Ritchie Fly

[John E Powell]

I was going through my Dad's old fishing tackle and came across a few Richey Flies. (I'm not sure if I have the spelling right as they were not in the original packaging). Am I recalling correctly that the man who made these was George Richey from somewhere in Michigan? It was probably 30+ years ago that my dad and him corresponded with each other and traded his flies for my dad's squids.

Looking at them, I was thinking that the colors of flies he sold 30 years ago are remarkably similar to the "hot" flies of today. Given all the changes in the Great Lakes ecosystems over the past 30 years, history seems to have proven that Mr. Richey introduced many proven bait patterns that have stood the test of time.

I wonder, is Mr. Richey still with us?

Edited July 8, 2013 by John E Powell

[bigblue]

There were two brothers still have some of their product tinsel flies and squids They were from Honor Michigan one if not both have since passed . Great guys always willing to share . Dam I am getting old.

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Great people. Yes, I think thats where it all started. The original tinsel flies where made to be inserts for the squids.

[momay4000]

That's cool that you have a few Richey flies. George used to have a "sparkle" or "sparkler" fly (not sure the exact name) that he invented and I can remember seeing Richey flies used in Michigan in the 80's. To the best of my memory, the flies George made were definitely made of mylar looking material with clear and green strands and a single galvanized treble.

 

He and his brother were both from Michigan - it's neat that your dad knew him.

 

Thanks for sharing,

 

Chris

[bigblue]

Did some checking both of the brothers have passed . They did the Buffalo show for a few years always fun to talk and share with them .

Edited July 7, 2013 by bigblue

[John E Powell]

That's where we met them. We used to have our boat each year in the LOTSA booth over in the corner of the convention center. My dad used to set up a table behind the boat and sell his squids as one of the fund raisers. I remember the first time George walked by and stopped at the table looking over all the squids and introduced himself. My dad had a bunch of unique west coast squids he had just gotten from Richard (Dick) Johnson. (For those of you that don't know who Dick Johnson was, he was another innovator in salmon trolling products. He was making and selling rotating flashers back in the 70s, maybe before that, I'm not sure). Anyway, George said something like, I have never seen those color patterns before, would you like to trade a few for some stuff you don't have on display? George took about a dozen squids and returned later with a bag of about 50 flies. Later that evening we went out to dinner together with George and his Brother and spent the evening chatting.

 

Vince you are right, that was about the time he told us to try running just the fly inserts without the squids. He had experimented with that the previous summer but was keeping it hush-hush at that time. I think it was the next year he introduced his rigged flies.

 

Each year after that, my father and him traded their latest creations when he returned to the convention center. When he stopped doing that show, I think my father and him kept in contact for a few years but then lost track of each other.

 

I found a few more flies, some green glow flies, and some of the sparkle and crinkle variations. I remember George telling my dad his favorite was the sparkle fly with the three or four different colored beads.

 

I sort of recall, humorously, that George didn't really like the way my father rigged his squids. One of the methods was to use a 4/0 true turn 2x catfish hook and a silver plated willow leaf blade. (He had those plated by the Sutton Spoon guy I think, but maybe I am wrong on that). The willow leaf would tuck up inside the squid body with the hook. Beads and a nose plug would keep the back of the hook and the tip of the willow leaf right at the end of the squid tentacles. The willow leaf had a really nice flash behind a dodger, looked just like a baitfish tail. George didn't like those because they didn't use any tinsel inserts, which he sold, and they caught a lot of fish!

 

His brother Dave recently passed. I don't think my dad knew Dave as well as George, and I never had much contact at all with Dave. Here's a link about Dave Richey: http://record-eagle.com/local/x1912992397/Writer-dedicated-life-to-outdoors/print

Edited July 8, 2013 by John E Powell

[Adk1]

Might want to just hold onto them especially if they are in original packaging?