The Virginia Sportsman Winter 2020

MONTE BURKE'S LATEST BOOK | MAKING WINTER STEW | FISH HANDLING 101 | MAKING A LIVING ON THE EASTERN SHORE

WINTER 2020

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THE WINTER 2020 ISSUE

FEATURES 24 AN ARTIST’S JOURNEY

We trace AD Maddox’s rise to prominence as one of the world’s most celebrated fly-fishing artists.

28 WOODIES ALONG THE RIVER

44 MAKING A LIVING

King Montgomery details an idyllic autumn hunt for wood ducks in Maine.

Reflections from time spent on the waterfront, making a living on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

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MAKING SIMPLE STEW

James Beard Award-winning author—and hunter, angler, gardener, cook—Hank Shaw shares tips for making fantastic stew with what you already have in the house.

CARROLL COUNTY TRAGEDY Remembering the cautionary tale of an early 20th-century massacre at a small-town Virginia courthouse.

“RAINBOW RISE II” BY ARTIST AD MADDOX, O I L O N C A N VAS

W I N T ER 2020 | T H E V I R G I N I A S P O R T S M A N

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DEPARTMENTS THE WINTER 2020 ISSUE

12 THE SOUND After battling COVID-19, Sturgill Simpson releases a surprise bluegrass album with a cast of Nashville greats.

14 OUTFITTED Get in the holiday spirit with our annual gift guide, filled with ideas for sport and style.

18 FROM THE FIELD Keep Fish Wet is a nonprofit that helps anglers improve the outcomes for fish they catch, handle and release.

54 RAISE A GLASS We’re in for some long, cold nights this winter, so warm up with these beers made in Virginia and surrounding states.

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MONTE BURKE’S “LORDS OF THE F LY : M A D N E S S , O B S E S S I O N , A N D THE HUNT FOR THE WORLD-RECORD TA R P O N ” H A S R E C E I V E D C R I T I C A L ACCLAIM. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ELEVEN EXPERIENCE

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G R I Z Z LY D R I F T E R ’ S S O F T- S I D E D C O O L E R WILL KEEP YOU WELL STOCKED FOR ANY ADVENTURE.

ON THE COVER “NOT OVER YET” BY AD MADDOX, OIL ON BELGIAN LINEN

58 WELL READ We review Monte Burke’s “Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon.”

64 OPEN SPACES Contributing writer and flyfishing guide Justin Whitt is proud to be That Guy—the one who won’t accept your lame excuses for missing a day on the water.

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The Winter 2020 Issue

EDITOR’S NOTE

KEEP FISH WET’S AIM IS TO IMPROVE THE OUTCOME OF FISH T H AT A R E C AU G H T A N D R E L E A S E D. P H OTO BY DAV E M C C OY

I

am delighted to share some exciting news. Monte Burke, New York Times best-selling author, is our new contributing editor at The Virginia Sportsman.

Burke’s latest book, “Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon” (Pegasus, 278 pages, $26.95), has received critical acclaim, and its first two printings sold out in the first month. Burke is also a contributing editor at Forbes, Garden & Gun and The Drake. He is certainly a welcome addition to our editorial team.

A passage from “Lords of the Fly” sets the tone for this issue: “Fishing, whether it’s catch-and-kill or catch-and-release, remains a blood sport.

Catch-and-release fishing is, for many, a blind behind which one can hide, or not think about, what one is actually doing, a bit like buying meat from the grocery store without a thought about the slaughterhouse it came from. It can provide a false sense of moral superiority. No fish wants to be hooked, played with and then released.”

Burke is a self-proclaimed “fly-fishing nerd” who often takes a lighthearted approach to storytelling. In his book and in our interview, he does not shy away from the harsh reality that there are a host of environmental issues impacting tarpon and their fisheries today.

“There aren’t a lot of world-record chasers anymore,” Burke said. “We’ve evolved in how we view our resources in the ocean. They aren’t infinite—they’re finite.”

The author’s sentiment reflects the rationale behind our story on Keep Fish Wet. The nonprofit’s aim is to improve the outcome of fish that are caught and released.

Scientific studies on how fish respond to capture, handling and release can help reduce the negative impacts on them and serve as a basis for best practices. This information 10

T H E V I R G I N I A S P O R T S M A N | WINTER 2020

is locked behind expensive firewalls and written in technical language that is difficult to understand.

Guided by fisheries scientists, Keep Fish Wet makes this information understandable and accessible to anglers. There’s no finger-pointing at those who lawfully harvest fish.

All anglers can make a difference by taking simple steps—and by following practices that don’t require pricey gear.

Our waters are overcrowded, and there’s more pressure on fish—and on anglers who post pictures of their catches on social media. In this issue, we share Keep Fish Wet’s tips for catching, handling, releasing and photographing fish with the best possible outcomes for all involved.

When it comes to Instagram-worthy fish art, no one captures the essence of trout better than AD Maddox. Marshall Cutchin, fishing guide and publisher of the online flyfishing magazine MidCurrent, describes Maddox’s work as, “A kind of photorealism on steroids.”

Maddox uses oil as a medium and relies frequently on bright colors. Her brush strokes are subtle and often unrecognizable on Belgian-linen canvases. The Montanabased artist’s work has been on the covers of Gray’s Sporting Journal, Catch Magazine and the L.L. Bean catalog. We are thrilled to have her on the cover of our publication for the Winter 2020 issue.

Happy Holidays! Enjoy the season and thank you for reading print.

KEEP FISH WET Driven by Passion

Backed by Science

Photo: Arian Stevens Keep Fish Wet Ambassador

Science-based nonprofit helping anglers improve the outcome for each fish they release Learn more and become an ADVOCATE www.keepfishwet.org

P H OTO C O U R T E S Y AT L A N T I C R E C O R D S , C R E AT I V E C O M M O N S . O R G V I A W I K I M E D I A C O M M O N S

The Winter 2020 Issue | THE SOUND

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BLUEGRASS STATE OF MIND STORY BY JEDD FERRIS

After Battling COVID-19, Sturgill Simpson Embraces Kentucky Roots and Reboots Back Catalog with Acoustic Strings on “Cuttin’ Grass”

S

turgill Simpson had big plans for 2020. In March, he had just begun a massive, months-long arena tour in support of his edgy rock record, “Sound & Fury,” but on the eve of an appearance at Virginia’s Hampton Coliseum, the entire trek was halted due to pandemic shutdowns. Soon after, Simpson ended up in an emergency room, feeling extremely fatigued with severe chest tightness, and he was diagnosed with COVID-19. After a long and slow recovery, he decided to re-evaluate his musical direction.

Simpson’s sound choices have been keeping audiences guessing since he released the breakout album “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music” in 2014. Upon the record’s release, he quickly became an Americana hero, mingling Waylon Jenningsstyle outlaw revivalism with broader cosmic-country leanings. The follow-up, 2016’s “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth,” embraced horn-fueled soul-rock, while still notching Simpson a Grammy Award for Best Country Album. Then came last year’s “Sound & Fury,” a wild, at-times jarring effort full of distorted guitars that was released in conjunction with a Japanese anime film of the same name that Simpson also produced.

So, it was yet another surprise in the fall when Simpson, a Kentucky native, unveiled a stripped-down return to the roots of his old home place by quickly releasing “Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions,” a new album that finds the singersongwriter reworking 20 of his previously released tunes with help from a crew of ace bluegrass musicians.

Simpson was introduced to bluegrass by his grandfather as a kid, and although he admits that at first it didn’t take, he eventually became enamored with pioneers of the genre, particularly the Monroe Brothers. “Bluegrass music is healing,” Simpson wrote in a lengthy letter he released to accompany “Cuttin’ Grass.” “I truly believe this to be true. It is made from ancient, organic tones and, as with most all forms of music, the vibrations and the pulse can be extremely therapeutic.”

Simpson recorded the new acoustic set back in June in Nashville at Butcher Shoppe Recording Studio with production from Johnny Cash engineer David Ferguson, and he’s accompanied by a roster of all-star pickers, including mandolinist Sierra Hull, fiddler Stuart Duncan, banjo player Scott Vestal and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien. With deft string work as a backdrop, Simpson’s songs

are enlightened with vibrant, pastoral reinterpretation. Whereas tracks like “Railroad of Sin,” originally found on Simpson’s solo debut album “High Top Mountain,” and “A Little Light,” a standout from “Metamodern,” previously had insurgent grit, here they’re delivered with an unguarded, back-porch ease.

Simpson’s sturdy, drawl-heavy voice also sounds clear and comfortable—cradled by the high-lonesome harmonies and driving rhythms of the format. As a roots-leaning artist, Simpson has never fit a particular mold, and he’s been consistently outspoken about his displeasure with the mainstream music industry. Now free of a major-label record deal, he seems to be in a place that’s right in his wheelhouse.

“I’m realizing more and more every day what I already knew, which is that I was always supposed to be an independent artist,” Simpson wrote. “I’m just trying to look forward and create without any industry timelines or narratives and all the creative restrictions that inevitably come with them. The real benefit is that I’ve completely fallen back in love with music again.”

5 ESSENTIAL

TRACKS

“Turtles All the Way Down” The soul-searching best-known track from Simpson’s breakout album “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music” morphs from a cosmic ballad into a driving bluegrass tune on the singersongwriter’s new effort, “Cuttin’ Grass.”

“Keep It Between the Lines” Simpson’s Grammy-winning 2017 album “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” is largely a life-lesson letter to his son. The effort’s standout track is a dusty, horn-driven funk romp full of advice about staying on the straight and narrow.

“In Bloom” Another must-hear gem from “Sailor’s Guide” is Simpson’s moody roadhouse ballad take on Nirvana’s “In Bloom.”

“Sing Along” This bouncy electro-rock song that features the high-octane mojo of ZZ Top is one of the best offerings from Simpson’s wild 2019 effort, “Sound & Fury.”

“Railroad of Sin” The initial version of this song, found on Simpson’s solo debut album “High Top Mountain,” chugs along with Johnny Cash-style fervor and is highlighted by rowdy electric guitar.

It’s rebooted on “Cuttin’ Grass” with a series of fast-paced, fleetfingered acoustic solos.

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WINTER 2020 SPORTSMAN’S GIFT GUIDE Get your holiday shopping done early with these gift ideas for the sportsmen and sportswomen in your life.

BY ERIC KALLEN

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T H E V I R G I N I A S P O R T S M A N | WINTER 2020

GRIZZLY DRIFTER SOFT-SIDED COOLER [1] Whether you are hitting the road, water or your favorite picnic spot, soft-sided coolers are the perfect way to keep your food and drinks cool and fresh. Lighter and less cumbersome than traditional hard coolers, soft-sided coolers have seen a surge in popularity. At the head of the pack is the Grizzly Drifter softsided cooler. Available in 12- and 20-quart versions, the Grizzly Drifter provides functionality, quality and looks—all at a lower price point than other soft-sided coolers. The Drifter comes with a molded EVA foam liner, sturdy zippers and wide-mouth openings for easy access. The cooler’s padded shoulder strap and carry handle make for easy and comfortable transport—even when the cooler is full. This cooler is the perfect way to keep adventurers well stocked with food and drink for any journey. $99.99-$149.99; grizzlycoolers.com

ROSS REELS COLORADO REEL [2] Following up on the success of the award-winning click-pawl Colorado LT, Ross Reels has just released a completely updated new version, the Colorado. The Colorado’s new design presents a different look than any other click-pawl reel on the market. The reel’s semi-caged metal frame gives the reel a solid feel and enhanced durability and strength with minimal weight gain. The all-metal external clicker accentuates the back of the reel, and the machined silhouette of the San Juan Mountains provides an upscale, eye-catching appearance. Available in both a 2/3-weight and a 4/5-weight versions, this reel is the perfect complement to your favorite featherweight fly rod. $335.00; rossreels.com

DUBARRY OF IRELAND HAZELWOOD TWEED PONCHO [3] The perfect accompaniment to any ensemble, Dubarry’s Hazelwood Tweed Poncho provides women with comfort, elegance and functionality. Crafted with 100% Scottish wool and coated with Teflon for durability, the Hazelwood Tweed Poncho is fully lined and secured with a brass-colored button for a secure fit. Equally appropriate for a night on the town or a day at the races, the Hazelwood Poncho is the perfect gift for anyone who likes to get outside in the colder months without sacrificing style. And guys: the poncho is one-size-fits-all, so ordering is as easy as it can get. $299.00; dubarry.com

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SPORTDOG LOCATOR BEACON [4] With the days getting shorter, it’s more and more common for dog owners to be outside with their dogs in the dark.

SportDOG’s locator beacons are a great way to gain peace of mind and create awareness of our four-legged friends.

Easily attachable to your dog’s collar—or your backpack or belt loop using the included carabiner clip—these beacons make it easy to spot dogs on dark winter nights. Powered by CR2032 disposable batteries, the beacons put off a remarkably bright light that can be set to constant display or blinking modes. Available in five colors, SportDOG beacons provide enhanced visibility for the field or walk around the neighborhood. $14.95; sportdog.com

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2 SWIFTWICK VISION SIX IMPRESSION NATIONAL PARK COLLECTION SOCK [5] These 6-inch, medium-cushion crew socks are made of high-performance fibers designed to regulate temperatures and keep feet warm and dry. Created in collaboration with Anderson Design Group, each sock has a 360-degree printed design that pays homage to our National Parks. Available prints include Yosemite, Zion, Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon. Bottom line: these socks are beautiful, warm and comfortable.

What more could you ask for? $19.99; swiftwick.com

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DEREK DEYOUNG FISH FLANK PILSNER GLASSES [6] For the angler in your life who loves a cold beer, these 16-ounce heavy duty pilsner glasses are the perfect way to enjoy a beverage this holiday season. Decorated with renowned artist Derek DeYoung’s abstract fish flanks, these glasses are available in four trout patterns— brook, brown, rainbow and cutthroat—and a beautiful tarpon pattern. Glasses can be purchased as a set or individually and are available in smaller rocks sizes if you like ice in your drinks and something a little stronger. $10.00; derekdeyoung.com

SEA TO SUMMIT ALTITUDE WOMEN’S DOWN SLEEPING BAG [7] For that woman in your life who loves the great outdoors and deserves a sleeping bag made just for her, the Sea to Summit Altitude Down Sleeping Bag is a perfect gift. Available in two different temperature ratings (15 degrees and 25 degrees) the Altitude sleeping bag is engineered specifically for women adventurers.

Thermolite insulation in the foot section of the bag provides instant warmth for her feet. In addition, the bag’s down-filled chambers use body-mapping to maximize warmth. Plus, the bag’s overall shape is engineered to match a women’s body more closely and reduce dead space. Extremely light and packable, the Altitude sleeping bag is extremely versatile and is well-suited for a variety of camping and hiking needs. $379.00-$439.00; seatosummitusa.com

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FILSON DUCKS UNLIMITED DRYDEN BACKPACK [8] Two iconic American brands, Filson and Ducks Unlimited (DU), have teamed up to produce a collection of limitededition, co-branded items that are a must-have for any sportsman. Filson and DU have rich histories in hunting and conservation, and the items in this collection range from t-shirts and hats to jackets and some of the best luggage and bags around. Filson’s popular Dryden Backpack is one of these items. This versatile backpack is constructed from 1000-denier Cordura® nylon.

Durable and weather-resistant, the Dryden Backpack is finished with bridle leather and nylon webbing for multiple convenient carrying options. A doublelayer, reinforced bottom guarantees durability. A zippered, rear-panel laptop pocket is great for anyone who needs to travel with a computer. The Dryden backpack reflects the quality Filson products are known for, and the limited-edition DU label makes this bag that much more special. $225.00; filson.com

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The Winter 2020 Issue | FROM THE FIELD

KEEP FISH WET

Nonprofit Bridges Gap Between Science and Angling Communities STORY BY JOE SHIELDS

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T H E V I R G I N I A S P O R T S M A N | WINTER 2020

I imagine most catch-and-release anglers are guilty of posting and sharing “grip-and-grin” pics. I am. These days cell phones enable us to take amazing photographs—and who can keep track of the megapixel capabilities? Factor in easy-to-use internet platforms, and today almost anyone can become a social-media maven by clicking a few buttons on a mobile device.

Fly fishing and photography are a good fit—the subject matter and locales are exceptional, but there’s a price to pay. Our waters are overcrowded, and there’s more pressure on fish—and on anglers who post pictures of their catches online.

I encountered these habits on a recent float trip on the Upper Delaware River. It was late in the season, and there were no other anglers on the water. Thanks to local fly-fishing guide and photographer John Miller, I was able to catch a few wild browns on dry fly.

Instinctively I wanted to capture a few photos of myself with trout to post on this magazine’s social channels. The guide was very polite and accommodating.

“Hold your breath while you hold the fish,” Miller told me. “If you can’t breathe, neither can the fish. These trout are all wild, and they’re our treasures. Let’s take a few photos with the fish in the net and in the water. No offense, but photos of fish are prettier without humans.”

Miller’s guidance echoed the principles of a budding movement.

It’s one that protects fish and helps people distinguish their photos in creative ways from typical Instagram posts.

The reality of catch-and-release angling is that not all fish survive. Experts estimate that approximately 10 percent of fish die after

being caught and released. The percentage largely depends on how anglers handle fish.

“What we don’t have yet are precise mortality estimates for each fishery,” said Sascha Clark Danylchuk, executive director of Keep Fish Wet. “We do, however, know from the science that the fate of released fish is primarily determined by angler behavior. Studies point to a variety of actions taken by anglers that can either increase or decrease the chance of mortality for fish after release. The genesis of our organization is the realization that a Version 2.0 is needed for catch and release.”

Clark Danylchuk is a fisheries scientist who has worked for a number of conservation and educational nonprofits. Her primary focus is on recreational angling and the science of catch and release.

Several years ago, the intersection between her work as a (OPPOSITE) KEEP FISH WET SCIENCE ADVISOR DR. ANDY DANYLCHUK, PHOTO BY ED SOZINHO ( A B O V E ) AC T I O N S TA K E N BY A N G L E R S C A N I N C R E A S E O R D E C R E A S E T H E C H A N C E O F M O R TA L I T Y F O R F I S H A F T E R R E L E AS E . P H OTO BY DAV E M C C OY

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Fish Photography Tips

Keeping the fish in the water for photographs protects fish and makes for a unique angle for photography.

1. MAKE SURE YOUR CAMERA IS READY TO GO

Keep your camera easily accessible and make sure that it has plenty of battery and storage capacity. Make sure the settings for the current conditions are correct. This will help you quickly photograph and release the fish.

2. “THREE, TWO, ONE, LIFT AND CLICK”

Counting down your shots means that fish are out of the water for less time. Have the angler take a knee and keep the fish submerged while you make certain the camera focus and settings are dialed in, then communicate when everything is ready. A wet fish is a dripping fish, which is a great indicator that it has not been out of the water long.

3. BE MINDFUL OF CONDITIONS

At times, conditions will prohibit you from taking a photo; your priority will be to release the fish as soon as possible. You might not decide to take a photo because the water is especially warm, the fish is deeply hooked or there are predators in the area. Knowing what conditions can adversely affect the fate of released fish is just as important as knowing the best practices for catch-and-release.

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T H E V I R G I N I A S P O R T S M A N | WINTER 2020

scientist and her passion for angling led her to Keepemwet Fishing’s #KeepEmWet movement. She recently rebranded the endeavor and turned it into the nonprofit (501c3) Keep Fish Wet, which has become popular with anglers who want to document their catches and improve the outcomes for the fish they release.

“Forming a nonprofit elevated the movement and has opened the door for a better appreciation of our best practices and for what Keep Fish Wet really is,” Clark Danylchuk added. “We’re more than just a hashtag and want to extend our reach beyond social media. We now have greater capacity to bring our education and outreach programs to anglers. It’s made a big difference.”

Catch and release has been used as a conservation tool for more than a century. Today, scientific studies focused on how fish respond to capture, handling and release can be used to help reduce the negative impacts of catch and release—and serve as a basis for best practices. While many of these studies contain insights that can help anglers improve the outcomes for the fish they handle and release, the information is locked behind expensive paywalls and written in a technical language that is difficult to understand.

“One of our goals is to unlock science and make it more accessible and understandable to all anglers,” explained Clark Danylchuk. “This helps to bridge the gap between fisheries science and angling communities and makes our campaigns more effective.

Our end goal is to support sustainable, resilient fisheries by sharing best practices that are based on science.”

Keep Fish Wet believes there’s nothing wrong with lawfully harvesting fish for dinner. They do not finger-point or shame. In some instances of “catch-and-keep” angling, people return fish to the water because of size limits and other factors. In reality, catch-andP H OTO G R A P H I N G A F I S H I N T H E WAT E R —A N D I N A R U B B E R N E T— I S A S A F E , C R E AT I V E WAY TO C A P T U R E A N A M A Z I N G C ATC H . P H OTO BY DAV E M C C OY

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Fish Handling Tips USE BARBLESS HOOKS

Crimp the barbs on hooks. Barbless hooks cause less damage to a fish’s mouth and are quicker to remove.

USE ARTIFICIAL BAITS

The number one cause of mortality for fish is hooking injury. This usually occurs from deep- or foul-hooking. Fish are much more likely to swallow live and natural baits leading to injury and mortality. If you’re intent is to catch and release, consider using artificial baits and/ or circle hooks, which also decrease rates of deep-hooking.

USE RUBBER NETS

Rubber nets are less abrasive and do less damage to fish slime, scales, fins and gills than knotted nylon mesh nets. Fish are much more likely to swallow live and natural baits, which can lead to injury and mortality.

LIMIT USE OF LIP GRIPPERS

Lip-gripping devices should only be used on fish that you have no other way to control or handle, including toothy fish. Also, fish should never be held vertically by a lip-gripping device.

CARRY HOOK-REMOVAL DEVICES

Carry easily accessible pliers or other hook-removal tools, which will enable quick and careful hook removal. If the hooks are barbless, there is a good chance that a hook-removal tool can help with release even without taking the fish out of the water. If a fish is deeply hooked, cut the line instead of trying to remove the hook.

LIMIT FIGHT TIME

Once hooked, a fish vigorously exercises when fighting on the end of your line. By landing a fish quickly and without over-playing it to exhaustion, you can reduce physiological and muscular stress on the fish.

Match your tackle to the targeted species and conditions. If you can bring the fish to hand, do so rather than letting it make another run.

H O L D F I S H I N O R O V E R W AT E R

keep anglers do practice catch and release. All anglers can make a difference by taking simple steps—and these practices don’t require any pricey gear.

There are a few tenants and plenty of tips on the group’s website.

For starters, it’s important to minimize air exposure. Fish need oxygen just like us, but they get it from water because they can’t breathe air. In addition, eliminate contact with dry or hard surfaces to help keep a fish’s slime layer intact. Reducing handling time or any form of restraining fish is also critical. Fish are wild animals, and holding them in captivity (whether in your hands or in a net) even for brief periods is stressful. Letting fish return to their natural environment as quickly as possible is one of the best things you can do to ensure they are healthy and live to be caught again another day.

Learn more by visiting www.keepfishwet.org. Following these tips adds a human touch that makes sense in catch and release.

Joe Shields is the editor in chief of The Virginia Sportsman. He is a writer and marketing executive based in Charlottesville, Virginia. His writing and photography have appeared in The Virginia Sportsman and other publications. Whether fly fishing or surfing, he loves the outdoors and celebrates sporting life and culture in his narratives.

L A N D I N G A F I S H Q U I C K LY C A N R E D U C E P H Y S I O L O G I C A L AND MUSCULAR STRESS ON THE FISH. PHOTO BY A D R I A N G R AY

Fish are slippery creatures and can easily be dropped. When holding a fish, keep it in or slightly above the water—not over boats or land.

That way, if dropped, the fish falls back into the water unharmed.

G R I P F I S H C A R E F U L LY

Fish have sensitive internal organs, so hold them gently without squeezing. Avoid placing your hand over their mouth and gills because this obstructs breathing. If a fish is bigger than your hand, use both hands to hold it. With larger fish, grip the base of the tail with an “A-Okay” finger formation and gently support the body close to the pelvic fins. Consider keeping very large fish in the water—for their safety and yours.

PHOTOGRAPH WET FISH

Try photographing a fish while it’s in the water. This shows the fish in its element and ensures that it can breathe. If you do quickly lift the fish for a photo, keep it as close to the water as possible. Also, let the photographer call the shots: 1, 2, 3…raise the fish...and get your shot.

Limit air exposure to 10 seconds or less.

O N LY R E V I V E F I S H T H AT C A N N O T S W I M

A fish will recover better in its natural habitat unless it cannot swim away on its own. If a fish has lost equilibrium—the coordinated movements of its fins that allow it to remain upright and swim—you’ll have to revive it before you let it go. You can revive a fish in moving water by submerging it and holding its head facing into the current so the water flows in the mouth and over the gills. In still-water situations, move the fish gently to stimulate this effect. There are exceptions with fish like tuna, billfish and some sharks. These fish are ram ventilators and need to swim with their mouths open to move water across their gills. Keep these fish alongside the boat and have the captain move the boat slowly forward to help facilitate their recovery.

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AD MADDOX: AN ARTIST'S JOURNEY THE PATH THAT AN ARTIST’S CAREER TAKES IS RARELY STRAIGHT. LIKE THE CURVES AND BOWS OF THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER, WHICH RUNS NEAR HER HOME AND STUDIO IN LIVINGSTON, MONTANA, AD MADDOX’S RISE TO PROMINENCE HAS FOLLOWED A SIMILAR COURSE. STORY BY ERIC KALLEN

B

orn and raised far from the Rocky Mountains in Nashville, Tennessee, Maddox demonstrated a passion and a gift for art at an early age. Despite her obvious talent, she did not set out to be a professional artist, in part because of her father’s insistence that she follow a more traditional career path.

“My father and I have always been close, and I have always valued his opinion,” she said. “He believed it would be hard for me to make a living as an artist, so I guess it was difficult to argue with that.”

For anyone who has ever spent time with Maddox, it’s easy to be moved by her energy and passion. When you speak with her, it’s hard not to feel a connection and understand where her talent comes from.

(It comes from her heart.) And she’s not one to subscribe to convention.

In her early 20s, Maddox moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to find a job. She was born into the sporting life, and Jackson Hole seemed like a perfect place for her to chase wild brown and rainbow trout.

Wyoming had a lot to offer: wide-open spaces, beautiful scenery and some of the world’s best trout fishing. These things gave her plenty of inspiration for her true love—painting.

Maddox’s early works sold quickly, and with the same speed she developed a loyal following. She lacked formal training, but this reality gave her the freedom to create her own style that she continues to refine.

Using oil as a medium and relying frequently on bright colors, Maddox’s brush strokes are subtle and often unrecognizable on her Belgian-linen canvases. Marshall Cutchin, a longtime fishing guide and publisher of the online fly-fishing magazine MidCurrent, describes Maddox’s work as, “A kind of photorealism on steroids.”

At the heart of her approach is a layering technique that she has used and modified throughout her career. The specifics of her technique are known only to her, but the results produce art that is so realistic it leaves many people gasping.

During her time in the West in her 20s and 30s, Maddox lived the life that she painted. She fished, rode horses and spent time in the outdoors that served as the backdrop for many of her paintings. Her

BY ERIC KALLEN

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“When I was out West, I was painting the experiences I was having. I painted fish that I caught and held. I waded in the waters where the fish lived. When I moved back to Nashville, I began to paint from photographs. It just didn’t seem right. I didn’t feel as connected to my art.” connection with her western subject matter contributed to the realism she was able to portray in her work.

Always a free spirit, Maddox embraced her time in the West— particularly in Wyoming and Montana. She lived the life she painted but began to loser her center. Maddox became distracted by her lifestyle and lost focus on her art. That’s when she made a move—and returned to the family she has always been close to.

“Art is where I generate my power,” she explained. “To do this, I needed a base—something stable. For me, this meant moving back to Nashville.”

Maddox set herself up in a loft apartment in the city’s downtown and started over. Astute and driven, she focused on her art—and her business. The move paid off. Literally. Soon, her paintings were featured on popular products such as Buffs and Croakies; they also landed on the covers of Gray's Sporting Journal, Catch Magazine and the L.L. Bean catalog. As her commercial efforts prospered, Maddox continued to challenge herself artistically by refining her technique and expanding her subject matter to include horses and other wildlife.

Despite hitting her stride and receiving widespread acclaim, the artist felt something was missing.

“When I was out West, I was painting the experiences I was having. I painted fish that I caught and held. I waded in the waters where the fish lived. When I moved back to Nashville, I began to paint from photographs. It just didn’t seem right. I didn’t feel as connected to my art.”

To watch Maddox paint can be an experience in sensory overload.

She plays loud music in the background. Adrenaline fills the studio.

She moves her brush confidently across canvas, often rapidly with little room for error.

“When I lay down a brush stroke, I know what I want it to be,” Maddox said.

Confidence of this nature is born of practice and study. Long hours spent perfecting paint consistency, lighting and color mixture.

Maddox’s time in Nashville was important to her development on “G R E E N R I V E R S E R I E S 2 ” BY A D M A D D OX , O I L O N CA N VAS

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many levels. She found her balance and center. She reestablished herself as an artist and a businesswoman. She fell into a good and comfortable life. But as she painted in her penthouse studio in Tennessee, Maddox began to feel a restless energy and yearned for something more. She realized that Nashville was not her final stop; she didn’t want to paint from photographs and wanted to return to her creative center in the West.

The 19th century buildings that line Main Street in Livingston, Montana, are quintessential of an old western town. Situated on the banks of the Yellowstone River and located only an hour from Yellowstone National Park, Livingston attracts hikers, anglers and an eclectic group of artists and writers. These include renowned authors Jim Harrison, Thomas McGuane and Earl Craig—Montana’s poet laureate who works as a farrier when not writing poetry.

Maddox chose Livingston, with its harsh winters (a perfect time for Maddox to do her painting) and western ambience, for her return to the region. She started her latest chapter by converting an old building into an art studio, gallery and apartment.

“I feel like Livingston is where I’m supposed to be,” Maddox added.

“Everything I’ve been working towards has led me to this place, at this time.”

Maddox’s work continues to impress, and her following continues to grow. A recent show in her new Livingston gallery resulted in sales that stripped the walls bare. During the warmer months, Maddox spends her time fly fishing and exploring Montana’s open expanses on her Ducati motorcycle. These are the experiences that she hopes to put on canvas during the cold winter months. And while her setting has changed, her approach has not. Maddox paints as she lives, with confidence, passion and a realism born from her heart.

Eric Kallen is Editor-at-Large of The Virginia Sportsman.

( O P P O S I T E ) A R T I S T A D M A D D O X P R O U D LY D I S P L A Y S A Y E L LO W S TO N E C U T T H R OAT T R O U T S H E J U S T L A N D E D. ( A B OV E ) “ B R O O K S WO R L D” BY A D M A D D OX , O I L O N CA N VAS

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MAINE AUTUMN WOODIES ALONG THE RIVER STORY AND PHOTOS BY KING MONTGOMERY

DAY ONE

The milk-chocolate colored gundog swam sure and steady in the tannic waters of the Sebasticook River’s East Branch near Pittsfield, south-central Maine. The hardwoods along the banks wore their early October raiment ranging from soft yellow to fire-engine red and many color shades in between. The contrast of autumn leaf color with the steady green of the evergreens was pleasing—and a bit distracting if you stared long enough.

Tag, my friend Scott Davis’ six-year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, seemed a bit confused and couldn’t find the downed duck—the river current pulled the woodie downstream. The poor dog couldn’t see the duck fall because the high sides of the boat obscured his view. Tag had seen where my shotgun was pointed when I pulled the trigger, and Chessie went in the direction after Davis released the trap door on the side of the camouflaged boat. He provided direction and Tag retrieved and brought the duck to the bank where the boat was tied up.

We would enjoy our afternoon hunt until the end of the legal shooting day, close to sunset. Our quarry was wood ducks, and plenty of them zipped down or upriver at high speeds or coursed by out-of-range. It was warmish, a light camouflage jacket was plenty, and puffy white clouds highlighted the partly sunny day.

I am thankful I finally joined Davis for a hunt. He’d been after me for years to get out with him for early season wood ducks; I was normally in the uplands chasing woodcock and partridge in the forests and fields at that time of year.

Most of my previous waterfowling adventures were for Canada geese on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where birds show up in the tens of thousands and readily fly to well-placed decoys in fallow fields or on ponds, potholes and creeks. They’re like B-52s—big and somewhat lumbering in flight, but deceptively fast. And they cut a pretty good corner.

Wood ducks, tiny in comparison, are more like F-16s because they’re fast and maneuverable. Both taste really good.

S C OT T DAV I S P I LOT S T H E B OAT B AC K TO T H E R A M P A S T H E DAY E N D S .

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THE DUCK

When ducks fly from one place to another, they don’t do it slowly; they move with a purpose and don’t lollygag in the process. And the wood duck streaking up the river from my left was no exception. He honked above the water and flew at Mach 2.

Earlier, Davis told me it’s best to shoot when the bird is flying towards you—as opposed to engaging it straight out from the boat or blind, or when its moving away. But by the time I saw the dang thing, it was out from the boat. When I hoisted the gun and fired, it was moving away. But luck or skill prevailed, and the duck fell into the water.

Tag brought the drake to Davis, who guessed it hatched this past spring; it did not display the iconic, brilliant colors of a mature male wood duck. It was my first woodie, and one of three the daily bag limit allows.

In Maine we don’t get much of a chance to shoot woodies. They are the first ducks that move south, so their availability is limited to a week or two in early October. After the first good frosts, they’re gone faster than a Southern Maine Snowbird heading to Florida for the winter.

Wood ducks are comfortable in creeks, streams and rivers; they also

prefer ponds, lakes, bottomland forests and freshwater marshes. Wood ducks like open water, especially with uncongested vegetation where they can forage. They eat seeds, fruits, insects, duckweed, beetles, snails and acorns. Acorns are everywhere this year, and that makes ducks happy.

THE BOAT

Davis is a MDIF&W fisheries biologist and a Registered Maine Guide.

When Lefty Kreh and I wanted to fish the Sebasticook River, we called Davis—and were never disappointed fly fishing for smallmouth bass under my friend’s unfailing guidance. He built his own 18-foot heavy-gauge johnboat; its aluminum shell clamps in place when fishing ends and duck season begins. The shell is covered with sturdy camouflage netting, and the boat, when anchored or tied to shore, is a duck blind like few others.

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The boat is painted a fetching U.S. Army olive drab and powered by a 90-hp jet-drive outboard. It also has a kicker outboard—an 8 or 9.9-hp—but it was hidden by a camouflage cover. If you’ve ever seen the ZumwaltClass stealth-guided missile destroyer at the Bath Iron Works on Maine’s Kennebec River, downriver from where we hunted today, you know what Davis’ boat looks like. (It’s about 292 feet shorter than the Navy vessel and not as well armed.)

We were tied up along the east bank of the river, and ducks flew upand down-stream at their leisurely warp speed. I looked upriver and Davis looked downriver. We announced approaching ducks and in a split-second decided if and when to shoot.

Davis made appropriate wood duck sounds but was very judicious in his quacking. He believes in not overdoing it. It reminded me of what writer Nash Buckingham wrote in 1934: “A duck call in the hands of the unskilled is one of conservation’s greatest assets.”

The light gently faded, and we secured the shotguns and headed for the launch ramp a mile or so down the river. We took five woodies, one short of our combined limits, and it was a great couple of hours.

D E C O Y S B O B G E N T LY O N T H E W A T E R A S T H E P L E A S I N G E A R LY C O L O R S O F FA L L AC C E N T UAT E T H E V I E W F R O M T H E B OAT / B L I N D.

THE DOG

The Chesapeake Bay retriever was bred in America in the 19th century to provide waterfowlers and market-hunters with a steady, sturdy hard-working dog that can tolerate winter and the cold waters of the Chesapeake Bay, our largest estuary. All retrievers—Labrador, Golden, and Chesapeake Bay varieties—derive from a common ancestor: the St. John’s Water Dog of Newfoundland. Sadly, the breed became extinct in the 1980s, but the wonderful dogs we cherish today carry the genes.

Chessies are known for their love of water and keen ability to retrieve birds on water and land. A medium to large gundog, Chesapeake’s have a wavy coat compared to the Labrador’s smooth coat. Tag is a wonderful representative of the breed and good company in the boat/blind. One of his endearing qualities is that he shakes the water off his wet coat on the riverbank, and not in the boat.

DAY TWO

Dawn broke over the river and a pleasing “sea smoke” gently lifted from the water. We didn’t engage early ducks because it was not yet legal time.

A string of realistic Quack decoys bobbed in the steady current, and distant crows shouted at the awakening world. We took our position almost an hour before sunup.

A flight of seven or eight wood ducks screamed into view from our right, abruptly turned on the proverbial dime, and flared down toward the decoys.

Davis and I rose as one and ducks fell. There’d be fresh duck for several dinners at home in Kennebunkport.

It was a fine hunt, and still plenty of season remaining for grouse and woodcock. And later it would be mallards, teal and black ducks too. In Maine, the Pine Tree State, life really is good. Outdoor writer Gene Hill sums it all up: “If in a single day we smell coffee, dawn, gun oil, powder, a wet dog, woodsmoke, bourbon, and the promise of a west wind for a fair tomorrow— and it’s possible for us to reek ‘happy’—that’s just what we will do.”

Contact Scott Davis, Fish ‘N Fowl Guide Service in Burnham, at 207-4538501. For waterfowl hunting information in Maine, visit www.maine.gov.

King Montgomery has contributed articles to The Virginia Sportsman since the first issue. He now lives in Kennebunkport, Maine. A version of this article appeared in The Maine Sportsman magazine.

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PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES

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Making Stew with What You Have STORY BY HANK SHAW

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P H O T O B Y H O L LY A . H E Y S E R

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G E T PA S T T H E P O TAT O A N D P L AY W I T H OT H E R R O OT V E G E TA B L E S L I K E C A R R OT S I N YO U R S T E W.

I PHOTO BY JULIAN HOCHGESANG, COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

know that a simple, how-to-make-stew article is not something you would normally see on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, but these are not normal times. Any of you who follow the site know that soups and stews are a big part of what I do.

And just to be clear, I am defining a stew as a bowl of goodness in which the things in the bowl are more important than the liquid. In a soup, the liquid is the star.

I make stew in much the same way no matter what the ingredients are. So if you read on, you will learn how to make a fantastic stew with whatever you have in the house. And that’s an important skill when grocery shopping isn’t all that easy — or if you live in a place where fancy ingredients simply aren’t available.

ALL GREAT STEWS SHARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS

Depth. Many layers of flavor that make you want to eat every last drop.

Variety. You can make a great soup with just a couple ingredients, but a stew is literally a melting pot of goodness.

Color. Sure, you can have a pale or an all-red stew, but great stews attract us with color.

Texture. Everything from tender, slow-cooked bits to barely cooked, crunchy notes.

Let’s tackle each of these aspects one by one. Start with depth.

How do you get there?

Use broth, homemade or store-bought, or have the stew make its own. Water is great for clarity of flavors, broth better for a cohesive mix of flavors.

Umami, the Japanese word for things that taste savory. Tomatoes, meat, mushrooms, miso, soy sauce are all great sources of umami. Use

them in your stews. Cheese has a lot of umami, too, and grated cheese on top of a bowl of stew is often a great idea.

Thickness. Roux, long-cooked potatoes or other starchy vegetables like yuca, sweet potatoes or plantains, starch, collagen from meats, or even just time itself can thicken the liquid in a stew.

Smoke. Smoked ingredients add a ton of flavor, from ham hocks and turkey necks to smoked fish, smoked vegetables or even just smoked salt. In a pinch, yes, use liquid smoke.

As for variety, it’s the spice of life, no? You can make your stew more interesting by varying your: Meats. Many of the great stews have several kinds, of different colors and textures. And remember, that in most cases, any dark meat will substitute for another, as will any light meat. This is also true with all crustaceans, and most fish — although you will want to go fatty fish with fatty fish, lean with lean.

Vegetables. There are lots of root vegetables to play with. Get past the potato. Especially since there seems to be a run on potatoes now.

Yuca, plantains, sweet potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, carrots, oca tubers, the list is huge.

Herbs. Adding all kinds of herbs very late in the game can radically change a stew. In general, add “hard” herbs like rosemary, sage and savory early in the process, and “soft” herbs like parsley, cilantro, dill, etc. at the end. I mostly add these when the stew is done, for color and brighter flavor. Dried herbs can go in at the beginning.

Garnishes. Uncooked or lightly cooked garnishes are a great way for eaters to “choose their own adventure.” If you look at my recipes for pho, my Scandinavian “pho,” Mexican pozole and chocolomo, you will see this in action. As a general rule, I’m talking about raw vegetables, something crunchy like nuts, seeds or fried things, fresh herbs, hot sauce, fresh horseradish, sour cream, etc.

About color, it’s not 100 percent necessary to have lots of color

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PHOTO BY ANSHU A, COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

MOST STEWS INCLUDE S T R O N G A R O M AT I C S AT T H E B E G I N N I N G , U S U A L LY CRUSHED FRESH GARLIC.

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in your stew, but everyone likes a colorful bowl of food. Color is the first thing people will see when they sit down to your stew. Make a good first impression. This plays into variety in a way, but being aware of color can make your stew better. I like greens and yellows for light meats, reds for dark meats, but a kaleidoscope is always pretty.

Finally, there’s smoke. Smoked things add a ton of flavor and depth to a stew. Consider using: Smoked meats or fish. The rest of a smoked pheasant or duck (everything but the breasts), is absolutely wonderful as a stew base.

Hocks. Smoked turkey wings or ham hocks add a lot to a stew. Or a pot of beans, for that matter.

Smoked salt. My secret ingredient. Have several, some heavy, some light.

Smoked paprika. The secret ingredient of Spain.

Smoked vegetables. Chipotles, anyone?

SUBSTITUTIONS FOR MY EXISTING RECIPES

You can always sub out starch for starch. You’ll get different flavors and colors and textures, but they will often work fine anyway. No potatoes?

Use turnips, or yuca or whatever. If I call for rice and you don’t have any, use barley, or wheat berries, or even rye berries. I like to use field corn, which is starchy, in many of my stews, but you can always use sweet corn instead.

Dry beans should be cooked separately if you have acidic ingredients in your stew because acidity can double or triple cooking time for dry beans. No need to soak dry beans overnight; that’a a myth.

Canned beans should be rinsed and added at the end, as they are already cooked.

As for vegetables, it’s the same. any sort of onion can sub in for another. Again, this is all in a pinch. If I ask you to use leeks, it’s for a reason, but if you can’t get them, regular onions will do. No carrots?

Leave them out or use parsnips, which are very similar, believe it or not. No peas? Use green beans.

Tomatoes show up in a lot of my stews, and while yes, there are reasons to use crushed whole tomatoes in one place and puree in another, you can make a pretty damn good stew with any sort of tomato product. No tomato sauce? Dilute tomato paste. No paste? Add more sauce. It’s not rocket science. Incidentally, you add tomatoes to a stew for color, acidity and a touch of sweetness.

A word on meats. You generally have two choices with your meats: cut or shred. Most fish and seafood will be cut, most wild game shredded. This is not a hard and fast rule, but the leanness of game lends itself to long cooking and then shredding.

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Finally let’s walk through how to make stew in a general sense. It’s a lot like building a house: Foundation, walls and floors, then paint and finishing touches.

You’ll often start by browning your meats. You can do this either in a 400°F oven or by searing in oil or fat in the pot you intend to make the stew in. You will salt your meats at this point. You don’t need to brown your meats, but it helps add depth because of the flavor you get

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PHOTO BY TIANG TIAN, COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

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from browning.

Most stews begin with some sort of onion and garlic mixture sauteed in some sort of fat. Each fat will add something different to the party, but they can all be subbed in and out depending on what you have. (I’ve already mentioned the onion substitutions above.) This is another chance to build flavor by browning the onions. Or not. Seared onions will be different from caramelized or simply simmered onions.

You’ll also add strong aromatics here, usually garlic, often crushed or minced ginger, dried herbs, chiles, or turmeric or other similar ingredients. This is usually where a seasoning paste goes in, too. Curry paste, tomato paste, berbere, sofrito, chipotle, you name it.

Now you will generally want to add a non-water or broth liquid.

This is another opportunity for flavor. Wine is normal here, as are other alcohols. Coconut milk is another typical addition at this point, mostly in tropical stews. A puree of chiles is common in Mexico. Whey in Scandinavia.

After that comes the broth or water, plus the vegetables that need the most time to cook, like root vegetables or grains. It is very important to add vegetables as needed, not all at once. Will the world end if you toss everything in at once? No, but if you want to know how to make stew properly, do this. You’ll thank me later.

Grains usually need the longest, followed by roots, then other vegetables, then fresh herbs.

Meats and fish fall into this same category. Tough cuts can often need 3 or more hours to fall off the bone. Put a potato in with the meat and it will dissolve. Conversely, cook a sausage for 3 hours and you

will be sad; they generally only need 20 to 30 minutes. Tender cuts sometimes need almost no cooking at all. Strips of meat in pho are a good example of this, as are pre-cooked meats that need only be heated through.

Salting your stew is important throughout the process. Add it little by little, leaving your stew slightly under-salted until right before you serve. This lets you add exactly the amount you need without oversalting. Why not wait until the end to salt at all? Because some things require time to absorb salt, like meats, grains and roots.

You final filips should be the addition of something acidic — citrus, pickle juice, vinegar, etc. — and a mess of freshly chopped herbs.

These touches make a good stew great.

I hope all of this has helped you figure out how to make a fantastic pot of stew using whatever you have in the house.

Visit honest-food.net for other recipes.

Hank Shaw is a chef, hunter, angler, forager and wild-foods expert constantly on the lookout for new things to gather, catch and eat. He is the author of four wild-game cookbooks: “Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast” (2011); “Duck, Duck, Goose: Recipes and Techniques for Ducks and Geese, both Wild and Domesticated” (2013); “Buck, Buck, Moose: Recipes and Techniques for Cooking Deer, Elk, Moose, Antelope and Other Antlered Things” (2016); and “Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail: Upland Birds and Small Game from Field to Feast” (2018). He is a frequent contributor to The Virginia Sportsman.

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Making a Living on the Eastern Shore STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHILES T. A. LARSON

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A N O L D B O AT T H AT H E L P E D S O M E O N E E A R N A L I V I N G O N V I R G I N I A’ S E A S T E R N S H O R E .

J

ohn S. Wise was a noted author whose family roots sank deep into the rich soil of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The two counties, Northampton and Accomack, have long been somewhat isolated from the other 93 counties spread across the Chesapeake Bay to the western reaches of the Old Dominion.

In “End of an Era,” his classic memoir that was first published in 1899, Wise establishes that most of the citizens living on the Eastern Shore during this time can trace their family roots back to the first settlements in Virginia.

“Everybody on the Peninsula knows everybody else,” Wise writes. “Everybody there is kin to everybody else.”

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Wise traces how the views of Southern life prior to and during the war are in sharp contrast to the cultural changes that foreshadow their struggles to cope with them.

One of the more charmingly creative passages describes how a man using a little ingenuity can succeed living on the “Shore” with a few handy objects applied in a chain to reach that objective.

“The citizen of Accawmacke may begin life with no other capital than a cotton string, a rusty nail for a sinker, and a broken clam for bait, he can catch enough crabs to eat, and sell enough besides to enable him to buy himself hooks and lines,” he writes. “With hooks and lines he can catch and sell enough fish to buy himself a boat and oyster tongs. With his boat, fishing-lines, and oyster tongs, he can, in a short while, catch and sell enough fish and oysters to enable him to build a sloop. With his sloop he can trade to Norfolk, Baltimore, and New York, sell fish and oysters and terrapin, and carry fruit and vegetables, until, he has accumulated enough to buy his own little patch of ground and build a house upon it. Then, from the proceeds of his fruit, berries, and every variety of vegetable, for which he will find excellent markets, he is sure of a comfortable living with easy labor; and he will be happier in his simple house more than many who are more pretentious, and whose incomes are far greater.”

Wise was the son of former Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise. “End of an Era” describes his childhood living on Rolleston, his father’s plantation in Norfolk, and his friendship with a slave. The book also covers the years surrounding the American Civil War. Wise served during the war, and his memoir includes his father’s role in the war. The author also discusses his family. Wise wrote other books, but this account was his most notable and has been widely reprinted in numerous editions since its original publication.

“Such has been for three centuries and still is, the place and people among whom my lot was cast…”

I’d say Wise had a pretty good lot in life and made a terrific cast.

Chiles Larson is a frequent contributor to The Virginia Sportsman. He is the author of “Virginia’s Past Today,” a series of photo essays all linked to the theme of continuance, and “Barboursville Vineyards: Crafting Great Wine Inspired by Spirits from the Past.”

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“Gentlemen, I Ain’t a’Goin” STORY BY J . M I C H A E L W E LT O N PHOTOS COURTESY OF RON HALL

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The 1912 Hillsville Courthouse Tragedy Is a Cautionary Tale of Anarchy Unleashed

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F

or Circuit Court Judge Thornton Lemmon Massie, the morning of March 14, 1912, in Hillsville, Virginia, crackled with a slew of unintended consequences.

The 45-year-old jurist, a native of Nelson County and an 1886 graduate of the University of Virginia Law School, was a firm believer in the rule of law. He was also a family man with a wife and three children back in Pulaski. At 200 pounds, with a neatly trimmed mustache, he was said to have carried himself majestically.

Most thought his path to the state Supreme Court was a cinch. A Democrat, he was a well-known and respected judge who traveled to courthouses in Pulaski, Carroll, Wythe and Grayson counties. On that raw spring day in Hillsville, he was presiding over a much-anticipated trial in the Carroll County Courthouse. It would not go well.

In 1912, Hillsville was a town of mostly wooden buildings, an unpaved street running through its center and a prominent red-brick and white-porticoed courthouse “It was a mean place built in 1872. The community was home to between in those days—a 600 and 700 mountain residents and run by mountain community Republicans who’d ascended to power during Reconstruction, displacing with roads so bad their pre-Civil War Democratic that not many counterparts. The friction between people were coming the two parties was palpable.

Most of the men were in, and if people packing heat. “In Carroll were educated at County just about all, they’d had five everybody was armed,” says Ron Hall, author years of school.” of “The Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy,” published in 1998 by the Carroll County Historical Society. “It was a mean place in those days—a mountain community with roads so bad that not many people were coming in, and if people were educated at all, they’d had five years of school.”

The center of attention that day in Hillsville was Floyd Allen, on trial for interfering with an officer of the law. According to Hall’s book, the previous spring Floyd and his brother Sidna had been charged with forcibly taking his two young nephews away from two deputy sheriffs who’d been transporting them to Hillsville to jail. As a result, the commonwealth’s attorney, William L. Foster and the clerk of court, Dexter Goad, had been trying to get them into court for the better part of a year.

Foster and Goad were not only political enemies of Floyd’s, but personal enemies as well. Floyd was the leading Democrat in Cana, a town 14 miles south of Hillsville. “The Allen men were very financially successful— Floyd and Sidna owned stores,” Hall says. “They weren’t hick mountaineers by any stretch—Sidna was probably the third ( P. 4 6 , T O P - T O - B O T T O M ) S I D N A A L L E N A N D S I D N A E D W A R D S ; ( P. 4 7, T O P - T O - B O T T O M ) W E S L E Y E D W A R D S AND FRANK ALLEN ( O P P O S I T E ) F LOY D A L L E N O N H I S WAY TO C O U R T W I T H H I S AT T O R N E Y, J U D G E D A V I D W I N T O N B O L E N , AND DETECTIVES (ABOVE) JUDGE THORNTON LEMON MASSIE WAS SHOT A N D K I L L E D D U R I N G T H E T R A G E D Y.

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richest man in the county at the time, worth $40,000 in 1912, which made him a millionaire in today’s dollars.” Floyd was a In 1912, Floyd was 55 years old, weighed about 160 pounds and stood just under six feet tall, with lightfighting man, blue eyes and a bushy mustache. It was not unusual for him to be called to duty as sheriff. Those who knew he was on their trail often turned themselves in rather than face him, because of his legendary short temper. handy with his According to Long’s book, once aroused, Floyd could be overbearing, vindictive, high tempered and fists or a gun brutal with no respect for law and no regard for human life. His brother Victor said that Floyd had had an and not afraid uncontrollable temper since childhood, and that his mother sometimes tied him with a rope to curb that to use either. temper.

Floyd was a fighting man, handy with his fists or a gun and not afraid to use either, Hall wrote. He was also a contrarian who, when convicted in 1903 of shooting his cousin, was fined and sentenced to an hour in jail. He refused the fine and the time, got away with it and vowed later never to spend a day in jail.

Floyd’s trial had begun on March 12. By the evening of March 13, the jury was deadlocked and sent to spend the night in a local hotel.

March 14 would be Floyd’s day of reckoning.

According to Hall’s book, Judge Massie was somewhat naïve in his treatment of the Allens. He didn’t comprehend the political feelings in Carroll County and apparently felt that he could control the situation with the power of the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As a believer in the system of justice he represented, he refused to arm himself, or even disarm those in his courtroom that March day in 1912.

The result was a tinderbox of a courtroom, locked and loaded. “The sheriff had a .38 automatic Colt, the commonwealth attorney had two pistols, the clerk had two pistols, and the deputy clerk and five deputies were armed,” Hall says. “On the Allen side, Floyd, Sidna, and Claude Allen (Floyd’s son) were armed; Floyd had a five-shot Colt revolver and Sidna had a .38 Smith & Wesson.”

(OPPOSITE) DEXTER GOAD (ABOVE) A REENACTMENT OF THE 1912 COURTROOM SHOOTOUT

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The jury found Floyd Allen guilty, and recommended a year in the state penitentiary. Floyd’s attorney, Judge David Winton Bolen, requested a second trial. Legal wrangling ensued over fetching witnesses.

Hall described the scene in his book: Judge Bolen stepped forward, making a motion that the verdict be set aside and requested that a new trial be granted on the grounds of newly discovered evidence. He then stated to the court that he intended to file affidavits in support of his motion.

“Very well. When can you be ready to argue the motion, Judge Bolen?” inquired Massie.

“I think we can get the witnesses and get the affidavits up by tomorrow morning,” replied Bolen.

“Very well, we will set it to be argued tomorrow morning then.”

“I suppose your honor will allow Mr. Allen bail pending this motion,” inquired Bolen.

Massie paused, some said for as long as a minute, apparently considering the matter. Then he answered, “That is not the rule in Virginia, Judge. I can’t grant bail after the defendant has been found guilty and convicted, but if an appeal is granted I will bail him pending the appeal.”

“Your honor can increase the bond if you think it necessary,” Bolen offered. “We can pay any amount.”

“No, I can’t do that, Judge Bolen.”

Walter Tipton spoke up and informed Massie that his predecessor, Judge Jackson, had done that here on one occasion and that it had been done on other occasions in other places in Virginia “No, that’s not the custom in Virginia,” replied Massie firmly.

More legal wrangling ensued, until, Hall wrote, Massie spoke to Bolen: “Judge, is there anything further you can do with your case today?”

The courtroom immediately grew deadly silent as if the spectators were trying to catch every word spoken.

“No sir, I don’t reckon there is,” he responded.

“Sheriff, take charge of the prisoner,” Massie said, looking at Lew Webb.

About this point, accounts of the event start to diverge. Floyd testified that he looked at Dexter Goad and saw that he already had his pistol out of his pocket and hidden in his left hand. He said he saw Goad wink at Sheriff Webb.

Floyd promptly straightened his tilted chair, stood, and fumbled with buttons on his sweater. He muttered something that couldn’t be understood, then announced: “Gentlemen, I ain’t a’goin’.”

Silence ensued briefly—then 57 shots erupted and exploded over the next 90 seconds. When the smoke cleared, five people had been killed and seven were wounded. “The judge, the sheriff, the prosecutor, a member of the jury, and a witness were killed,” Hall says. “All the deputies left—they had no appetite for shooting it out with the Allens.”

Floyd wouldn’t pull his pistol until he’d been shot twice, once by the clerk of the court, in the right side of his pelvis with a .38 automatic. He fell to the floor. “The deputy clerk shot him in the right leg with a 25 automatic, in the thigh,” Hall says. “He said he bought the gun to shoot Floyd Allen.”

Some said Dexter Goad fired the first shot, while others pointed to where Sidna and Claude Allen stood. What’s certain is that Judge Massie, leaning on his right elbow, was shot in that arm, the bullet piercing him below his shoulder. Because his body was tilted downward, the bullet plunged down through his arm, entered his chest cavity, ruptured a sub-clavian artery and pierced his lungs.

“Sid Allen killed me,” Massie said, just before he died.

The shootings rocked the nation. “It was the biggest thing to happen in Carroll County ever,” Hall says. “It was on the front page of all the newspapers until the Titanic sank on April 15 and knocked it off, from March 14 to April 15.”

Virginia Gov. William Hodges Mann dispatched the Baldwin Felts Detective agency to apprehend the Allens. “They arrived next morning and found Floyd in a hotel,” Hall says. “He went straight to jail.”

Floyd would be blamed for shooting the judge, the prosecutor, and a girl in the courtroom. There were no autopsies. In May, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death in the electric chair. In July, his son Claude was found guilty of murder, with the same sentence. Both were electrocuted in Richmond on March 28, 1913.

A Carroll County cottage industry emerged shortly afterwards. Thirteen books, including Hall’s meticulously researched account, have been written about the massacre, along with two Bluegrass songs – “The Ballad of Floyd Allen” and “The Ballad of Claude Allen.” A play and a number of documentaries also have been produced.

To this day, locals acknowledge that anyone saying “I ain’t a’goin” can still upset a courtroom in those parts of the state.

And for good reason.

J. Michael Welton writes about architecture, art and design (and the occasional gunfight) for national and international publications. He is architecture critic for The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., and author of “Drawing from Practice: Architects and the Meaning of Freehand” (Routledge, 2015). He is also editor and publisher of an online design magazine at www.architectsandartisans.com.

(OPPOSITE) FLOYD ALLEN WAS SHOT TWICE AND F O U N D G U I LT Y O F M U R D E R . H E A N D H I S S O N C L A U D E W E R E S E N T E N C E D TO D E AT H A N D E L E C T R O C U T E D I N RICHMOND ON MARCH 28, 1913.

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P H OTO BY J O N AT H A N S A N C H E Z , C O U R T E S Y O F U N S P L A S H

The Winter 2020 Issue | RAISE A GLASS

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GREAT WINTER BEERS

Warm Up with These Cold-Weather Ready Stouts, Porters and Ales

BY JEDD FERRIS

When the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, it’s the perfect time to hunker down with some of our favorite winter beers made in Virginia and surrounding states.

SWEETWATER BREWING COMPANY Chocolope Stout

Sweetwater was an early pioneer on the Southern craft-beer scene, known for making standby ales like the ubiquitous 420 Pale Ale. But lately the brewery has been branching out with some creative seasonals, like the winter-ready Chocolope. It’s a rich stout, brewed with Dutch chocolate, that has notes of both coffee and tropical fruit, and with a creamy texture, it goes down easy, like grown-up hot cocoa by a blazing fire.

DEVILS BACKBONE BREWING COMPANY Danzig Baltic Porter

Based in the mountains of central Virginia, Devils Backbone is a craft brewery that likes to focus on traditional styles. Case in point, their wildly popular Vienna Lager, which is a year-round mainstay in the region. This fall the brewery is bringing back its Danzig Baltic Porter—a dark beer that blends a strong English porter with a Germanic black lager. It’s a smooth combination that results in a velvety, medium-bodied beer with an intense malt profile and notes of coffee and caramel that mask the high alcohol content (8% ABV).

With such robust character, it’s no wonder this beer has notched multiple awards at both the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup.

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SIERRA NEVADA

Fresh-hop beers only come around for a limited time, when hop flowers are harvested and used immediately in the brewing process before they dry, offering a burst of extra aromas and flavors for IPA lovers. California craft brew stalwarts Sierra Nevada—who have an East Coast outpost in the mountains of western North Carolina—go the fresh-hop route every year to make their coveted winter seasonal, Celebration, an old-school West Coast IPA that features the intense piney and citrus notes of Cascade, Warrior and Chinook hops, as well as a slightly sweet backbone from the use of caramelized malts.

DESCHUTES BREWERY Jubelale

Another West Coast brewery with a strong presence in the South, Deschutes has a taproom in downtown Roanoke, where they serve a variety of brews, including this cold-weather seasonal. Deschutes calls this one a Festive Winter Ale, and for good reason. It’s full of spice notes that taste like the holidays, plus the malt profile gives hints of toffee that will satisfy your sugar cravings. This one is also balanced with just the right amount of bitterness, thanks to the use of five different hops.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF DESCHUTES BREWERY

Celebration Fresh Hop IPA

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Santa’s Cookies Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Champion’s version of Santa’s Cookies isn’t quite what Jolly Old St. Nick usually expects after leaving a bundle of presents under your tree. But this rich Imperial Oatmeal Stout is still a slightly sweet—albeit booze-heavy—treat that will taste just right during the holiday season. It’s brewed with ginger and cardamom, seasonally appropriate spices that add a subtle kick to the creamy texture and heavy malt bill, which delivers hints of mocha, molasses and cinnamon. Call it a baker’s delight, in the form of a big, hearty beer.

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BLUE MOUNTAIN BREWERY

Lights Out Holiday Ale

Another elixir made for the season of giving is Blue Mountain’s Lights Out Holiday Ale. Every year during the cold months, the Virginia-based brewery offers its take on a traditional English old ale—a malt-forward beer with bready caramel notes on the front end and a spicy, bitter aftertaste. At 7% ABV, it’s also just boozy enough to give you some liquid courage for your family’s caroling sessions.

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The Winter 2020 Issue | WELL READ

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“LORDS OF THE FLY: MADNESS, OBSESSION, AND THE HUNT FOR THE WORLD-RECORD TARPON” A Review of Monte Burke’s Latest Book STORY BY ERIC KALLEN

F

ly fishing means more than simply catching fish. Tradition and lore have created a history flush with ripples and currents that rival those actual movements in fresh and salt waters. These realities have always lured anglers. And so have the stories. The best ones often involve the biggest fish and the greatest struggles.

“Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon” (Pegasus, 278 pages, $26.95) by awardwinning, New York Times best-selling author Monte Burke, details the pursuit of fly fishing’s greatest challenge: catching tarpon on fly. The thrilling tale also chronicles the plights of dreamers who chased giant tarpon during the sport’s heyday—in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

It’s an interesting and outrageous tale.

The adventure begins in 1976 when a stockbroker named Tom Evans and guide Steve Huff journeyed from the Keys to Homosassa, a

small town on Florida’s west coast. Derived from the Seminole phrase “river of fishes,” Homosassa was relatively obscure—only a few locals knew about its abundant tarpon population. Evans and Huff arrived in search of huge tarpon, and that’s exactly what they discovered and caught. It wasn’t long before the secret got out.

“All fishermen are liars, as the saying goes, and that’s likely true to some extent,” writes Burke. “But it’s also sometimes the case that fishermen are the most foolish of truth-tellers. They discover a new

( O P P O S I T E ) N E W YO R K T I M E S B E ST- S E L L I N G AU T H O R MONTE BURKE’S NEW BOOK IS A FITTING TRIBUTE TO TA R P O N F I S H I N G ’ S G R E AT E S T G E N E R AT I O N . P H OTO BY DAV I D M A N G U M (BELOW) AUTHOR MONTE BURKE, PHOTO BY HEIDI BURKE

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spot, a secret place that teems with fish, and they find that they just have to tell someone else.”

Evans is considered one of the greatest big-tarpon anglers of all time; Huff is arguably the best tarpon guide—ever. Both men soon found Homosassa’s flats pressured and swarming with crowds. Some of the fly fishers who congregated there were legendary for their pursuit of tarpon on fly; others were better known for their actions off the water.

Megalops atlanticus is the ultimate game fish. It’s often called “the silver king” because its scales reflect bright flashes of light when the great specimen leaps in the air. Tarpon—with their broad mouths and slightly upturned faces—are capable of weighing more than 300 pounds and have lifespans that exceed 50 years. Their ancestors swam the oceans during the Cretaceous period 100 million years ago. Hard, bony mouths and muscled bodies make the silver king a challenge for any angler; attempting to catch one with a fly rod can lead to madness. Even Burke, a passionate and experienced tarpon fisherman, admitted: “The really big tarpon are equal parts beauty and terror.”

Burke’s book is meticulously researched and extremely well written. The author brings to life the adventures of some of history’s

greatest anglers as they chase the silver king, and he tells their story with a sense of nostalgia and reverence. Burke weaves a cast of characters into his narrative—artists, authors, anglers, famous fishing guides, sports heroes, captains of industry and a mobster. These men include fly-fishing legends Stu Apte, Steve Huff, Flip Pallot, Chico Fernandez and Lefty Kreh; novelists Thomas McGuane and Jim Harrison; baseball star Ted Williams; and Olympic skier Andy Mill.

“It was really meaningful to see the sport that I love expressed through these guys,” Burke said, when asked what it was like to meet and interview some of his idols. “Having a purpose when I met them, to tell their story, made it that much more meaningful.”

Burke is a self-professed “fly-fishing history nerd” whose easy-going, effusive manner comes through in his writing. When interviewed himself, it quickly becomes apparent that Burke earned (LEFT) JIM HOLLAND JR., AND HIS 202-POUND, 8 - O U N C E W O R L D - R E C O R D TA R P O N , C AU G H T I N 2001 IN HOMOSASSA, FL. PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM H O L L A N D J R . ( R I G H T ) T A R P O N , C O M M O N LY R E F E R R E D T O A S “ T H E S I LV E R K I N G ,” A R E T H E U LT I M A T E G A M E FISH AND A CHALLENGE FOR ANYONE TRYING TO L A N D O N E O N A F LY R O D . P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F T H E ELEVEN EXPERIENCE

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AUTHOR MONTE BURKE REFERS TO P U R S U I N G L A R G E TA R P O N W I T H A F LY R O D A S “ E Q U A L P A R T S B E A U T Y A N D T E R R O R .” P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F THE ELEVEN EXPERIENCE

the trust of these fly-fishing legends.

Despite the often-lighthearted style in which Burke tells this story, he does not shy away from the harsh reality that there are a host of environmental issues impacting tarpon and their fisheries today. A serious conservationist himself, Burke understands the importance anglers play in preserving these amazing fish, which ironically must be killed in order to qualify for an International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world record.

“There aren’t a lot of world-record chasers anymore,” he noted.

“We’ve evolved in how we view our resources in the ocean. They aren’t infinite—they’re finite.”

As the sun sets on the golden age of tarpon fishing, and younger, hipper anglers come onto the scene, one can’t read “Lords of the Fly” without feeling a sense of wonder and wistfulness. The work is a

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magnificent re-telling of a great tale and a fitting tribute to fly fishing’s greatest generation. We owe Burke a debt of gratitude for telling this story, which otherwise may have been lost in history.

Monte Burke is the author of the New York Times bestseller, “Saban: The Making of a Coach;” “4th and Goal: One Man’s Quest to Recapture His Dream,” which won an Axiom Award for biography; and “Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World-Record Largemouth Bass,” a Sports Illustrated and Amazon “Best Book of the Year,” and a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” pick. Burke is a contributing editor at Forbes, as well as The Virginia Sportsman, Garden & Gun and The Drake. Learn more at www.monteburke.com.

Eric Kallen is the editor-at-large of The Virginia Sportsman

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The Winter 2020 Issue | OPEN SPACES

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THAT GUY STORY BY JUSTIN WITT

I’M THAT GUY. You know that guy. If you’re lucky enough you have one. He’s the guy who always calls and bugs you to go down the river. To walk through the woods. To put on the waders and pick up the rod or the shotgun, even to borrow these things from him if you don’t have your own. He’s the one who does everything he can to pull you out of your office, off your lawnmower, away from your spouse. The one who breaks up your routines and throws curveballs through your strike zone, picking off your excuses one by one until you are left with no further choice but to comply.

That guy. Said spouse is generally not his biggest fan.

I could of course just go and float the river myself. Anchor up or pull over every time I want to fish. It sucks but it’s doable, and it’s sure as hell a lot better option than staying home.

Instead though, I’m spending hours sorting gear and checking off lists, making sure we’ve got the rods and the lines and the tippets and the flies we’ll need, not to mention the life jackets and first-aid kits and extra clothes in the dry bags just in case somebody takes an unexpected swim in the 30-degree weather. This stuff takes me hours. And then half the time you idiots call me right when I’m getting in the truck and say something ludicrously inadequate like, “It’s too cold dude,” or “She won’t let me go man, I’ve got shit to do,” never even realizing the work I just put into paving your way to the sweet bliss you now so casually opt out of.

AND THEN HALF THE TIME YOU IDIOTS CALL ME RIGHT WHEN I’M GETTING IN THE TRUCK AND SAY SOMETHING LUDICROUSLY INADEQUATE LIKE, “IT’S TOO COLD DUDE.”

A U T H O R A N D F LY - F I S H I N G G U I D E J U S T I N W H I T T I S BASED OUT OF RIO PICO, ARGENTINA, WHERE HE RUNS A LODGE AND HELPS ANGLERS STICK HOOKS I N T O T R O U T.

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I think about all of this as I ready the drift boat for what seems like the thousandth time, glancing at my phone every couple of minutes and waiting on one, just one, hell any one of the more than a dozen friends I have invited for today’s plan to get back to me and confirm the float. And it’s been this way since middle school. What I don’t understand is why.

Why do the rest of you, for all that you have “normal lives” and “normal jobs” not spend your miserable routineentrenched weeks still at least planning and preparing for weekends that involve moving water? Why are the rest of you just sitting there thinking about going fishing when you could actually be going fishing?

Why do you always have to wait on me to f-ing drag your asses down the banks and into the boats? You’re invariably happy that I did it; so why not just learn your lesson and show up there on your own?

The problem has been so relentless that at this point I’ve even turned my part of it all into a “career.” I have client lists and prospect lists, spreadsheets and websites and blogs, videos and podcasts and week-long photo shoot yields from waters all over the world. I mean, it’s my life’s work. And for what? To make money?

Sure, though only because then I get to fish myself.

But in the process it’s all really still about something else. Something entirely separate from the more obvious structure of the whole. Something it has taken me years to drill down to and put my finger on.

A higher purpose, if you will.

It’s to get you people in the boat.

The phone buzzes against the dry box lid and a message lights up on the screen. Bingo. A bite.

Same old shit. Story of my life.

BUT IN THE PROCESS IT’S ALL REALLY STILL ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE. SOMETHING ENTIRELY SEPARATE FROM THE MORE OBVIOUS STRUCTURE OF THE WHOLE.

Justin Witt left Roanoke in 2007 and took a seven-month walk up the spine of the Andes trying to figure out what came next after too many years in the rat race. Turned out he was a fly-fishing guide and has been rowing rivers and poling flats ever since. His previous work has appeared in The Flyfish Journal, The Drake, The Angler and a variety of literary journals that, for the most part, no one’s ever heard of. These day,s when he’s not wandering the Earth with his wife and five-year-old daughter in search of new water, he can be found at home in Rio Pico, Argentina, where he runs a lodge and helps anglers stick hooks into trout. hemispheresunlimited.com THE AUTHOR’S HIGHER PURPOSE AS A F LY - F I S H I N G G U I D E I S T O G E T P E O P L E I N T H E B O AT.

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