You’ve heard the expression “loaded for bear.”

Well, that’s exactly what a group of local hunters did last week when they journeyed to the northern most part of the continental U.S. in the state of Maine to hunt black bear.

Ralph Gentry was the most successful of the five-man crew, harvesting a 200 pound bear. He made his kill on Aug. 27. Three days later, another member of the crew, Don Wallace, scored with a 150-pounder.

Joining Gentry and Wallace on the hunt out of Oxbow Lodge, Oxbow, Maine, were Shannon Rich, Ricky Baskett and Willie Brown.

Maine has an abundance of bears and hunters are asked not to harvest females with cubs since the cubs cannot survive without their mothers. The local group was there for a week.

A local fisherman, Floyd Cockerham, made a trip of his own, an annual catfishing visit with his son in Illinois. The two fished a public utility lake of some 1,500 acres that is loaded with big cats as well as other species including smallmouth. But Floyd concentrated on the cats and scored heavily. The fish ranged in weight from 10 to 39-plus pounds, all caught on rod and reel and released. A great majority of their catch was blues.

Fishing has been pretty good in these parts too. Our buddy and co-fishing reporter Todd Logsdon made a solo trip to Lake Cumberland and brought home a 40-inch striper, caught on live shad. He also caught several other fish including a 28-incher and a 30-incher. Todd lost a huge smallmouth, which he said would have gone on the wall had he managed to land it. He survived two big jumps but on the third one, the hook ripped out of the fish’s mouth.

Bass fishing on Barren continues to be pretty good with Texas or Carolina rigs. Haven’t heard of any monsters but several in the four- to five-pound class. They’re still catching a few hybrids and crappie have been picking up every day. I even managed to catch enough Monday to smell up a skillet. But veteran crappie fishermen have been bringing them in 30 to 40 a trip, fishing submerged cover with both minnows and jigs.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife is joining with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Knott County Tourism Commission to sponsor a Kentucky Elk Country Expo at the Knott County Sportsplex near Hindman this weekend, Sept. 12-13.

The Expo, just off Ky. 80 east of Hindman, will feature outdoor sports-related vendors, hunting and fishing guides, outfitters, educational seminars and activities, music by the Moron Brothers and makes optimum use of its location in the heart of Kentucky’s 16-county elk restoration zone with guided elk tours.

“Kentucky Afield” television host Tim Farmer will be on hand both days. The Knott County Chamber of Commerce will sponsor an antler-scoring contest for shed and legally harvested deer and elk. First and second place prizes in each category will be awarded.

Both days also feature an archery shoot for ages 8 and up. Saturday’s activities include the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Brent McCarty with birds of prey, and Kentucky Big Game Coordinator Tina Brunjes‚ presentation on the history of the state’s successful elk restoration program.

Elk tours cost $10 a person. Call (606) 785-5881 to register for a tour. Friday’s tour departs the Sportsplex at 6 p.m., while Saturday’s tour departs at 6:30 a.m.

Special invitations have been sent to 400 successful applicants participating in this year’s elk hunt drawing. Admission is free for students, teachers and school principals who register at the door. For other adults and children, the cost is $5 and $3, respectively. Admission is free for children under 12.