Humidity fills the ocean air as two anglers skip across the grease-slick flats of Florida in the predawn hours. Seasoned tarpon fishermen, they know they must get out to their destination before the sun rises in order capitalize on the low-light conditions. As their boat settles off plane, the sun illuminates that evening's thunderclouds - still 80 miles off shore - from behind the cloak of the horizon.

The area they've chosen is nondescript from the surface but below the bottom undulates, like the dunes of the Sahara, from 3 to 8 feet in depth. But this is no desert.

Their Power Pole planted in the sand, the anglers ply the water with four eyes watching for the tell-tale sign of their quarry - a dorsal fin or tail creating a discontinuity in the slick surface.

Minutes pass until the tide finally starts its cyclical movement. The current builds and funnels water towards the anglers' waiting boat. Then, without warning, the first dorsal fin appears. Within seconds the gin-clear water is filled with tarpon porpoising the surface in search of food.

With great accuracy, one angler fires his Aurora Gold Pointer 128 ahead of and to the side of an approaching silver giant. Two fast jerks and the bait is at depth - now it's a waiting game. As the giant approaches, the angler slowly reels, imparting a slight side-to-side wobble to the bait. The fish turns on the bait, gills flare, the line jumps and the angler is fast on to his first tarpon of the day.

This scenario is one anglers worldwide dream of. The sheer size, power and surface acrobatics of the tarpon are the source of many an adrenaline rush.

In this installment of the Lucky Craft Journal, we sat down and talked inshore tarpon with two of the most revered inshore anglers, and Lucky Craft pro-staffers, Bryan and Greg Watts. In this article, they discuss the tactics and tackle they use for hunting the giant tarpon of inshore waters.

Timing is Everything

Although most anglers are aware that tides influence fish movement and activity, the Watts brothers have taken it to another level.

"Water movement is very important to fish activity but we've found there are other important aspects that will put the odds in your favor when fishing tarpon," Bryan said. "For example, there is no better time than the break of day. Couple the break of day with good tidal movement and you've just stacked the odds in your favor."

But, don't think that just because you have these two parameters covered you'll catch fish. There's more to the equation.

"You have to have knowledge of where fish will position on the flats with respect to the tide," Greg said. "The fish will set up in different areas depending on if there's an outgoing or incoming tide. So, even if you're out at the crack of dawn and have good water movement, you must know what areas are likely to position fish or you could be in an area void of fish."

So, what tide is best? Each brother has his own opinion.

"As long there's water movement, I'm happy," Bryan said.

"Personally I like an incoming tide," Greg added. "That's where my confidence is and it's what I like over years of studying my results."

"Moon phase also plays a major role in fish activity due to the fact that the highest and lowest tides are on a full and new moon," Bryan said. "At these times, there is just more fish movement and that increases your chance of catching more fish. For example, on a half or 3/4 moon we may only catch 4 or 5 tarpon a day but on a full or new moon, those numbers could be as high as 12 to 15.

"If you only have a few days to fish, it's best to schedule your trip around the moon phase to increase your chances of success."

Tactics and Terrain

"The best water for this type of fishing is calm water," Greg said. "We're sight fishing these fish and the only evidence you have that a fish is in the area is when its tail or dorsal fin breaks the surface. Any chop on the water and you won't see that disturbance."

"We're also looking for areas that have a lot of bait," Bryan added. "Baitfish like pilchards and threadfin along with crabs. We also want the bait to be active in the water."

Bottom composition is also an important aspect in their quest.

"There are portions of the flats that have bumps, almost like whoopdeedos, and these are the areas we target," Bryan said. "The water in these areas will go from 4- to 8-feet deep but they won't be abrupt drops. Look for long grass points and sand bars with a long slope that enter into the deeper water - these could be key spots to look at."

"They're really channels that run across the flats and you want to be on the edge of these channels to intercept the fish as they migrate along them," Greg added. "And the harder the tide is moving the more these fish group up.

"They're feeding on baitfish and crabs that are falling off the weeds."

Boat position is a factor but it's more of a waiting game for them.

"We're not staying on the trolling motor for any length of time," Greg said. "We go to an area, slide in and wait with our Power Pole down in the sand. These fish are very susceptible to noise and will spook easily."

"Once we're in the area we both get on the front deck and look for sign," Bryan said. "We have four yes working constantly. The fish will get in these areas and mill around and if you sit there long enough, you'll get your chance.

"These fish run in packs and if you're in the right area and the conditions are right, you could have anywhere from 20 to 200 fish in one small spot."

Tackle

"Our bait of choice for this type of fishing is a Pointer 100 and 128," Greg said. "These baits are perfectly designed for this type of fishing because they suspend perfectly and that's important.

"What we'll do is spot a fish that is moving in the direction of the boat and cast so the bait will intercept its path. Once it lands, give the bait two hard jerks and then let it rest. If the fish doesn't move for the bait as it suspends, slowly start reeling - just enough to give it a good side-to-side wobble. The important thing here is you need to make the cast so the bait is moving the same direction the fish is - if it moves towards the fish, it'll spook it. As long as the bait is moving away from the fish, he'll eat it."

"One thing anglers need to realize is the bite isn't an aggressive hit," Greg added. "It's just a light tick so you have to watch your line, the fish and feel if the line gets light or heavy. If any of these things happen, set the hook."

Although the Pointer has the perfect action and suspending qualities needed for tarpon, the Watts brothers tweak the bait slightly to ensure their hookups result in caught fish.

"The action of the bait is perfect but when you're chasing possible 100-pound fish, you need hooks that'll hold," Bryan said. "What we do is change out both the front and back hooks with 4-extra strong #2 Gamakatsu trebles. The center hook is left alone on the Pointer 128s.

"These fish are very color sensitive," Greg added. "This is where Lucky Crafts colors shine. In the dark hours of the morning or if its cloudy, we throw Aurora Gold and then when the sun breaks we throw Ghost Minnow. Ghost Minnow represents the baitfish color closer than anything else."

Their line choice is very specific to this type of fishing.

"We use a leader system that we've worked on for years," Bryan said. "It starts out with 14 to 16 inches of 60- to 80-pound test fluorocarbon line. Then we attach that to 4 feet of 30- to 40-pound fluorocarbon line using an Albright Special knot. From there we attach this line to 30-pound Spider Wire Stealth braid with a double uni knot.

"An important tip when tying the double uni knot is to double the braid before tying the knot," Greg said. "I just double my line for this but Bryan likes to tie a Bimini twist for his double line."

"The reason the double line is important is it helps bite the fluorocarbon line better," Bryan said. "We've found over the years that when we don't double the braid, our knots slip. We haven't lost a fish in over ten years with this knot."

The knot they use to connect the forward leader to the bait is a standard loop knot.

Rods and reels are another consideration.

"We've been using Lucky Craft's flipping sticks for this application," Greg said. "They have a light enough tip to throw these baits yet enough backbone to control a big fish.

"The rods we use are the 800MHXXF," he said. "They are a medium-heavy power extra-fast action rod rated for 10- to 30-pound test line."

"People laugh when they see our reels," Bryan added. "We're still using the good old ABU 5600 reels - they're bullet proof and handle this application just fine if taken care of."

Conclusion

"We hope these tips help the tarpon angler get on more fish," Greg said. "They're tried and true tactics and presentations that have helped us over the years."

"Anglers also need to expand their horizons and try baits like the Lucky Craft Pointer series for their inshore fishing," Bryan added. "The finish on the lure is so lifelike and their actions and suspending ability will definitely put more fish in the boat for any angler."