In the south end of the Biscayne, off the shoreline at Mercy Hospital, are some good grassbeds that go from 2 feet deep down to 6 or 8 feet. On a high outgoing tide, the trout roam these flats in search of food. You can catch them on live shrimp under a popping cork drifted over the grass. They also readily hit plastic grubs fished on jigheads in the popular electric chicken color pattern. Trout Touts in red-and-white are also popular options for fooling the seatrout.

Find the edge of the channel coming out of the Coral Gables Waterway south of Miami and be there at dead high tide. Big "tide-running" trout can often be taken along that channel edge.

Farther south, just beyond Matheson Hammock, grassbeds extend out into the bay, to 6- or 8-foot depths. These grassbeds hold trout, but the area is more difficult to drift. Often the prevailing southeast wind sends your boat right to the shore. This is a site where a trolling motor comes in handy. Live shrimp as well as plastic baits can be fished here.

Along this shoreline, the entrances to Snapper Creek and Gables by the Sea also provide dredged channel edges to target. Large trout can be found here early in the day and late in the afternoon, especially in conjunction with a high tide.

Some more grassflats surround the entrance to Kings Bay near the old Cutler Power Plant at Chicken Key. These flats hold fish and are good for drifting.

At the other end of Biscayne Bay -- north of Government Cut -- there is more boat traffic and more urbanization. Don't let that run you off. The grassbeds there are loaded with bait, and that means predator fish like seatrout are likely nearby. In fact, many people believe that the larger "gator" trout are more common in the north end of the bay.

SEBASTIAN INLET
Midway up Florida's east coast, Sebastian Inlet is known mainly for the snook and tarpon it produces, especially at night. But this time of year, the grassbeds inside and to the north and south of the inlet also produce large numbers of trout.

Schools of finger mullet make their way through the inlet and into the Indian River by this time of year, and remain here through the summer. At high tide, the grassflats are covered up with these schools, and they are easily spotted swimming on the surface all across the flats.

On these grassflats, topwater plugs are the order of the day. At high tide, move as far up on the flats as you can and fish your way back off with the current. The trout get up in the shallow grass to feed. As the tide moves out and the water drops, the fish move as well.

At low tide, the trout are found along ledges of the channels at the edge of the flats. They can still be caught; you just need to adjust your bait from a topwater to a jig-and-grub combo or live bait.