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Steve Merlo: Locals have caught on to bass bonanza in NY
| Thursday, Sep 25 2008 6:21 PM
Last Updated: Monday, Sep 29 2008 11:29 AM
I think my wife and I have created a monster for guide Gaspere Costabile of Niagara Falls, Ontario. "Jasper", as he is known to his friends and clients, fishes out of Buffalo, New York, in Lake Erie, for the huge smallmouth bass living there.
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Bakersfield anglers Don Crabtree, Dennis Polm (kneeling),Wendall Vinson and his son Jeremy hold up their catch of huge smallmouth bass caught on a recent trip to Lake Erie, N.Y. Most of their fish weighed between 3-6 pounds.
Since we first made the cross country trip, plenty of other locals from the Bakersfield area have also made the trip, some for the third and even fourth time.
Most recently, Don Crabtee, Dennis Polm and father Wendall Vinson and son Jeremy escaped the San Joaquin heat, venturing eastward to do battle with the giant bronzebacks inhabiting most of the Great Lakes. Fishing two days on Lake Erie and a single day on Lake Ontario, when the wind blew on Erie, the fishermen caught and released, now get this, 390 fish from 3-6 pounds, all on Bass Buster Jigs and Merlo worms (Yea!).
Known as a hard fighting, high-jumping game fish, the giant smallmouth of Lake Erie have gotten a lot of international press lately. With some smallies hitting the scales at nearly 9 pounds it's no wonder the lake draws the fishermen it does. However, on most days, one will not even see another bass fisherman for the entire day!
Candy and I are also planning our return to Erie as soon as we can. With smallies in the Kern River running around a half-to-1-pound each, a devoted fisherman might understand our preferences for giant smallmouth bass in the 5-7-pound range. Interested anglers can call Gaspere Costabile at (905-382-1804) or write me at merloworms@bak.rr.com for more info.
The trip is rather inexpensive, compared to going out of country, and a heckuva lot safer, plus, a romantic trip to Niagara Falls usually rounds out the trips we take.
Niagara Falls is really neat, especially at night, and one cannot believe that the Atlantic Ocean doesn't just fill up and overflow after watching the amount of water going over the Falls.
HUNTER SAFETY COURSE
A hunter safety course will be offered through Kern Shooting Sports on Oct. 18-19. Interested parties can call 661-325-8725 for more information.
A California hunting license can only be obtained through a California Department of Fish and Game-approved hunter safety course. Eight hours of training, safety courses and outdoor classes, plus the passage of a 100-question examination are required to pass.
A junior license is required to hunt in the Taft Junior Pheasant hunt coming up in November, so act now. There is no age requirement to take and pass the class for hunting resident small game, but junior hunters must be at least twelve years old to apply for big game tags. Adults are also welcomed to take the classes.