Areas like this abound in Government Cut, but savvy anglers have learned that it can often pay to do some looking before they start fishing. The waters in this area are more turbid than many other top trout spots, and trout like cleaner water. Finding the clearest water first can be a key to finding a lot of trout.

Even the "clearest" water here is stained, and Tripp is a big believer in darker colors on plastic jigs. He favors the Rip Tide Shrimp on a 1/4-ounce jig head and opts for smoke, smoke with glitter and root beer shades. In more turbid waters the fish need to see the bait.

The same applies to crankbaits and 5- or 6-inch hard plastic jerkbaits that can get down in the 4- to 5-foot range. These are deadly on bigger trout holding on the deeper drops.But, forget subtle baitfish imitations and go gaudy! A chrome-sided plug with a fluorescent blue back and either a fluorescent orange or chartreuse belly stripe is a good choice. These colors have to be added via nail polish, but the more obnoxious the hues, the more likely it is to trigger a strike from a big, drop-holding trout. Both the previously mentioned 5- and 7-pound fish ate these gaudy plugs, while jigs fished in the same area took nothing but smaller trout.

To book Capt. Scott Trip for a day of guided trout fishing, call him at (386) 427-3499.

MIDDLE KEYS BONEFISH
The Florida Keys can be scorching this month, and not only for the weather! This is also one of the hotter months to sight cast for bonefish on shallow flats. While these Gray Ghosts are well distributed throughout the Keys, for a number of reasons you need to concentrate your efforts between Long and Cudjoe keys.

One reason is the diversity of habitat. On the Florida Bay side of upper Long Key are such fabled bonefish hotspots as Buchanan and Arsnicker keys. Moving down the string of islands towards Big Pine, a single strand of smaller keys borders the Hawk Channel and keeps the ocean-side flats scrubbed to clean, firm sand that is ideal for the wading anglers. At the same time, there are enough bayside flats and humps to please boaters. That lengthy strand is the only cover for miles, and bones use both sides.

When one gets to the Big Pine Key area, a wealth of bayside and ocean-side flats and smaller keys prove a magnet for bones. It's a bonefish rich area and one that anglers can experience in several ways.

Regardless of which side of the keys you're on, bonefish move up onto skinny water flats and humps to feed on a rising tide, and drop back to deeper channels on falling water. Timing the tide is a key for sight fishermen and the period from the mid-to-full incoming tide is definitely the time to be on the water.

Rigging for flats-cruising bones is simple: a 6- to 7-foot, light-action spinning set up, spooled with 6- to 8-pound clear monofilament is the tool of choice. The reel should carry a minimum of 220 yards of line, and a bit more is better. The first run of a big bonefish is sizzling!

On the business end, some anglers favor a small spade-head jig in a brown-and-green crab color combination. This is best tipped with a small piece of shrimp, or a shrimp-flavored Fish Bite strip. Others opt for a plain 1/0 short shank hook and thread a shrimp onto it. Both work and either is heavy enough to cast accurately without additional weight.