Significant ABU Friends

Ray Hays (USA)

 

My friend of just 6/8 years or so,  Ray recently passed away peacefully after living a very full life and leaving an extended  family of wife Martha Jo , children and grandchildren ,  who will miss him greatly.

We became friends through my ABU website and I was mightily impressed  that a man of 80 years would or could write/e-mail questions.

We learned to share fishing experiences across the world and indeed across a generation.

He was always interested in my older ABU, viz Record reels and asked questions which I was able to help him with.

Likewise my interest in the Heddon connection with ABU via the Hilo lures was very capably sorted by him and he was able to set me straight on timelines.

I was intriqued with Ray's creativity ..just see those wonderful fishing-related  lamp-shades.

A real fisherman like myself (no pun intended) he and long time mates were lucky to live over a time period when Bass were bigger, more frequent and maybe not as canny, so he was able to enjoy some wonderful bag limits over the years.

I take from Ray his sense of patience, persistence and sense of enquiry and could easily attribute my on-going sense of patience, persistence and enquiry as I continue to develop this website for the benefit of all so likewise afflicted with ABU and things piscatorial.

I truly appreciated Ray's interest in my son Fintan who suffers from DMD. He never forgot to ask of his state of health.

Tight Lines mate.

R.I.P. Ray
Passed away at home on 5th March 2014, aged 87 years young

If you are an experienced person that has significantly had an effect on use/design/development/testing of ABU equipment over the years please contact me  abuadmiral@gmail.com  if you wish your contribution documented for posterity and the immediate interest of the ABU fans worldwide!