# Spring Flounder report



## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

Very strong South winds coupled with lower than normal tides have made for some challenging gigging conditions over the last few days. I have had to move or reschedule a few trips lately due to the high winds, making sure that all my customers have the kind of trip that will make good memories. Fish have been very scattered lately, with a stagnant pattern on the flats in the evening, and very little tide movement to push the fish into traditional areas. Water clarity has been very good, even with winds gusting to 30mph some nights, but the fish have been holding far from shore, making for challenging gigging with waves and surface ripples.

*3/25/2017*
I had the David M. group of 5 onboard tonight. Conditions were fair, with South wind at 10-20mph and slightly low tide levels. We got on the fish fast tonight, with 10 flounder in the first hour of gigging. After that, things slowed down, and we had to make a bunch of moves and cover a lot of ground to find the rest of the fish. Most of our flounder were holding near deeper water tonight, and were not anywhere near the shoreline. This made for some challenging open-water gigging, but water clarity was very good in most areas we visited. We found scattered fish on every kind of bottom: mud, grass, sand, and shell. There was no tide movement on the flats tonight, making it even tougher to pinpoint productive areas. My group stuck with it, and we ended with a 25 flounder limit plus 1 black drum and 3 sheephead by 1am (5 hours of gigging). This was one of my slower nights recently, but very rewarding once we finally found those last few fish for a limit. The flounder were good size tonight, with most in the 16-19" range.

*Upcoming open dates:*
*April: 2-7, 9-12, 14-21, 23-27, 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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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*High winds, Bigger flounder*

*3/26/2017*
I had the Trey R. group of 3 onboard tonight. Conditions were poor, with 15-25mph South winds and normal tide levels. With winds gusts near 40mph this afternoon, we had lots of dirty water to deal with tonight. We found scattered areas of clear water over mud and grass bottom. The fish were holding very shallow tonight, keying on areas with active finger mullet. Despite the high winds, gigging was easier tonight with the fish responding well to higher tide levels. We ended with a 15 flounder limit by 10pm (1 hour 45 minutes of gigging). The fish were larger tonight, with 8 of them in the 19-21" range.

* Upcoming open dates:
April: 2-7, 9-12, 14-21, 23-27, 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.

Capt. Rick Hammond
361-229-6053


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Light winds and scattered flounder tonight*

*3/27/2017*
I had the Chuck W. group of 4 onboard tonight. Conditions were nice, with SE wind at 5-10mph increasing to 20mph by 11pm, and slightly low tide levels. We found lots of clear water tonight, with fish holding in deep water near sandbars and structure far from shore. The fish were also buried deep in the mud and sand, with no fish along the immediate shoreline. We got off to a good start, gigging 16 flounder in the first 2 hours, but the last 4 fish were much harder to locate, and we made several moves looking for the last few fish. We ended with a 20 flounder limit plus 1 sheepshead by midnight (3 hours, 45 minutes of gigging).

* Upcoming open dates:
April: 2-7, 9-12, 15-21, 23-27, 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.

Capt. Rick Hammond
361-229-6053


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Calm weather and big flounder*

*3/29/2017*
I had the Tony D. group of 4 onboard tonight. Conditions were perfect,  with SE wind at 5mph and high tide levels. Water clarity was poor in many areas tonight, due to many different wind directions during the day with a passing storm system. We found most of our fish holding over mud and sand bottom in areas with abundant finger mullet. The fish were widely scattered tonight, only finding a school of flounder every 30 minutes or so. When we did find where they wanted to be, the action was fast, gigging several fish in 1-2 minutes. We ended with a 20 flounder limit plus 4 sheesphead by midnight (3 hours 30 minutes of gigging). The fish were big tonight, with many in the 17-20" range. The largest flounder tonight was 23" and weighed 4 1/2 pounds.

Capt. Rick Hammond


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Tough trip tonight*

*3/30/2017*
I had the Joe T. group of 4 onboard tonight. Conditions were nice, with South wind at 5-15mph and normal tide levels. Again today we had strong North winds for most of the day, switching to the South just before dark. This wind switch combined with a thermocline inversion caused by the cooler temps made for dirty water all over. There was no getting away from dirty, murky water tonight, it was EVERYWHERE. I spent the first 3 hours of tonight's trip moving around to different areas, trying to find some clear or marginally clear water. I finally decided that the right approach was to grind it out in the dirty water and stay put, working very slow, and barely seeing the fish before they passed under the boat. We made the best of it, and ended with a 20 flounder limit plus 2 sheepshead and 2 black drum by 1am (5 hours of gigging)

*Upcoming open dates:
**April: 2-7, 9, 10, 12, 15-21, 23-27, 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.

*Capt. Rick Hammond
361-229-6053*


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Windy night - big flounder*

*3/31/2017*
I had the Jason G. group of 4 onboard tonight. Conditions were horrible, with SE winds at 20-30mph and slightly high tide levels. Usually with winds this high, gigging becomes nearly impossible, but we toughed it out and were rewarded with some great fishing. After a rough boat ride out, I managed to find some protected areas from the wind. Surprisingly, water clarity was very good in most of the spots we went tonight. We got on the fish right away over shell and sand bottom, gigging four in the first 5 minutes. After that, the fish became more scattered, but the gigging was steady. We ended with 19 flounder (1 short of a limit) by 10:30pm (2 hours of gigging). The fish tonight were big, with nearly all of them in the 17-20" range. The group tonight had a great time, and made lasting memories for their family. They are already planning their next trip with me for sometime in May...

Capt. Rick Hammond
361-229-6053


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Another very windy night*

*4/1/2017*
I had the Daniel A. group of 2 onboard tonight. Conditions were horrible, with ESE wind at 20-30mph and very high tide levels. Water clarity was much worse tonight, with only scattered pockets of clear water in protected areas. We found the fish widely scattered, but hard sand and shell bottom worked best. We ended with a 10 flounder limit plus 1 sheepshead by 11pm (2 hours 30 minutes of gigging).

*Upcoming open dates:
April: 2-6, 9, 10, 12, 16-20, 23-27, 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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