nevermind,,,,
Richardson and Downs Chest Boxes...Questions
nevermind,,,,
Last edited by Bugsy; 04-06-2013 at 02:16 AM.
Fishing the Great Beyond
I think they are more popular in the east because they mostly fish for little trouts and do not use the double-haul.
Good point JC, as I can see where wearing such a chest box could interfere with the effective operation of the double-haul-device.
On the other hand, perhaps these would be a fine choice, since I too enjoy fishing for little trouts.
Seems I've got 2 FYE boxes ( Richardson ) in aluminum & brass also a Downs( plastic )fly box Got the 4 tray, all basically the same design where there's room for a whole years worth of flies. Start at the top drawer with smaller flies & fill the trays with larger flies towards the bottom. Plenty of room in one box for all the trout flies, nymphs, beadheads, spinners, duns, drys ( in fact it's so easy to sort all of one fly thru all stages in a row that it's sort of overwhelming to have that assortment on the water ) or whatever you've got plus room for floatant & sink & leaders, tippet, bloodknot tools & split shot, etc. Nippers, flashlight, etc. on the shoulder straps made the fishing vest obsolete. One of the boxes was nothing but bass flies top to bottom. Shoulder straps are comfortable, easily replaced & the box kept everything to a minimum with still more than was ever needed for a whole summer of river bass fishing. Very nice wet wading as that's all that was needed. Trays were great for tying repairs in the stream ! Just had to watch turning them upside down inadvertantly! Probably just marketing as the top dry flys for the east were usually all that were needed for the hatches monthly.
Fishing the Great Beyond
In all fairness, anyone who I have ever talked to about them (who actually have one) has sworn by them. I often take a small 7 compartment (you know the ones) plastic box on the stream with me for all the flies I might need. Just not into big bulky stuff. Might be great for someone else.
Had to look at the boxes after all these years & after dusting them off realized they're all 3 tray. 16 compartments in the top & middle trays, open bottom tray in the FYE boxes & the Downs' box has 15 compartments in the top tray, 8 in the middle & the bottom is open. The Downs box is a little bigger, but double hauling shouldn't be a problem unless you have to watch your hands !
Bugsy i have had a downs box fore years. The only thing i do not like about the 4 tray box is you cant see whare you are wading. Just another thing to think about. Chuck
Bugsy:
Early apologies for the length of this post but you asked.
I also have to qualify my set-up by saying that I make a lot of my own fishing gear holders and gadgets so parts of my set-up are not standard but custom made by me. I have a sewing machine and when something isn?t the way I want it to be; I make my own or modify what I bought. The same goes for my actual chest box but I?ll explain later.
I have been using a chest box for years and haven?t worn a vest for the same amount of years. I can and do occasionally catch a big fishy and I can single haul, double haul and I can even execute the extremely rare triple dog haul.
All kidding aside, I chose a Richardson box over the Down?s box because I always wanted one since my first chest box was a Richardson knock-off. I chose the black finish to reduce glare and flash although I like the way the aluminum looks better. The Down?s box has a HUGE advantage though, removable and swappable trays; (more about that later). I do supplement my Richardson box with a waist belt that has two small pouches on it to hold my flask, (extremely important), tippet material and a few other necessary items. For me this is all I really need but I have made a science of keeping things small and compact. I also have two very small pouches on the harness of the Richardson box where I keep a few other items like a cigar cutter, lighter and Frog Fanny. I imagine all of this stuff could fit in one small fanny pack or in the pockets of my fishing shirt but I prefer the pouches. I hate to admit this but I put WAY too much time into figuring this all out.
As far as what types of flies you can carry in a Richardson box; you are only limited by the way you choose to have your box set up. You can vary the number of sections in a dry fly tray so you can hold bigger flies in the standard depth trays or you can forgo dividers entirely and use the removable foam inserts to swap out flies as the season change. The rear tray which is deeper can be set up with dry fly sections too and can hold really big flies. After MUCH thought and mental fishing scenarios; I chose to set up my box with divided dry fly trays in the front 1/2? deep trays. If you ask them they can set-up the dividers so you can remove them to change the set-up from 16 compartments to other configurations. I did this although I haven?t changed the set-up from the original 16.
My rear deep tray is undivided and set up with a removable foam insert on the bottom and foam in the lid. I use this single tray for all of my nymphs and streamers. Obviously I don?t fish that many wets so this suffices for me. I supplement this single tray with foam pads that lay inside of the tray which I can add or subtract as needed. I bought the felt pads that Richardson sells for this purpose but I didn?t like them so I made my own version out of foam. I also made my own harness to carry the box. Mine is similar in design to the Amish harness except it is made of wide nylon webbing. I attach my camera and walkie-talkie to it when I carry them. I find my chest box very comfortable to wear regardless of the harness and I haven?t had a backache since I gave up the vest. It is cooler than any vest I ever owned and having what looks like a heart/lung machine attached to the front of your chest doesn't get in the way as much as many people think.
Now for the hardest decision: how many trays? This will depend on how many flies you like to carry. While I carry a lot, I now carry less of the same pattern and just keep back-ups flies back in the car. It works for me. I used to carry at least 6-12 of every fly, which is totally nuts. Now I carry 3-4 of each pattern and I have yet had to walk back to the car to restock. Where I live, I could easily get by with a 4 tray box but here is where I broke the rules. I modified my Richardson box, (and voided the warranty) and made it so I can swap out trays like the Down?s box. I bought two complete Richardson boxes, one with 5 trays and one with 4 trays. I now have 9 separate trays that I can mix or match depending on the season with the flies that match what is hatching. Swapping trays is not as easy as the Down?s box but it isn?t as hard as tying a full dress salmon fly either. I typically do the tray swap only 3-4 times a season so I find it totally manageable. The majority of the year I am fishing with only 4 trays, the fall and winter with 3 and the early spring with 5. If I had to fish with 5 trays all year I?d kill myself which is why I decided trashing the warranty was worth it. It was an expensive way to get what I wanted but now I am delighted with the results. Obviously a Down?s box would have made all of this unnecessary but I wanted a Richardson.
Finally, I think they are more popular in the East because they were a Pennsylvania invention and popularized by guys like George Harvey and Joe Humphreys. The other reason is us Easterners are smarter and don?t double haul as much.
If you are serious about getting a box I heartily recommend looking for a used Down?s box to try first since the Richardson box is more $$$ and less flexible. If you like it; go from there by getting the extra Down?s trays or taking the Richardson plunge. If you go the Richardson route take a LOT of time thinking through the fly & gear carrying situations so you are sure it will work for you. If you are crazy enough to trash the warranty and modify your box like I did, PM me and I?ll tell you how I did it.
Sorry if I bored those not interested with the length of this post.
I have the Richardson box and would not trade it for anything. They are pricy but the craftmanship is worth it. Mine is a three tray ultralight model with the aluminum finish. Out of the three models that I looked at, the ultra light fit what I needed. Which was reduced weight and get rid of the vest. Now, I ordered mine empty, meaning no compartments or foam added. Then I added the C&F Design spare or replacement clips to the trays, one on the lid and one on the base. I have an assortment of C&F design pages configured to the flies that I carry. Now instead of having to change out trays, I just change out pages. I carry one of the C&F design binders that hold six pages with me in my gear bag with assortments of flies for the water that I fish. I only use 5 pages in the box, I use the deepest back compartment for tippet, slip shot, strike indicators, etc. If you know the water that you fish, this is an ultralight way to fish. Again, this is an expensive option, but it allows options to congigure the box and is extremely lightweight and not cumbersome.
Steve
Fishing the Great Beyond
Well, like I said, the guys who have them seem to really like them. I just don't want anything hanging on my chest.
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