I was at the Maury River in Southwest Virginia with a Cub Scout Pack and one of the boys saw this spider. Several of the parents think it's a brown recluse, but I disagree. I took some pictures then walked off -- the Scouts swear that the spider actually got into the river and quickly walked away across the top of the water! I didn't see that, but I thought it might be helpful in identifying it, if true...

Here are some sites on spiders

http://forsyth.ces.ncsu.edu/files/li...ownrecluse.pdf

Identifying and Misidentifying the Brown Recluse Spider

Brown Recluse Spider

Looks like a Hobo spider. The size is about right for this time of year.

Hobo Spiders

It's not a violin spider.