Lefty

[skeetbum]

This may get moved to another forum, but I wanted to bring it up for a little conversation.

His name was "Lefty" Kreh. To me and some other folks, it's a name that has been around for about as long as we've been fishing. Those of you that don't recognize the name, he was one of the top names in the salt water fly fishing world. During his life he was responsible for teaching thousands of people how to cast a fly. He developed new patterns for the flies he used and caught fish with. If you were to look into his background you would find a man who's bricklayer Dad died at a young age and he became the man of the house. From Frederick , MD, he trapped and hunted and fished to support the family and basically was about as poor as they come. As the years passed and he rose to where most of us came to know him, his story is one that will make you smile. Just a regular guy that did what he knew how to do to get things done. One of the books he wrote is somewhat of a bible among flyfishers. I won't give all the details of his life but is a story that brought a smile to my face and even more respect for him than I already had. His books have sold for many years and helped many of us learn the finer points of what frustrates us about learning to use a fly rod the right way. Lefty passed away back in the middle of March at 82, and the fishing world lost a truly great man and representative of our sport. Take a few minutes and google his name, it just might put a smile on your face like it did mine. Thank You Lefty, you did good.

And if you've never given Fly Fishing a try, it might be a good time to think it over.......

[deathb4disco]

Actually, he was just shy of 93 when he died. Among other things, he was a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge.

I met Lefty several years ago. He signed a book for me at the Atlanta Fly Fishing Show. (I saw him for the last time at the 2017 show). An amazing caster, he could cast the entire fly line with just his hands. He was not a big guy. I'm about 5'7", and I towered over him.

He has a bunch of videos on Youtube, and he's featured on the fishing show, "Buccaneers and Bones".

Check him out.

[skeetbum]

Thanks for straitening me out DBD. Never had the chance to meet him. I never heard of anyone that could cast a fly around an obstruction but he could.

[Alphahawk]

Yeah I had seen where he passed....a true legend in his own time.

Regards


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[Ketchn]

sounds like a mighty fine person to me and it saddens me to have not met him .

[lowe175]

One of my heroes. He always said fishing is like making love. By the time you get good at it you're to old to do it.

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[SpeckledSlab]

The broad shoulders we stand on, in the sport we share are those of the innovators and heroes like him. A salute to all those that gave and who continue to give their experience and what is best, before their final rest. Thank you Lefty!

[fiveeyes]

I remember too. An absolutely great fisherman. Thanks to him and you also skeetbum. nice read

[stormcloud]

Outdoorsmen like him take treasure chests of knowledge about the outdoors with them. Fly fishing was just his passion.

[Retired2Fish]

Fly fishing was just his passion.

More than just a fly fisherman...he was a true ambassador for the sport of fishing (IMO).