|
|
|
Angler's Profiles
by |
This is a series of continuing articles introducing RISAA members to the rest of the club. 
This month's profile features RICHARD LYONS |
“Business is slow at this time of the afternoon. Only a few customers
sit at the tables sipping coffee at the doughnut shop in Richmond.
The autumn sun is already sinking low enough to fill the place with brilliant
light, making most of the tables blindingly bright. I’m here to meet
a man I know only from a two-minute conversation, and who somewhat reluctantly
agreed to be interviewed. One of the few patrons is alone at a table,
and sports a down vest, beard and baseball cap. Fisherman type, I think
as I walk over.“Are you Rick?” I ask. “Who? Nope, not me,” he replies, and I fumble through an explanation. I take a seat at the only table that won’t require sunglasses from the glare and wait. Since Lyons doesn’t know me, I have to hope the open notebook on the table will be the tip-off. I try to occupy myself with my to-do list when I hear a voice. “Hugh? Rick Lyons. I figured it must be you, since you’re the only guy sitting around with a notebook open!” KEEPING BUSY WITH RISAA
Rick has been a RISAA member for only two years, but he’s been active nearly
the whole time. At the moment, he spends his time as a member of the
Education Committee, the Newsletter Committee, and he recently joined the
Boat Show Committee. “I just like to be active,” he says about the involvement. “A lot of times, you see guys come to the meetings, then they’re off on their own. I just like being a part of all this.” Like many members, Rick became aware of RISAA through the newsletter, which he had picked up at a local tackle shop. Lyons already knew several members, and before long he decided to join. Lyons’ effectiveness has not gone unnoticed, and some have spoken of nominating him for treasurer of the club at an upcoming meeting. He’s modest and a bit taken aback at the idea, though he clearly would like the chance to do more for RISAA. “Well, I don’t know,” Lyons says when asked how he feels about the opportunity. “It’s really an important position. I feel like I’d be getting into deep water after only a couple of years with the club. There are a lot of big decisions that have to be made.” Still, he admits, “I did say I wanted to do more things for the club.” (President Steve Medeiros told me privately that he feels Rick would be an excellent choice for Treasurer, has seen his enthusiasm for RISAA, and is totally confident in his abilities!). Rick’s frequent helper on these various committees is his 16-year-old son Bobby, who exhibits nearly as much enthusiasm for the club as he does for being on the water. DAD AND THE FAMILY
Lyons has logged many hours out on his 21-foot center console Logic beside
his son Joseph, 19. Yet, as often happens at that age, other
interests and obligations have reduced the time Joseph spends with a pole
in his hands. Did that mean Dad would scale back his fishing as well?
Not with son Bobby packed and ready!“He drives me to go out there and fish,” Rick says. “Bobby has been really active with catch 
and release. It’s kind of funny in a way, because now he’s also been
into tournaments, so he’s had to take the fish and get it weighed.
I think he felt a little strange about it at first, but he’s doing fine now.”
Much of the conversation about fishing finds its way back to the Exeter-West Greenwich student. A young man who “absolutely loves to fish”, according to Dad, Bob is also something of a specialist in individual sports, as evidenced by his spot on the school golf team. One of Rick Lyon’s many memories on the water was of a recent trip off Castle Hill in Newport. He and Bobby made a discovery which thrilled the both of them. “We were cruising along and we came upon this huge school of bass. I mean there must have been thousands and thousands of them! They were all feeding on tiny fish, and you could see their mouths snapping at the surface. It was just incredible. Later, we started to fish and Bobby was watching two, three, four stripers following his bait up to the boat. That was great!” Lyons counts himself one of the hardy few who fish year-round (again, often thanks to his son’s enthusiasm). Since his boat is on a trailer, he doesn’t worry about marinas or the often prohibitive costs of long runs from the dock to distant fishing spots. “I was out fishing with (fellow RISAA member) Bob Masse, and I actually think he was kind of jealous. We went from Point Judith to Block Island in twenty minutes. Bob says it takes him lots longer (from his slip in Warwick), and it costs him a hundred bucks!” And how does Lyons’ wife Connie feel about all these hours on the water? It’s apparent she sees the value of having father and sons spending time together. Last winter when Rich was considering the type of boat he wanted to buy, Connie was the one who gave her blessing to the more Spartan accomodations of the center console. “I tell my sons, if you guys find anybody half as good as your mom, you’re lucky!” MEETING TIME
On the last Monday of the month, you’ll usually find Rick and Bobby at the
RISAA meetings. Aside from the information he gains from the guest
lecturers, there’s another favorite part. “We usually like to show up early. There’s the dinner (open to all for a five dollar fee) beforehand, and I like to sit at different tables. It gives me a chance to meet different guys.” Since Bobby isn’t the only young person who works hard helping the club with Dad’s activities, Rick has an eye for extending both his and his son’s involvement even further. “I would hope that maybe Bobby and some of the other youngsters could maybe start up a kind of youth group. Who knows, maybe they could even start up their own activities!” |
|
View other
ANGLER PROFILES
|
|
|