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By Jeff Turner

RiverGuard Report

Spirit of Moonpie and I spent Oct. 27-29 on the Nottoway below the Bronco Club. The water was low, 60 degrees and very clear. Air temps ranged from 40 to 72 degrees. Skeeters were terrible. I also had a cottonmouth waiting for me in camp under my chair when I returned to base camp on the second evening. Needless to say, that was not pleasant. I saw no man-made water quality issues and found no derelict limb lines. However, I did have to remind some nice people catfishing free-floating noodles that they must keep noodles in visual contact at all times. That regulation applies to free-floating and stationary noodles.

The fishing on this trip was on fire. I seriously cannot figure out why. The water was low, had no flow and was very clear. Dissolved oxygen levels are bound to be down as we have not had any rain in like a month. Yet the bass and jacks were tearing it up. I caught at least 20 largemouths. I lost one in a treetop that was 6 pounds. That’s the problem with using light tackle. As soon as it hit, I knew I was in trouble because of the tree limbs in the water and tried heading the boat out into the clear, but the fish was just too much for that 4 1/2-foot rod. It could have been worse had I not seen the fish. Anyway, I got my lure back. I also caught two bass on the same lure. Both fish were a pound and a half. I almost got a picture of that, but my stupid smartphone took three taps on the camera button to come up, and in that two seconds, one of the fish tore off right beside the boat. I also caught eight chain pickerel that are now in my freezer… yum yum! Most of the fish were caught on a stickbait that has three treble hooks. I also caught right many on a custom Mepps Minnow that has a red and white blade. So, the fishing was a lot of fun, for sure.

I saw a juvenile eagle near the new nest upriver from the Bronco Club. It was flying toward the nest carrying a bunch of sticks. I thought that a bit odd since bald eagles have to be bald (about 5 years old) before being able to breed. I’m pretty sure this eagle was this year’s offspring. So, I did some searching online, and the answer seems to be that juvy eagles will mimic their parents’ behavior. It’s part of the learning process, I guess, and it seems the juvy was practicing nest building. So that’s just another example of seeing/learning something new on the two rivers we call the Nottoway and Blackwater.

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.