How Big Was That Bass?

For years my buddy has been sending me messages proclaiming that he "almost" caught Bucketmouth. Bucketmouth is the mythical giant bass that haunts the frog pond behind his house. I call it a frog pond because when I was a kid I hunted the bullfrogs there for their tasty legs. But that's another story.

Last week he sent me this photo with his brother-in-law, Shawn, holding what may be the much-hunted beast. Nice fish. So, how big is Bucketmouth? Having a good idea of how big Shawn is (or was, he looks a bit...bloated in this photo), I estimated the fish to be around 3 lbs. My buddy doesn't have a scale but he has a tape measure and the fish was right at 19" long. I asked about the girth. The fish had already been set free but he estimated it to be between 10 and 12 inches in girth.

A quick google search tells me a handy equation for estimating weight for bass is length x length x girth ÷ 1200.

19 x 19 x 10 = 3610 divided by 1200 = 3.00833 lbs.

So, my guess was accurate if their low estimate was closer to the truth. Their high estimate puts the fish at 3.61 lbs.

This equation works only for bass.

For trout: length x girth x girth ÷ 800

For walleye: length x length x length ÷ 2700

For pike: length x length x length ÷ 3500

Grand Lake of My Youth

I heard from my old friend, Bret, this morning. It gives me joy to hear him report on the copious amounts of crappie being caught on the lake I grew up catching mostly bullhead but a few crappies on, Great Lake. For the past few years the lake has been in pretty serious trouble with blue/green algae blooms due to high phosphorus levels caused (probably) by run-off from the farms that surround the lake in all directions for miles. I think I got that right.

According to Bret, the crappie bite has been hot for the past week or so. He and a couple other anglers caught nearly 250 in a few short hours. Above is a nice sampling taken home to be turned into delicious fillets.

This Kid Only Catches Pigs

Luke is an angler to be feared.

New Recruits

As much as I love summer in the Great State of Maine, I might love sharing it more. But when introducing first timers from the city, where is best to start? The rough-hewn, salty coast or the fish-packed watery interior?

This August, fishnim’ rod co-founder Jeff (and his better half, Sarah) helped me give Carly and Seth a both-barrel welcome: a coveted stay at Sarah’s coastal compound, followed by a trip to Pushaw lake.

Carly and Seth fell hard for the Maine coast. Not at all surprising when she serves up sunsets like this with each evening cocktail.

His NYC defenses down, we learned that city-slicker Seth has a no-longer-secret passion for lobster. We explored both hard shell and soft, steamed and grilled.


Not to be outdone, Pushaw lake delivered both crystal clear and misty mornings – a good excuse to let the fishing freshman work through different lures.


And no trip to Pushaw would be complete without the inimitable John Gonya, who helped us put the first-timers onto some healthy Penobscot bronzebacks.




It was an outstanding introduction to my home state and the joy of fishing its varied waters.

–Patrick

Sanibel Island, Florida

Sunny skies, sea breezes, and shell-strewn beaches were a welcome respite this August.
I managed to squeeze in a few fishing sessions and pulled in a small Jack Crevalle, a sea trout (actually pictured), and a silvery, long-whiskered catfish. I did throw the plastic crab lure to no avail (it's the wrong time of year for pompano and tarpon). But it was fun to use it anyway.
Jenn and I paddled the J. N. "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge and spotted dolphins and birds feeding on fish.
The Thomas Edison and Henry Ford Historic site had Edison's Sanibel tackle box on display. Alas, he did not sport a plastic crab lure.

Ridiculous Lure

I love crap like this... when a lure is obviously designed and marketed for hungry humans. I took the bait. I couldn't resist. Headed to the flats of Florida.

Return to Belgrade, ME | 2011

Nimrod #1 and Brent (aka "li'l rod") returned to Belgrade, Maine for the weekend following the 4th of July, 2011. The hospitality of Brent's parents can not be appreciated enough.

Beautifully sunny skies and low wind conditions made for great angling. The lake seems less weedy than it used to be and it yielded numerous pike, small- and large-mouth bass, lunker perch, and a crappie or two.

Although we didn't weigh or measure anything officially, I'll do my best to tally (honestly) what was hauled aboard:

We each caught a large pike. These, the largest fish of the trip, reached near 36 inches each. Numerous (10?) smaller-sized pikes were landed. One beast broke the 20lb leader that was tied to my 30-test spiderwire and ran off with my biggest Lazy Ike. The leader broke; not the line or the knot. It was a monster. Could have been a muskie (I say).

Bronzebacks and bucketmouths averaged 2 pounds. Brent caught two. I got two good smallies. 

We didn't count the perch or crappies. 

Using mostly blaze-orange Flatfish and large, jointed Rapalas, the smaller fish (except gluttonous pike of course) couldn't swallow the lures. This pig of a perch gave a good effort. 

Nature sightings included a loon family, a young otter, osprey, sun-burned kneecaps, and a few mosquitos.

Chilly Morning

[ snagged a few perch ]

fishnew' be

A relative newcomer to fishing yet already has the "shove fish towards the camera" pose down like a veteran Nimrod. Or maybe he just has huge hands. Or both.

The Summer of Tobin

He conquered the mighty Togue.

He caught Pickerel at will.

He hauled in many Yellow Perch.

He lipped quite a few mighty Largemouth Bass.

He caught one of the biggest White Perch I've ever seen.

He crushed his enemies.
Saw them driven before him.
and heard the lamentation of their women.

Bluefish Bonanza | September 8, 2010

Newly-wedded nimrod, Matt, took his new wife to Great Point, Nantucket this month for some honeymoon action. It included (among other things), catching many bluefish.

Within a few hours, 48 blues were landed – we filled a large barrel. The largest, measuring in at 31 inches, was caught and reeled aboard by lovely Jennifer. Since we were not prepared for such a haul, we gave the fish to the captain, who chopped them up and used them for shark bait.

We fished "the rips" at Great Point; the spot where currents roil over the shallow sandbar. Seals could be seen basking in the shade of the lighthouse on the point.

It was a great day on the water. We'd recommend Captain Fred and the Herbert T to anyone.

We are planning to make this an annual event.

A Miracle on the Penebscot with Mr. Gonya

Where: The Penebscot River, Maine
Who: Master Guide John Gonya, Anglers Chris Nash, Patrick Nash, Jeff Stammen
When: August 25th, 2010

Here's how it went down:

JS: Fish on!
PN: Whoa!
(lure flies back at us)
JS: That was a salmon!
JG: No way.
JS: I think it was. That was no bass. I saw it.
JG: It was probably a pickerel.
PN: I think it might have been a salmon.
JG: No way.
JS: It had a big silver side flash then a big dark pointy tail fin with spots. It had to be a salmon.
JG. I've been guiding on this river for 16 years and I've never seen anyone catch a salmon. They're in here but they're not feeding. Guys fly fish for weeks trying to get one bite. There's no way a salmon is going to hit a bass lure. It was probably a pike.
JS: It was a salmon.
JG: Twenty bucks to anyone who catches a salmon. Heh heh heh.

After that we drifted down the river. John continued to rib me about the salmon. His disbelief was obvious. Later we decided to move back up the river to the spot where the "Salmon Incident" took place. We caught several nice bass there earlier.

PN: Fish on!
JS: It's a salmon!
JG: No way!
PN: Get the net!
(John nets the fish)
JG: Holy ****. It's an Atlantic Salmon. I can't believe it.
(great jubilation ensues)

Five minutes later...

CN: Fish on!...It's another salmon!!!
(more jubilation)

21 1/2 inches and 23 inches. Two landed Atlantic Salmon and many nice Smallmouth. Yet another great day on the river with Master Maine Guide, John Gonya.

Pushaw Lake 2010

[ pickerel ]

[ northern pike ]

Patty and I had five days of fishy bliss on Pushaw Lake a few weeks ago. We caught oodles of big strong pickerel, a few smallies, several largemouth, some good perch and one northern pike. The northern was pretty easy to distinguish from the pickerel. The native pickerel is vibrant green and yellow with a distinctive chain-link pattern and a scaly cheek. The invasive northern was greyish green with short white lines on his side and a fleshy cheek. We did our part to keep the northern pike out of the lake so the one I caught is taking a nice long dirt nap. The northern was interesting but the big angling news was Sarah catching her very first fish. I was mighty proud. She also got her line snapped by a nasty pickerel. She was distraught about losing the lure. Then a few casts later I happened to catch a nasty pickerel with the very same lost rooster tail hanging from his mouth. That was a first. A great week of fishing at one of my favorite fisheries.