Al Hustosky was bitten by the fishing bug early, and his resulting angling affliction manifested itself in ways that no doubt raised a few eyebrows.

A former resident of Lisbon and Salem, Hustosky resides today back in his childhood town of Maple Heights, where he first experienced the magic of bluegill fishing. He recently reflected on the “why” that drives his passion for fishing and how he became transfixed by muskies and bass.

“My passion for fishing started with early memories, but I did not come from a fishing family,” Hustosky said. “I was around 6 years old and Dad took me to a pond in Aurora with a cane pole and I caught three bluegills. The next year we went to the same place and caught 11 bluegills.

“I got the bug then. I remember going to the department store and I would go straight to the sporting goods. I dreamed that someday I could get the fancy Ambassadeur reel on the shelf.”

In fact, Hustosky did soon acquire his first baitcaster, the then-state-of-the-art Ambassadeur 5500 C, and soon thereafter, a Penn 720 spinning reel. Even today, he enjoys the engineering and craftsmanship of a fine reel.

“It’s funny that I learned all the specs, like inches retrieved per turn and how much they weigh, and can recite them to you today,” he said.

While most young teens are happy with a bicycle and baseball mitt, young Hustosky had his sights set on a boat to expand his access to fishing waters.

“At 13, I bought my first boat — a 12-foot aluminum car-topper with oars,” Hustosky said. “I’d started working at a pizza shop and saved for that boat. Dad and I took it to Punderson and LaDue and I rowed around to fishing holes.

“The day I got my driver’s license, I asked Dad for the car. He asked me where it was going. I told him, ‘Bedford Gun & Tackle.'”

Even college studies didn’t get in the way of Hustosky’s passion for fishing.

“In my Kent State years, my life continued to revolve around fishing and wanting to be on the water,” he said. “It was Mogadore in those days. I was known as the guy with the boat on his car. I had no place to put the boat so I stored it on my car.”

Romance did not dent his interest in fishing either.

“When I first met Pam — we met at a party — we went outside and she saw the boat on the roof of my car,” Hustosky said. “She said, ‘What’s up with that?’ and I told her I was going fishing tomorrow morning.”

Al and Pam married and raised twins, son Ryan and daughter Natalie, both 30 and avid anglers. “Our vacations revolved around fishing, up in Canada on the French River,” Hustosky said. “The twins were 9 months old when we first went to the cabin up there and we went back every year.”

The French River was a place where Hustosky could scratch his itch for big muskies, which became his preferred species when he was 18 and discovered them at Leesville Lake.

Recently retired after a career with consulting firms that did engineering, surveying, aerial photography, mapping and other work in environmental and water resource services, Hustosky continues to immerse himself into fishing.

He’s tournament director for Bedford Bass Club and helps plan, promote and operate the Muransky Companies Bass Classic, which benefits the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley on Aqua Ohio’s Evans and Pine lakes.

He and teammate Ray Halter, also a Bedford Bass Club member, are four-time champions of the United Way Bass Classic. He met Halter through the Bedford club, which he joined in 1993.

“The United Way tournament has really become personal for me,” Hustosky said. “I’ve fished it for many years. Now I’m able to help run it. It’s a lot of work, but when I see how it comes together, it’s great.

“Plus, Ray is the best fisherman I’ve ever fished with. The second best is not even close to Ray. I remember a legendary angler once said, ‘You’ll only be as good as the sum of the best five fishermen you’ve fished with.’ Ray is the best of the best, fishes all year ’round. It’s only February, and I’ll guarantee you he’s caught more bass already than others will catch all year.”

Hustosky also serves on the pro staff of St. Croix rods and Seviin, a new line of premium fishing reels.

“I’m working this weekend for St. Croix and Seviin at the anniversary show of Fisherman’s Central and will be talking to a lot of people,” he said. “We all have the same thing in common: our passion for fishing.

“Why do we have that bug? It’s catching fish. Whatever it takes. Plus, of course, it’s the people you meet. I have a lifetime of friendships with people I’ve met in a boat. It’s the passion to fish. To feel that bite. To look at the beauty of each species and then let them go. It doesn’t matter, big or small. I love giant muskies that can actually hurt you just as much as the little bluegill I can hold in the palm of my hand.”

Jack Wollitz is the author of “The Common Angler,” a book featuring stories about experiences that help define the “why” behind anglers’ passion for fishing. Email Jack at jackbbaass@gmail.com.