Coastal Community Buddies Garten and Chuck gigging a few for Christmas Dinner. Merry Christmas!
LOOK OUT!!!! Here come the Ducks. The prediction for the split or second opener is everyone is going to WHACK & STACK ‘EM!!!! Before I jump off into all the ducks we have been seeing from West Matagorda, south, I have to say the prefrontal storms, front and post fronts have been epic for trout, reds and of course flounder.
Fishing continues to be off the chart. Wade fishermen are still posting solid numbers of solid trout. The local boys have been getting out of school and hammering out quick limits of trout on tops, tails or Waterloo’s new Custom Corkies. Redfish, they are everywhere on the shorelines. The boaters are getting em on cut mullet. Drifters are using soft plastics, Down South Lures and plastic shrimp imitators. It’s that time of year to get in on all the action. I can’t stress to, outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen, enough how awesome the last quarter of the year is for getting coolers full of wild game.
OH! Don’t forget about the Flounder Run. The Flounder Run is a Southern Tradition that only the coastal communities understand. We look at it like hunting the rut for deer. Hunters don’t close the season down cause the deer are running around doing their annual ritual. Trophy Hunters plan their lives around the rut. They aren’t limited by gun only either, at least not yet. It perplexes me why Flounder Giggers get the short end of the gig for a month. November is the time to trophy hunt for what flounder fishermen call Saddle Blankets, Doormats, Slabs, etc. The 2 man limit, well that’s a debate for the masses.
As a Commercial Finfish License owner, I want my business to thrive. I do understand the need for conservation, but what business owner gets shut down for a month from retaining a product to sell? Flounder Fishermen, Sportsman, Guide or Commercial, get regulated during the flounder rut and we don’t see those strict regulations on any other game animal. How would bow hunters feel if they couldn’t stick a trophy buck during the rut. Huh, there really would be another civil war. Look, Gigging Flounder is about trophy hunting, a way or style of fishing to harvest flounder the way our ancestors used to enjoy the outdoors. Yes, a Heritage. We can’t afford to let our past time be anymore regulated than it already is today.
In the Meantime, the boys will be out there looking for double digit weighted flounder to bring home to Momma. Really that’s changed too, we bring it up in front of a phone and post it on FB, lol. The banter and bragging on FB about smoking the Big ‘un is our way now. Pretty soon that will be old school. The younger generation has this new deal now, I think called Snap Talk or InstaFeed, who knows I can’t keep up.
The Flounder Report based on social media, Mark and Justin have set the bar high for gigging monsters. Chuck and Garren have been getting em also and letting me catch a ride when I have a day off. Check out Chuck and Garren’s slabs in the printed picture at left. Great fish. Appreciate y’all hooking me.
The Middle Coast wrap up is: Bring Lots of Shotgun Shells, Bring lots of Lures and make sure your Tow Boat Insurance is current because the tide has fallen. Robbie and I love this time of year ‘cause we know your boat doesn’t go as shallow as you think. Err on the side of caution because the tide has left the marsh.
Saltwater Lodge Outdoor Hotline is: (361) 785 3825.
Keep your Shotgun on Safe, Your Waterloo Rods ready and your towing membership card handy.
Captain Jeff Larson
281 217 0399
