Flounder have been the focal point of coastal fishing and fishing reports for several weeks now. However, with conditions settling and the peak of the run behind us, other fish will start getting attention.
It appears that “old man winter” is going to be with us for a while, as December is starting out on a cold note.
November certainly roared as it departed, as north winds gusting to 40 mph pushed water out of the bays and dropped tide levels several feet.
Flounder will continue to be the focal point of most anglers fishing Tuesday, and while the wind should not be an obstacle, low water levels will be. Still, this should not effect flounder fishing that much, as the flat fish will continue to move, just along the edges of deeper pockets of water.
Windy, rainy and chilly conditions kept anglers off of the water Saturday, and it looks like the whole weekend will be like this.
Over the past several years, this weekend has been one of the best for flounder fishing. This year, the flat fish are here and running. However, the weather looks to be an obstacle in getting out to catch them.
Anglers visiting Galveston this weekend should find today to be the best day for fishing conditions, as a light to moderate south to southeast wind is in the forecast. Rain could be the fly in the ointment as there is a good chance of thunderstorms throughout the day.
Conditions for flounder fishing have not necessarily been perfect lately. However, the big fish definitely are on the move.
This week, we typically have early deadlines for the editions around Thanksgiving, and with Wednesday’s coming a bit early to get the fishing reports in, it presents an opportunity to address some questions from readers.
Winter is not far away, as reflected by catches over the past couple of days.
Two-fish limits were easy to come by Sunday morning, especially along the Galveston Ship Channel. The action was on from the Pelican Island Bridge to the bend at the U.S. Coast Guard Station.
Most years recently, anglers have experienced the best flounder fishing of the seasonal migration beginning around the week of Thanksgiving and running for another two or three weeks.
There is a little good news for anglers, and that is the east wind velocities are forecast to drop a bit over the next couple of days. Drop, not change direction as we all hoped would be the case.
Flounder catches continue to be good in spite of a nagging east wind. Thursday, action along the Galveston Ship Channel and Sand Island near the ICW Barge Cut was such that quick limits of flounder were taken and by noon most anglers had their two-fish limits.
The wind just will not let up, as a moderate to strong east wind held anglers to protected areas Wednesday. There is some good news, and that is the forecasts are calling for a switch to the southeast at moderate velocities beginning today.
We are between the full moons of October and November, and for years, that was the time when the flounder run reached its peak. In recent years, it has been closer to the November-December moon cycle.
The cold front that hit Sunday ended up being stronger than predicted, and this just could be the big event that flounder anglers have been anticipating.
Each year, anglers mis-judge the arrival and/or strength of cold fronts and get caught in perilous situations that often are fatal experiences. If not fatal, quite frightening and one thing for sure is anglers usually learn a lesson.
While not a big temperature dropper, it will cool things off — at least from the highs in the mid-80s, which have been the case for the last few days.
Anglers are waiting on a nice cold front that will bring on the action in the bays. While not as good as we hoped for this time of year, there is plenty of activity taking place across the Galveston Bay Complex.
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