# Full moon flounder strategies



## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

The last 2 nights of flounder gigging have been good, with lots of fat 18-20" flounder showing up on the flats. Fish are located on sand and grass bottom, with most of the fish moving into thick grass areas once the moon got bright overhead. Higher winds put a damper on the fast action for Saturday night, but we still got solid limits, just had to grind for them in windy conditions.

*6/9/2017 - Double Trip*
I had the Scott S. group of 4 onboard for the early trip tonight. Conditions were marginal, with ESE winds at15mph and normal tide levels. We found the fish tightly bunched over mud/grass bottom, with the best action in the first 15 minutes, before it got dark and the bright moon came up. After the moon rose, the fish became harder to locate, and more skittish. We ended with a 20 flounder limit by 10:45pm (2 hours of gigging)

For the late trip tonight, I had the Kevin B. group of 3 onboard, departing the dock at 12:15pm. By now, conditions had improved, with SSE winds at 5-10mph. We made a long boat ride to a remote area and quickly found some solid fish holding over hard sand and oyster shell bottom. With the moon now very bright and directly overhead, the fish were holding in 2-4' of water far from shore on outer sandbars and shell patches. Water clarity was excellent, and we were able to see the bottom in up to 6' of water. We ended with a 15 flounder limit plus 1 sheesphead by 2:45am (2 hours of gigging).

*6/10/2017*
I had the James M. group of 3 onboard tonight. Conditions were marginal with SE wind at 10-15mph, increasing to 15-20mph just after dark and slightly high tide levels. We found lots of clear water tonight, but the fish were hard to see with the wind ripples on the surface and very skittish. We stayed put and ground out a limit on grass bottom with scattered sand pockets. We ended with a 15 flounder limit by 11:45pm (3 hours of gigging). The largest fish tonight was 23".

*Upcoming open dates (early trip, 8pm departure):
June: 28
July: 9, 13, 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 30, 31*

*Upcoming open "late trip" slots (approx. midnight departure):
June: 15, 18
July: 1*

I sometimes do "late trips" after my first group is done, and this is the best way to get a trip on short notice when I am already booked. Late trips normally depart the dock around 11pm-1am. Just call and ask for availability...

Capt. Rick Hammond
361-229-6053
nightstalkerguideservice.com
Rockport, TX


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*More dirty water with higher tide levels*

*6/11/2017*
I had the Mike B. group of 5 onboard tonight. Conditions were good, with SE wind at 10mph and high tide levels. The higher water levels tonight made for lots of dirty water everywhere we went, making it a real challenge to stay on any consistent action. We covered a ton of ground and hit several spots to find the fish tonight, with the action slowing dramatically after the moon came up. We ended with a 25 flounder limit plus 3 sheepshead by 12:45pm (4 hours of gigging). We had some nice fish tonight, with the 4 largest in the 21-24" range.

Capt. Rick Hammond
361-229-6053


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## Redfish Rick (Aug 27, 2004)

*6/12/2017*
I had the Howard W. group of 3 onboard tonight. Conditions were fair, with SE wind at 10-15mph and high tide levels. Lots of dirty water again tonight, with tides falling fast, making the flounder wary to head shallow. The action was very slow tonight, only finding 1-2 fish here and there and making a bunch of moves. We ended with a 15 flounder limit plus 2 sheesphead by 12:30am (3 hours 30 minutes of gigging).

*Upcoming open dates:
July: 9, 13, 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 30, 31*

I sometimes do "late trips" after my first group is done, and this is the best way to get a trip on short notice when I am already booked. Late trips normally depart the dock around 11pm-1am. Just call and ask for availability..

Capt. Rick Hammond
361-229-6053


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