Moon + tides = flounder

 

If you are interested in getting in on the flounder run, Capt. Jack McPartland (361-290-6302) says the action has been pretty good along the middle coast. “At this time of the year when we are having the run, almost any shoreline on a channel should be holding flounder. Quite often we go out and limit out in an hour.

In Port Aransas, according to McPartland, the moon effects when the floundering is going to be best. “If we have an early moon, coming up by 5:00 p.m. and setting at 2:00 a.m., usually around 2:00 is the best.

“In Port Aransas the tides matter a little more. Rockport and Ingleside are so far from Port A we don’t have a massive tide movement so I am not sure whether they are going to move or not. When you get so far from the jetties, the only way you can know if there is tidal movement is by watching the grass and see if it is moving. It’s real subtle, not like a rush tide.

“We don’t have a major tide shift in Estes Flats, it’s a subtle tide so it doesn’t mean when the tide is coming in they will be here.

Is there a good time to leave the docks? “That’s up to the moon and tidal movement,” says McPartland. “Last night the flounder didn’t move until almost the moon coming up, so tonight we are not going to meet until 8:30. Ideal is meeting at the ramp at sundown.”