When the Dayton Daily News hired me to write a weekly outdoors column, all I came armed with was saltwater fishing gear and a whole bunch of desire.

But I wasn’t worried. I had an important mentor – Jim Robey.

I wouldn’t still be writing this column if it weren’t for Jim Robey. Might not have made it past the first week in March 1994. But here I am and I owe it all to Jim. And, sadly, I am writing this column because Jim Robey passed away last Sunday.

Jim had retired in 1993 after 30 years as the outdoor writer for the Dayton Journal Herald and then Dayton Daily News. He continued to write a weekly column in retirement for several years.

He was a legend in the outdoor writing business. You might say he grew up to be an outdoor writer, following in his father’s footsteps. George Robey had been the outdoor writer for the Columbus Citizen-Journal and was one of the founders of the Outdoor Writers of Ohio.

“There wasn’t anything Jim didn’t know about the outdoors,” said his longtime friend Bob Koverman of Troy. “I have always been an outdoors guy, but I would be out fishing with Jim and he would hear a bird sound and right away he would tell me what kind of bird it was. I learned something every time I went fishing or hunting with Jim.”

He’s not the only one. And the thing about Jim, he didn’t just write about the outdoors with his smooth, sittin’-on-the-back-porch story telling style. He lived it. He was outdoors all the time. When you called his home phone, you would likely be greeted by a cheerful message like: “The outdoors folks are out enjoying the outdoors right now, so leave a message …” More than likely, that’s where he was.

Not many realized it, but Jim was competitive, too. The first time I met Jim was back in the 1970s. I was playing basketball on a team against him. I remember he’d give you a big grin, and then dribble around you and score. He also liked to win on the golf course. Just ask some of the other sports staffers from back in the day.

“The first time we invited Jim out to play golf with us, he showed up wearing gym shoes,” said Bucky Albers, Jim’s longtime friend and retired sports reporter for the Dayton newspapers. “Of course we were all wearing golf shoes, so we kind of snickered at him. After that, he went out and beat all of us.”

But as competitive as he was, Jim Robey was a gentle man, the nicest guy you would ever hope to meet.

That’s not just me talking. Ritter Collett, the Hall of Fame former Journal Herald sports editor, once told me that. In fact, he pointed that out to everyone he introduced to Jim. The two gentlemen, both gone now, became two of my dearest friends.

In 2004, when he was selected as man of the year for the Dayton Ducks Unlimited chapter he helped organize, Jim told me this about his career: “To me there have been two great things: the chance to be involved with hunting and fishing and outdoor conservation and also the great people I have met through the years.”

When Jim died at 81, that wealth of outdoor information died with him. He did write books – guides for Ohio fishermen – but he knew so much more about every facet of the outdoors. There is no question in my mind; Jim Robey forgot more about the outdoors than I will ever know.

I wonder if they allow fishing boats in heaven.

• The family asks that donations be made in Jim’s name to Dayton Ducks Unlimited, Hospice of Dayton or the American Heart Association.