# Spring Break Flounder - Rockport



## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

3/7/2014
Spring Break is off to a great start. I had the Mike S. group on the boat tonight, and these six guys absolutely mopped up on the flounder. We gigged a 30 flounder limit plus 2 black drum in 3 hours. Winds were light East and the water was very clear tonight. The flounder are still holding on sandy bottom shorelines in areas where there is abundant baitfish. They are moving around a lot right now with the large tide swings. Many areas are full of fresh beds, with no flounder to be found, as they moved away with the falling tide in the evening. The fish are still running in the 14-17" range, but the size should improve after we get any extended warm-up. It's looking like this is going to be a banner year for flounder, with more fish in most areas than I have seen in several years.

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, Texas
361-727-0045
www.nightstalkerguideservice.com

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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Gigging still good in the bad weather....*

The flounder gigging remains very good over the last couple days, despite the recent cold front and rain over the weekend. Fast changing tide levels and water temps have had the fish on the move, and it seems like I find the fish in completely different areas each night. The sand-eels have hatched in a big way this week, and the fish on the flats are absolutely gorging themselves at night. Schools of 10-20 redfish, so shallow that their backs are out of the water have been a common sight in the last 4 days. These fish along with the flounder are feeding primarily on the emergent sand-eel hatch, small trout, baby redfish, croaker, and mullet. With the low tides, many of the flounder have been feeding in water shallower than I can get the boat. Seriously, we have been gigging some fish in 2-3" of water, while reaching with the gig. Some larger FAT flounder started to show up tonight, with several fish in the 18-19" range. Still, the majority of the fish we are gigging are 14-16".

*Fishing report from the last 2 nights:*

3/8/2014
With a fast approaching cold front and thunderstorms to our Northwest, we left the dock knowing it was going to be a short trip. After gigging for the first hour, we only found 5 flounder. It was very apparent by the number of vacant flounder beds, that the fish knew the bad weather was approaching, and had already made a run for deeper water. Just before the front hit at 9:30pm, we made one last stop close to the dock, and managed 2 more flounder and one sheepshead.

3/9/2014
The wind blew 20-25mph out of the north all day today, dropping the tide by 8-10" and dirtying the water severely. Just before sunset, the winds laid to 10-15mph, making it safe to go gigging. On my first stop, we battled dirty water and getting the boat stuck on sandbars several times. With no fish to show after the first hour, I headed to my old low-tide standby: Oyster shell with deep mud nearby. In the next 45 minutes we gigged 13 nice flounder alongside the oyster shell, before the reef ran out. After that, we worked hard for another 2 hours over sandy bottom to locate our last 7 flounder. With my 4 customers, we ended with a 20 flounder limit and 1 nice black drum. 

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, Texas
361-727-0045
www.nightstalkerguideservice.com

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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Flounder in the rain and fog...*

3/10/2014
With a large area of rain approaching from the west around 6pm, I almost canceled the trip for tonight. Tony C. and his 3 teenage sons were not about to let rain stop their plans, telling me to give it my best shot, rain-or-shine. Decked out in full rain gear, we took off from the dock in nasty rain, mixed with pockets of fog and mist. The wind was light West at 5mph, and tide still low from yesterday's cold front. We arrived at my first spot only to find dirty water stirred up from some gusty west wind just before sunset. I quickly made a move to a more protected area, and immediately started hitting flounder. In the first 30 minutes in this area, we gigged 14 nice flounder, and the rain came to an end. As we went further, the fish seemed to taper off, so I went back around to work the same area again. We gigged our last 6 flounder in the same area I had worked only an hour before. This shows that the fish are constantly moving, and that timing can be everything when gigging a shallow flat. We ended with a 20 flounder limit in 3 hours, just as the sky cleared.

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, Texas
361-727-0045
www.nightstalkerguideservice.com

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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Foggy night flounder*

*3/11/2014 *
I had Tom K. family (5 people) on the boat tonight, including his 3 sons (ages 7-10). Just before sunset, thick sea-fog rolled in off the gulf. We headed out slowly in the pea-soup fog, and just as we reached our first spot the fog lifted. The 3 boys quickly got on some nice flounder, and after two hours we had 21 flounder in the box. Being past their bedtime, the boys were getting tired, so we decided to head in at 10:00pm. The youngest boy is not in the pics below, he was passed out in the truck as soon as we got back to the dock. Seeing the excitement from the kids tonight as they gigged flounder was really awesome, and why I love being a guide....

It looks like the strong cold front on Wednesday morning is going to blow well into Wednesday night. I will report on how things look post-front on Thursday night.

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, Texas
361-727-0045
www.nightstalkerguideservice.com

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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Low tides, high winds, NO PROBLEM*

After the strong cold front on Wednesday, I got back on the water Thursday night only to find the lowest tides of the spring season so far, and tough gigging conditions with 6 people on the boat. The tide quickly turned around for Friday night, but so did the wind out of the East at 20-25mph. As spring progresses, the flounder continue to impress, with large numbers still moving in. It's going to be a good year for flounder, and I still have plenty of open nights in April-May.

*Reports from the last 2 nights:*

3/13/2014
Had the Robert S. party of 6 on the boat tonight. Tides were extremely low, and combined with a bright full moon, it made for tough gigging. We slugged it out, moving around a bunch looking for numbers of fish, and battling shallow water and sandbars. We ended up with 25 flounder by 1am. The kids on the boat tonight had a great time.

3/14/2014
I had Amy M., her 14 year old son, and his friend on the boat tonight. Congrats to Mom for getting these boys outdoors tonight, and all week during spring break. Winds were East at 20-25mph, and tides were running near normal, up 8-10" from the night before. The strong East winds and full moon made for some challenging gigging conditions. The fish were acting very skittish and generally staying further away from shore, where the ripples from the wind made seeing them almost impossible at times. We hit several spots before dialing in on the fish, getting our last few fish in a matter of minutes. We ended with a 15 flounder limit plus one black drum in 3 hours of gigging. Darn good for a windy night.....

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, Texas
361-727-0045
www.nightstalkerguideservice.com

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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*End of spring break, its been a good one...*

Spring break ended just like it started, warm weather and lots of flounder. I have taken family's and kids out every night this week. Kudos to the parents for getting them outdoors and experiencing gigging for the first time. The size of the fish is on the rise, and I look for this trend to continue into the late spring and summer. I still have plenty of open nights in April-May, so lets get out there and gig them while the action is hot...

*3/15/14*
I had the Ken L. group tonight, with dad and 4 teenage boys. The wind was from the SW at 15mph, and the tide was way up. The SW wind had the water dirty in most areas, so we had to focus on a few protected coves and really study the bottom to find the flounder. A few bigger fish showed up tonight, including 5-6 fish in the 18-20" range. The fog rolled in thick around 10pm, making the boat ride back in interesting.... We ended with a 25 flounder limit plus 1 nice black drum.

Capt. Rick Hammond
Night Stalker Guide Service - Rockport, Texas
361-727-0045
www.nightstalkerguideservice.com

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