I see that Mike Moran has passed away.
Sad day.
Mike Moran
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Steve Craig
- JB2
- Posts: 1967
- Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:22 pm
- Location: Arizona
Mike Moran
Religion is a guy in church, thinking about fishing.
Relationship is a guy out fishing, thinking about God!
Relationship is a guy out fishing, thinking about God!
Re: Mike Moran
I, too, was sadden to learn of Mike Moran's passing. If you knew Mike Moran, more than likely you have a Mike Moran story. This is my favorite.
June 1991, Grape Hammock, Lake Kissimmee, Florida.
Mike along with Richard Wehrmann [Mike's spelling] had driven down from Chicago. Mr. Perry and Miss Jeri were there along with a few of us from the Old Chattanooga Spoonpluggers Club. The weather was marginal, lake pool level was low even for that time of year and the weather was hotter than normal for early June. A typical Spoonplugger fishing trip.
Several good fish were caught during the trip, not a lot of numbers, but some good sized fish. Mike caught a beautiful 8 pound bass, one of the largest of the trip and certainly the largest fish that Mike had caught. [Mike was suffering from an eye disease and was having to put eye drops in each eye each day; this only added to the drama of the original catch].
Each day Mike would share the events of the catch. No secret, just hard work trolling the breaklines, adjusting line length, speed and lure depth so that the Spoonplug was tipping the top of the muck. Much easier said than done. The "just right" depth was a matter of "inches" rather than "feet". The appropriate photos were made of the fish.
After all of us got off the lake in the evening, Mike would re-tell the events of the catch of the 8 pound bass. Problem was the fish could not grow in size or weight, as with many fish tales. Mike kept the trophy fish to be mounted. Mike, rising to the occasion, would have increasing embellishments of the catch. Every telling was funnier than the last. By the end of the week, the telling of the epic story of man and fish would have made a Hollywood movie worthy of the silver screen. Let me add that Mike was not on an ego trip. We have all seen the guy, with the outsized ego, that has to catch the biggest/most fish or he is so seething with envy/anger that he won't speak to anyone. Not Mike, he was simply sharing the good news of a once in a life time catch which made it even more enjoyable.
Mike was a student of Spoonplugging and an excellent instructor. He was always entertaining. He was always sharing his knowledge.
One of the tips I picked up from Mike was the tackle box he used for Spoonplugs, a Plano Model #3520. A near perfect box to carry all 7 sizes of Spoonplugs and very handy to use when fishing in someone else's boat. I call it my "Official Mike Moran Tackle Box". I will think of Mike every time I use it.
To this day I do not know of anyone who enjoyed catching a trophy fish, or telling the story of the catch, more than Mike Moran. To say the least he will be missed.
TN Dave
PS: There is a short video, 4 minutes or so, on YouTube with Buck Perry interviewing Mike about the catch. Entertaining, but nothing like hearing the first hand account from Mike after a long day on the water. To say that it is funny is an understatement.
June 1991, Grape Hammock, Lake Kissimmee, Florida.
Mike along with Richard Wehrmann [Mike's spelling] had driven down from Chicago. Mr. Perry and Miss Jeri were there along with a few of us from the Old Chattanooga Spoonpluggers Club. The weather was marginal, lake pool level was low even for that time of year and the weather was hotter than normal for early June. A typical Spoonplugger fishing trip.
Several good fish were caught during the trip, not a lot of numbers, but some good sized fish. Mike caught a beautiful 8 pound bass, one of the largest of the trip and certainly the largest fish that Mike had caught. [Mike was suffering from an eye disease and was having to put eye drops in each eye each day; this only added to the drama of the original catch].
Each day Mike would share the events of the catch. No secret, just hard work trolling the breaklines, adjusting line length, speed and lure depth so that the Spoonplug was tipping the top of the muck. Much easier said than done. The "just right" depth was a matter of "inches" rather than "feet". The appropriate photos were made of the fish.
After all of us got off the lake in the evening, Mike would re-tell the events of the catch of the 8 pound bass. Problem was the fish could not grow in size or weight, as with many fish tales. Mike kept the trophy fish to be mounted. Mike, rising to the occasion, would have increasing embellishments of the catch. Every telling was funnier than the last. By the end of the week, the telling of the epic story of man and fish would have made a Hollywood movie worthy of the silver screen. Let me add that Mike was not on an ego trip. We have all seen the guy, with the outsized ego, that has to catch the biggest/most fish or he is so seething with envy/anger that he won't speak to anyone. Not Mike, he was simply sharing the good news of a once in a life time catch which made it even more enjoyable.
Mike was a student of Spoonplugging and an excellent instructor. He was always entertaining. He was always sharing his knowledge.
One of the tips I picked up from Mike was the tackle box he used for Spoonplugs, a Plano Model #3520. A near perfect box to carry all 7 sizes of Spoonplugs and very handy to use when fishing in someone else's boat. I call it my "Official Mike Moran Tackle Box". I will think of Mike every time I use it.
To this day I do not know of anyone who enjoyed catching a trophy fish, or telling the story of the catch, more than Mike Moran. To say the least he will be missed.
TN Dave
PS: There is a short video, 4 minutes or so, on YouTube with Buck Perry interviewing Mike about the catch. Entertaining, but nothing like hearing the first hand account from Mike after a long day on the water. To say that it is funny is an understatement.