Why Fly Rod Nimrod?

My blog is about fly fishing from the perspective of a fanatic just taking up the sport. That's the fly rod part of the blog's title.

The Urban Dictionary defines Nimrod as a slow-witted person. That certainly describes my current state of fly fishing.

When selecting a title for the blog I searched fly+rod+Nimrod and found nothing, except this 1955 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette blurb about a novice flyfisherman who hooked a low-flying seagull on the backcast. Nimrod! Sounds like something I would do.

Nevertheless, the Urban Dictionary and other sources also document Nimrod as a "mighty hunter."  Who knows, maybe one day my fly rod will become feared in the lakes and streams of the Pacific Northwest where I live. For now, though, my rod catches more chuckles than chum.

But that's my idea for this blog. As I start out, I want to share my mistakes, stupid questions, stumbles and occasional successes.  To the beginner, fly fishing can be intimidating.  So much of what I find out there is serious, expert and prosaic, even romantic (ever see A River Runs Through it?)

I have learned something from everything I've read, seen and heard, but I also thought it might be valuable to capture what I am learning even as I am learning it. Peer mentoring for the fellow first-time flyrodder! This blog will summarize the books, magazines, podcasts, videos and TV shows I find useful. And I'll share my experiences along the way

Five years ago I started a baseball blog -- CodBall -- because I was learning about how amateur baseball players become Big League baseball players. The blog became popular and I ended up co-owning the Walla Walla Sweets of the West Coast League.  I remember finding very little useful information about baseball players before they were drafted so I decided to learn and to write about it.

I have a couple of goals for this blog. First, it will simply be a place for me to write about fly fishing. Second, I hope it provides a forum for questions and information that helps the beginning fly fisher.

The best advice so far came when I bought my first fly rod. "You can read all you want, but you gotta get out there. Learn by doing."

I have followed that advice. I've had some success but I've also made a fool of myself along the way. As KC and the Sunshine Band would say, "that's the way I like it."