Unlike many other fishermen’s tales, Greg Myerson’s fish story is true and he has the fish and the photos to prove it.
The nine-year New Haven, Conn., journeyman wireman and member of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 90 landed what looks to be a world record 81.8-pound striped bass earlier this month, making him a huge celebrity on the hunting and fishing circuit. He has applied to the International Game Fish Association to certify his catch for the record book. Authentication will take at least 60 days.
Myerson, 43, has been fishing since he was 12. He says, “You fish long enough and, like anything else, you get good at it.”
I have learned about the tides, the moon and the best days to fish. The big ones don’t like to fight tides and only feed for a short time.
The 6-foot-4-inch 275-pound former high school and college linebacker struggled for 20 minutes to reel in the 54-inch trophy during a slack tide in the Long Island Sound off Westbrook, Conn. He told Mama Mia Fishing he knew he had something special on his line:
I noticed the line rising, and I told my buddy, “Watch this, the fish is going to break the surface.” He porpoised out of the water and I got my first look at him. Oh, man, I knew I had something special then. It’s only the big stripers that will jump like that. I was just hoping the hook was stuck good.
Local 90 business manager Frank Halloran says he is not surprised at Myerson’s success and newfound celebrity. He says, “When Greg puts his mind to something, it gets done.”
The New York Post reports that a nearby bait and tackle shop owner says, in the last year alone, Myerson has caught three fish weighing more than 60 pounds, including a 71-pounder he caught and released.
Myerson, who is currently unemployed, plans to keep fishing and, hopefully, return to work with his tools.
