Booked a last minute 6 hour trip for my girlfriend and I. She hung out on the boat and I fly fished the whole time. Tommy was a great guy to hang out with, we both felt safe and comfortable the whole time, and we both had a ton of fun.

I was hesitant to book a trip with any of the San Juan tarpon guide services after seeing pictures of bleeding adult tarpon dragged into the boat and laying across peoples laps. Tarpon deserve respect! I chose to go with Backwater Fly Fishing Charters because they were the only guys who left the big fish in the water, handling and releasing them safely!

Fishing with Captain Tommy was great. We were on fish the whole time, we got plenty of bites, and we landed multiple tarpon on fly. Beyond that, I could Captain Tommy loves and respects tarpon, and I learned a lot about chasing tarpon with a fly!

For tourists fishing bait who just want to pull on big fish, I’m sure these guys are great.

For real fly fishermen who want the complete experience and who care about the fish, this is 110% the guys to go with.

He was great.  Put me on fish right from the start.  He even went into the water to get my first ever tarpon wrapped around a mangrove root.  End of the trip hooked up with a large fish.  Way more power than the trout I normally fly fish.  Several other opportunities in between.  I look forward to fishing with him again.

While other boats were searching from place to place with their lines out of the water, Capt Clery had us patiently anchored in the right spot and the fish came to us. On the day, we were 4 for 6 in landing tarpon monsters ranging from 25-70 lbs. We beat the socks off the other boats. I will be back. Thanks Capt!

Went out with Captain Fernando on only a 2 hour trip. He put us right on the tarpon and guided us to a successful trip despite the tight timeframe. He patently taught those less experienced how to properly play fish while also letting those with more experience fish more engaging styles than just dead bait. Couldn’t recommend these guys more