RUMFORD – Like most soon-to-be reality television stars, Steve Bronish is sworn to secrecy.

He could show you where an ESPN production team followed him all day July 22, but he’d have to well, at least blindfold you.

“It’s in the Dixfield area,” Bronish said of the land owned by his sister-in-law. “It’s a private pond, so I’d rather not say exactly where it is.”

There, Bronish trolled away a Tuesday afternoon with none other than ESPN and NESN personality Charlie Moore.

The so-called Mad Fisherman is known for his Bah-ston braggadocio, hobnobbing with everyone from Patriots to Red Sox to weekend warriors, and never giving the impression that he is a gracious loser.

When called out and confronted by a stranger in one of his customary road games, however, Moore was surprisingly content to play the role of the Washington Generals to Bronish’s Meadowlark Lemon.

“It’s sort of the gimmick. The producers tell you whatever Charlie tells you he caught, you always say two more,” Bronish said.

The score, Steve. The score?

“That depends who you ask,” he continued. “You’ve got to watch out for him. He plays games. But the unofficial score that’s on camera was 21-19.”

Moore chose Bronish’s home turf as the backdrop for one of the 2008-09 episodes of his Saturday morning ESPN series, “Beat Charlie Moore.”

Expected to air in January, the episode is the highlight of Bronish’s lifetime in the sport to date.

“I’ve had a fly rod in my hand since I was 10 years old,” said the Bronish, 45. “I was surprised (Moore) stayed so long. He’s not fake. He talked to us like he’d known us forever.”

Bronish initially answered the casting call on ESPN’s outdoors Web site in March.

Citing Moore’s “ego the size of Boston Harbor” and challenging viewers to “whoop up on Charlie in front of your friends,” the form asks applicants to enter their name, address, phone number and a brief essay declaring why they wish to challenge the star of the show.

The contest rules declare that Moore gets to set up the time and place. Though he’s based in Chester, N.H., and films many of his episodes on Lake Winnipesaukee, Moore chose rural Maine for a change of scenery.

Bronish’s entry blank stated his fondness for fly fishing. Moore threw down the gauntlet by hitting immediate pay dirt with his bass pole.

“I had to wait for the cameraman to get his stuff ready. (Moore) went out in a kayak and caught five fish before I even got into the water,” Bronish said. “I had my fly rod in my boat, but I lost a couple and finally I said the hell with it. He told me, ‘You’re pretty good with that.’ I said, ‘Yeah, and you’re a cheater.’ “

The trash talk stopped but the fish stories continued after Moore offered to buy Bronish’s dinner. The host recommended Rowe’s, a neighborhood take-out renowned for its lobster rolls.

One of the patrons wasted no time engaging the familiar Bronish and his new fishing buddy in a conversation about the sport. Even though he was surrounded by a camera crew that rolled up in vehicles with out-of-state plates, Moore wasn’t easily identified out of his element.

“Off-camera and everything, he’s just an everyday person.” Bronish said. “It was quite a few minutes before the guy noticed the logo on the truck and finally he realized, ‘You’re Charlie Moore! Holy Cow!’ “

Merely days later, Bronish planned his next fishing expedition at Webb Lake in Weld.

Bronish’s 17-year-old daughter and her boyfriend joined him, sharing in a take that made the contest winner wish the cameras still rolled.

“We caught four smallmouth, all over five pounds,” he said. “My daughter caught one that was 6.26 pounds, the biggest smallmouth I’ve ever seen in my life.”

This brush with fame feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience to Bronish.

Then again, Moore does need to fill three shows, if you count his upcoming gig on the Canada-based World Fishing Network. And it would be hard for him to turn down a dog day afternoon in fertile ground two hours from home.

“He comes to Maine quite a bit,” Bronish said. “Some of the biggest smallmouth on record have been caught right here in Maine.”

Not to mention that Bronish, like any good angler, probably has at least one other uncharted hideaway that he’s keeping to himself.