Janet Messineo, a revered fisherman who stalked the nighttime shores of the Vineyard for more than 50 years and in the process paved the way for other women to do the same, died on Dec. 17 at her home in Vineyard Haven. She was 76 and had been suffering from ALS for several years.
Ms. Messineo was known and beloved all over the Vineyard for her prowess with rod and reel, and also as the Island’s only taxidermist for many decades.
“She was a rock star. It is overwhelming how many people loved and cared for her,” her husband Tristan Israel said Wednesday, mentioning numerous Vineyard communities, including her fishing and writing friends, along with the recovery community where she helped so many get clean and sober.
But her fame was not limited to local shores. She was a longtime columnist for On the Water Magazine, and in 2019 her memoir Casting Into the Light; Tales of a Fishing Life was published by Pantheon. The skill of her words matched her subject and she quickly acquired admirers from all over.
“During the off-season, from December until mid-April, I live a normal life,” she wrote in the opening to her book. “I work, clean the house and cook dinners, walk the dog, pay my bills, and take care of everyday business. Come April, the first time I get my fishing rod out of its winter storage and stand in the surf up to my thighs to cast, I exhale. It feels as though I have been holding my breath for the last five months.”
Ms. Messineo was born in Lawrence and grew up in nearby Salem, N.H., the daughter of mill workers. When she turned 18 years old, she left home in search of adventure. It was 1966 and she headed for Provincetown with visions of becoming an artist.
When Provincetown didn’t work out she traveled down the coast until she met up with some fellow free-spirits on their way to Martha’s Vineyard, a place she had never heard of.
“Being from a small mill town, I pictured palm trees, monkeys, and bananas. That sounded fascinating to me,” she wrote in her memoir about her expectations of moving to an island. She soon found out the Vineyard was not a tropical island, but it had other attributes going for it.
She settled in with the artistic community, finding restaurant jobs at the Black Dog, Helios and the Homeport. Soon enough she discovered fishing, focusing on casting from shore rather than boat due, at first, to financial constraints.
“I never thought about fishing from a boat,” she wrote in her memoir. “I worked as a waitress for twenty years and then as a fish taxidermist for the next thirty, and on my wages, purchasing a boat was out of the question.”
She often fished with mentors, Jackie Coutinho and Bob (Hawkeye) Jacobs, and became an essential part of the Vineyard fishing community. But chasing striped bass, who feed at night, also required the courage to face the unknown alone.
“Occasionally, the bogeyman shows up at one of my favorite spots,” she wrote, describing what it can feel like at the ocean’s edge when all is dark and quiet. “I can feel him. Sometimes we share the beach quite comfortably, and on other nights the bogeyman leaves me alone to fish in the night, but then there are times when my hair stands up on the back of my neck and I get the message that it is time to go home.”
A bogeyman she wrestled with during her younger years was addiction, which she wrote and talked about candidly. She got sober in 1985.
“She was one of a kind,” said Lisa Belcastro, a fellow fisherman and member of her writers group. “She was brave and courageous, and she won her fight with addiction and shared her story to help others. She was passionate about fishing and honoring the planet and her heart.”
Ms. Messineo took up taxidermy upon learning that the Island didn’t have any taxidermists and anyone who wanted to mount their fish had to send it off-Island to Falmouth. She did this once and didn’t like the result so she set up her own shop. Her first customer was Johnny Hoy, who brought her a 54-pound striped bass to mount.
“There were a lot of tears” the first couple of months, she recalled in an interview with the Gazette in 2012. But she kept at it thanks to the encouragement of her clients. “Don’t worry, we trust you,” they told her.
As the years progressed, she made taxidermy her art form, literally, holding exhibits at Featherstone, the Louisa Gould Gallery and more.
“My taxidermy has kind of developed into... I call it wild art,” she said in 2012.
This summer, Ms. Messineo shared the story of her life and fishing at The Moth, a storytelling series that hosts an event on the Vineyard each summer.
“At first I thought that all fish looked alike,” she told the crowd at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs. “But then I realized that, like human beings, every fish is different from the next. I feel deeply the ultimate paradox of wanting to catch the biggest fish in history, and then I see myself standing over this glorious creature and I feel compassion.”
Ms. Messineo received a standing ovation after finishing her story.
As the news of her death spread across the Island Tuesday, the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby shared condolences online.
“It is with great sadness and admiration for a fishing life well-lived that we share the news of Janet Messineo’s passing,” the organization wrote. “She will be missed deeply by so many.”
At the start of this year’s Derby in September, Ms. Messineo was given the honor of ringing the opening bell. It marked her 46th derby, and although she could not fish in it due to the constraints of her ALS, her passion for the sport and the Island’s fishing community was still evident.
“Bringing people fishing and seeing them catch their first fish,” Ms. Messineo said after ringing the opening bell. “That’s better than me catching a fish.”
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