# Spring Break Flounder



## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

Cold and wet has been the theme on recent trips, but the gigging has been hot. The last 2 nights were a bit tougher due to nagging North wind and a hard falling tide. The fast outgoing tide has many of the flounder leaving the shallows shortly after sunset, making for some tough gigging if you don't get them early. Sand flats with 100's of flounder "beds" and no flounder around have been common over the last week, as the fish are moving shallow only for a short period each night.

The weather for the next 4-5 days is looking great, and the flounder should respond well, especially if we get some higher tide levels.

*3/11/2015*
I had the West M. group of 4 onboard tonight. Conditions were nasty, with steady light rain most of the trip, and a few brief heavy downpours. Wind was NW at 5-10 becoming NE at 15mph later in the night, and temps in the low 50's. Things started slow for flounder, but plenty of black drum around. We gigged 1 flounder and 7 black drum in the first hour before moving to another spot. The next area was much better, with plenty of flounder bedded down in soft sand and mud bottom. After one more stop, we ended the night with 17 flounder and 8 back drum by 12:30am.

*3/10/2015*
I had the Honey C. and her 11 year old son on the boat tonight. Conditions were fair, with NE wind at 10mph and a low outgoing tide. We found the flounder right away on hard sand bottom, sticking several nice fish in first 30 minutes. After two hours we had 7 flounder and 2 sheepshead. At that point, they were getting cold, so we decided to call it a night early.

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


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Fast limits tonight*

*3/12/2015*
I had the Billy R. group of 2 on the boat tonight. Conditions were perfect, with dead calm wind, normal tide, and very clear water. We got on the flounder quick over hard sand bottom, gigging our 10 fish limit plus 1 black drum in 1 hour.


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Double trip - Dialed in on the flounder*

*3/13/2015 - Double trip*

For the first trip tonight I had the Wesley R. group of 4 onboard. Conditions were nice, with South wind at 10mph and normal tide levels. We found the flounder hanging very close to the shoreline and back in the flooded grass over hard sand bottom. The fish came slow and steady, with mouths of creeks and sloughs being the best areas. We gigged our 20 flounder limit plus 1 black drum in 3 hours.

For the second trip, I had the Marshall D. group of 4, including three 12-14 year old boys. We departed the dock at midnight with a nasty SW wind at 15 and gusty. We had trouble finding clear water early on, but after a couple moves we got things dialed in over mud and shell bottom. The 3 boys gigged their 15 fish limit in 2 1/2 hours, while dad watched the action from the back of the boat.

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


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Double trip - part 2 - still on the fish*

*3/14/2015 - Double trip*

For the first trip tonight I had the Mark K. group of 3 onboard. Conditions were perfect, with dead calm wind and slightly low tide. We found most of our flounder in creeks and drains over soft mud bottom. Most were buried deep in the mud, but with very clear water they were easy to spot. We ended with a 15 flounder limit by 10:30pm.

For the second trip, I had the Patrick H. group of 4 onboard, leaving the dock at 11:30pm under slick-calm conditions. We got off to a really fast start, gigging 14 fish in the first hour over soft mud bottom. As the tide started to rip out, things got tough, and we had to move around a bunch to find the last few fish. We ended with 18 flounder by 3:30am

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


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Lower tides tonight - but bigger fish*

*3/15/2015*
I had the Scott P. group of 4 from Oklahoma on the boat tonight. Conditions were nice, with light winds shifting NE at 10-15mph and low tide. The much lower tide levels tonight made it hard to find the flounder, as many areas were simply too shallow to run the boat. We moved around a lot, hitting 5 spots and only finding scattered fish in each area. We ended with 18 flounder by 1am. The bigger fish are starting to show up, with several fish in the 19-22" class the last few nights.


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Foggy night*

*3/16/2015*
I had the Daniel B. group of 2 on the boat tonight. Conditions were poor early, with East wind at 15mph and low tide. At about 9pm conditions got better, with calm wind and dense fog. We found the fish scattered over hard sand bottom near the mouths of drains and pockets. With the higher wind early, we had plenty of dirty water to contend with, making most of the flounder hard to see. We ended with a 10 flounder limit plus 1 black drum by 11:15pm.

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


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*3/17/2015*
I had the Zach B. group of 2 onboard tonight. Conditions were fair, with East wind at 15mph and slightly low tide. The flounder were schooled up tonight over soft sand bottom near deeper water, with lots of "dead" areas in between. With storms approaching from the West, it seemed like the flats were void of life tonight. Very few redfish and very little bait working shallow, but once we found some bait, the flounder were there. We ended with a 10 flounder limit in 2 hours of gigging.


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