Greg Myerson is a giant in the sport fishing world, breaking the record for the largest striped bass and beating his own record three times since. The record he set in 2011 still stands at 54 inches long and 81.8 pounds.
But May 1, the New Haven, Conn., Local 90 journeyman wireman will attempt to lure in his largest fish yet, one of the millionaire investors on the ABC television series Shark Tank, where people with products to sell or ideas for businesses pitch them to a panel of entrepreneurs who can choose to buy into the business.
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| New Haven, Conn., Local 90 member Greg Myerson’s world record, 81.8 pound striped bass. He is pitching his custom lures to the panel of investors on ABC’s Shark Tank May 1. |
Myerson is on the show not to pitch the fish, or to advertise his notable conduit bending skills. Myerson is on Shark Tank because he not only caught the four biggest striped bass in the world, he invented a new way to do it using a specialized lure he designed, built and now sells, the rattlesinker.
Myerson’s innovation was creating a sinker that did more than hold the lure down near the bottom where striped bass like to hunt. The sinker is filled with glass and steel beads, and as he jerks the lure through the water, the rattling sinker neatly mimics the sound of lobsters clicking against the rocky bottom.
“Striped bass hear 100 times better than us and sound travels much faster through water than air,” Myerson said. “So the rattle, if it sounds right, will bring fish from up to 50 feet away to the lure. They come to you.”
Myerson’s company, the World Record Striper Company, sells a handful of specialized sinkers and lures for fisherman hunting the very largest striped bass.
Myerson’s for even bigger quarry on the show. The panel of celebrity entrepreneurs includes Barbara Corcoran, billionaire founder of Corcoran Realty, Daymond John, founder of FUBU clothing and Mark Cuban, founder of MicroSolutions and Broadcast.com, now most famous for his flamboyant presence at games played by his basketball team, the Dallas Mavericks. The largest deal ever offered on the show was $2.5 million to a company that makes single-servings of wine.
The episode was recorded in September, and Myerson has been sworn to silence since. But the waiting will end Friday night.