A celebration of the Roanoke River is the theme for the third Weldon Heritage Speaker Series free public event on November 16. 

Titled The Roanoke River: Amazon of the East and sponsored by Weldon In Action, two Weldon river rat fishermen and two eastern North Carolina fisheries experts will tell tales of the river’s past glory days and share about the river’s present and future. 

Included will be details about the recently initiated three-year effort to restock the river and Albemarle Sound with over 2 million striped bass, commonly known as rockfish. 

The 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. event will take place at Halifax Community College, 100 College Drive, Weldon, in the school's Advanced Manufacturing and Corporate Training Center, room 825. 

“To those living near its source in western Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, to those near its mouth in eastern North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound — and all points in between — we invite all lovers of the 410-mile Roanoke River to join this unique celebration right here in the Rockfish Capital of the World,” says event lead organizer Francis Kyle. 

Kyle said this is the first of what Weldon In Action is planning to be an annual or biennial celebration of the Roanoke River. 

With a Weldon and Halifax County emphasis, Kyle said future event themes will focus on the river’s Native American, colonial, Underground Railroad, Civil War and 20th Century human history, its waterfowl that will include a hopeful biologist guest speaker from the 1989-established, 21,000-acre Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge in Bertie County. 

Other future topics will include its scenic wilderness paddling option by means of the new nearly 140-mile Roanoke River State Trail that runs from Weldon to the Albemarle Sound and the river’s value to the local and regional economy, including tourism.

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River rats

The featured river rats are Halifax County natives and retirees Leemond “Boots” Branch, age 94 of Weldon, and his son Robert “Bob” Branch of Cary. 

“A living legend to many and among other highlights that span over eight decades, the still-active fisherman father heroically saved two strangers from drowning in the Roanoke River on January 15, 2010, after the men’s boat had capsized,” Kyle said. 

At the request of former Weldon Mayor Julia Meacham, a large fishing net made by the elder Branch still hangs in the Weldon Town Hall town board chamber. 

Earlier this year, on April 13, the younger Branch was interviewed on the podcast Better Fishing with 2 Bald Biologists, the official podcast of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. 

Fisheries experts

Charlton H. Godwin and Chad D. Thomas are the two Roanoke River fisheries experts.

Thomas will moderate the opening discussion with the Branches and the audience question-and-answer segment, and then briefly share about the new fisheries-based non-profit he leads. 

He will be followed by Godwin’s autobiographical and scientific data-driven presentation on the Roanoke River’s past, present and future regarding its fish and oftentimes colorful river rats like Halifax County’s Sterling Keeter. 

Godwin is the biologist supervisor for the Elizabeth City-based Northern District Office of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. 

A biologist since 2004 with the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality-managed NCDMF, he has tagged over 50,000 Striped Bass on the spawning grounds near Weldon. 

The Bertie County native and Ridgecroft School and East Carolina University graduate grew up exploring the Roanoke River, Chowan River and western Albemarle Sound. 

Of his upcoming visit to Weldon, Godwin says, “I'm very excited to discuss the rich history of the striped bass fishery on the Roanoke River, where we are now and what the future may hold.”

Thomas is the executive director of the N.C. Marine and Estuary Foundation. Formed in 2017, the mission of the Raleigh-based non-profit is “to build world-class fisheries and thriving coastal communities” and its vision is “to see North Carolina become the country's premier fishing destination.” 

NCMEF seeks to “equip citizens, researchers, legislators, policymakers, stakeholders and other organizations with high-quality scientific information to help solve challenging fisheries issues.” 

A N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission retiree and graduate of N.C. State University and Tennessee Technological University, Thomas was awarded the 2021 Fisheries Biologist of the Year by the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 

Godwin and Thomas are both longtime members of the American Fisheries Society. Considered the world’s oldest and largest professional fisheries association, AFS formed in 1870 in New York City and is now headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.