Hooked on lying, an author shares fish tales

PORTLAND, Maine —  The falsehoods flow as freely as rum when fishermen trade tales at the Dry Dock Restaurant and Tavern.

That’s the heart of Linda Greenlaw’s latest book, “All Fishermen Are Liars.” The book chronicles a night of drinking and swapping of stories at the Dry Dock as commercial fishermen recount their showdowns with monster weather, thieving crewmen and untamed ocean.

Greenlaw, a former swordfish boat skipper and author of “The Hungry Ocean” and “The Lobster Chronicles,” sits at a table in the Dry Dock to talk about her writing, commercial fishing, her love life and, of course, lying.

In her book, Greenlaw writes that fishermen revel in their lies. She brags that she can look her best friend “square in the eye and unflinchingly lie, sandbagging or exaggerating the day’s catch.”

“And it’s not only the quantity of fish that gets twisted, it’s also the location where they were caught and the type of gear, bait and technique I found successful,” she writes. “Hell, I have even been known to stretch the weather report to my advantage.”

On this day, Greenlaw is at the watering hole for a book launch party that serves as the kickoff for a promotion tour that will continue into October and include 60 stops in 17 states and Washington, D.C.

Despite the daunting schedule, she enjoys her second career as a writer. A fourth book -- a cookbook she will write with her mother -- is planned, and she hopes to write a novel after that.

Yet there are no plans to give up fishing. After 25 years on the ocean, fishing still matters where it counts -- in her heart.

“I don’t enjoy writing like I enjoy fishing,” she says. “I love fishing. I would never say I love writing. I do love my books, but I don’t love the process of getting there at all.”

Greenlaw’s writing career began after she was included in the 1997 best-selling book, “The Perfect Storm,” the true story of a fishing boat that disappeared in a gale in 1991.

Greenlaw was a minor character in the book. But the exposure attracted publishers who were intrigued by the idea of a woman working in a dangerous and male-dominated profession.

“The Hungry Ocean,” about 30 days of going after swordfish on the high seas, came out in 1999. It was followed in 2002 by “The Lobster Chronicles,” a memoir about Greenlaw’s return to the family home on Isle au Haut to run a lobster boat. Combined, the books have 836,000 copies in print.

“All Fishermen Are Liars” presents harrowing tales at sea recounted by others. There are 125,000 copies in the first printing.

The Dry Dock overlooking Portland Harbor holds 20 years of memories for Greenlaw. These days, however, not as many fishermen stop by because their ranks continue to dwindle with government restrictions, overfishing and a poor economy.

Greenlaw figures she’s one of the lucky ones. She still gets to spend time pulling lobster traps while making decent money writing books.