Backwater Tour Company

Things cooling off...a bit

2012-01-30T21:44:00.000-05:00

The last few days have brought some frigid temps, we actually got down to almost 40 degrees out! The front that moved through brought some stiff wind and caused the fish to move into unexpected places, so it has taken some extensive scouting to find quality bites. I don't mind a challenge, though, and it has paid off with big fish on almost every day this week. Here's a pic from yesterday, this one a tad too big to keep:

I'll be back on the water with trips booked almost every day this week, so check back for updates!

A long, cold winter?

2012-01-26T20:14:00.000-05:00

The middle of January and it's almost 80 degrees outside! That's made for some comfortable days on the water. The warmer weather has kept me busy fishing almost every day...although I did get last Sunday off for some Playoff football with my son :)

Here's a few random shots from the last several days, I've had clients from Minnesota to Maine to California and right here in Florida!

Greatest Redfishing of the Year!

2012-01-12T22:11:00.000-05:00

The colder days of winter are bringing some of the best sight fishing conditions of the year to our area. This is the time of year when the cooler water temps kill off all the algae in the water and provide "gin" clear visibility on the flats! The clear water also bring the smaller schools of Reds together into super-sized schools numbering in the hundreds. This behavior is for protection as the fish feel more exposed to predatory birds such as large ospreys and the Bald Eagle. You will find most flats without much traffic on the colder days, and if you take your time on the trolling motor or push pole a school or 2 is bound to cross paths within casting range. Here's a few pics from some "school chasing".

Here's one on and one in the boat:

...And the second half of the double-up:

More updates to come!

Flounder in the Fall

2011-11-23T20:01:00.000-05:00

This is typically the best time of year to get hooked up on a doormat, and this year has had some great days for flounder-and some tough days as well. We have luckily had the ever-present Redfish to keep things interesting when the flatties shut down.

We lost some great fish near the boat on this trip, but here's one that didn't get away! This was a fun crew, days like these don't seem like work...we got "up close and personal" with some native wildlife (inside joke:)

FAT Redfish!

2011-11-04T14:46:00.001-04:00

This 42 inch Red was caught recently in the flats! We were fishing in about a foot of water near Devil's Elbow, and this pig hit a popping cork rig on 10 pound test! This was Joe's first Redfish, so I had break the news that the rest of the fish we were gonna catch would be "little 6 pounders" ;)

Afternoon delight!

2011-10-11T19:34:00.000-04:00

This was an afternoon trip for some redfish for the dinner table. Another father and son team, youth beats out experience again with a monster oversized fish to go with a beautiful sunset out of Devils Elbow.

Cobe&Red...'nuff said!

2011-09-27T16:03:00.003-04:00

Still playing catch up on video editing for this summer, here's another typical summer trip from this year. A morning beach run chasing manta rays followed by slamming the redfish in the afternoon!

September Flood Reds!

2011-09-19T17:50:00.001-04:00

It's that time of year again, when the new moon brings beastly high tides to Northeast Florida. These "spring" tides (the name for a higher than normal tide) come every fall, and usually occur around the new moon. Any east or northeast wind can also raise the water during the days between the new moons. If you are looking at the local tide charts, any tide above a 5.1 can produce a good flood. A 4.5 or better combined with a hard wind can also bring on water that would have the resident wildlife lining up two by two! No matter if the flood is predicted (by chart) or unexpected (pushed up by wind), the Redfish know it's coming, and they can't wait to storm the grass and chow down! This is the best time of year to find our resident fish tailing like mad, and fishing for these bruisers is more akin to hunting than fishing. You get to see your fish before you make your cast, and it is not unusual to make multiple casts at the same fish before you trick him into slamming your lure. Here's a little video from the other day, we have the boat poled up on a grass field that sees water just a handful of days out of the year. This was Malcom's first flood tailer, caught on his first flood trip!

We are using scented Gulp! baits with Mustad weedless hooks for pulling through the grass, but any soft plastic/weedless combo will work just as effectively. The key to success is presentation, not specific lure type or color. The best technique is to cast at least five feet beyond the fish and pull the bait slowly back to the fish. Spooked fish may only move a few feet and start tailing again, or they may bolt off the flat altogether. We often fish from the boat, but wading can sometimes be the best and only way to get to fish working in seven inches or less of water. The biggest floods of the year are right around the corner, so get ready to chase some tail!

Summer Cobia!

2011-09-19T10:03:00.001-04:00

2011 brought one of the longest lasting cold water upwellings in a decade, with water temps in the 70s throughout the "dog days" of this year. While this can make for tough Tarpon fishing, the Cobia bite is a pleasant option! Sightfishing is the name of the game-accurate casting is a must to get the larger fish. Here's a little video of some fantastic beach fishing right out of Matanzas Inlet.

Summer Cobia fishing in St Augustine from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

Father's Day In August?

2011-08-28T23:54:00.001-04:00

While officially one day a year in June, most of us dads like to take time out of our hectic schedules and spend some one-on-one time with our sons. There is no better place than out on the water, away from everybody with nothing but God's greatest work to surround us. Here's to Father's Day, any day we can make it!

Mike & Austin 2011 from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

Rockin Redfish

2011-08-03T22:02:00.000-04:00

The ridiculous redfish bite continues, we have boated literally HUNDREDS of reds in the last 6 weeks. This has been a summer for slamming reds like we haven't seen in years. Usually in summer we don't find the big schools, but this year we have found them packed up in 500+ fish wads! This video was shot on one of the slowest bites of the summer, and we still boated 4 studs and a couple of rats. Enjoy!

Matt & friends from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

Punkin Chunkin!

2011-07-30T20:32:00.000-04:00

Latest video report, just another day slamming the local redfish! This group got 26 reds all over 24 inches, all the way up to 30 inches! Just another day in the greatest office on Earth!

Punkin Chunkin! from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

Latest pics!

2011-07-19T16:51:00.000-04:00

A few shots from last week, we have been slamming fish every day! Stay tuned for more videos coming soon!

Lastest video update...

2011-06-28T17:11:00.000-04:00

This was from this past week, just another day slamming monster fish! We caught all reds over five pounds including one oversized fish. This was Melody's first time catching redfish, I think she got the hang of it:

Melody&Jordan from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

Redfish Express Rolls On!

2011-06-26T23:41:00.000-04:00

The Reds have been biting like crazy all month long! Here's some random shots from the past 2 weeks...

Rod bendin' Drag screamin....well, you get the point!

2011-06-13T17:45:00.001-04:00

I took out this family group for a fun fishing trip and we put a hurtin on some of the ol' Red Draggins! The enthusiasm of this gang was absolutely contagious! There was no way not to have fun when everybody enjoys slamming fish like this! I don't know which was better, watching each of them get nearly spooled or the slam-dunk in the net by Alan!

Just another day at the ol coal mine for me ;)

Alan & Family from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

The good times just roll...

2011-06-03T00:34:00.000-04:00

What a wonderful day on the water...we went to a backwater flat and limited out with 3 reds totaling over 20 pounds and then took a cruise around historic Matanzas Inlet enjoying great weather and great scenery. This was a "well traveled" group that had some amazing stories to tell.

I now have had the video camera for about a month, and still have more footage to get edited and up on the blog. We have been slamming the fish inshore and I have shot more than 60 slot and up reds being caught in the last 4 weeks alone! I'm still on the "learning curve" and I hope to improve the vids as I keep adding them. Enjoy!

Henderson Boys from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

Great days, good times!

2011-05-31T11:27:00.000-04:00

A great trip last week with a mix of locals and friends from across the country. I couldn't ask for a better group of guys to take out on a wonderful spring day, with an ex-Charger and 2 retired "CHiPs"

Bruce and friends from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

Pictures are worth 1000 words

2011-05-26T17:19:00.000-04:00

Just a few random shots from the last couple weeks

First Trip for Redfish

2011-05-23T18:32:00.000-04:00

We made a trip out on the beach looking for cobes, no brown bombers this trip so we ran inshore for some reds since niether Deb or Irv had ever caught a red. Well we broke them in right with about a half dozen fish over 6 pounds- I bet they'll be giving inshore fishing another try real soon!

Deb & Irv from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

Like father, like son...

2011-05-20T18:09:00.000-04:00

Just another spring day on the water, this father & son tag-teamed on some great redfish-I think the smallest one they got was over 5 pounds!

Del & Chase from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

Fletch and Sons

2011-05-10T19:57:00.000-04:00

This was a day for the boys with Fletch, Fletcher, Ben, and Seth. What a great day to be on the water!

Fletch and family from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

New video reports!

2011-05-10T01:34:00.000-04:00

We have been shooting video on some of our trips this month, and I have been working on improving the look of the blog, as well as improving the information that will be posted. Standard "hold-up" shots will still be included from time to time, but I want to add some additional elements to the blog to add more interest. Here's a video shot last week fishing inshore St Augustine, we tried to run the beach for some ling but rough seas sent us back to the flats for some redfish action. We lost count after 10 upper slot fish and caught 'em till we were tired!

Carl & Co from Matt Valliere on Vimeo.

2011-04-09T12:05:00.002-04:00

Under construction...

We are making changes and adding new features this spring, stay tuned for updates!

November update...

2010-12-26T15:17:00.000-05:00

November 2010, thoughts of fishing mingle with the promise of great food come Thanksgiving! This year we have quite a bit to be thankful for, like a healthy family, great friends, and fantastic fishing! This year has brought a string of great clients like never before. I have always said that fishing attracts optimists, because we are always excited at the prospect of the unknown, and in awe of God's work as we enjoy nature's playground.

This trip we were lucky to have the rain fall everywhere but on us...but what did fall were the Reds, a total of 12 great upper slot fish in under 3 hours!

What a crew on this day! Great weather, great conversation, and great fishing-can you ask for more? This was the Bayou crew from Louisiana, and these ladies know how to fish!

This was part of a 2 boat trip with Captain Chris Herrera. Despite tough conditions we still managed to get a keeper for everyone!

Another 2 boat trip with Captain Chris, and we spanked 'em good with everyone boating multiple keepers. Gotta love hungry Redfish!

See ya next month!

Red October!

2010-12-26T14:43:00.000-05:00

This is the month of change in 2010! This year the cooler temps seem to be rolling in earlier than usual, and that has the mullet on the move...which keeps the fish on the move as well. We kicked off this month fishing the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Red-Trout Classic. This is a fun catch-and-release tournament that raises funds and awareness for a worthy cause. This year I hosted one of the sponsors Graham Medical. While the trout eluded us on tournament day, we did catch a slew of quality Redfish...

Rod bent...

With good results!

Another bent rod...

With a similar outcome!

Day 2 was a bit chillier (brrrrrrrr!) but the fish didn't seem to mind at all. We used the same tactics as day one and got all our fish from the same flats.

We stayed pretty busy this month chasing our usual fall prey, the fish have been chewing like crazy and I couldn't find a bait they would refuse! I love when they cooperate like this and it makes my job all the easier... here's a few shots from "Red October" 2010

September "Flood Fever"

2010-10-24T19:37:00.000-04:00

Finally one of my favorite times of the year is here! September brings cooler days, migrating bait, and best of all we get the fall "spring" tides. "Spring" tides are tides that rise higher than any other time of the year. coinciding with the full and the new moons we get tides rising more than 1 to 2 feet higher than normal. This causes fields of grass to cover with water that normally never get wet. In turn, the redfish charge onto these "ponds" and tail up like no other time of the year. We usually find the fish feeding most aggressively in the first days of these tides, and sight casting to a dozen or more fish in a day is common. This is one of my favorite ways to fish for reds and this year was outstanding.

A prime example of sightcasting quarry...

Nice shoulders on that one!

Double fisting...

low tide works too!

Redapalooza!

August "Dog Days"

2010-10-24T19:24:00.000-04:00

August is our hottest month of the year for both the anglers as well as the fish. Water temps exceed 90 degrees on the flats, and staying on fish can be a daily challenge. We had a few slow days this month, but still managed to catch fish on every trip. Here's a few shots of some catches this month:

Nice trout...

Followed by a nice red!

Jack Attack!

See you next month...

July "Dog Days"

2010-08-11T15:36:00.000-04:00

Now things are starting to "heat up" inshore, with water temps exceeding 80 degrees daily. Locating feeding fish has been challenging with air temperatures approaching 100 degrees and little rain for this time of year. Despite the tough conditions, we have been able to locate quality fish almost every day, but the number of catches has fluctuated daily. Redfish has been our go-to when other fish have been less than cooperative.

Quality reds have been feeding well throughout the month, making the hot weather seem less oppressive. We also had a few late cobes this month, always welcome at the end of a line...

And of course, we have began our Tarpon season. Smaller fish inshore (10-50 pounds) and larger specimens outside the 100 pound mark on the beaches.

And to round out the species list for this month we can't forget our great flounder fishery. This year has been slower than some, but we have still managed quite a few quality sized fish with decent numbers.

What a month it's been! We'll be updating the blog soon, but I thought I would close out with a youngsters very first redfish. I think his smile says it all...

June Fishing

2010-08-11T12:26:00.000-04:00

What a cobia run in 2010! We had some of the best sight fishing conditions in years, with great weather almost every day. What we have during this month is increasing water temperatures that bring in the great Manta Rays. (Hard to see in this pic, note the 2 dark shadows in front of the angler)

These are plankton-feeders that migrate onto our coastline in search of abundant food. It is not the rays that we are after, though. It is the cobia that come with them...

We logged over 140 cobes this month, with quite a few other springtime catches as well..

That was the elusive Tripletail, not a tastier fish swimming in my opinion! What a month, after one of the coldest winters since 1996 we had a great start to the 2010 summer season!

2010-02-20T17:04:00.000-05:00

Welcome! We will be adding reports, pictures, and local tips soon. Check back for the latest info.

Welcome!

2010-02-04T14:34:00.001-05:00

This is our new blog -- check back soon and we'll be posting lots of great info about tours and fishing in the area!