Spirit of Moonpie and I spent Sept. 26 through Sept. 28 on the Blackwater below Franklin.

The water was normal, clear and 67 degrees. Air temps ranged from 57 to 83 degrees.

Skeeters were terrible on this trip; no problems with giant ones, but there were millions of small ones.

Trash was heavy, and I easily filled a large VDOT bag. Not sure why there was so much this trip, but the majority of the trash began where the Franklin storm water ditch comes to the river. There was very little trash upriver from that point source.

The fishing on this trip was very good. I caught five catfish up to 11 pounds on limb-lines. The bluegill fishing way upriver was very good to outstanding.

The Mepps minnow in a No. 0 size was the ticket. The bass fishing was good also, but the fish were all pretty small. I guess I caught 12 all in all, but the largest was only about 15 inches. Again, the Mepps Minnow and a Snagless Sally ruled.

Well, now for the big story. I believe I have solved the debacle over whether there is, or ever has been such a thing as BIG FOOT in our area.

We have found evidence of such a creature (see photo) buried and fossilized in the primordial mud of the upper Blackwater River. A single foot arising out of the ooze is all that we have now to mark the location of this incredible and historic find.

We plan on excavating the site whenever conditions become favorable for Big Foot harvesting later this fall on the two rivers we call the Blackwater and Nottoway.

JEFF TURNER is riverkeeper for the Blackwater/Nottoway Riverkeeper Program, an environmentally conscious organization that focuses on keeping local waterways healthy. BNRP’s parent organization is The Waterkeeper Alliance. website for Turner, www.blackwaternottoway.com.