Testimonials

Hey Todd,

What a great three day hunt we had with you and your crew!!! You made Ken, Jeff and I feel so welcome, we felt like we were hunting with a longtime friend. We have not stopped talking about our trip since getting back to Ohio. We are also trying to pick a week next year to come see you again. Our biggest worry is that it will be very hard to top this year's trip.

Best wishes in the New Year. We may try to sneak down there and fish with you in the summer.

Last thing... We are finishing a pretty good year here in Ohio. Thought you might like to see a picture from our last local adventure. Talk to you soon or better yet come see us in Ohio sometime - Spring Turkey season will be here before you know it.

Thanks again for everything,
Christopher E. Tenoglia
Attorney at Law
200E. Second Street
Pomeroy, Ohio 45769
Ph. (740) 992-6368

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Todd, Thanks for a great trip last Saturday we had a blast! I just wanted to thank the both of you for your help and advice for two Alabama guys trying to learn how to fish waters closer to home! We will send anyone who ask about specs and reds your way!

Thanks again!
Mark Wilcox
Outside Sales
H D Supply HVAC

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As an outdoors writer I've had the opportunity to fish with professional guides throughout the state. Captain Todd Jones is one of the best. They know where the fish are at all times, what they will hit, and how to get them to bite. Time is valuable when I'm on assignment, and captain Todd has always come through when I needed quality photos on short notice.

Jerry Gerardi
Freelance outdoors writer

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Todd took the Livin It Outdoors TV crew on a awesome trip. We fished for redfish at daylight and bowfished for stingray's after sunrise. We were on stingrays the whole time, we shot 12 or so, missed around 30, caught some great redfish, and filmed a couple hours of beautiful video for an upcoming TV show. This trip was a blast and we look forward to doing it again. Back Bay Adventures is definitely Livin It Outdoors approved.

Jeff Baker
Livin It Outdoors
www.livinitoutdoors.com

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Capt. Todd Jones of Panama City, FL is undoubtedly one of the best overall outdoorsmen I know. From the standpoint of an angler, hunter, or professional guide, Todd has all of the qualities that make him stand out from the rest. His knowledge of the outdoors makes him one of the leading guides around, and he has traveled the world serving in the United Stated Navy.

Having personally hunted and fished with Todd in Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina it's apparent to see that he has the acute ability to adapt to any environment, and quickly learn and master the techniques required to successfully hunt and fish new terrain.

Todd's military training has played a big part in his ability to be mentally and physically tough, prompt, properly prepare, and be on top of his game, and these assets are carried over into his guide service Back Bay Adventures. I've known Todd all of his life, and we've been on some extreme hunts that few would find enjoyable, yet Todd's made those some of the most memorable due to his will and determination to make those adventures a success.

In my endeavors as an award-winning outdoor writer/photographer, Todd has been integral in delivering insight into new story ideas, and put together the hunts that made many of the articles come to fruition. Bottom line, Todd is an innovator, extremely talented decoy carver, tireless outdoorsman, first class guide, my friend, and I would trust him with my life.

Capt. Robert L. Brodie
Biloxi, MS
Professional Hunting/Fishing Guide
Award-Winning Outdoor Writer/Photographer

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Back Bay Adventures is not for the lazy, have a drink, relax fishing crowd. Captain Todd is an intense, hardcore inshore angler. He will put you in the best position to have a great day of fishing. Light line, shallow water and the opportunity to see and hook hundreds of fish. They get as excited to see you hook up a good fish as if they had caught it himself.

If you are in the Bay county area, don't waste time "winching a 2 pound fish from 100 feet of water on 50lb line." Hear your light line scream off the spool as a quality redfish, trout, jack, etc… just smokes your bait!!! Back Bay Adventures will give you the "best day of my life" every time out.

Great guys, Great fishing, in the prettiest location in Florida.

Kevin Benton
Berkley Fishing

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So what does a guy from Kentucky, with a penchant for big game, do on the Florida Panhandle? After years of offshore fishing I began the quest of tarpon fishing. Having heard for years that big tarpon cruise the sugar sand beaches out of casting distance from the beach and to far in to be of concern of the offshore fleet the Silver Kings slip by almost unnoticed.

Three years ago I attempted a tarpon trip only to be beaten by the weather and unable to make it out of the harbor in the typically small flats boats.

This year was different... after completing a successful offshore trip including a boat limit of red snapper and king mackerel the day before, I met my guide, Captain Todd Jones of Back Bay Adventures at what he described as "brutally early"... 4:30 in the morning.

In the preliminary phone conversations Todd shared the lay of the land...don't get your hopes up, tarpon can be tough, don't set the hook to quick and only 1 out of 20 hookups make it to the boat. Capt. Todd is honest at his profession just like all good guides...honest, hard working for his clients and gets as much if not more enjoyment than they do at the hook set.

The morning started off with the catching of live bait, then a short run to the tarpon grounds. The first tarpon was spotted just seconds after our 6:00am arrival only to be followed by a steady flow of fish until almost the noon hour.

I can only compare tarpon fishing to that of elk hunting...spot and stalk big game. The drill is straight forward...spot the tarpon gulping air or rolling at the surface, after repeated sightings determine a line of interception, present your bait and hope for the best...when the best happens hang on for the ride of your life!

Fishing is fishing, sometimes the bite is on sometimes it's not. This day happened to be one of the days that it was light resulting in only a single hookup. No reflection on the guide or location...there were plenty of fish and presentations...just not a lot of takers that day.

One of these big fish within casting range seems to rattle the nerves, resulting in "Tarpon Fever", the inability to control what is normally an accurate casting arm, accelerated heart beat and an anticipated adrenalin rush. The sight of a four foot back streaming through the surface, the flash of a silver side and that bucket sized mouth as it breaks the surface just doesn't settle well in one's mind. I found myself reliving the visions as I relived the day in my dreams that night. Part of the anticipation of tarpon fishing involves keeping an eye on other boats...they are doing the same...it's all about the hookups, jumps and who gets them first and the most, and hopefully the signaling of the impending bite. Proudly I can say that Captain Todd and I were the only boat with a hookup and jump in the area that day...yes there were other boats.

It may seem that I'm down playing the single hookup...it was phenomenal! A light touch as the bait was taken and allowed to free spool, a moment of steadiness as the hook grabbed the fleshy corner of the fish's mouth followed by an explosion of energy only rivaled by that of a big sail or marlin. The explosion of energy resulted in the classic, stuff that dreams are made of leap and cartwheels...a real sight considering that this leaping Hiroshima was 150lbs of pure, raw unbridled strength.

Unbridled is the proper use of the English language at this time as that is exactly what was to happen next. With the fish's tail two feet above the water's surface, a cartwheel and a spray of water the fish's bridle slipped from it's mouth.

I'm sure that fish felt the same as I did... excited, flushed and looking for another fight.

Back Bay Adventures know the area and where the fish are, they are professional and enjoy the sport of sight fishing big fish. You can't ask for anything more I know I can't. I look forward to the hunt again with Capt. Todd.

Mark Nethery
Bluegrass Game Calls
502-266-6652
www.bluegrassgamecalls.com