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Local captain completes work on ESPN series

Local fishing guide and pilot Mark Futch has been working on a new film to benefit the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, and his latest project has taken him to the Abacos and the Bahamas in search of the elusive sport fish.

The project has also put some interesting people in his passenger seats, including writer Tom McGuane, Tom Brokaw and Michael Keaton.

“Pirates of the Flats” is the name of the series that began running on ESPN2 December 27. It will run through the end of January 2010.

Futch said he started flying the anglers to and from their destinations last April.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I flew the Jet Turbine Maule Amphib, we went all over looking for bonefish.”

Futch has been a pilot since graduating from high school, and owns a seaplane taxi service locally. He also works with the Screen Actors Guild, and routinely flies celebrities and other high-profile clients.

The program will be on every Sunday at 9 a.m., on ESPN2.

The show focuses not only on the excitement of sport fishing, but also on the fact that good fishermen are stewards of their own environment, particularly when it comes to fragile species such as bonefish, tarpon and permit. It features Brokaw (the narrator), Keaton, McGuane, Lefty Kreh, Yvon Chouinard (the founder of Pategonia) and Val Atkin.

“The Tarpon and Bonefish Trust are doing their best to help preserve the species,” Futch said. “It was a great time, and I had some really interesting people on board.”