STOP #5 - Nackawic

“Big Axe, Bigger Fish”
This year’s Nackawic leg of the Hook & Paddle series was one to remember — and not just because it was held in the shadow of the world’s largest axe. With perfect overcast skies and barely any long sustained wind to deal with, anglers were gifted ideal conditions on the Bend. Whether they were trolling deep for muskie (none showed up!) or sitting tight in known hot spots hoping for a sucker to slurp down a worm, the river delivered.

While no muskie or chain pickerel made an appearance, the species lengths were massive, especially in catfish, yellow perch, fallfish, and the always-reliable smallmouth bass. This wasn’t a game of catching them all — it was a race for length, and some anglers came in swinging.

Top 5 Anglers Destination Nackawic

1st – John Cail – 98.75 pts
John bounced back and brought a balanced showing with solid lengths across smallmouth bass (18"), a thick 13.50" catfish, and a commanding 19" sucker. Cail also registered pumpkinseed, yellow and fall fish rounding out a strong multi-species card. Add in some bonus points, and it was enough to top the field on this day, taking home a nice Minnow Tackle Shop prize.

2nd – Peter Nyenhuis – 95.5 pts
Peter finishes back-2-back silver over the weekend scoring big with an 18" smallmouth, 12.75" white perch, and high numbers across the rest of his 7 species caught. Nyenhuis is consistently piling up bonus points and species - taking home a 13 Fishing Canada rod on the day, and another beautiful Atlantic Laser Works custom plaque.

3rd – Konnor Nyenhuis – 90 pts
Konnor stayed in striking distance collecting 7 species on the day with a nice 14 inch catfish and a healthy showing of all core species. Consistency across the board, even while assisting other anglers on the day.

4th – Bryan Cawthra – 83.25 pts
Cawthra found himself in 4th both tournaments this weekend, he wasn't able to find 7 but his 6 species caught were large enough to keep him in the mix, including a 19 inch small-jaw, 11.25 inch yellow perch and 13.75" catfish.

5th – Quinn Marsh – 77 pts
Quinn rounded out the top five with a 16.25" smallmouth, a monster 12.25" yellow perch, and a solid 16 inch sucker. Quinn takes home back-2-back Walters Baits top youth angler trophies this weekend.

HP Species Record Watch
Jean Muzzerall made headlines again with a 14.50" catfish, becoming the third angler to break a new species benchmark in 2025 -- which will net him 5 extra bonus points at the end of the season.

Shout out to Andrew Burtt who won the X Zone LuresTHE ROD GLOVE Biggie-Smalls Target Species prize pack with a 19.50 and 4.50 difference of 15 inches and $200. And thanks Mayor Tim Fox for welcoming us at the awards, and to Clean Drain Dry for washing our kayaks as we were getting off the water!

HP Youth Division Standings
Quinn Marsh has moved up to claim top spot for the time being with a nice weekend, bumping him up to 588 points, but 3 time youth div champ Gage Nyenhuis is hot on his tracks - just 5 points separate the two. It'll be a fun battle to watch as the season plays out -- Damien Dorcas rounds out top 3 with 553 points.

Access Paving and Construction
HP Elimination Team Bracket has been updated, we are down to 4 teams left!

Top 5 Overall Standings

1st – Rene Pelletier (205.5 points)
Rene was able to capitalize big in McAdam with a dominating win, he was able to close the gap, and even pass Travis for first overall with 32 bonus points and 12/16 species caught already. He will continue to look to be consistently in the top 10 for the rest of the season.

2nd Travis Melanson (203.25 points)
Travis despite missing this last weekend, still right in the mix for top spot with an impressive species count and monster lengths across the board -- he will need to keep up that consistency and find a few more key species to keep pushing Pelletier in the upcoming tournaments.

3rd – Peter Nyenhuis (200.75 points)
Peter has been near the top of each tournament so far, and with 4 species still on the list to catch, he'll make another major push at top 3 overall anglers again this season - a well-rounded effort from an experienced HP competitor.

4th – Jean Muzzerall (177.75 points)
Jean has above average species lengths, and is consistently raking up bonus points, and with a few species still to check off his list, look for Muzzerall to make a push in the upcoming tournaments.
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5th – Andrew Craig (171.75 points)
Andrew started the season off hot, and hasn't really slowed down yet, with an eel and striped bass on his board already, he will need to continue to stack species each tournament to increase bonus points, but Craig is one of the few to crack the 170+ point mark, earning him a well-deserved top 5 finish.