Big Rich McIntosh

Red Fish

Senior Member
#1
I met Richard Emerson McIntosh through Ken Jones and this PFIC pier site, what Rich would call "the board." I had read about Rich before I met him through his fishing friend Scott "Scooterfish" Geerds, also a PFIC member now living in Mandeville, Louisiana.

I first heard about Rich, the 6' 8" giant from Scooterfish's descriptive posts of fishing the S.F. waterfront piers around 2000. Rich was better with words than written prose.

From the very first Mud Marlin Derby #1 hosted by PFIC, Rich and I became fishing buddies and friends. I always mention to Ken Jones that his "fishing board" has brought people together as fishermen, friends, and community that I don't believe he has quite fathomed; people that may never have fished together.

We fished for 16 years with regularity from 2002 until his death April 15th, 2018. The last year, he was hanging out with his lady quite a bit who also fishes, so we only fished a handful of times.

When I fished with Rich, he lived in San Francisco near Agua Vista Pier (Kelly's Mission Rock) near Towns End. He did not have a vehicle at the time, so I would come pick him up and we would fish waterfront piers like Pier 2, 7, 14, or any other pier with a number that you could slip into along the SF waterfront.

Rich liked to shark/ray fish, that was his thing and for the 16 years I knew him, squid was his favorite bait and I used to call that his "fishing candy." A $3 box of 3# of squid from Safeway was what he used the majority of the time. And, I would NEVER have fished those piers at night (let alone day) along the waterfront without someone that has immense presence as he did; I just wouldn't feel safe or comfortable. From having fished with him enough times there, I could do it now as I know where to park and what to expect. And we fished every little pier, wharf and landing from Torpedo Wharf NW to Hunter's Point SE all along Town's End and 3rd.

We never did well with the catches in SF as we really didn't know how to pursue the gamefish over there because the method is different enough from the Eastbay piers like Berkeley that I knew so well to put us at a disadvantage. I am sure I could go back to those piers and have greater success now if I took the time to fish them ever again.

But, that was not Rich. He liked to smoke cigarettes, drink Coca Cola, drive to new fishing spots, and tell tall tales. He did not want to nor have the patience to sit at (1) pier like I do 4, 6, 8 hours at a time to catch 1 or 2 keeper halibut; that was just NOT him!

Raised in Ukiah, California, Rich took me to his hometown of Anderson Valley and showed me every bar and pool hall in the town (and he was a very good pool player). I went to all the spots he knew in Anderson Valley. The little creeks, lakes, rivers where we caught trout (like Cole Creek); he knew how to fish the local lakes. He took me to meet his family and I met his twin brother Clayton Henry McIntosh (also deceased) that we would visit in Napa and then go fish Cuttings Wharf along 121. I met all of his sisters, brother-in-law, and mom Betty. Through my association with Rich, I went to small town bars (many right in the Bay Area) I never would have being African-American, feeling comfortable. I ventured on fishing road trips like Russian River, Noyo Harbor, McKerricker Park, Fish Ranch Road, and Point Arena for the first time with him driving all the way... as that is what he liked to do...road trips.

Rich was a good friend, like a big body guard, and he was very good with backing up trucks, trailers, boats, tying off loads and driving boats. He bought a 20' old Bayliner Capri when he got a settlement from moving out of SF to Vallejo and we went on a few trips but, alas that old Force 150 (knock-off Merc) burnt out within less than a year and he got rid of it. I remember when he came and picked me up early morning with truck and trailer to go in Rio Vista saying "we got a boat" as in we both did. What I learned from being in a boat a few times is , that sometimes you just go for a boat ride, and that you still need to find fish to catch them. I only went on about 4 trips before the boat was gone. We had 1 trip from San Leandro to under the San Mateo bridge. We only caught small 7 gills as the bite wasn't the best time of year for there with us catching bat rays on our way back to the marina. PFIC member Alex Poon was with us. The other trip I remember, we anchored by the channel at Ferry Point, Richmond for a couple hours. Just a few small sharks and maybe a ray. His dog Peaches came with us and got seasick (I think it was the Slim Jim he gave her on our way to the dock that made her throw up).

As far as his involvement with PFIC, Rich did as much or more than others did at the events and did deserve the UPSAC rod that James G-Dude Liu gave all of us. I was an official UPSAC board member but Rich drove me to most of the away events to Goleta, Oceanside, Pismo. At the home events at Berkeley, he ensured there were no fights and I always tell Ken, he is the reason after 15 events at Berkeley, there was no trouble. I distinctly remember 1 year trouble was brewing, which I detected, and asked Rich to go and talk to a specific individual. 1 time (not a PFIC event) I did jump in right before anything started as Rich and this farm-boy from Patterson almost went head up at the end of Berkeley Pier at night (because the guy said we couldn't fish there) and challenged Rich by saying "whatcha gone do fat-boy?!"


Rich had his faults, like anyone. And I always tell myself, if I am looking for a friend with no faults, I am better off fishing by myself. Rich was a friend, knew my family, had been to my house many times and was someone that showed up right at the right times and called and said 'let's go fishin'" when I was down.

I still throw in "1 last cast for Stan Low" as we used to do when he was alive, only now his name is on that list of last casts!

BTW - all of the fish shown were caught on squid including the sturgeon and halibut (caught at night). He even caught a keeper striper by San Quentin on squid. And I witnessed all these legitimate catches throughout that 16 years!

One last note: When I first met Rich, neither of us had gray hair. It was about 2010, after I had known him about 8 years that I really took any pictures of him and digital cameras were more readily available (as in cell phones). I had these pictures on a terrabyte drive over 10 years old. Rich lived to be 55 years old as he was (1) year older than I and I will be 57 this August. It's not how long you live, its what you do while you are here...

A few pictures attached bigrich_hali.jpg br_sturg[1].jpg Russian_Rich.JPG bigrichardsons-bay.jpg bigrich-1.jpg 2004_0408fishinrich0007.JPG
 
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#2
I met Richard Emerson McIntosh through Ken Jones and this PFIC pier site, what Rich would call "the board." I had read about Rich before I met him through his fishing friend Scott "Scooterfish" Geerds, also a PFIC member now living in Mandeville, Louisiana.

I first heard about Rich, the 6' 8" giant from Scooterfish's descriptive posts of fishing the S.F. waterfront piers around 2000. Rich was better with words than written prose.

From the very first Mud Marlin Derby #1 hosted by PFIC, Rich and I became fishing buddies and friends. I always mention to Ken Jones that his "fishing board" has brought people together as fishermen, friends, and community that I don't believe he has quite fathomed; people that may never have fished together.

We fished for 16 years with regularity from 2002 until his death April 15th, 2018. The last year, he was hanging out with his lady quite a bit who also fishes, so we only fished a handful of times.

When I fished with Rich, he lived in San Francisco near Agua Vista Pier (Kelly's Mission Rock) near Towns End. He did not have a vehicle at the time, so I would come pick him up and we would fish waterfront piers like Pier 2, 7, 14, or any other pier with a number that you could slip into along the SF waterfront.

Rich liked to shark/ray fish, that was his thing and for the 16 years I knew him and I knew that squid was his favorite bait and I used to call that his "fishing candy." A $3 box of 3# of squid from Safeway was what he used the majority of the time I knew him. And, I would NEVER have fished those piers at night (let alone day) along the waterfront without someone that has immense presence as he did: I just wouldn't feel safe or comfortable. From having fished with him enough times there, I could do it now as I know where to park and what to expect. And we fished every little pier, wharf and landing from Torpedo Wharf NW to Hunter's Point SE all along Town's End and 3rd.

We never did well with the catches in SF as we really didn't know how to pursue the gamefish over there because the method is enough different from the Eastbay piers like Berkeley that I knew so well. I am sure I could go back to those piers and have greater success now if I took the time to fish them ever again.

But, that was not Rich. He liked to smoke cigarettes, drink Coca Cola, drive to new fishing spots, and tell tall tales. He did not want to nor had the patience to sit at (1) pier like I do 4, 6, 8 hours at a time to catch 1 or 2 keeper halibut; that was just NOT him!

Raised in Ukiah, California, Rich took me to his hometown of Anderson Valley and showed me every bar and pool hall in the town (and he was a very good pool player). I went to all the spots he knew in Anderson Valley and the little creeks, lakes rivers where we catch trout (like Cole Creek) and he knew how to fish the local lakes. He took me to meet his family and I met his twin brother that we would visit in Napa and then go fish Cuttings Wharf along 121. I met all of his sisters, brother-in-law, and mom Betty. I went to small town bars I never would have, Russian River, Noyo Harbor, McKerricker Park, Fish Ranch Road, and Point Arena for the first time with him driving all the way... as that is what he liked to do...road trips.

Rich was a good friend, like a big body guard, and he was very good with backing up trucks, trailers, boats and driving boats. He bought a 20' old Bayliner Capri when he got a settlement from moving out of SF to Vallejo and we went on a few trips but, alas that old Force 150 (knock-off Merc) burnt out within less than a year and he got rid of it. I remember when he came and picked me up early morning with truck and trailer to go in Rio Vista saying "we got a boat" as in we both did. What I learned from being in a boat a few time is , that sometimes you just go for a boat ride, and that you still need to find fish to catch them. I only went on about 4 trips before the boat was gone. We had 1 trip from San Leandro to under the San Mateo bridge. We only caught small 7 gills as the bite wasn't the best time of year for there with us catching bat rays on our way back to the marina. PFIC member Alex Poon was with us. The other trip I remember was anchored by the channel at Ferry Point for a couple hours. Just a few small sharks and maybe a ray. His dog peaches came with us and got seasick (I think it was the Slim Jim he gave her on our way to the dock that made her through up).

As far as his involvement with PFIC, Rich did as much or more than others did at the events and did deserve the UPSAC rod that James G-Dude Liu gave all of us. I was an UPSAC board member but Rich drove me most of the away events to Goleta, Oceanside, Pismo. At the home events at Berkeley, he ensured there were no fights and I always tell Ken, he is the reason after 15 events at Berkeley, there was no trouble. I distinctly remember 1 year trouble was brewing, which I detected, and asked Rich to go and talk to a specific individual. 1 time (not a PFIC event) I did jump in right before anything started as Rich and this farm-boy from Patterson almost went head up at the end of Berkeley Pier at night (because the guy said we couldn't fish there) and challenged Rich by saying "whatcha gone do fat-boy?!"


Rich had his faults, like anyone. And I always tell myself, if I am looking for a friend with no faults, I am better off fishing by myself. Rich was a friend, knew my family, had been to my house many times and was someone that showed up right at the right times and called and said 'let's go fishin'" when I was down.

I still throw in "1 last cast for Stan Low" as we used to do when he was alive, only now his name is on the listof last casts!

A few pictures attached View attachment 2334 View attachment 2335 View attachment 2336 View attachment 2337 View attachment 2339 View attachment 2340
Nice write up Red (y)
I'm glad I had the opportunity to fish with Rich and your self quite a few times. Rich always had a good tale to tell too. I recall you two coming over for dinner once after we all had been out fishing all day together, boy could that guy eat :D
RIP Rich!
 
#3
Nice write up Red (y)
I'm glad I had the opportunity to fish with Rich and your self quite a few times. Rich always had a good tale to tell too. I recall you two coming over for dinner once after we all had been out fishing all day together, boy could that guy eat :D
RIP Rich!
Wild tales, to be sure! I will add that Big Rich was one of the most generous people I've ever known. Like Redfish, I met Rich long ago through Scooterfish, across the Bay at Municipal Pier and Fort Point. Good times.
 

Ken Jones

Administrator
Staff member
#5
Robert, As you know, I met Big Rich up in Boonville when his father was the refrigeration service man I would call whenever I had a problem at my restaurant The Horn of Zeese. Generally when his father was working the rest of the family would be sitting at a table waiting for him to finish. We got to know them all, his large twin brother , his sisters and his parents. I never had him as a student, as some think, but I of course heard all the tales about him at our school. He was one of a kind and full of a million stories of which a few were even true. He was a fixture at the derbies and I remember one year when he even drove up to our Trinidad Kids Derby, helped out, and then followed me up to Crescent City when I wanted to visit its two piers.

I know how close he became to both you and Brian and he is missed by the entire PFIC family, especially those who actually got to know him and fish with him.
 

Lucy

New member
#6
I, too, met Big Rich and fished with him a few times.

I will never forget the first time I met him. I was fishing off the "wall" to the left of Muni Pier in San Francisco, when I spotted some movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked around, and here came this HUGE man, stepping over the low wall that separates the roadway from the rocks. He said, "Are you Lucy?"

I said, "Yes, and I bet I know who you are-- you must be Big Rich!"

Big Rich was definitely BIG-- 6'8" or 6'9"-- hell, when you're nearly seven feet tall, an inch one way or the other doesn't matter much.

And he wasn't just "big" in height; he was BIG in kindness and generosity. I will never forget the first "bat ray derby" at the Berkeley Pier back in-- whatever year it was. I wrote up a lengthy review of that, but can't find it anywhere. It seems that the archives for these message boards have been seriously screwed up... that, or I've become a "dummy" at doing web searches.

Whatever-- the point is that Big Rich was a great guy, and I was very sad to hear that he had died. But on the other hand, I felt privileged to have met him and associated with him and fished with him. He was one of the kindest, gentlest, sweetest people I have ever met. I don't really believe in any sort of "afterlife," but for his sake, I hope there is one-- and that he is there, catching one "whopper" after another!

Good-bye, Richard. We miss you!
 
H

hphilpott

Guest
#7
Hello Lucy,
I see that you posted this yesterday so I wanted to say hi and that I am glad you were able to share such memories of my brother. I miss him very much reading all the comments from everyone truly helps to remember the joy and sunshine he brought with his big personality. I am sure that not only is he catching one "whopper" but is show those in the afterlife how to also.
 

Lucy

New member
#8
Hi, there, hphilpott!--

I am sorry that your brother died, and I can understand why you miss him very much-- but I am glad that you are able to take comfort from the comments that I and others have posted about him.

He was a curious and touching mixture of "braggadocio" and "sensitivity." He wanted so much to "impress" people, to make them like and respect him, and he was constantly telling "stories" about himself and his fishing feats-- most of which had clearly been "borrowed" from posts he'd seen online or stories heard from others. I kept wanting to tell him, "Hey, Rich, you don't have to 'work' at impressing people; all you have to do is be yourself!" I kept wanting to say that, but I never did, and I wish I had.

At the same time, he was very sensitive and easily hurt. I remember one afternoon when I went to Crissy Field, and not long after I got there, along came Big Rich. He said that a couple of other people, whose names I will not reveal, were supposed to meet him there in another 20 minutes or so.

Well, the appointed time came and went, and his two "friends" didn't show. An hour went by, and they still didn't show. Big Rich kept looking at his watch and saying, "I wonder what's keeping them?" Another hour went by, and they STILL hadn't shown. The tide was changing and it was obvious that there was no point in staying,, so we walked a few blocks to a bus line that would take us to Van Ness. On the bus, Rich said, "I don't understand it-- they SAID they were going to be there, so why weren't they?" His voice was trembling and there were tears in his eyes, and I could tell that he was very disappointed and quite hurt.

I knew the two people in question, and I really wanted to whack both of them upside the head with a baseball bat!

I wanted to comfort him, so I said, "Oh, well-- they probably forgot what day it was." He gave me a hard, level look that clearly said that he knew I was giving him a bunch of B.S.-- which I was. So I back-tracked and said, "Well, you know, people don't always do what they say they're going to do.-- and people aren't always up-front.... and you can't let it upset you."

He gave me another long look and finally said, "Yeah..."

I don't understand why people say things they don't mean, or make promises they don't intend to keep, and I especially don't understand why hey pull such crap with people as kind and guile-less and trusting as Big Rich was.

Well!-- your brother was a fine man, and although he had some "flaws," I believe he deserved much better than he got. He tried so hard, and too often received so little in return. I will remember him always, with great fondness. Yes, he was physically a very BIG man-- but his "heart" was even bigger, and I, for one, will never forget him!

--Lucy