# Summer is here, prime-time for Flounder - Rockport



## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

It seems like summer has finally set in, after a brutal cold winter and cooler than normal spring. The weather forecast for the next 14 days shows constant SE winds at 10-15 and temps in the low 90's during the afternoon. The temperatures at night are really nice right now, holding at around 75-78 degrees, finally T-shirt weather at night!! I consider summer to be the best season of the year for flounder gigging here in Rockport. The weather is very consistent and comfortable, the tides are usually near normal, the winds are almost always SE at 5-15mph, and the flounder are everywhere.

During the summer, the flounder will get into predictable patterns as the tide moves. Working "hotspots" instead of just running shorelines is my preferred method during the summer, where I may make 5-6 quick moves to target fish where I know they will be stacked up given that particular nights conditions. Much like the daytime trout and redfish fisherman has his "honey-holes", flounder will also "school-up" in certain areas. Knowing where those areas are, and the proper time to hit them based on the moon and tide cycle is paramount to the summer-time gigger.

I have been guiding flounder gigging trips here in Rockport for the last 12 years, and I learn something new every night, and sometimes I just get lucky. Anyone that knows me or has fished with me will agree on one thing, that I analyze every aspect of the conditions and fish patterns to locate the flounder. Trust me, it is truly a science to learn how to track these fish night after night, and end up with limits most nights. You can't just work the same clear water shoreline night after night and expect to do well. If you gigged flounder in one area the night before, don't expect it to produce the next night. I'm constantly moving around in my gigging areas, usually hitting at least one area each night that I havent been to in a long time, just to check it for signs of life. Once in a while, that spot you are just "checking" will end up yielding the mother-load.

We are heading into summer with the best flounder population numbers I have seen in the last 5 years. Conservation and reduced limits are finally paying off.

*5/22/2014*
I had the Grant J. group of 2 on the boat tonight. Conditions were fair, with SE wind at 15 and normal tide levels. On our first stop of the night, we encountered lots of dirty water over shell/mud bottom. We gigged 3 fish pretty quick on the shallow shell, but I pulled the plug after 45 minutes when the water clarity continued to worsen. Our second stop provided much clearer water, with plenty of nice sand pockets. The fish here were sitting in deeper sand pockets away from shore. The wind ripples on the water really made it tough to spot the flounder out deep, but we managed to gig our last 7 fish in one hour. We ended with a nice 10 flounder limit in 2 1/2 hours of gigging.

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

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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Couple more pictures*

More pics........


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Windy night limits*

*5/23/2014*
I had the Jake L. group of 4 on the boat tonight, including his 7 year son (his birthday today) and his friends 11 year old son. Conditions were poor, with gusty SE wind at 20-25 and a slack tide. We managed to find some nice water on the first stop of the night, and the young boys gigged the first 6 flounder in 20 minutes before the water got dirty. The next stop was a total bust, we had nice water, but the fish were nowhere to be found after 1 hour of looking. Our last stop started off slow, but it got better the further we went. In one small sandy cove, we gigged 4 fish in 2 minutes. At that point I knew I had the fish dialed in, and it was not long before we limited out, finding fish over hard sand and scattered shell pockets. We ended with a 20 flounder limit in 5 hours of gigging. The boys had a blast, and were very good at spotting the fish before I could see them, young eyes always win....

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

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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Another brutal windy night - limits*

*5/24/2014*
I had the Travis R. group of 4 on the boat tonight. Conditions were poor, with SE wind at 20-25mph gusting to 30mph. the water was very dirty again tonight, with fish hanging very shallow around scattered shell and mud bottom. Our first stop of the night showed no signs of life, and after an hour of seeing nothing we relocated. We gigged all 20 fish for our limit on my second stop, which lasted 3 hours of crawling slowly through dirty water to spot the fish. The average size tonight was 17", with 5 fish going over 20".

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

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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*Flounder on the move with a falling tide*

*5/25/2014*
I had returning customer Kacey I. group on the boat tonight. I had 2 boys and their friend oboard for a fun night of gigging (ages 11-17). Conditions were poor, with SE wind at 20-25 and a hard falling tide. The fish were very scattered tonight with the fast falling tide. We covered a lot of water, and by 12:30am the boys were getting tired. We ended just short of a limit with 12 flounder and 2 sheepshead.

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

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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*5/26/2014*
I had the Travis K. group of three on the boat tonight. Conditions were poor with 20mph NE wind when we left the dock, switching quickly to 20mph South wind. The constantly changing wind direction tonight had me moving around a lot to find protection. The water clarity was horrible in most areas, due to the wide swing in the wind direction over a few hours. Once the wind stayed South for a while, we were able to locate some better water and gigged most of our fish over hard sand and shell. We ended with a 15 flounder limit after 5 hours of gigging.

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

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