RIVERGUARD REPORT: Skunked catfishing on the Blackwater

Whispering Bear and I spent Oct. 5-7 on the Blackwater below Franklin. The water was high at 2.22 at the Franklin USGS gauge, very fast and clear. Air temps ranged from 56 to 80 degrees. It was very nice weather.

The trash on this trip was about like I had expected. There was plenty to get, but most of it was too far up in the woods for us to reach with the pontoon boat and the water moving so fast. We still picked up about 12 pounds worth. I saw no derelict limb lines.

Even though the trash was light, the alligator weed was not. That stuff really expanded its territory on the Blackwater this year. Also, the shade mudflower and milfoil were heavy. It appears to me there must be an overabundance of nutrients in the water. Probably because we have so much rain and higher water this summer than average.

The catfishing on this trip at night… was nonexistent. Perfect water conditions for running the big cat rig, but not even a hit either night. Had fresh and frozen cut bait, but it didn’t make any difference. I even changed bait…every beer, but that didn’t make any difference either, hhhhaaaa. I guess the big catfish got all washed down to North Carolina. The regular fishing was pretty good, though. I caught bream and plenty of small bass. All those fish were caught on a white tail Mepps #2.

Well it’s starting to get right cool at night to be on the pontoon boat. Time to switch over to land-based headquarters soon. We might can get one more pontoon boat trip in. I’d kinda like to because it just seems the summer went by so fast this year on the two rivers we call the Blackwater and Nottoway.

Jeff Turner is the Blackwater Nottoway RiverGuard. To contact him about river issues, send him an email at blknotkpr@earthlink.net. He can also be followed on the Blackwater Nottoway RiverGuard Facebook page. Search for “Blackwater Nottoway RiverGuard” on Facebook.

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