Finatic Charters

TBT ~ Sort of... In 2010, my short fiction "Time Flyz" was published in The Yale Anglers Journal. I wrote it for all of us dealing with the onset of Alzheimer's in a parent.

Flash forward to circa 2013, I adapted it as the script for a short film drama of the same title but didn't get it produced. Kinda just sat in the figurative desk drawer.

LOGLINE: Two grown sons cope with the onset of Alzheimer's in their widowed father set against the family's passion for fly fishing the Yellowstone River.

Flash forward again to 2024. Space Dream Productions, who is a Linked In connection, created a short film screenwriting competition, so I decided to submit "Time Flyz". On September 2nd, heard I was an official selection. To borrow from Rodeo vernacular, didn't make the short go, but placement of any kind is always encouraging. Thanks Space Dream Productions 🙏

The story behind All That is Sacred

Q&A with Frank Marshall & Scott Ballew

ALL THAT IS SACRED - Q&A | Scott Ballew & Frank Marshall | Film Independent Presents Moderator Jenn Wilson (Senior Programmer, Film Independent) talks with director Scott Ballew and executive producer Frank Marshall about their film ALL THAT ...

TBT~ Mahi Madness! Seeing great Dolphin catches reported from the Keys stokes a little nostalgia these days, reflecting back on some of the better fish that came over my transom for clients and the invaluable assistance from some Captain colleagues on days they weren't booked. As venerable Summerland Key "Sea Boots" Captain Jim Sharp entitled his book, "Dolphin: The Perfect Game Fish" and they are quite tasty as well :)

It's time to part company with an old friend. The Tranquillo was a great joy to run and a major tool for two thirds of my 16 year career as a Saltwater Fishing Guide. She's a 2001 Hell's Bay Boatworks Waterman Pro 16.

She has a true 5" draft for getting on the skinniest of flats. The motor is a 50 HP tiller drive Tohatsu with power tilt and trim on the tiller. It was new in 2007 but has no more the 200 hours on it.

The trailer is a 2023 Continental single torsion I bought in September 2023 axle that has only been dipped in freshwater once.

Extras included with the boat are a forward casting platform with leaning post, a feature fully appreciated by my clients with balance challenges, especially in choppy water.

Two 22' St**fy Hybrid push poles. A canvass boat cover purchased in 2023. A Garmin 440S color chart plotter/GPS/depth finder. The center storage box acts as client seating and has a custom made swinging back rest. Another feature clients have appreciated after a long day on the water.

The boat is now located in Titusville, FL and is being sold under consignment with Hell's Bay Boatworks.

Contact Captain Al Keller at [email protected] for further information.

Hope, optimism and fly fishing in a post-Jimmy Buffett world I don't want to live on that kind of island No, I don't want to swim in a roped off sea Too much for me, too much for me I've got to be where the wind and the water are free. — Jimmy Buffett, Cowboy in the Jungle

TBT ~ Back in the mid 90s, deep drop fishing was not widely popular in the Florida Keys. But my neighbor was an avid enthusiast and introduced me to it. His preference was the deep (700 feet and deeper) dwelling species Snowy Grouper, Gray and Golden Tile, and Rose Fish. My biggest Golden Tile(rarer than Gray) went about 40 lbs.

On Alabama's Gulf Coast, this time of year saltwater species move up into bayous and tributary rivers. Sometimes boat ramps are crowded but some are a little remote and less used. One such is the Burgett Ramp in Josephine, AL that puts you into Roberts Bayou just off the ICW. Reminded me of a fun fishing trip with my wife on our 2000V Pathfinder a few years back. Not far across the Bayou from the launch she picked up a nice sheepie.