Steve Merlo
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Steve Merlo: Hot bite continues at Isabella Lake
While the incredible crappie bite at Lake Isabella has fizzled to a mere trickle from shore, boat anglers are reaping the rewards by tying up to submerged trees or rockpiles near deep water and fishing straight down for limits of decent-sized papermouths. Kastmasters, live minnows and mini-jigs tipped with crappie niblets continue to afford the best action on black crappie going to more than 2 pounds each. Light line anglers are doing the most damage by slowly and vertically retrieving their lures or baits, with chartruese or white the predominant attractors.
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Steve Merlo: Smallmouth bass dream comes true for local angler
Local businessman Don Crabtree has had a lifelong dream -- to catch a five-fish stringer of smallmouth bass that weighed more than 30 pounds for a 6-pound average. Crabtree, no stranger to the art of bass fishing, won eight major tournament events during his professional career, with plenty of largemouth limits in that magical range, but nary a single smallie that weighed even close to 6 pounds.
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Steve Merlo: Exhibition shooting sports on the rise
Today's kids are too young to remember Annie Oakley and the shooting exhibitions she put on for the general public at fairs and rodeos across the US . The same holds true for William "Buffalo Bill" Cody and his traveling entourage of cowboy and Indian shoot-'em-ups. Both stars were incredible rifle and pistol shots, often defying the odds to hit bullseyes or card spots while riding or standing atop a running steed. Wouldn't it be great if we could relive and witness some of those incredible feats in person?
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Steve Merlo: Help to raise money by shooting clays
The Bakersfield Chapter of the International Footprint Association will hold a sporting clays shoot May 30 at 5-Dogs shooting range. The IFA is an organization of law enforcement officials, safety departments and civilians. The group raises money to support charitable projects and organizaions such as the Special Olympics, Kern Hospice, Tehachapi Equestrian Program, Optimal Hospice, American Cancer Society and the Kern County Sheriff's and Bakersfield Police Memorials and does it in a fun manner.
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Steve Merlo: Kennemer father-son team dominates Lopez bass tourney
Ray and Brian Kennemer pounded both the fish and the rest of the 17-boat field at the Kern County Bassmasters monthly event last weekend at Lake Lopez. Fishing cranks, jigs, swimbaits and jerkbaits, the father and son team beat out their nearest competitors by nearly 13.5 pounds on their way to a fantastic 29.60-pound total weight. The Kennemers fished a single 100-yard stretch of ledges and dropoffs to nail over 20 keepers in excess of 3 pounds each, with 12 more than 4 pounds. The first-place team also captured Big Fish of the Tourney with a beautiful 7.92-pound lunker to anchor their 5-fish limit, 4 of which were close to or more than 6 pounds each.
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May 7 fish report
Kern County, southern San Joaquin Valley
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Steve Merlo: Here's to the old way of education
I think I finally understand what people mean when they say "life's just too short."
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Steve Merlo: Techniques for catching crappie at Isabella, catfish at BV derby
My e-mails runneth over with fishermen needing advice on taking advantage of Isabella Lake's tremendous crappie bite. Since my best friend and I caught more than 300 fish last weekend, I think we've got a foolproof technique.
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Steve Merlo: Buena Vista Catfish Derby set for May 2
For the first time in its 32-year history, the Kern County Parks and Recreation Department, in an effort to stimulate non-trout-program recreational usage, will hold a catfish derby May 2 at Lake Evans. Nearly 3,000 pounds of catfish between 3/4 and 5-plus pounds will be planted in the inaugural event with more than 10 percent of the total weighing over 3 pounds each. Cash prizes and outdoor gear will be awarded to contestants landing big fish, children's catches and total numbers. The event should draw a bunch of folks out to the tiny lake in hopes of capturing a nice mess of fish, and they should.
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April 23 fish report
LAKE ISABELLA: Still very good trout action and the crappie bite has taken off this week with quality fish in the 11/2-pound range showing at Camp Nine and Joughin Cove on minnows. The best trout bite has been on floating baits, nightcrawlers, and small lures fished at the auxiliary dam, but fish are showing around much of the lake. The largemouth bite is still sputtering along, but the fish should be stacking into the shallows. Catfish still oddly slow.
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Steve Merlo: Removal of bear hunting quota makes perfect sense
A while back, a friend and I came face to face with a sow black bear and her two small cubs. We had left the confines of a friend's house only 50 yards away when we saw the trio of bruins and stopped dead in our tracks. So did they. Despite the fact we were both armed with shotguns and heavy turkey loads, nothing in the world would have made us take another step.
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Steve Merlo: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation dinner helps worthy cause
Nothing in life sends shivers of excitement up and down one's back more than the spine-tingling bugle of a rutting bull elk in the wild. Very few North American animals have the size, antlers, cunning and beauty of these game animals, and hunters worldwide will attest to the difficulty of bagging a mature specimen. Whether taken by bow or rifle, any of the three species in America are a challenge, and thousands of hunters travel many miles to destinations across America for a crack at bagging one of these magnificent animals. The elk, called Wapiti by some, have seen a tremendous population growth in the last several decades, and a lot of that growth can be directly attributed to the work of conservationist groups like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
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Steve Merlo: Ken Barnes Open highlights busy, fun outdoors weekend
Some of the world's best skeet shooters will be on hand at the Kern County Gun Club today through Sunday.
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Steve Merlo: US Forest Service 'Gestapo' riles local crowd at Isabella
They came to lead the lambs to slaughter, but when the smoke cleared, the United States Forest Service found itself facing an angry pack of civilian wolves hellbent on tossing the governmental agency back into the woods. The 200-plus throng of concerned citizens first filled the Lake Isabella Senior Citizen hall last Monday evening, then overflowed into the foyers, each person wanting to make their point regarding government intrusion into their Kern River Valley livelihoods and recreational opportunities.
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Steve Merlo: Proposed closures at Lake Isabella are outlandish, unfair
To the citizens of Lake Isabella and the Kern River Valley wanting to know what could be done to stop the rash of idiotic laws sponsored by the government trying to change the lifestyle at your lake:
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Aqueduct striped bass tourney set for March 28
Despite the fact that I am for deregulation of the striped bass harvest, I still love fishing for them, especially in the California Aqueduct where the limit in the Southern Valley District holds at 2 fish, 18 inches or better. Eventually though, I see the limit removed and a no-size-limit regulation going into effect in a political trade-off to allow the unimpeded flow of Nor-Cal water into the Southern San Joaquin.
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Steve Merlo: A big year, and banquet, on tap for wild turkey hunters
The 200-yard, stumbling-in-the-dark "stroll" to my brush blind had me mumbling bad words.
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Steve Merlo: Delta native species, striped bass at center of water controversy
Water, the most precious commodity we have in the Southern San Joaquin, stands in short supply due to the extended drought. Agriculture and other highly beneficial interests to the people of Kern County are suffering, and entire companies relying on the quaff of life are closing up shop because the "well" has all but gone dry.
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Steve Merlo: Duck hunting in Mexico a five-star adventure
Bakersfield residents Andy “Tequila” Paulden, Jon Tkac, Paul Anspach, Robb Stewart (also known as ‘Señor Rub”), Roger Greiss and I flew to Los Mochis, Mexico, last week for a duck hunt.
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Steve Merlo: Ducks abundant on hunting trip to Mexico
Without actually being there in person, I suppose it would be difficult for anyone to fathom what 2,500 green-wing teal look like coming in to only 14 decoys. But, that's exactly what happened when my friend Jon Tkac and I experienced that incredible sight more than once this past week.
