# Spring Break Flounder Report



## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

Flounder gigging remains good over the 5 nights, with full limits for all of my clients, despite some windy, rainy, and cold weather. The fish have been on the move every night, and the most effective way to locate them is to find abundant large mullet, as the are currently feeding on large mullet in the 4-10" range. Gigging should remain good through the rest of this week, with stronger winds at 15-25mph from the East and South starting tomorrow. Higher winds are a welcome sign for me, as it makes the flounder stay closer to protected areas, and keeps other boats off the water. Remember, its never too rough or windy to gig flounder, you just have to know where to look...

*3/10/2017*
I had the Mike F. group of 2 onboard tonight. Conditions were bad, with East wind at 20-25mph and steady rain with occasional heavy downpours. After a rough boat ride out, we managed to find some very clear water over hard sand and shell bottom. Luckily, the fish were there, and easy to see, even with constant wind ripples and ripples from the pouring rain. We ended with a 10 flounder limit by 8:15pm (1 hour 15 minutes of gigging).

*3/11/2017*
I had the Duff G. group of 5 onboard tonight. Conditions were fair, with NE wind at 10-15mph and normal tide levels. We started off a little slow tonight, with lots of dirty water in most areas from the runoff after 3" of rain this morning. Once we found some better water, the flounder were easy pickings over hard sand bottom. We ended with a 25 flounder limit by 10pm (3 hours of gigging). The fish tonight were all in the 15-19" range.

*3/12/2017*
I had the Paul W. group of 6 onboard tonight, including two 7 year old kids who did the majority of the gigging tonight. Conditions were marginal, with NNE winds at 10-15mph, cold temps in the low 50's, and normal tide levels that were falling fast. With last night's cold front, fast dropping tides, North winds at 20-25mph during the day, and another inch of rain this morning, we had a lot of runoff and dirty water to contend with along the shorelines early tonight. Things started slow, with only a few scattered flounder over hard sand bottom. After 2 hours of gigging we only had 6 flounder, and we made lots of moves looking for the right area. We finally dialed in on the fish around 10pm, and we gigged our last 24 fish for a limit here in 1 1/2 hours. We ended with a 30 flounder limit by 11:30pm (3 1/2 hours of gigging). The fish tonight were big again, with the average at 17", ranging from 15-20".

*3/13/2017*
I had the Mike S. group of 5 onboard tonight. Conditions were perfect, with North winds at less than 5mph, normal tide levels, and cool temps in the mid 50's. Despite the nice conditions, we found dirty water every place we went tonight, with only a few scattered pockets of marginal clarity. We had to move around a lot, finding a few fish in each location, and working through lots of off-color water with the fish buried deep in mud and sand. We ended with a 25 flounder limit by 11pm (3 hours of gigging). Fish tonight were good size, with most in the 16-19" range.

*3/14/2017*
I had the Chris C. group of 5 onboard tonight. Conditions were nice, with SE winds at 5-10 mph and low tide levels. We got off to a fast start tonight over hard sand bottom, with 19 fish in the first 2 hours. Things got tough after that with hard falling tides and rising full moon, and most of the fish abandoned the flats and headed towards deeper water. It took us almost two hours to find our last 6 fish, even with very clear water conditions. We ended with a 25 flounder limit plus 5 sheepshead by 11:45pm (3 hours 45 minutes of gigging).

*Upcoming open dates:
March: 19-23, 26-29*

*I also do "late trips" on request, and this is the best way to get a trip in on short notice when I am already booked. If your looking for a trip during Spring Break, I still have a few late trip opportunities available.*

Visit my Facebook page for daily reports and pictures.

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, Texas
Flounder Gigging Trips
361-229-6053
www.nightstalkerguideservice.com


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Flounder on East winds, double trip*

*3/15/2017 - Double Trip*
For the first trip tonight, I had the John E. group of 3 onboard. Conditions were fair, with East winds at 15 mph and normal tide levels. We got off to a slow start, only gigging 2 fish in the first 45 minutes. We made a move to anther area, and found plenty fish holding shallow over sand and mud bottom. We ended with a 15 flounder limit by 9:45pm (1 hour 45 minutes of gigging).

 For the second trip tonight, I had the Andy B. group of 3 from Minnesota on board. Conditions on the late trip were nice, with dead calm winds, steady incoming tide, and very clear water. With the bright moon now overhead, the flounder were much harder to find, with most holding in deeper water or buried deep in the mud. We covered a bunch of ground, only finding a couple areas holding good numbers of fish, with lots of unproductive water in between. The fish on the late trip were tightly schooled, making for some fast action when we located the school. We ended with a 15 flounder limit plus 2 sheepshead by 1:45am (2 hours 30 minutes of gigging).

*Upcoming open dates:
March: 19-23, 27, 29*

* I also do "late trips" on request, and this is the best way to get a trip in on short notice when I am already booked.*

Visit my Facebook page for daily reports and pictures.

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, Texas
Flounder Gigging Trips
361-229-6053
www.nightstalkerguideservice.com


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*High winds - Double Trip*

*3/16/2017 - Double Trip*
For the first trip tonight, I had the Lisa S. group of 3 onboard. Conditions were poor, with SSE winds at 20-25mph, and normal tide levels. After a rough boat ride out, we found plenty of clear water, but only widely scattered fish over hard sand and mud bottom. We ground it out in protected areas and ended with a 15 flounder limit plus 1 sheepshead by 10:40pm (2 hours 30 minutes of gigging).

For the second trip tonight I had 2 grandsons of my good friend onboard. I had promised them a gigging trip during Spring break, and tonight was the only night where it looked like I could make it happen for them. This was a non-pay trip, so I decided to go scout some areas I haven't looked at since October. Winds were still high, South at 20-25 mph and slow outgoing tide. We found lots of clear water, but only a few fish holding shallow over hard sand bottom. We ended with 9 flounder by 3:45am, after gigging for 2 1/2 hours.

*Upcoming Open Dates:*
*March 19-23, 27, 29*

*I also do "late trips" on request, and this is the best way to get a trip in on short notice when I am already booked.*

Visit my Facebook page for daily reports and pictures.

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, Texas
Flounder Gigging Trips
361-229-6053
www.nightstalkerguideservice.com


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Limits in high winds again*

*3/17/2017*
I had the Mike E. group of 4 onboard tonight. Conditions were poor, with South winds at 20-25mph and slightly high tide levels. With strong winds blowing all day, it was a real challenge to find clear water tonight. Things started slow, only gigging 3 fish in the first hour. After making several moves, we found some very clear water and started sticking some nice size flounder over hard sand and grass bottom. We ended with a 20 flounder limit plus 1 sheesphead by 11:45pm.

*I still have an open "late trip" slot for Saturday night 3/18. Please call me ASAP if you are interested. The weather looks much better for Saturday night, with 5-10mph winds forecast.*

Capt. Rick Hammond
361-229-6053


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Spring break recap - fun for the whole family*

Spring break was a tremendous success this year, and I would like to thank all the customers who got their family and kids out to do some flounder gigging. I really enjoy taking kids gigging, and seeing them spot their first flounder is always a rush.

I put my customers on full limits of flounder the last 14 nights in a row. We endured high winds, pouring rain, and cold temperatures this week, but I always found a way to keep everyone comfortable and get limits of flounder every night.

While other flounder gigging guides were cancelling trips, disappointing their customers, and sitting at home because of "bad" weather, I was out making it happen for my customers, doing whatever it takes to get a limit of flounder. Please keep this in mind the next time you book a gigging trip, as I treat my clients with the upmost respect and always communicate in advance should bad weather arise. I will only cancel a trip if conditions are too dangerous to go out, or I know fishing will be bad. My goal is to ensure every group gets a full limit every trip. Over the last 5 years, I have limited out on flounder on 98% of my trips, and when I fell short, it was usually only by a few fish. I am committed to providing a trip of a lifetime to every person who steps on my boat, and always treat customers as I would like to be treated on a charter trip.

*3/18/2017*
I had the Molly W. group of 4 onboard, with her 3 kids who did the gigging tonight. Conditions were marginal, with SSE wind at 15mph and slightly low tide levels. Things started slow for us, with only 3 fish in the first hour. We made a couple moves, and eventually found the fish holding far away from shore on deeper sandbars in very clear water 2-4' deep. There were very few fish holding shallow tonight, so deeper ares became the ticket to finding the larger flounder. We ended with a 15 flounder limit by 11pm (3 hours of gigging). The fish were good size tonight, with the largest at 20".

* Upcoming open dates:
March: 19-23, 27, 29
April: 2-7, 9-28, 30*

* I also do "late trips" on request, and this is the best way to get a trip in on short notice when I am already booked.*

Visit my Facebook page for daily reports and pictures.

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, Texas
Flounder Gigging Trips
361-229-6053
www.nightstalkerguideservice.com


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