My job as a content builder takes me to new places all the time. I’m rarely in front of the camera anymore, instead concentrating my efforts on providing cool material showcasing the efforts of others, including noted professional and otherwise obsessed anglers. I’ve aligned with clients who, like me, are less concerned about product plugs and more about authentic experiences.

Such found me spellbound in the middle of Appalachia, taking refuge in southern West Virginia as my team and I attempted to film a documentary on professional kayak angler Jody Queen. Queen’s story is more than compelling; it’s nearly inconceivable. A pencil artist by training and trade, Queen now teams with world-renowned artist Gary Bowling in an attempt to restore a century-old, 33,000 square-foot schoolhouse into a hub of Appalachian art. To do so, the duo, along with Queen’s wife Vickie, moved into the structure (which has been confirmed to be haunted), where they work tirelessly on restoration efforts. Once finished – if ever finished – Gary Bowling’s House of Art may just save the battered old coal town of Bluefield.

But that’s a sidebar to today’s story. Besides all of these details, of note was Queen’s life in fishing, and how he somehow became one of the best competitive kayak anglers on earth. It’s a tale of professional angling the likes of which we rarely hear anymore.

Growing up in those same hills, Queen took to smallmouth bass early in life, trailing behind his father as they waded the mountain streams, bait bucket in tow, fishing for food and keeping what they caught. Later, Queen would ditch the crawdads and turn to artificials, now a grown-up with a group of buddies interested in the same pursuit. Fishing trips were spent on foot, the thought of a high-performance bass boat about as foreign as a Martian spaceship.

You see, a large boat was simply ineffective in the shallow, rocky waters. The cost of such was equally unrealistic.

I often ponder that in our sport: The number of anglers locked out due to the cost of start-up. But back to our story …

With the riverbed again underfoot, Queen remembered the first time he saw a New River angler in a kayak. “I was speechless” Queen told me.

Here was the answer to his prayers. If nothing else, a kayak offered Queen the ability to move between spots, where he could then resume his wade-fishing regimen, covering infinitely more water. So, at 50 years of age, Queen bought his first boat.

Results were immediate. No waterway was safe. (Queen would confide in me that he had been kicked off private property several times while terrorizing the local rivers). Fishing part-time in the boat and other times out, Queen perfected his stream smallmouth game in a way few others could. It became, again, an art form.

Next, of course, came a local kayak tournament which Queen, of course, won. We’ve seen this story repeat itself time and again, though this time it was a 50-year old man in a plastic boat rather than a 20-something kid riding borrowed money. As fate would have it, Queen was on the leading edge of competitive kayak fishing, so his choice was easy. Keep going.

Since then, in only a handful of years, Jody Queen has won just about everything there is to win in competitive kayak angling, including the Hobie Tournament of Champions and the prestigious KBF “The Ten” event. His accolades have attracted a number of solid sponsors, which he promotes while traveling the largest kayak circuits all over America. He’s won in Florida. He’s won in Pennsylvania.

In all, Queen admits that a handful of lures and a basic understanding of techniques have been integral to his success. Keeping his eyes open and reading his surroundings are noticeably as important as reading his depthfinder. While Queen relies on many of the same technological advancements as the big-boat pros, it’s evident that his formal training came as a result of time on the water. Or, in the water, really.

A trip to the river with Jody Queen is one step below taking Huck Finn. He’ll show you how to gauge the water level, and which way it's moving, without using an app. His eyes and yours will study the mountains, high above the water, to determine what’s below it. You’ll feel crawfish underfoot and observe their light blue pinchers. Queen’s already taken note and spotted the smallmouth holding ahead on the light-colored bottom, angling a cast perfectly to allow his bait to trickle down at just the right pace.

The river keeps running as Jody Queen keeps casting. At the end of the day, he may pitch a tent on the bank, choosing to spend just a few more hours removed from his never-ending work.

To Jody Queen, and many others, this is bass fishing. It’s a quick trip back in time, enlightened by advancements and skill. It’s childlike enthusiasm, and optimism, molded into a grown-up’s body.

It’s considering your move before you make it. Reading the water with a good pair of sunglasses instead of five big-screen graphs. It’s a pocket-full of tackle and one of the best fishing experiences in the nation.

At times I wonder why we’re so anxious to lose this aspect of bass fishing, and how long it will be before we all come back. As I uncover more anglers like Jody Queen, and learn more of their stories, I hope you can join me on the journey.

(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)