In this situation, the tide is more important than time of day. In fact, on a recent outing with Tripp, we had a low tide at 1:00 p.m. on a hot, cloudless day. We moved between the prime drops and in the next hour, boated a number of trout, including fish of 5 1/2 and 7 1/2-pounds!

ANCLOTE KEY
Shifting to the Gulf Coast, you won’t find as many 8-pound-plus seatrout as on the Atlantic side. But there are still plenty of trout to be caught. And the New Port Richey area is one of the prime regions for the action. It offers a wealth of offshore grassbeds, shallow flats and connecting rivers that form a very fertile environment. Though the trout may not run as big on the Gulf, this area has seen a steady increase in the numbers of 5- to 7-pound speckled trout over the last few years.

It’s a large area for anglers to sift through. However, those who wish to zero in on one of the prime spots won’t go wrong if they concentrate their efforts around Anclote Key.

This is the first major barrier island off the coast -- and a magnet for big trout during the April to May period. The waters surrounding the key are nothing more than a big shallow grassflat, bisected by a few deeper channels and dotted with deeper potholes. The environment is large and rich, and it is located just 4 to 5 miles from the public Anclote Boat Ramp.

The grassflats are extensive, and the trout can roam widely on a high tide. That’s one reason why veteran key anglers rate it as one of the best locales to fish on a low tide.

The reason for that is simple: There isn’t a lot of deeper water for the trout to use. They pretty much have to stack up in the deeper troughs and potholes that then remain when the tide bottoms out.

There are a lot of such potholes on the bayside of Anclote Key and extending up to Dutchman Key. A number of them are reachable by a shallow draft boat on even the lowest tide, but some aren’t. Those, however, can be reached by anchoring the boat and wading. Under such conditions you can end up literally shooting fish in a barrel.

This fishing doesn’t require a large lure selection. Topwater lures produce early and late, but a 4- to 5-inch soft-plastic tail on a 1/8-ounce jighead can often be the most productive at any time. Try electric chicken, pearl while or clear with silver-flake color patterns.

On a rising tide, the fish leave the potholes. But savvy anglers don’t move too far from those depressions. Look for white sand holes on the flats adjacent to the potholes, and you’re likely to find the ambush points that bigger trout are using on the flood tide.

SUWANNEE SOUND
Stretching between the Suwannee River mouth and Cedar Key, the Suwannee Sound is fed by a maze of inflowing tidal creeks that open onto shallow oyster flats leading to deeper-water grassbeds. This is a rich trout habitat throughout the year. And while it doesn’t produce as many trophy trout as some other areas, it’s one of the top spots in the state when it comes to numbers of quality fish.

Late spring and early summer are prime times to fish it, but anglers need to divide this period into two distinct phases.