Outdoors: Moore more than just ‘Mad’
By BOB SAMPSON
sports@norwichbulletin.com
Posted May 06, 2009 @ 11:09 PM

In partnership with “The Last Green Valley’s Source to Sea Expedition,” Putnam will celebrate Quinebaug River Appreciation Day this Saturday, where paddlers will take to segments of the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers to kick off the more-than-month-long event to demonstrate the value of the watersheds that punctuate the Eastern Connecticut landscape.

To learn more about times and dates for organized events on these “paddle trails,” contact The Last Green Valley at its Danielson office at 774-3300.

The lakes, rivers and tributary streams in this part of the state are an integral part of our history and natural beauty. They also provide valuable, high-quality fishing opportunities ranging from trout in the brooks to bass, panfish, catfish and even northern pike in the lakes.

In recognition of this, one of the guest speakers for this year’s program will be ESPN2, NESN and World Fishing Network personality Charlie Moore, who will make a personal appearance at Putnam’s Aubuchon Hardware Store at Rotary Park, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

A quirky personality

Moore’s “Mad Fisherman” and “Challenge Charlie Moore” shows are popular, yet sometimes controversial fishing shows that are more entertainment-based than the serious, scientific tenor of shows such as “In Fisherman.”

Moore is a high-energy guy who’s all over the place, yet focused. As a kid, he started fishing with his family for stripers and bluefish in “Boston Habbah.” He is a serious family and business man, who has been married to his high school sweetheart since before his rise to TV fame. He and his wife have three children.

In our conversation, Charlie mentioned that these aspects of his life — not the TV successes — are the accomplishments that he’s most proud of. In the process he noted that he is clean-living, never had any problems with drugs or alcohol, like many others in the entertainment world, and emphasized he still coaches the local football team, goes to his kids’ sports events and takes his family everywhere he travels. That’s a heart in the right place.

Moore looks at his once unique, now-often copied form of entertainment-centered outdoor programing as a means to help draw others to sample the outdoor world. He owed his popularity to a large degree to the idea that viewers “get what he’s about” and see him as “the kind of real person you can sit down and talk to.”

Moore noted in a funny way that 231⁄2 out of 24 hours of outdoor programing shows people how to rig a fake worm.

“They should know that stuff all ready!” he said.

Moore, however, is a full-time entertainer in many venues. In addition to his fishing and outdoor pursuits, he’s also a stand-up comic and budding actor who has a TV sitcom currently going through the “try-out” process with the networks.

Moore is doing something right because he has been with NESN for 17 years and is going on seven with ESPN2. He’s always looking ahead — and sideways — to further his interests in acting and comedy.

I was impressed with how genuinely funny he is. Moore is a down-to-earth person who views the world from a slightly different angle. It’s what made him such a popular figure here in New England and across the country. Charlie draws a crowd wherever he does seminars or sits in a booth at the sports shows I’ve attended.

Moore isn’t quite sure what the promoters want him to do at the Putnam River Appreciation Event, but said he’d do what comes naturally to him: Mixing in with the crowd, making a few jokes and talking fishing, outdoors and sports with his fans.

Events like this are a wonderful way to introduce people to the natural beauty and outdoor pastimes that are available wherever there is water on which to paddle and in which to fish.

For more information on other events such as the River Mills Walking Tour, Water Treatment Plant tour and dedication of a new segment of the Paddle Trail Putnam, contact Doug Cutler at 963-6800.

Catching the big one

One of the traits that all hard-core fishermen share is a mindset to land every fish — especially the big ones — at any cost.

When that lunker is hooked and fighting, all concerns — the shock of cold water, discomfort of wet clothes and mud, mosquitoe bites, cuts and strains — disappear.

Last week, 15-year-old Trent Gauthier of Canterbury went trout fishing with his father in the Baltic section of the Shetucket River.

He was casting a Mooselook Wobbler in a deep hole when he missed a strike from a decent-sized trout. A few casts later there was a solid jolt from a real monster.

The fish fought hard, but eventually it tired, allowing the current and pressure from Gauthier’s rod to pull it into some rocky, shallow water along the river’s edge.

As Gauthier struggled with his catch of a lifetime, the fish flipped, cutting the line on a rock before it was beached.

Without a second thought, Trent dashed into the water where he corralled the trout before it could escape and wrestled it up onto dry land.

His 241⁄4-inch, 83⁄4-pound rainbow trout was well worth the wet clothes and soggy shoes.

There are very few things that stick in a fisherman’s craw longer than losing a big fish. I still get ticked off whenever I think about losing a huge largemouth bass at Bog Meadows when I was a kid — about 45 years ago.

Gauthier spared himself that aggravation and he’s got a photograph of his monster trout to prove it.

Posted Sat May 09, 2009 4:43 am

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