Venture with us as we reel in the stories from the obscured waters of the Southern Appalachians with our guest, Joe Woody, the imaginative force behind Angler Magazine and the captivating TV series, Forgotten Streams of Appalachia. As Joe recounts the transformation of his dream into the spectacular premiere on the Pursuit Channel, you can almost hear the mountain streams gurgle in the background. His tales are more than just the fish that got away; they weave through lost towns and forgotten people, where nature has overgrown the footprints of the past, creating a tapestry rich with history and myth.
Prepare to be entranced by a journey that goes beyond the mere thrills of angling. Joe Woody brings the heart of Appalachia to life, guiding us through the mystique enshrouding lost villages and the echoes of societies long reclaimed by the wild. The conversation sails through the undercurrents of Appalachian lore, hinting at the profound connections between the storied land and the legends that have flourished under the canopy of these time-honored forests. Whether you're an avid angler or a connoisseur of untold stories, this expedition into the woods with Joe is an awakening to the sheer joy of discovery.
Visit https://pursuitchannel.com/ for more info and for great outdoor programming.
Be sure to visit BizRadio.US to discover hundreds more engaging conversations, local events and more.
Venture with us as we reel in the stories from the obscured waters of the Southern Appalachians with our guest, Joe Woody, the imaginative force behind Angler Magazine and the captivating TV series, Forgotten Streams of Appalachia. As Joe recounts the transformation of his dream into the spectacular premiere on the Pursuit Channel, you can almost hear the mountain streams gurgle in the background. His tales are more than just the fish that got away; they weave through lost towns and forgotten people, where nature has overgrown the footprints of the past, creating a tapestry rich with history and myth.
Prepare to be entranced by a journey that goes beyond the mere thrills of angling. Joe Woody brings the heart of Appalachia to life, guiding us through the mystique enshrouding lost villages and the echoes of societies long reclaimed by the wild. The conversation sails through the undercurrents of Appalachian lore, hinting at the profound connections between the storied land and the legends that have flourished under the canopy of these time-honored forests. Whether you're an avid angler or a connoisseur of untold stories, this expedition into the woods with Joe is an awakening to the sheer joy of discovery.
Visit https://pursuitchannel.com/ for more info and for great outdoor programming.
Be sure to visit BizRadio.US to discover hundreds more engaging conversations, local events and more.
and welcome to another episode. Glad to welcome back to the airwaves joe woody, publisher of angler magazine and one of the hosts of the brand new television program Forgotten Streams of Appalachia. You can see it on the Pursuit channel. Welcome back to the show, joe. Hey, matt, how you been man, I've been good, I've been staying busy, and so have you, it seems like you know, on the television show. Goodness, it seems like the first time we talked about this being a project or an idea was, you know, probably a couple years ago. And here you are. It's, you know, it's airing for folks to be able to see, and congratulations on it.
Speaker 2:It's really great to see you take it from idea to reality. Thank you, it's been a while I've been working on it. Me and Josh, our producer, were talking about it. The idea actually came up and it was his idea, it wasn't mine. About nine years ago we were in another country doing some stuff. He said I started telling fishing stories. He said won't you let me film you? It started there. Nine years later we're on the Pursuit Channel. Yeah, it's really cool.
Speaker 1:I mean the title of it Forgotten Streams of Appalachia, you know it kind of tells the story in itself. But tell people more about the show because I've had the one of the benefits of being behind the scenes and having the relationships we do. We get little sneak peeks of things. So I've already seen some of this and it's amazing. It's's wonderful and I know where the show is and where it's going and I'm excited for people to learn more about it and enjoy it. But tell people about what to expect and and what's different about this show. It's not just a regular old you know. Oh, we're going to go out there and fly fish a stream. There's more to it than that.
Speaker 2:There is we um, at first it was just a regular old hey I, I caught a fish here, let's talk about it. But over time it developed and we developed into it. It's a fishing show, but it's a fishing show where we talk about history, mystery, lost things in the Appalachians, lost people, lost towns, villages, animals and just interesting things that I've been fortunate enough to encounter while out walking around these mountains that we love so much.
Speaker 1:Well, and anybody that's heard you on the show before or has had a chance to spend any amount of time with you, whether on the creek side or in a boat or anything else, knows that you can spin a yarn with the best of them. Well, thanks man.
Speaker 2:We've shared many stories over the years that we've known each other, and everything knows that you can spin a yarn with the best of them.
Speaker 1:Well, thanks, man. Yeah, yeah, we've shared many stories over the years that we've known each other and everything, and the idea that people you know they've been enjoying what you've been able to pull together and collaborate for, and all the stories that people read in Angler Magazine and everything. But you know, in this format, seeing the beauty in areas that a lot of people either don't have the time or don't have the confidence to go and explore. Like you said, there used to be entire communities, villages, lost places and people, but now they are taken back over by wilderness and you're finding your way into these places.
Speaker 2:Yes, the Southern Appalachians, the Smokies, the Unicas, all these have a history. They have a history. Let's say, for example, the Smokies. A hundred years ago, in certain places in the Smoky Mountains, there were mid-sized towns in there with movie theaters and things like that. Within a hundred years, 80 to 100 years, nature has reclaimed those places. You know, 80 to 100 years nature has reclaimed those places. But you can still go back in there and find just many old homes, uh, old foundries, cemeteries, everything.
Speaker 1:And each one of those places has a story to it how much, uh, how much do you anticipate getting into the mythology of some of these areas?
Speaker 2:we, we do it's see, I know you, I know what to ask. Yeah, there it is. Uh, we me especially. I can't say so much about josh, but what I did not want the show to be is a show about mythology and paranormal and things like that, but there is so much. The spiritual world of the mountains is so alive. It almost took us there without us meaning it, and I'm still trying not to, but it keeps taking us to certain areas and it's just they have legs, the stories have legs and it just keeps growing.
Speaker 1:It envelops you too. You know, and I think that you know, the cinematography of the show is so remarkable it it's it's theater, quality, direction and everything else. It really does capture the beauty of where you're at. And I think when you're able to do that on film, like like when you're there in person, like you said, it just envelops you, it takes you over, just like nature. Retook those villages, you know, and you can't help but think about stories of the firebirds and large people and you know all the giants and all the different things. That are stories that are thousands and thousands of years old in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, man, and I got to tell you in doing the research and things that I've encountered, that happened to me. I went in with just a skeptical. I said I am going to be cynical. I have got to be cynical. That's the only way. We can't come off as crazy. We all have reputations. We can't come off as like, hey, let's go do this. But some of the subject matter that we chose, uh, were based on true experiences. I didn't know what they were and as we investigated them it became bigger than life and some of it can be quite incredible. It's just getting the story out there, some of the stories out there.
Speaker 1:Well, and then match that with just softly dropping a dry fly right along the edge of a bush line and an edge of a creek and you see a little swirl and then all of a sudden you're like oh yeah, I forgot, I'm on a fishing show with some beautiful stuff to learn from here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know it basically is that's. You know it's. I'll have different guides. We'll make guest appearances during it to give fishing tips. We'll have a lot of it's me just traipsing around in the water trying to catch a fish and then so, by the way, this happened here, you know we ran into this person here, I had this experience here, and then we'll do some interviews with people about the history of that type of situation and by the end, you know, do we have some answers? We have some answers, but with those answers come more questions and we try to leave it to the viewer to come to their own conclusions about some of these things. It it's just an interesting storylines is all I can say.
Speaker 1:Well, let me ask you about behind the scenes, because, with Michelle and I and our travel show, we know what it takes to arrange to go places and we do audio recordings. We'll get photos and everything. We've done a little bit of filming, not a whole lot. Video has not been our strong place. We're broadcasters, audio broadcasters but we've started trying to do a little bit more film work and everything. Having done just a little bit, I can't imagine what it's like to try and get out there and plan and coordinate and get the shots and get the cinematography in these remote wild areas, like you guys are doing. Talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 2:Luckily, our videographer, our filmmaker. He's a 23-year-old, fantastically gifted young man. He's got an idea of how to make these shots work and he does real well with it. You can see from how the video comes out in the program. But he's limitless with energy that helps. He's taking camera systems. We've got them in our backpacks and we're backpacking miles back into places and he can do it.
Speaker 1:I know you can see a hole down in a gorge and you'll be like I'm going to rappel down in there. I got to take a cast. I know this about you, so I'm trying to imagine seeing a crew of people out there doing something, or having someone go along and try and figure out.
Speaker 2:All right, how am I going to shoot him down at the bottom of this 25-foot gorge on an eight-inch depth creek? It's just three of us, you know, it's just, it's. It's just been the three of us for the last year and a half and uh, you know we can keep our. You know we don't have a bunch of equipment and we've learned how to strap ropes to the cameras and things like that, uh, to help us out. But uh, you know it's having just the three of us keeps our footprint down and we can get places. I guess other bigger crews can't. And uh, I mean they, they follow me through the woods and through the to the laurel thickets and the dog hobble and he's right there, they're both right there with me trying to keep up with me as I'm coming over logs. The most amazing thing that I can think of is we haven't broke a camera yet you shouldn't have said that on the air.
Speaker 1:Joe, I know you're gonna text me next week and be like man. You're never going to believe what happened.
Speaker 2:Right into the water.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, so what are the plans for the show going forward and you know what's the best way? I know, as we're having this conversation, it's Saturday, April 6th, 2024. But people are going to be hearing this long after this through podcast platforms and things like that, hearing this long after this through podcast platforms and things like that. What's the best way for people to kind of keep up with the show and with what you've got going on and want to dial in on this?
Speaker 2:Well, right now, what it is is a TV show on the Pursuit channel. It's it's kind of our cornerstone of what we're doing. From that, we're going to have a podcast and we're going to go on to social media, other formats, perhaps some other TV networks, and go from there. That's the plan. If it also could be, this could be it. If nobody watches it, that's one of the chances that you take.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's TV.
Speaker 2:But it's been a lot of fun. So that's the plans we have. About last night, we have about 50 show ideas and we just keep going. Yeah, that's great and, uh, you know, so we've got a second season planned. Uh, right now. Uh, the first season is about six episodes. Um, uh, they're going to run for six weeks and then rerun for those six weeks and then the second season we may have around the same six to 10.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really awesome. Well, I, I'm, I'm really excited for you, I'm excited for the potential audience that's out there, because what you're doing is is so unique, it's so interesting, it's beautiful. Um, you know, it's insightful that there's so much to it, there's so much richness and of course, there is you're working on it, you know, um, so, you know, I, I really appreciate it. And again, for people that are listening in real time here as we're on the air and, uh, in air and in the two, three days after this, pursuit Channel Monday, the 8th of April, 7.30 pm is when that's going to be airing and then there'll be some re-airs, but if people just go to Pursuitcom and then search the TV schedule, they can probably find it. Forgotten Streams of Appalachia. Joe Woody, one of the hosts of the show and also publisher of Angler Magazine. Joe Woody, one of the hosts of the show and also publisher of Angler Magazine. So greatly appreciate you and so excited for the show and can't wait to see it on the big screen.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Matt. Thank you for all your help and advice. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:All right and we appreciate you tuning in and listening to the show. Share it out with your friends, download it, keep it for future listenership. We appreciate you and we hope to see you on the trails and streams and out there, out and about, in the days to come.