The Daily Bite

Ever Been To A Redfish Round Up?

To this day I am amazed about my father and the way he could make any child feel special. He had a knack for bringing out the very best in a young person. It usually started with a nickname that I am sure many children now grown up like me still carry with them to this day. He would always be with you and a part of you because of it.

Today I fished with Ruben Coronado and Paul Gilcrease. I also fished with their sons Alex and John Paul. It started out very early, and even earlier for them as we were to hit the water at 4:30 am. The buck was later passed around as to who got us on the water after 5 but at least I was not the one late, because I always run late. I am not sure if it was clearly settled on who to blame but my money was on the boys. After all if you cant blame the children who does a dad get to blame.

This was the first time for me to fish with these young men and at the dock I was introduced to Alex and John Paul.

Needless to say The Pope simply came to mind and I remembered my father, and thinking about how he just picked them from something about them and wala The Pope stuck for me as John Paul's nickname. I don't think we were on the boat yet and already he was covered.

We were lucky enough to get to a hole that has been a favorite for me during the fall for 20 years and found only one boat there. We eased in and dropped anchor and began setting up shop for a day of fishing.

Paul and Ruben knew what to do from our last trip together and they immediately set to rigging the boys up for some flounder fishing.

Early on it looked as though we were going to have a good day. The other boat started hitting them at sunup and they were upstream of us and then it happened.

The Mangler struck first blood on the spinning outfit rigged with a C.T. Shad. With a bit of instruction that first hook set was a doozy. In his first lesson he learned enough to point the rod at the fish take up the slack and stick them hard. He began by picking on the Pope with 3 fish before the Pope struck back.

The Pope is a natural as far as I could see. He picked up jigging a Pounder as if he had been doing it for some time. Before you knew it he had caught up with the Mangler. Slow Smoked Ruben chimed in and then as if to reverse fortunes from his first trip with me earlier, he slowed down and Paul " The Big Rig" picked up the pace. Last trip out Paul was on the down side in numbers but this trip was his for sweet revenge.

Well maybe not revenge but man Paul was into them. I don't know what is more fun on the water on days like this, seeing the fish come flying over the side of the boat or hearing the laughter of joy and the smiles that go with catching so many fish with your friends.

We captured as many fish as we wanted for our limits and let me tell you it is hard to let such quality fish go back into the water hoping to catch a bigger one on the next cast. Neat thing is we all did just that. It did not take long to fill our limit in fact it was covered by 9 or 10 a.m.. We kept a couple slots open for a really big one but a 3 lb flounder is hard to throw back for anyone and in the end I think we kept 10 that touched that mark.

After we limited we started our catch and release and everyone on board got in on it. The sad part of the day was poor Paul had to be home by 1 p.m. and we had to stop in the middle of the bite. I don't know if he made it on time or ended up in the dog house but if he did, that poor dog had to be wagging his tail and smiling on the way out the back door.

I truly look forward to each trip I can get with this crew of anglers. To think that from a simple invitation to be a guest speaker at the S.W.A.T. Fishing Club I could make a lifetime friend and friends. I guess that is what a good fishing club is about. If your not a member, join them and you too will be there on the water with your friends and making new ones that will last a lifetime.

Almost all of this days fishing action was captured on video and I will try and post it on the web or U-Tube as soon as possible. I think you will enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed being a part of it.

To my new friends John Paul and Alex, thank you for sharing with me a memory that will last me a lifetime. Thank you for your smiles of youth and your laughter of joy. It reminds of the times with my father that only come to me now as a memory. Thank you all for this treasured moment. I look forward with great anticipation to our next trip together and hope it is sooner than later. Phil

Conditions: Passing front as it started out very windy and cold. Warmed as the day progressed. Slow outgoing tide with minimal drop until late in the tide. Water was green, trout green or flounder green your choice.

Lures: Flounder Pounders, New design if you must know. and a few on C.T. Shad.

Colors just about anything we tied on.

LOOK FOR THE UPCOMING VIDEO.

Here is where you can find out about the trips I take on the water fishing with Flounder Pounder Products. Now mind you I don't fish as often as I did once before, but I am getting out more this year than in the past. I have already fished more this month than all of the past six years, and though not every trip has been a meat haul, only one was a complete washout. What can I say, I have been busy being a daddy. With each trip I will give a new report here So Please check back to see what's biting.

29th of May, 2009. We fished on Galveston Island off of the famed Seawall down on the west end in a regular spot of years past. Ike rearranged the rocks considerably below the stairs on each side. This created a interesting backwash into the surf and a nice slightly deeper cut in front of the rocks leading into the first trough. The water was not in the best of shape, sandy with the tide going out early. It was said to have been beautiful during the morning high tide. The worst part was that we lost the moon on a major and had to fight hard to draw strikes. The best fishing was going to be around sunup and into noon on the incoming with the moon dropping back to the major beneath us. But we had to leave at 4 a.m and we managed only a handful of decent trout that had the biggest one tipping 6+ pounds and more than 25 inches. The fish were caught on chartreuse orange, and white pearl chartreuse ShadFish with Rattling 3-D Eyes.

June 4th, 2009 To say that this was the first trip to The Seawall in Galveston this spring would not be true. In fact we had made several trips to fish with friends at the beach over the Memorial Day week.

Each was as it was before. Calm winds on the mainland. Predicted light north winds variable to 5-10 knots on the coast. The brutal truth is that the island always has its own winds and the weather mans gauge and predictions are usually farther off than on.

Such was the case all week. Make the drive down only to find sandy water on the beach. No bait to be drawn up because they just cant be seen. But the water was for the most part flat each trip. But the winds were from the northeast, blowing light and variable to 15 knots. tubing the beach. Just not from the southeast.

But then Friday night and into Saturday morning was different. June 4th, 2009. Finally the break we needed. First off we had the building full moon. Second we were still inside a major lunar zone for the night and falling into the minor feeding mode. Third we had a good incoming tide after 9 p.m. and last and most important for the island beachfront, we had green water wash in with the incoming tide.

It all started with one pop. After waiting about three hours for the tide to start in and wash in some water over the first trough off the rocks, the trout binge started. The first fish we caught were on the fabulous ShadFish, in pearls and chartreuses. The big wave came on Ratfish. Once the fish came up on a full surface pop the sub surface/surface action of the cheating rattling Ratfish took over.

Having lots of company in the water the trout ate up the few we had in a hurry. Our fall back beach standard was and always has been SpeckWreckers, so we made some that floated using two Split Tail Tubes rigged in-line. After a while we rigged up just one Split Tail Tube and went to work. John and Kristin of Rain Forest Pets in League City Texas, had a wonderful time. John and Kristin each started learning how to use a bait caster. Kristin did excellent for her first time. She spanked John her husband. Just watch the video. Who knew she had a fisherman hiding inside that just naturally came out Friday night.

Robert, was dead on with the Cheating Ratfish. I think he caught two or three limits maybe more of fish before he had to leave for work. I just went with it and landed as many as I could while I was not helping to rig others and cast lines or un-hook fish. It was to say the least, a free for all out on the Seawall.

The funniest part of this story would be Saturday night though. After cleaning all the fish after the trip and getting some shut eye, we gathered up again and took a look at the weather pages. We looked into the crystal ball beach and surf cams We checked the tides and moon. We liked what we saw for the chance of a repeat event.

The winds were light on the mainland, and projected light to moderate from the south/southeast on the coast. Everyone called friends and we all drove to the beach. But just as soon as we hit the top of the wall at the top of 61st street and the gulf came into view, the water and the winds and the waves were all moving from the south and southwest at a solid 15 knots sustained. How could there be so much difference in 24 hours.

Needless to say, of the 20 people of family and friends that showed up with high expectations, they were all blown away from fishing by the unpredictable winds of Galveston Island. We the true diehard few stayed until 4:30 a.m. , paying the fish gods their dues, and all for one break off, one throw back trout, and one small red landed. For the second night in a row I suffered from another broken top dollar rod. It was snapped in the door jam of the truck, at least Robert and a trout did the other one in.. But this is the price we pay to play under the lights on the beach. You must experience the sight to truly appreciate it the most. Here are just a few pictures from the night. Hope to see you on the water. Phil

October 30,2010. Okay this report is coming a week late but we have been really busy since the fall run started. Anyway it was a good day on the water. I had the opportunity to fish with a good friend for the first time and a chance to make a new one. Our lighting was bad for this shot at the end of the day but I think you will get the picture.

I fished today with Nick Falcon and his friend Bud. Nick is a member of the S.W.A.T. Fishing Club. Bud is an EMT. Thanks Bud for your service to our community. We started the day out early, I mean early. Well I say that, because the hole we wanted to fish had been named by Captain Kent in the article he wrote in the Galveston Daily News. We had fished together on Wednesday of this same week.

Anyone who fishes knows the old line should have been here yesterday. During the two weeks leading up to Captain Kent and I fishing I had been in flounder by the dozens.

On Wednesday we made dozens of casts and only caught two fish, all I could say was you should have been here yesterday. Well we did have a front due in the very next day and it did come thru gangbusters. I just fished a major transition on the wrong side. That's what I tell myself anyway.

So I asked Nick to meet me at 5: a.m. at the ramp to get out before everyone else. I think that 3 a.m. would have been better because as we pulled up to our hole there were 4 boats on it and it was still pitch dark. They did not have it all choked off so we motored in without disturbing anyone and set anchor.

All thru the morning the mullet were so thick I think you could have walked on them and never touched the water. Days like that dictate the use of live bait, and eventually we set up to fish the fingerling mullet.

The boats that were there slowly faded as mostly males were showing. One boat stayed and fished the cut upstream of us and wore out a bunch of mostly males. They to were managing about a 5-6 to 1 keeper ratio on live mullet. Nick caught some nice fingerlings in his cast net. It did not take long to stroke the flounder.

As the outgoing tide gave in to an incoming we pulled anchor and went to an incoming hole and set up shop. Before it was over we managed our 3 man limit on flounder with live bait and a few on lures. You know I had not caught flounder with live bait in 15 years and forgot how much fun the thump is.

Nick and Bud dropped me at the dock early in the afternoon. They ventured back out again and continued catching and releasing flounder. Afterwards they stopped by the shop and popped off some pictures.

15 fish in the box and plenty more tossed back. Bud took a little time to get the hang of it but when he did, we had to pry the rod out of his hands to make him quit. Nick was into the fish all day and in fact he is quite skilled at catching them. I thought it was funny when he told me he had not ever caught a full limit of flounder in a single day. That changed as Nick and Bud both caught full limits today.

In the end you could not have asked for a better day with friends to be on the water.

Conditions: High east winds early, water clarity was very good. Tide on the last of the outgoing early and turned to incoming early midmorning.

Lures: Flounder Pounder Originals. Live finger mullet with Scrambled Egg Rattling Egg weights.

Tip: Live bait anglers you have been told to do a count method before setting the hook. Don't, please follow this rule. When a flounder strikes your finger mullet point the rod tip at the fish, take up the slack, hit free spool and control your line under your thumb and slowly lift up on the fish. When you do this you make the flounder think that the bait is going to get away and he will immediately turn the bait and swallow it. The fish will give you a distinct but lighter second bump. That second bump is your cue to set the hook. I promise that this technique will not fail you and it is very fast in getting your hook into the flounder.

November 1, 2010 I expected to catch a bunch of flounder. I expected to see clean water. I expected to see fingerling mullet by the thousands when the sun came up. I expected fading winds. I expected an early incoming right after a late outgoing. I expected good weather. I expected wrong.

I had the pleasure of fishing with Lance Linthicum and Curtis Anderson. Both gentleman are members of the S.W.A.T. Fishing Club. It was supposed to be a banner day, everything in the stars lined up to it. Then there was nature.

As soon as the sun popped up we were into fish and not a soul in sight. The fish were biting, the tide was flowing and it was thundering and lightning. At first in the east then the west from the south and the north we were circled in. We fished on.

We pulled anchor and changed locations for the incoming and we caught fish. Then we looked down the channel and we saw it coming. That torrential butt soaking was racing up the channel. Lucky for us that Lances boat (a very finely rigged Scout) had a tee top. We made for the Galveston Yacht Basin dock but we still got soaked going in.

After hanging under the Basin Camp canopy we felt the worst had passed and set out again. We started catching fish as soon as we set anchor but it simply was not meant to be, mother nature had a different plan with the weather and we were forced to abandon the trip from all the lightning. All in all I think we kept 3 flounder. If I recalled right we thought we could brag about it since we did catch a half a daily limit each. Boy that's a tough one in November. No pictures were taken because of the weather.

Conditions: Surprised by the stormy weather, it was calm but brewing. Water was in good shape. Tide was changing. The lightning and rain chased us off the water. It was none to soon as the ride home it was pouring.

Lures: We fished Original Pounders in glow white and pumpkin chartreuse.

November 9, 2010 This sounds like a movie title I think, and with that said lets cut to the last scene and begin with this Email from Mr. Curtis Anderson...fade in

Hello Phil,

Just wanted to pass on the pictures to you from our fishing trip this past Saturday 11/6/10. Rhonda and I had these 4 keepers within an hour. Please note these were only the 4 best. We actually caught several more but these were our 4 best within the hour and decided to pull anchor and go hit our redfish hole which paid off as well as you can see from the pictures.

I have to hand it to you Phil Ortiz, you have a great product "The Flounder Pounder". Rhonda my wife and I are both firm believers that it does catch fish....just look at the pictures. I caught a 5.7 and a 3.8 and didn't weigh the other two that we kept, but they were in the 2 to 2-1/2 pound range. I can also attest that the flounder are on the move and we can't wait to get back on the water because I have a goal, which is to catch a bigger one. Of course Rhonda has a goal as well, which is to catch one bigger than mine....lol.

We both appreciate you taking the time and sharing your knowledge and product with us and look forward to sharing our catch with you. We both laughed at the weigh in as there were a few looking at us with crossed eyes when we pulled our limit out of the box. Of course there were some comments made....you fished with Phil Ortiz. Well as far as I am concerned there was an opportunity to learn and I accepted. Oh well.....the way I look at it is.....you can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make him drink. You led Rhonda and I to the water and we haven't quit drinking yet...lol. Of course they all want to know which spot we caught them at, but I can only share that with the person that shared it with me.

Again Phil, Thanks for sharing what you have with us and we look forward to expanding our knowledge even more as we spend more time on the water. We have some nephews and a grandson that will damn sure get to experience some good times in the near future and of course when the time comes I will tie a Flounder Pounder on their lines and show them what you showed my wife and I.

Hey Phil....please tell Joe thanks also. I know he spends a lot of time behind the scenes and does a lot of hard work as well.

Curtis and Rhonda Anderson.

October 24, 2010 As the movie scene jumps to the opening scene we begin at a S.W.A.T. meeting earlier in the month. I was invited to be a guest speaker at the monthly meeting by Mr. Lee Garcia. I was more than willing to appear and talk fishing.

As the meeting progressed I spoke about the Sea Center in Lake Jackson and the flounder restoration program that is going on. I offered myself to those club members that wanted to fish for flounder if they would help me get on the water to capture the flounder to donate to the program. I would not have believed so many people are willing to put their assets and time to such a cause.

Well needless to say the phone calls wanting to get out and catch flounder started coming in and with each passing day I started fishing with a different S.W.A.T. Member.

Mr. Curtis and Mrs. Rhonda Anderson decided they would like a crack at it as well. So we set a day and met at the water. They launched at the Galveston Yacht Basin and I met them there on time as usual, (a bit late) and we idled off on a long ride for the short trip to the first hole.

It was not long before Rhonda started putting flounder in the boat. I like fishing with the ladies because they are the ones who pick it up so easy at first. We manly men always seem to fight instinct and rely on what we know. And of course the ladies will tell you we don't know much.

Having watched Rhonda begin to beat the pants off Curtis at the first hole we pulled anchor and moved to the second hole. That is where Rhonda decided after awhile to give Curtis a chance at getting even and catching up. It was that or Curtis believed me when I said that if your bad luck we would wrap the anchor rope around his ankles and drag him to the next hole to wash it off.

As we added another flounder to the live tank we noticed that we had run out of air on the bottle so we pulled anchor and hit the dock to retrieve my Oxygen Response System from the truck.

Rhonda dashed into the camp for munchies and some drinks and we set off again. Around noon Rhonda decided she had picked on her husband enough and hit the sidelines and Curtis feeling the tense pressure of a spanking beginning to recede started catching flounder like a seasoned pro.

I know now why Curtis loves to fish with his wife, she's a gamer and is in it for the day. She lets her husband spend his time doing what he loves to do on the water. They are a great fishing couple and make great fishing partners. Mrs. Rhonda for the record, every angler who fishes deserves a partner like you.

We called it a day when we boated 15, a 3 angler fish limit. At the dock we transferred them to the travel tank and I set off for the Sea Center for another delivery. Below are a few of the pictures from this trip and also some from the Email this week from the trip Mr. and Mrs. Anderson took for the S.W.A.T. Club Tournament.

In the end we not only caught flounder for the program but more importantly I made some very good and dear fishing friends this day. We have fished together since and we are setting plans for our next trip together as well.

November 11, 2010 It started out to be a planned attack. We had laid a plan of attack on the flounder. It was a go, and then at the crack of dawn the weather turned us back. I don't know how a twenty percent chance of rain could look so menacing. The sky was pitch black to the west. I made a call to call it off. Lori Lodi our Team Pounder Ladies Pro Staffer had invited me onboard her boat for the day. I was sure we were going to miss it for the weather. I made a delivery after calling her and as Texas weather would have it, it cleared up in our area. Guess what, Lori blasted off from her place and crossed the bay alone. She is a dedicated pounder pitcher. I called her as she was crossing and she said come on, no need to waste a good day. So she picked me up at the Galveston Yacht Basin dock. This Lady Pro Staffer had already put 4 over the side of the boat before I got there. We went back to her hole she started on and within minutes she started putting flounder in the boat hand over fist. I never stood a chance. I did my part catching them but there was no catching up, Lori was on them fast and furious. After we had torn that patch of water up, the crew boats upstream sent us a mess of muddy water about the same time Sam James showed up. We told Sam to pull anchor and to move to another hole. He was set up before we were and in fact he started putting them in the boat like a machine. I don't think he was on his spot 20 minutes before he had boated nine. Sam was at them so well we did not see him slip half of them up out of the water. All we saw was the flounder going back in the water and a mighty thumbs up.

As we were getting ready to call it a day we told Sam to head back to other hole we had started on, and he pulled alongside of us. I asked him what color was he throwing, he showed us a Curl Tail Tube in black on white pearl. His heart was broken when I told him that was a special paint job that the distributors did not stock. I thought he was gonna pop from the news. He felt better when I said I would make some special for him. Lori was hell bent on Chartreuse orange today. I was throwing glow white, I throw it a lot simply because we always have those in stock and that's what I grab. Color does not matter to flounder.

In closing today was Veterans Day. To my late Father Joseph Ortiz Sr., and my late Father in Law David Blackburn and to all the members past and present of our armed services may God Bless you each and every one. May he comfort you in pain, share with you wisdom, and give you strength in times of weakness. Thank you for your service to our country, for giving us peace, and for guarding our freedom that only this nation of the United States offers in all the world. God Bless America, and May God Bless You and Your Families For Your Sacrifice. The Ortiz Family. Phil and Joe Ortiz. Flounder Pounder Lures.

July 1-4,2009.

July 1-2. Wow, you think that a seasoned pro would know better than to think that he could make mother nature do something against her will. Well I did because members from the last outing on the seawall in Galveston are itching to blow it open on the surf again. Well it just never happened. No, we tried the first night which in all reality was the best night we had to put keepers in the box out on the wall. The clean water that was visible at the end of the arms on the last of the outgoing tide never rolled over and turned killer green. Well it did from what I saw the next morning on the surf cams. Problem was just as we started hitting trout of some size, after all the sand trout started thinning out the generator ran out of gas. It was 1:15 am and the we were well into a downward fall on the moon. Needless to say we caught fish as soon as they turned on just not long enough to box any. Just a gallon short for what may have been another outstanding night. 5 The winds were still against us for the most part. Though light they were still southerly with a hint of west. The water was a hard sandy green and first showed mostly sand trout. When we ran dry we were catching mostly specks.

July 2-3. Let myself get talked into trying again, and saw worse results than before. No problems mechanically just weather. The winds had picked up enough to turn hopes brown. Sand trout were there but mostly small. A few small specks started to show but the water was getting darker with sand. We went to the crash basin and set the light in the cut on shore. Had a few pops under the light and actually caught a few specks. None were worth bragging about, but they were legal. Stopped at 4 a.m. and went home.

July 3-4. Well I am game to go fishing when friends can, so off we went tonight back to the island. No wall all crash basin. Had folks from the shore visit. Had folks from the bay visit. Bait everywhere and some fish under them. This was a night when you fished a light but about a hundred yards away from it. The fish had the shad pegged on the south shoreline at the far light fringe. It was actually quiet spectacular to see. I left both the cameras at the house. Catching fish or getting them to hit something when they have entire banks of fifty cent sized shad down to nickel size by the millions was a different story. I have a one inch minnow that is deadly here in this exact body of water. But throwing two 1/16 heads into a stiff 15 mph west wind is tough. The next thing I did was take a C.T. SHAD and cut the curl tail off. The size then fell into bait size and shape and better mimicked the clouds of them blowing up all over. I was then confronted with wading out in my good work boots, because I left my fish shoes on the front deck. The fish won the boots lost and they now smell like fish bait. It was not as fast and furious as you hoped but there were some nice reds in the bunch. Some nice specks, though nothing big for bragging. I want to go again tonight but no one is around with this being the Fourth. God Bless America. Until next time.

"TRICK OR TREAT" JUSTIN LOVELL OPENS OCTOBER 2009

WITH SOME CANDY RED SURPRISES!

OCTOBER 1, Justin has come down to the wall to fish for trout under the lights. Seems like each time he came he was either to early, to late or the conditions never materialized for a good night of fishing. In fact we began to think he was bad luck. No not really we knew he was bad luck. But last night he washed it all off in the face of a 15 mph wind from the south. Justin had not called us in a few weeks, being a new dad we figured he was doing daddy (doody) or duty that one is your choice. But as it turns out he had been playing with something called work and overtime. Anyway when I got to the shop last night Big Joe told me he called and wanted to go fishing. Like I always say it's always nice to hit the water when your friends can go. And having a fresh face in the picture would be great. So we called him back to see if he was serious and of course he was. So we loaded up the truck and we moved to Beverly. Stopped off along the way and caught some live shad and piggies, hit the pump and hauled buns to the Island about 10:30 last night. It wasn't long before Justin showed up, and by 11:30 he was into his first red. A nice slot and then another. After a few hard heads some nice gafftop and some choice words about them, he popped off a nice mini bull. But what he wanted was a screamer. Well you know how it goes, the luck of the first timer paid off as usual. Justin got hold of a screamer that was bending that 13 foot rod very well. I told him to keep the line tight and head for the wall stairs to work it up. But that fish had enough meat on it to pull him towards the wall in a manner that told him not to get to close or I will pull you in. It was a fine tug of war between to first timers. The first time Justin caught a big bull red on the beach and the first time that big bull had been hooked. Needless to say they parted ways right at the rocks. We called it a draw. That fish tricked him into thinking he was going to let Justin land him and Justin treated that fish by letting it go before taking a picture of it. That is what October is all about. Tricks and Treats. Come on and fish with us anytime. We would always like to make some new friends.

SEPTEMBER 25-26, The whole month of September we have been going to the surf in Galveston. We have been fishing off of the famed seawall there. Literally off the wall. We just park the truck on the wall and break out the big rods and send them out with bait. My nephews and some of their friends have now officially been introduced to the wonders of September in the surf. Some nights we had the camera and other nights I slipped out without it. Mainly because I did not want momma to know that I was off to the water by going back to the house to get it. There are still a lot of photos that are in the cell phones the kids use these days. They said that they will bring them over and download them into the computer so we can post them here in the DAILY BITE. We caught a little bit of everything off the wall and in the surf during September. We had some nights with trout under the lights early in the month, but it was the big reds that really made the month for all of them. In fact a couple of trips the water was so clear that you could not get a bite. But you could see all of the fish ganged up in front of the rocks in the first trough like you were looking at them in an aquarium. It made for some fun just watching them swimming around. There were spanish macks caught and in good size and numbers each time the sun came up after a long night. The water was so clean during those nights you could actually see the ripples in the sand. But the bull reds were the tops for all of September. Last night was the proof they needed to show them that fishing around the moons cycle of major and minor feeding times is the best way to plan a trip. If you don't know what i am talking about it is the position of the moon from the horizon as it rises and sets and then repeats itself under the earth or our feet. That moon and its position in the sky dictates when the window to catch fish is open and when it is closed.

With only two tides Saturday, we arrived on the end of the incoming tide about 11:00 p.m.. There was an hour or so left of it. The moon was falling to set on the horizon and during that time we could not buy a bite. The window was closing. After that moon dipped below the horizon that window opened again and kept opening wider. The first fish we caught was a hardhead. Then things changed. A couple of reds followed and then three straight sting rays. Each one bigger than the last followed. Robert enjoyed one about 50-60 pounds. After that it was all reds. Big reds! We used shad and finger mullet as well as my favorite live piggie's. It has been like this all month. So if your interested in getting some on your line hit the wall fish the surf and turn yourself red.

Philip, Attached is a picture of a flounder I caught a few years ago on an Original Flounder Pounder. It was caught on a very cold and windy November day. In spite of high winds, I was able to really feel the Pounder as I worked a slack line. All of a sudden -Thud. At first, I thought I was hung up on a log or something. However, I'd never felt such structure where I was fishing. So, I tightened my line and very gently lifted the Pounder off the floor. Then, that second Thump happened. I set the hook hard, and at first I thought I was hung up because it just seemed to stretch my line. I began reeling my line in thinking I was dragging some debri when it took off on me. When I saw it break the water the first time, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then, when I couldn't get it in my net, I started thinking I was about to have one hell of a story, but no fish. You know how that goes. Yea right, sure you did.

Well, I did manage to net it. My son Chris, a TPWD licensed All Water Paddle Craft Fishing Guide, may have told you it weighed in at 12 pounds and was 32 inches long. That was a little bit of a fishing story. It was actually only 31 and 3/4 inches and weighed 11 lbs 14 ounces. Now that was an old hand held scale, but you can see for yourself, it is plenty big.

I look forward to catching many more Flounder in the future, and I know that the Flounder Pounder line will be my first choice. Keep doing what you do. Tony Dial

The stories grampa tells are always the best. Unless your telling them about grampa. Well this one is about Grampa Bob, you see he visits with us each year during the winter. Last year while he was here he bought a boat. This year we were going fishing with him. Our first attempt was last week, before the front hit. Everyone gathered the gear, John, Dale, and Grampa were ready to tear them up. I got there and they had everything hooked up and were ready to go when I said lets do a power check. Well the best laid plans are usually gunned down when you have no power. Someone had left the radio on in the boat and the batteries were dead. Needless to say we had to reschedule for last night. I wanted to treat them to reds on the reefs and trout under the lights. After getting them and the gear all together John and I set off for the water with Grampa and Dale to follow. Grampa had to go back to the house and then Dale got lost on his way to the ramp. With John giving directions we will blame him. After a while we all managed to get in the boat and head out. It was later than expected and with the sun setting the finger mullet were impossible to find on the bait reef. So we decided to make a night of it under the lights. It started off well, we set up, turned on the lights and saw all kinds of bait, and about 10:30 the fish started to show up. I do mean fish as in a singular fish. You see Grampa Bob set the hook on this beatiful 22" trout fishing a Glow white C.T. Mullett. After taking a couple pictures and a few high fives we sat down to tear them up when the fish gods showed their sense of humor. The generator ran out of gas and the light went dead. Needless to say we went for more gas but by the time we returned the bite was over and we were spent. That's alright though because we are taking Grampa Bob again Friday night, and we will be loaded for bear. I just wonder what the bears eat?

August 21- 28- 30,

I tell anglers every year that the fall run starts in June, but they don't seem to grasp the idea to well. Then I tell them the same thing in July and they don't seem to grasp that thought then either. So Then I tell them again in August but they seem to continue thinking that until it gets cold the flounder do not run. Well August 21st and again August 28th a couple of my angling friends took me up on the offer to go flounder fishing. We went straight to the same holes I fish from June thru November and as you can see we found some really nice flounder, in fact we left some even bigger in the water from not having a landing net. As you can see from the photos some of these flounder are as long as my upper torso, they are not your standard dinks. The reason we catch them at this time of the year is because of low pressure systems that drop the barometer but usually not the temperature. That is what happened during this time. We had a August front blow in and it just turned the flounder on. I call it pre-staging. These big flounder sense the barometer drop, think it is fall and then bunch up and begin to move. In June and July it can be a tropical low that triggers them. Those are powerful flounder movers in that the lower the barometer the more the flounder move and feed, and I mean some real big females come out on tropical lows. If you want to catch more flounder start looking for them heavy in June and work your way thru August. Record your catches in a log and you will see a pattern develop before your eyes.

October 19, 2010. I have spent the last two weeks fishing for flounder for the Sea Center of Texas flounder restoration program. I along with the biologists from the center have been putting some good hours of time on the water throwing Pounders for flounder with good results. Over 50 flounder have been turned in with fish to 5-6 lbs for the program.

Today I took a day to fish with Scott Richards and Danny Redick. Our trip was more about teaching them how we have been doing it. Each of these gentlemen work at the Center with the program. But they, just like you also like to fish for the freezer. So we set out to pick a few fish up to eat.

I shared my Shimano's with them and taught them about flipping and pitching flounder structure on short blanks.

Now I have not done this in while so I thought it would be a good thing. After all this is one of the best rewards of going fishing. It is in the eating and fish always taste better if you catch them.

We set out hitting the milk run spots. We never left sight of the dock and we stayed in west Galveston bay in front of and behind the Galveston Causeway. We fished only four spots for flounder.

With the tide falling slowly as we hit the first spot Scott started the day with a nice flounder and I followed with a smaller one. We moved to the next spot and we all hit a small flounder, and then we quickly moved to the farthest hole on our run. That is where things started to look up. Scott picked up flounder in the 3-6 lb range Danny stuck small males and I did too. We released all the small stuff and the biggest ones as well.

They are true sportsmen keeping only enough to make a meal. The Coast Guard witnessed the biggest flounder of the day come along boat side as they were working on the platform we were fishing while they were doing maintenance.

Without a net and being lightly hooked I tried to grab it and it kicked and dove then pulled free. It counts as a sportsman's release since we saw it and I did touch it. What was I thinking, have you ever tried to grab a 5 plus lb flounder with your hands, it just does not work.

We pulled anchor to move around to fish a different side of the structure and had a nice conversation with the Coast Guard men and even passed them a few Pounders to take and fish on the Coast Guard Base bulkheads on there time off.

For our last stop we decided to stop at the Causeway on our way in. The tide had turned to incoming and before we knew it Danny stuck a nice 2-3 lb trout on a Original Pounder in pumpkin chartreuse. I had a C.T. Shad in glow chartreuse on a rod and chunked it about 4 times when a 25 inch trout sucked it up. I asked the guys what time it was and it was 3:10 p.m. and we had to pull anchor to get in. I was going to be late again picking up my daughter from school.

As usual we had to quit just as it was getting started. But hey we all had fun, we all caught fish and best of all we each made new friends that look forward to fishing together again. That is the best part.

Scott said the fish that he caught today were the biggest flounder he had ever caught, and he still was able to let them swim away so that someone else could catch them again. That is what fishing should be about. Pictures will follow soon as I can get them from the camera onto the web so look back soon. If your looking for flounder they are still in the bays, if your after trout look no farther than the Causeway. Lets face it there are fish everywhere right now you just need to get out to catch them. Hope to see you on the water soon.

November 7, 2010 I had a good feeling about today. We had the moon and the tides in our favor. The winds had returned to the southeast over night. We had some major low tides with this passing front and that pulled fish towards the channel. When we started out it was going to be a sure thing.

Guess what? It was! I fished today, forgive me Lord but I spent my day of rest not in your house but in your garden of wonders. I shared it with friends that I invited into it. Today I fished with Rueben Coronado and Paul Gilcrease. Ruben is the Man! at Randy's B-B-Q in Webster. Home of the most tender ribs this side of Eve's. He and Paul are buddies that do there fishing together.Paul drives the big rigs. Honk if you see him on the road. We started out very early, or at least they did. They put in at the Texas City Dike and crossed the bay in the dark. I on the other hand met them at the Galveston Yacht Basin Bait Camp.

I was right on time, about 20 minutes late. We made a long ride of a short trip to our fishing hole and as usual, someone was there. Man you have got to get up early to fish some spots. It was not bad though, plenty of room for us to. Ruben was catching them before the sun was up.

The flounder seemingly were everywhere around the boat. Nothing big but legal solid fish. The other boat was bagging and culling as they went. We simply kept tossing them back in and patiently waited for them to get bigger.

On a gut instinct I pulled up anchor from a hole that was producing very well and made a move. Boy what a call. I simply fell back into the past instantly. I fell into a time when limits did not exist. I could have sat there all day and caught as many flounder as my boxes would hold. It was a true run day waiting to come out full bore.

I even called in backup to help sit on this hole. Lori a Team Pounder staffer was headed into the channel and I called her. On the way in we ran into Mr. and Mrs. James and I sent them looking for the hole with Lori. I understand that they worked them over well on their Pounders.

The fish were coming one after the other all morning. This side of the boat, that side of the boat. It was beautiful man.

It was real walk for me into a past that I was fortunate enough to witness. When I started fishing for flounder in Texas there were no limits set for flounder. Then came 40, and 20, and 10, and 5, and now for one special month each year, it is a mere 2 per day per man. Should it now not be considered a game fish as well if we are to protect it.

We saw plenty of flounder caught all morning, and we caught plenty as well. I would venture to say that it was almost non stop and that more than a few times we had two at a time hooked up.

As they continued moving in the size continued to grow. Though there are still many small fish still showing early on the tide they are mixed in with some quality fish. Be patient for the first few fish because some better ones are going to be showing thru the latter part of the tide stage..

We stopped fishing around 10 a.m. and I was back on the dock and back home in Dickinson before noon. Only our limits were kept and all other fish were released.

Conditions: East by Southeast 10 - 20mph. It did not start that way but was picking up steady. I was told by Lori as she pulled up that it was a real hoot to cut across Jones Lake. Water was clean for the most part. Crew boats in and out of the slips kept some color washing around quite a bit. Tide was going out and we were fishing the very bottom of it. It was a great thing to. But I suspect that the afternoon incoming was really going to be the cats meow. It was after all bringing in 2.8 feet back with it. You know there are holes just for the incoming as well.

Pictures will follow, and there are a lot of them. We photographed the day in style and smiles. It was a great trip.

Lures: Original Flounder Pounders. Glow white and chartreuse tail. Paul found out you don't need to dip them, in fact the color does not matter.

November 8, 2010. I promise you, all you need is a day like today to keep as a memory that will last a lifetime. I had the privilege to fish with S.W.A.T. Team Member Sam James today. Fortunately for us it was Monday. We had a late start and did not get on a hole in the channel until after 9 a.m.

I had to drop off Cierra my daughter at school today. But the weekend warriors had all gone to work. It was as if the flounder were coming out of a faucet. They were running. Sam was very impressive with his Pounders. In fact he found a new favorite. Sam really like's his strawberry white Original.

Today he tried a white pearl and pink Split Tail Tube first. After he pulled a smooth half dozen in and released them, he tried a Curly Tail Tube in white pearl and chartreuse. Sam really liked that one, even commented he may have a new favorite best color. In the end he was throwing his strawberry again.

I on the other hand threw glow chartreuse, white chartreuse, pumpkin chartreuse, avocado chartreuse, and whatever else was laying around.

It was a horse race to the end. I think Sam caught the most but the fish gods smiled on me with the big one. I figure it was in the 5 lb range. The picture does not show it's size well because we did not want the world to see us. There were eye's on us at this hole. This trip was mostly catch and release with lots of photos. We had to stop early so I could pick up my love bug from school. I did not want to be late. I was. Got caught by the 2:30 at the railroad tracks and did not get passed it until 3:20. Heck Sam Passed me up while I was getting gas afterwards and he left 30 minutes behind me from the dock. There are so many fish and never enough time. Sam We have to do this again and soon. It was a blast.

Conditions: Beautiful weather. Southeast winds light. Water was clean but barges and dredging sent color along in patches. Tide was outgoing all morning and afternoon as well. Once again completely off predictions. Moon was extremely favorable.

Lures: Flounder Pounders in Curly Tail Tubes, Split Tail Tubes, and Originals. Multiple colors were used as well.

November 12th, 2010

Hey Phil,

Got off work this past Friday the 12th and decided to hit the water for a littlle flounder action. I got on the water around 6:00 pm and hit one of my local spots not too far from the dock. The tide was incoming and the water looked nice and green where I was fishing. After about an hour and no fish in the boat I decided it was time to bust a move. I headed further up the channel and decided to try another spot where I had some pretty good luck last weekend. I got anchored and made the first cast.....guess what? I put flounder number one in the boat. I was thinking....things are looking up. I made another cast, another cast, another cast, so on and so on. An hour has gone by and no more bites. Next thing I know its a little after 8:00 and bam....fish number two in the boat. I got him in the live well which is pumped up with oxygen from my Oxygen Response System with fish number one and made another cast. Bam....Two cast, two fish in a row. Things are looking up. Ok...I'm going for strike 3 and made another cast....I couldn't believe it....3 cast in a row and 3 fish. This fish was in the same size range so I put him right back in the water. I was thinking to myself.....cast #4.....will there be another one? Lets find out.....bam! Fish #4 in the boat. I culled again and put this one in the box. Ok....how long can this go on? Well I have to tell you....It quit when I ran out fingers to count on, and yes I have all 10 fingers. I couldn't believe it.....10 cast and 10 fish. Then it was like somebody turned the light switch off. I fished till about 10:00 and decided to call it a night. All in all it was worth the trip. I definitely believe there was more fish to be caught, but I was by myself and they were hitting it as fast as I could get it back in the water. My "Flounder Pounder" that is.

Have a great one and I will see you guys Monday evening, Curtis Anderson.

Sunday December 19, 2010 Forgive me Lord, I was not in your house today, but a friend invited me into your garden of wonders. Your blessings are many and I thank you for sharing them with me. My friends are amazed at the gifts that you give. For these many blessings Lord I give you my soul and thank you for the gift of everlasting life. Amen.

It was an invitation to fish. I try not to turn those down if I can. But this invitation was different, it came from a S.W.A.T club member. I have to say it every chance I get about this club, it has a fantastic group of members. They truly look forward to fishing and they are glad to take folks with them. My personal invitation came from Charles Gage, a rough and tumble kind of fisherman. He has more stories than I do, they are just about different things. But they are interesting in every detail.

At the Christmas party the club had we were guests and the invitation came then, I did not think I could do it so close to the holidays. You know how it is this time of year, family, shopping, travel, gatherings. Who can make time for fishing. Bless Sara, my wife. She said I could go as long as I was home to cook dinner for our family gathering.

Man I am a lucky fisherman. Mr. Gage told Joe and I he had redfish corralled up the bay. Up the bay where Mr. Gage? Well I found out Sunday morning. You know I do not travel to fish much anymore, and when I met him at Randy's BBQ in Webster at 8 a.m. he started my day off with a venison sausage and egg sandwich, with just a hint of salsa. Then we went to load his boat on the truck and away we went.

Now I have lived in the coastal area for 30 years, and the roads he traveled to get to his launch site were as new to me as Cierra my daughter when she was born. When we arrived at the ramp there were maybe 4 boats launched and not one in sight. He said he had this hole all to himself for weeks and I was beginning to believe him.

When Mr. Gage was ready to launch he backed down the ramp, jumped out and I went to unlatch the bow hook and he said no don't do that. He had some slick pads on the trailer rails that just let the boat fall off the trailer, I mean literally fall off the trailer on its own power and drop in the water. I want me some for my next boat.

After that we set off for the glory hole. I can't tell you where he took me, not just because he asked me not to, but because I did not know where we were. I had not been there or anywhere near there before in all my years of fishing the coast.

After a very brief run on the water, Mr. Gage pulled up to an idle and said we are here. He threw in the trolling motor and set it on low and said Phil, we have been throwing onto the land and dragging it into the water to the ledge and dropping it down to them. He only made a few half hearted cast's as we started down the bank. I tied on a C.T. Mullet in blue grape with heavy silver flake and a black back. It was some drippings leftover from a custom run for a good customer who owns Quality Glass in Brenham, Tx.

I don't think I made 15 cast's when the first redfish nailed it. Mr. Gage set his rod in the holder, smiled and said what do you think? All I could do was tie on a different color bait, smile, and set to casting again. He simply ran the trolling motor and pointed out where to cast and son of a gun, bam, here, bam there, bam everywhere. It truly was a redfish corral.

I have not had the pleasure of sitting and fishing without sharing knowledge, or technique, or location in so long I had forgot how good it feels to just go and fish. Let me say it this way, I had the time of my life fishing with Mr. Gage Sunday. Please don't get me wrong, I find most of my angling pleasure sharing my knowledge with anyone interested in learning to fish. I look forward to teaching or instructing anglers to help them catch more fish. But today Mr. Gage let me enjoy myself in a way I have not done in over twenty years.

Thank you Mr. Gage for a trip that not only still has me smiling, but that I have not stopped talking about yet. It was a trip that is a memory forever and one to share anytime it is time to tell a fishing story.

By the way, everyone that I have told this story to has asked me where the action took place, and I have told them the truth. It was in the water and I caught each one of them in the lip.

I can't say this enough or often enough, the anglers at the S.W.A.T. fishing club are fishermen. Knowledgeable and dedicated. I am privileged to know them and even more privileged to get to fish with them.