and sheepshead were everywhere. We ended with a 10 flounder limit, 7 drum, and 6 sheepshead by 10:30pm. The largest flounder tonight was 27â€ and weighed 9 pounds, and the smallest was 19â€. We could have gigged a lot more sheepshead and drum, but the customers decided to narrow the focus to areas that hold big flounder.

*12/11/17*
I had the Kevin D. Group of 3 onboard tonight. Conditions were nice with SW winds at 5-10 mph and very low tide. Flounder gigging continues to be very slow, with widely scattered fish. We ended with a 6 flounder limit, 9 sheepshead, and 2 black drum by 11pm. The flounder were solid, all between 19-22â€.

*12/12/17 - Double Trip*
Flounder gigging was much improved tonight, with faster action, clear water, and fish holding in groups. Conditions were fair, with North winds at 5-10mph and very low tide.

*Early trip - Kenneth M. - 4 people *
We got off to a quick start tonight, gigging 7 large flounder in the first hour. We held our last fish spot open, hoping for a giant. Meanwhile, we chased some schools of drum and sheepshead around the flats. We ended with a 8 flounder limit, 7 black drum, and 9 sheepshead by 9:30pm. The largest flounder on this trip was 25â€and weighed 7 pounds.

*Late trip - Jody D. - 2 people*
We left the dock just before midnight. The action was red-hot from the start, gigging their 4 flounder limit in 20 minutes. All the flounder were 22-25â€, and all in the 5-6 pound range. We switched gears to look for drum, and we found plenty of them cruising the deeper flats. We ended with a 4 flounder limit, 10 black drum limit, and 3 sheepshead by 2:30am.

*12/13/17*
I had the Bill S. group of 2 onboard tonight. Conditions were perfect, with dead calm winds and low tide levels. We got off to a quick start, gigging their flounder limit in 30 minutes, being selective and only gigging the biggest flounder in the area. The flounder were all big, 21-24â€, with the largest weighing 6.5 pounds. After that, we went looking for black drum and sheepshead. We found scattered schools of big drum and sheepshead, making for some challenging shots for these first-time giggers. 
We ended with a 4 flounder limit, 7 black drum to 28â€, and 4 sheepshead by 8:15pm.

*12/14/17*
I had the 5 guys from the Mac Haik auto group on board tonight. We left the dock at 7:45pm. Conditions were poor, with 15mph North wind, light rain, and normal tide levels. Rain and wind picked up the later it got, making for some nasty conditions towards the end of the trip. We found the flounder right away, being selective and gigging only the larger fish. Black drum and sheepshead were much harder to find tonight, and we only got a few. We ended with a 10 flounder limit, 1 drum, and 3 sheepshead by 11pm. The largest flounder tonight was 25â€ and weighed 7 pounds.

*12/15/17*
I had the Justin B. group of 3 onboard tonight. Conditions were fair with North wind at 10mph, light rain, and normal tide levels. Tonight was the first night back to 5 fish per person limit. We found the hotspot right away, gigging our 15 flounder limit in 45 minutes. After that we went searching for drum and sheepshead, but didnâ€™t find many. We ended with a 15 flounder limit, 2 drum, and 3 sheepshead by 8pm. The largest flounder tonight was 23â€ and weighed 6 pounds.

*12/16/17*
I had the Brian C. Group of 6 onboard. Conditions were brutal, with NW wind at 15-20mph, temps in the upper 40â€™s, and steady rain showers. Water clarity was poor, and we did our best, but not many fish out. We ended with 3 flounder, 1 drum, and 1 sheepshead.

*12/17/17*
I had the Rick N. group of 6 onboard tonight. Conditions were fair, with North winds at 10mph and high tide levels. The action was very slow, only finding a few fish here and there, with lots of dead water in between. We ended with 11 flounder, 11 drum, and 3 sheepshead by 10:30pm. The largest flounder tonight was 23â€, with most of the others in the 18-20â€ range.

*12/18/2017*
After 2 slow nights in a row, I wasn't expecting much, but it was ON tonight with fast action on big flounder. I had the Micha H. group of 2 onboard tonight. Conditions were nice, with ESE winds at 10 mph and high tide. We got off to a fast start, gigging 6 flounder in the first 30 minutes. After that, we got more selective, looking for bigger flounder. We ended with a 10 flounder limit plus 1 sheepshead in 2 hours of gigging. The flounder were big tonight, with 4 fish over 5 pounds, the largest at 24" weighing 6 1/2 pounds, and the smallest at 17".

*Upcoming open dates:
January: 2, 9-11, 15-18, 21-24, 28-31
February: 1, 2, 14-16, 18-28
Plenty of open dates after that...*

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

Visit my Facebook Page for daily reports and pictures

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


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## Redfish Rick

*more pictures*

pics


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## Redfish Rick

*last pics*

last pics


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## Capt. Kris Kelley

*Wow, Those Are Some Solids!*

Great work, Merry Christmas!


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## Redfish Rick

*12/20*

*12/20/2017 - Double Trip*

For the early trip tonight I had the Luke group of 3 onboard, plus their 3 year old son along for the ride. The winds were calm and tide levels normal, with very clear water. The action was slow to start, but once we found the fish we made quick work of them. We ended with a 15 flounder limit by 8:15pm, and most of the fish were in the 19-24" range.

For the late trip I had the Robert M. group of 4 onboard. The action was much slower on the late trip, and we never really found any good concentrations of flounder. We ended with 12 flounder, 2 drum, 2 pompano, and 1 sheepshead by 3am.

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


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## Redfish Rick

*12/23*

*12/23/2017*
I had the Chad C. group of 5 onboard tonight. Conditions were perfect, with dead calm winds and low tide levels. We got off to a fast start, gigging 9 big flounder in the first hour. After that things slowed down, and we had to make several moves looking for more fish. We didn't get a limit tonight, but the guys were very pleased with quality of the fish. We ended with 16 flounder and 5 sheepshead by 10:30pm. The flounder were big, with most in the 18-21" range, and 3 fish over 24" in the 7 pound range.

*Upcoming open dates:
January: 2, 9-11, 15-18, 22-24, 28-31
February: 1, 2, 14-16, 18-28
Plenty of open dates after that...*

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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