Wallingford angler Greg Myerson's story 'Born to Fish' arrives in hardcover May 15

Photo: Sara Pranulis / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Greg Myerson of Wallingford, subject of “Born to Fish.”

Photo: Sara Pranulis / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Cover of the new book

Photo: Courtesy Of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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A story like Greg Myerson’s isn’t as common in Connecticut’s densely packed New Haven County as in more rural areas of the country. Which makes it even more intriguing.

Son of a mobster from Brooklyn, New York, who married after he settled in a Hamden apartment, Greg became obsessed with fishing at a young age near his Hamden-North Haven homes, despite his family’s indifference. He grew into a large, rugged outdoorsman who caught a world-record striped bass, and now his story is told in a brisk read, with many local and regional references, by Myerson and outdoors writer Tim Gallagher.

“Born to Fish: How an Obsessed Angler Became the World’s Greatest Striped Bass Fisherman” hits bookstores May 15; and Myerson and Gallagher will be at R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison to talk about it on May 17 at 7 p.m.

When I was covering North Branford six years ago, I wrote about Myerson, a large, restive man on the verge of one of his many life transitions — moving from North Branford back to Wallingford, where he had attended Lyman Hall High School. The article talked about how Myerson had spent a life fishing and observing the Atlantic coast striped bass and its habits, leading to his catch of an 81-pounder that blew away the world record.

But it also told of how Myerson regretted killing the huge fish, since it was “wiping out a good breeding stock by killing fish like that.” So he turned to catch-and-release fishing, and set an all-tackle length record of 113 centimeters (about 3.7 feet). He has made no-kill fishing tournaments a crusade.

The new book fills in some amazing back story to Myerson’s bittersweet life — trapping animals on water company land, exchanging gunshots with rival trappers, earning enough money to buy a boat in elementary school, fishing mishaps, recalling visits by his famous aunt Bess Myerson (remember her?), overcoming learning disabilities, playing football for the University of Rhode Island and his gregarious father’s sometimes-violent life.

The book also covers substance abuse, wild trips to Jamaica and out West, but also Myerson inventing the RattleSinker, the lure that mimics the sound of the favorite meal of the striped bass (lobster on the rocks) and helped him catch his world-record fish. And two short chapters tell of Myerson’s tense but entertaining appearance on “Shark Tank” to sell a piece of that invention. There is also a haunting personal tragedy that befalls writer Gallagher just after he met Myerson.

Myerson’s story and the buddies of his World Record Striper Co., so casual and charismatic that they could be the focus of a reality TV show (and may still be), illuminate a life of obsession about the creatures of the outdoor world. Anglers don’t need any more bait than that.

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