Every April in Virginia’s backwoods of Sussex County, Virginian politicians have been gathering to eat fish and share a few quips at each other's expense since around the 1930's. The event is called shad planking after the oily, boney fish cooked nailed to a plank in front of an open fire. It was spawned to coincide with the start of their run in the James River way back then. It quickly became an occasion for politicians to rub elbows with their constituents.
