So I wanted to pass along a couple things

My best time fishing with Mike I had him come up to one of my favorite spots south of Boston and we headed out to a semi-snotty / rainy night for a night of casting eels. I had fish for days and the conditions were great. Hardly a tap for hours.

We were talking abut stuff in general and lamenting the slow night in particular when he got a hit, and then a take, and a good fight of a healthy 26# fish that he caught and played so smoothly that he landed a fish with the hook set on the outside of the mouth. Yes, the hook was outside in the skin on the lower lip. I never would have landed that fish. He had a great time & was truly excited about catching the sole fish of the night!

><//////;>


Here is I think Mike's favorite photo from his favorite trip, a charter he & his bud Smokey took about ten years ago with Captain Chet Hathaway on Noreaster.

Awesome I remember that picture... :love:

The only rod I ever had made for me. I think he thought I was out of my mind when I told him my favorite color was purple & green together! If I recall he might have even sputtered under his tongue and then told me if that's what I want he will come up with something! Boy, did he! When it was all said and he said something along the lines of how amazing he thought the combination was!

:love::love::love:

This one is for you bud! Still love looking at it and fishing it! Hope your still making them behind the pearly gates while sipping your homemade beer or wine!

I cant believe this . im in shock . I have 2 rods mike wrapped , one he put his name on and i own it .

Not coming to this site as much as i used too , sucks cause friends die and I miss . oh never mind im rambling .

Mike Im going to miss you

John could you send me any contact info you have on smokey . I used to have his phone # but that phone was stolen .

I cant believe this . im in shock . I have 2 rods mike wrapped , one he put his name on and i own it .

Not coming to this site as much as i used too , sucks cause friends die and I miss . oh never mind im rambling .

Mike Im going to miss you

John could you send me any contact info you have on smokey . I used to have his phone # but that phone was stolen .

Chris - check your PMs

I did
thanks
email sent .
hope it goes through . will let you know

Met Saltheart at work probably in 1997 or 8. As everyone mentioned, he was a levelheaded thinking man and I found him to be a mentor in all things metal. I mentioned surf fishing to him and next thing I find I am leaving for the canal at 3AM to meet him to fish. After a couple of trips I find myself spending days on the WMI message board and later transitioning to S-B. Fished on and off with Mike for years, went sailing with him where he earned the title Captain Ring Ding from my wife and had an overall good time. He taught me to wrap rods, tie flies and fish the ditch. He has built a rod for me, repaired several and helped me build one and helped me put diamond wraps on my boys Martial Arts equipment. He was influential to me in fishing and in life and I will miss him greatly.

You were pretty close to him Ed, I bet he valued your friendship as much as you did.

When I met Mike I knew he was a real good person both from online and in person. His advice helped me greatly with conventional fishing and fishing the canal. In the early years of this site JohnR ran yearlong contests and Saltheart had gotten into building rods, he sponsored a winning rod for the biggest canal fish of the year. I don't know how but I won it the first year and actually won it again. I fish that All star 2 piece 1266 often and have caught many fish with it both in the canal and on cuttyhunk.
The photo John posted, I remember that photo made it on the front page of the site. I sat with him many times at the too cold to fish night, I will miss his smiling face. He brought some good food to those. Mike told it like it was, mostly cuz he was right. I'd like to think I learned a few things from him, he was very giving with what he knew and very willing to pass it on.
I fished with he and smokey one summer night at a good hole of his and I was having trouble finding a groove there, while he was getting some nice fish. After his second bass over 25 I figured I was casting too far out, and the tide was getting closer to where I'd like to be elsewhere, so I packed it up. Following me not long afterwards was Got Stripers who was also schooled by Mike and he shows up where I just moved to to see me land a 40 with an eelskin on my second cast at that spot saying "Oh ,I see you caught my fish" my reply was no I caught one that got past Mike.
I remember another time I got a call from Mike, he was having a bit of car trouble and was heading back home from the canal with a dying battery, asked if he could stop by and charge it up here on his way home. He handled that well still smiling even though it ruined their night of fishing as he needed to get back before needing headlights(alternator was dead) it was near sundown, I'd give a guy like that the shirt off my back so of course that was no problem, I offered to follow them but he said they'd be fine after topping off the battery on a quick charge.
I remember he was on vacation one week down the cape with his girlfriend and wound up in the hospital recovering from a heart attack, quite a scare, he survived that and made some improvements to his life and looked real good not long afterwards
I was glad to see him busy when he retired by doing something similar to my passion in woodworking. Making your own chessboard pieces and all is quite a challenge. He was a man of many talents.

We sure are going to miss him.

Rest in peace Mike

Thanks Bruce, I have been on the board a long time and never met Saltheart. I know it is my loss, but obviously he was a good angler but an even better person who helped many along the way. I hope he knows he is remembered as a kind man with a heart of gold.
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I never met him, but that is my loss. Nice thread John!

It is amazing how someone can effect you even though you have never met them in person. Mike really was a great person.
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Found a disk with some old pics on it, here is Mike from around 2002 at our S-B winter reel maintenance get together.

He loved that day!

wonder what happened to all his fishing gear and equipment?

Found a disk with some old pics on it, here is Mike from around 2002 at our S-B winter reel maintenance get together.

Great guy, loved sitting next to him or taking advice next to him at the canal, that's an old photo seems like a lifetime ago. I think I still have that reel:).