# 2019 Flounder - Rockport



## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

Flounder gigging has been hit or miss lately, with scattered pockets of fish near areas with abundant small baitfish. The recent pattern has been better fishing on windy nasty weather nights and tough fishing on nice calm nights. Tide levels returning to normal over the last few days helped, but the fish remain difficult to pattern. The best fishing has been in the first 2 hours after dark, with fish retreating to deeper water later in the night, leaving only empty beds behind. This pattern will likely continue through the remainder of January, and gigging should improve heading into February as temperatures gradually warm up. The flounder recently have been typical mid-winter size, with most in the 14-15" range, and passing on plenty of smaller fish. The average size of the fish will gradually increase as we head into February/March.

*12/31/2018*
I had new customer Tyler E. group of 3 onboard tonight. Conditions were perfect, with dead calm winds, normal tide levels, and cool temps in the 50's. We got a fast start, gigging 5 flounder in the first hour over hard sand and mud bottom. We moved around several times after that, and never could locate any more flounder, even with good water clarity in all areas we visited. Later in the trip, we shifted to looking for black drum and sheepshead, and they were also elusive. We ended with 5 flounder plus 2 sheepshead by 10pm. (no picture of fish, but awesome sunset)

*1/1/2019*
I had new customer Dan P. group of 3 onboard tonight. Conditions were poor, with NE wind at 10-20mph, slightly low tide levels, and cold temps in the upper 40's. Our first 2 stops were duds, with no fish and plenty of dirty water. We made a long run to another area and it was ON, with plenty of clear water and active flounder. We gigged 13 flounder here in 1.5 hours, passing many smaller non-keeper flounder. After that, we made 4 more stops, never finding anything but empty flounder beds and lifeless water. We ended with 13 flounder (2 short of a limit) plus 1 black drum by 11pm.
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Upcoming open dates:
January: 6, 7, 9, 11-18, 21-23
February: 1, 3-8, 10-14, 17-21, 24-28
March: 2-5, 8-15, 17-29, 31
April: 1-4, 7-20, 22-25, 27-30*

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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