From ancient times to the present, the East coast striped bass – an ocean and freshwater fish nicknamed “rockfish” by the native population that dwells in and around the village of Weldon at the annual spawning ground for these robust game-fish – have returned from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean up what is known today as the Roanoke River to the rocky falls and turbulence of the waters surging past the bend in the river at Weldon, NC (named the “Rockfish Capitol of the World” by local folk. Down a 130 foot drop from the piedmont to the coastal plain, nature provides ideal conditions each April and May for the annual spawn of rockfish at the stretch of river named "Moratuck" (the river of death) named by the Native Americans who gathered here to fish each year.

Today the last of a breed of traditional local fishermen who grew up making a part of their living from catching the rockfish during their colossal spawn keep alive a tradition of folklife, folklore, and the folk heritage foodway known as “rockfish muddle.” The filmmaker documents Weldon resident, J.E. Evans, Jr. as he cooks a classic Weldon “rock muddle” that he hopes will influence his young grandchild as he seeks to somehow pass on this local cooking tradition and the lore surrounding it to a young generation who are descendents of the “river people”.

STILLS FROM ROCKFISH MUDDLE