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Whispering Bear, Spirit of Moonpie and I spent the 17th through the 19th on the Nottoway below Delaware. The water was up about a foot, moving good upriver and clear. Air temps ranged from a chilly 54 to a really hot 93 degrees. 

Trash was very light, but we did remove two 100-foot wads of braided fishing line, complete with lures, from the trees. All I got to say is there are some really poor casters out there. One was so high up, I had to use my 20-gauge lure unhanger to get that mess out of the tree.

The fishing on this trip was just marginal. We were actually skunked the first night on the big catfish rig. For some reason the water down near 258 way never moved from 9 till 1 a.m. that morning. Therefore, I could not run the monster cat rig. The second night, intent on having flow, I moved all the way back upriver near the Narrows, guaranteeing I could send the big cat rig into action. And while that did work, we caught only two cats, the biggest weighing 10 pounds, which is way shy of what I’m seeking to hook up with. 

Regular fishing in the daytime was kind of slow. Whispering Bear caught some nice Red Throats, and I caught a few Jack and a few small bass. Whispering Bear cooked a couple on the grill in a foil pack-type thing that worked out pretty good for her… I had New York Strip, as I’m not crazy about broiled bass. Give me fried, please!

I got word after we returned Saturday that some vandalism had taken place at the Route 258 Department of Wildlife Resources ramp. Not long ago they were having problems with people breaking into vehicles there at the facility. It’s truly a shame folks can’t go to the river and have a nice day without some idiot crap like that happening. Scumbags that do stuff like that obviously are really stupid beyond comprehension. That’s a really good way to get badly beaten or worse as more and more people are carrying weapons these days to protect themselves. The penalties for these crimes need to be more robust and not relaxed as some people advocate.

However, with all the bad I see on the rivers from time to time, it’s nice to see there are still very good people out there. For the second trip in a row as I was preparing to take the pontoon boat out of the water, I had another fisherman ask did I need any assistance. That is so awesome to see in this day and age of “keep to yourself-ness” on the two rivers we call the Nottoway and Blackwater.

JEFF TURNER is the Blackwater Nottoway RiverGuard. To contact him about river issues, email him at blknotkpr@earthlink.net.