TAKEOFF
ANGLER PROFILE
THEN AND NOW
THE DOUBLE-SIDED CAREER OF JIM MOYNAGH
Then …
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Jim Moynagh was just another
young angler; one begging for a phone
call.
He had short hair, with bangs that
would occasionally fall down his fore-
head beneath his Ranger Boats hat. His
upper lip was adorned with a substan-
tial mustache that pointed toward his
slight dimples every time he smiled.
He’d “gone pro” in 1995, fishing the
Bassmaster Invitationals. Two years
later, he’d finally qualified for the
Bassmaster Top 100. That same year,
the FLW Tour had made headlines by
offering a $100,000 prize to the winner
at each tournament.
Moynagh signed up for every Tour
event of the 1997 season, but he evi-
dently didn’t sign up nearly quick
enough. Every other professional or
aspiring professional angler put in a
bid, too, and Moynagh was put on the
waitlist for every event.
Still, he got a call for the second Tour
stop on Ross Barnett. It was a 15-hour
drive from his Carver, Minn., home to a
lake he’d never fished, but he did it. He
finished 12th and earned a check for
$3,000. He got another call to fish the
fifth event on Kentucky Lake, but he
wasn’t able to make it. That left one
more regular-season tournament, and
that was the one he wanted – no, need-
ed – to get into: the Forrest Wood Open.
“It was on Minnetonka, which is my
home lake,” recalls Moynagh. “Back
then, I was winning just about every-
thing on that lake, and that particular
Tour event was a ‘super tournament,’
so the prize money was $200,000.
“Back then, there was no official
practice, you know. So you could prac-
tice as much as you wanted. So even
though I wasn’t in the tournament, I
went out every day and practiced like I
was. I did that for nine days straight. I’ve
never been on so many fish in my life.”
Every day Moynagh would get off the
water – in a time before cellphones,
remember – and call tournament direc-
tor Charlie Evans, pleading his case to get
into the event. And for the first eight days
Evans told him he didn’t have a spot. On
the final day, however, Moynagh got off
the water and got the call.
“I don’t even remember how the
conversation went,” he says. “I just
remember him saying I was in, and how
relieved I was.”
Moynagh was in 18th after day one
with 12 pounds, 9 ounces, but he
crushed 17-14 on day two to take the
lead. Two days later, the 32-year-old
Moynagh was handed a $200,000
By Sean Ostruszka
PHOTOS BY PATTERSON LEETH
check. He’d arrived, and at the time he
felt that it would be the first of many
successes to follow.
Now …
Jim Moynagh is a true veteran; one
scrapping to survive.
His hat doesn’t come close to con-
taining a flowing mane of long, stringy
hair, which often requires a hair tie to
keep it in a ponytail while he’s fishing.
He ditched the mustache long ago, and
whether he’s smiling or not his face
shows the creases and crow’s feet of a
life spent on the water.
Twenty years have passed since he
was handed that first check on the
shores of Minnetonka, and by most
measures his career has been a
remarkable success. He’s one of the
elite few to have won more than $1 mil-
lion on the FLW Tour. He’s worn jerseys
with corporate logos such as M&M’S,
Snickers, BP and now Bridgford, with
wrapped boats and trucks to match.
He’s challenged for the Angler of the
Year title multiple times, finishing
eighth in 1998, third in 2006 and fourth
in 2012.
Still, despite acknowledging that 20
years in this sport is success in itself,
Moynagh is not satisfied.
FLWFISHING.COM I JULY 2017