Riverkeeper

Published Friday, January 22, 2010

Spirit of Moonpie & I spent the 19th through the 20th on the Blackwater below the Steel Bridge VDGIF boat ramp on Rt. 603.

We had planned on our typical three-day adventure but the threat of rain and a fast rising river drove us off the river early. The water was muddy, fast and 44 degrees. When we put in on the 19th the river was at 8.1 on the USGS gauge, which is already high, and by the time we took out at 11 the next morning it was 9.18. On Saturday the 16th, the river was at 7 feet. Sunday upriver, according to NOAA in Wakefield, it rained 1.20 inches. Granted, it rained hard and fast, but that just shows how bad us humans are contributing to the flood problems this river has — 1.20 inches of rain should not jump the river two feet and that is just how high it had risen as of this writing on the afternoon of the 20th. This trend will only continue to get worse unless we change the way we develop the land around here.

The trash on this trip was not too bad, and I picked up only a small bag. I saw no other water quality issues.

However, there is now a huge logjam at the City of Norfolk’s pump-house. It is forcing the high river waters against the shore where the pump house sits and is eating away at that structure’s foundation. If the jam is not removed and we continue to have high fast water, that building could end up with some serious damage.

Fishing on this trip was not great, at least for me. I caught nine blackfish, two nice largemouth and a catfish. All were caught on a ½-ounce blade bait jigging off the bottom in water from 14 to 23 feet.

Usually the blackfish are really hitting in this part of the river right now. I did see my buddy Dean and a friend do pretty good with the speckle.

Moonpie saw them coming up the river and said, “ That’s the same guy who was where we were fishing last trip out.”

“Yea, so what?” I replied.

“Well I think he is following us around or stalking us or something.”

“Look Moonpie,” I said. “I like talking to him. He’s an interesting fellow, so chill out. Besides I think there is way-a-plenty room for us all out here on the two rivers we call the Blackwater and Nottoway.”

JEFF TURNER is Riverkeeper for the Blackwater/Nottoway Riverkeeper Program (BNRP), an environmentally conscious organization that focuses on keeping local waterways healthy. BNRP’s parent organization is The Waterkeeper Alliance. Contact information for Turner is listed on the program’s Web site, ww

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---