THE MAD FISHERMAN

The NESN/ESPN personality chronicles his rise from penury to the big (well, bigger) time as host of two top-rated fishing programs.

Moore and his four siblings were raised in rural Massachusetts by a doting mother and a competitive, Civil War–obsessed father. (Family vacations were spent touring historic battlefields.) Exuberant and acquisitive from an early age, young Charlie owned a brand-new Corvette at 18 and married high-school sweetheart Angela at 20. Virtually broke, the couple temporarily moved in with Angela’s parents…and stayed several years. With two kids and another on the way, Moore was bounced by his father from the family cigar store and tried unsuccessfully to open a bait shop. At this lowest of low points, he put his “people person” skills to good use and pitched himself as a fishing expert to the brass at New England Sports Network (NESN). They gave him a biweekly five-minute segment on the sports magazine show Front Row, and after some rather wooden initial performances he eventually warmed up enough to let his natural comedic panache, vast knowledge and genuine love of freshwater fishing shine through on camera. He got his own NESN show, Charlie Moore Outdoors, then moved to ESPN for the competition-themed Beat Charlie Moore. Initial reaction to the latter was mixed—Moore’s in-your-face personality wasn’t to everyone’s taste—but visits from a slew of sports and rock celebrities (and a cameo by Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney) beefed up ratings. As well as tracing his personal journey, the dedicated family man imparts sage wisdom on preserving domestic bliss and achieving success (tenacity in both cases). He also catalogues the best ways to cast a line, favorite fishing spots and the contents of his tackle box. The author’s crowning glory, he claims, was being inducted into the New England Sports Museum.

Moore’s madcap vibrancy and zest for outdoor life permeate this unpretentious chronicle.