Lefty Kreh

Kreh was born February 26, 1925, in Frederick, Maryland, where he attended Frederick High School. His parents were Theodore (aka "Whitey"), who died in a basketball accident when Kreh was eight; and Helen M. Purdy. His father taught him about fishing, and after he died Lefty would bring fish home for his mother and three siblings, Eileen, Dick and Teddy.

Lefty served in the Battle of The Bulge. He said they barely ate, and always were cold. He was one of the men who helped to take the Ludendorff Bridge from the Germans in the Battle of Remagen. That battle and victory was a turning point in the European theatre for WW2. After serving in World War II, Kreh was one of three US servicemen infected with anthrax, and the only one to survive. The strain he was infected with was named BVK-I as a result.

He began fly-fishing in 1947 while serving as a guide for the famous fly fisherman Joe Brooks.Gowans, Ally. "Casting with Lefty Kreh."http://www.letsflyfish.com/lefty_1.htm In 1965 he moved to Miami, Florida, and became the Director of the Metropolitan Fishing Tournament. He wrote for various fishing magazines. He is known throughout to always throw his fish back, keeping the flow in the waters for more fish. He began to fish for saltwater species in the Florida Keys. It was during this time that Kreh, Joe Brooks, Al Pflueger, Tom McNally, George Hommel, Stu Apte and Bob Stearn's pioneered the techniques, deviating from the classic "Ten to Two" casting technique,"Book & Video Reviews: He has said the book of My Life Was This Big by Lefty Kreh," was one he did not like. http://www.thefisherman.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_ID=160&ParentCat=6 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019170431/http://www.thefisherman.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_ID=160&ParentCat=6 |date=2012-10-19 }} that modern saltwater anglers use to pursue fish with fly fishing gear.

In addition to his fishing accomplishments, Kreh had been an active outdoor writer for more than forty-five years.{{cite web |author=Pike, Captain Bill |title= Saltwater Fly Fishing with Lefty Kreh |url=http://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/technique/saltwater-fly-fishing-lefty-kreh |publisher=Powerandmotoryacht.com |access-date=December 30, 2016 |date=March 2011}} He wrote for most major outdoor magazines. He was the retired outdoor editor of The Baltimore Sun and held a staff position on several outdoor magazines. Kreh was also an accomplished photographer. On top of all of this, he was part of the TFO rod company and played a key role in the creation of several rods, including the Lefty Kreh series and BVK series (named after the strain of anthrax he survived, BVK-1)."Author, Photographer Lefty Kreh to be Honored.http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/author-photographer-lefty-kreh-to-be-honored/article_9d80fe6d-37ca-53e9-9150-432c0070bdd8.html

File:Lefty's Deceiver 04.jpg

Lefty's Deceiver is an artificial fly commonly categorized as a streamer fly which is fished under the water's surface. It is a popular and widely used pattern for both predacious freshwater and saltwater game fish. It is generally considered one of the top patterns to have in any fly box."Deceiver Fly Pattern."http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=0826 Kreh invented the Deceiver fly in the late 1950s as a streamer that would be easy to cast in wind and would not "foul" (or wrap around the bend of the hook) a common problem for older streamer patterns.{{cite web |title=Lefty's Deceiver |url=http://www.danblanton.com/blog/leftys-deceiver-by-lefty-kreh/ |date=August 9, 2006 |author=Blanton, Don |publisher=danblanton.com |access-date=December 30, 2016}} The original Lefty's Deceiver was tied in as a white pattern, but fly tiers have recreated the pattern in a variety of colors. A darker colored top with a lighter bottom (mimicking the various forage fishes that larger fishes feed upon) is the most popular design. The Deceiver is arguably the best-known saltwater fly pattern in the world, and in 1991 the U.S. Postal Service honored Kreh’s creation with a postage stamp.{{cite web |url=http://globalflyfisher.com/patterns/philatelic-phlies |title=Philatelic phlies--Do Postal Services have notions of flyfishing? Do flyfishers have something in common with stamp collectors? |publisher=Globalflyfisher.com |author=Bas Verschoor |date=November 30, 1998 |access-date=December 30, 2016}}

In 2010, the first "Lefty Kreh Flyfishing Challenge Course" was created as the centerpiece of instruction at HomeWaters University, which is located in Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania. Kreh designed the course himself, incorporating dry land, still water and moving water into various casting stations. He called it a "challenge" course, as opposed to a "casting" course, because he included real-world fly-fishing conditions. Scenarios include the need for long casts, short and precise presentations, casting into the wind, casting with no room for a back cast, and dealing with boulders, rapidly moving water, logs, and other floating debris.

A historical journey of Lefty's instruction can be found in the https://flyfishersinternational.org/Portals/0/Documents/Casting/The%20Loop/2017.APR-JUL.LOOP.pdf?ver=2017-08-22-145256-000 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}} Loop Publication (April–July 2017) which is published by Fly Fishers International. The piece is a reflection in Lefty's words about his life teaching and instructing fly casting with an interview by Mac Brown.

Kreh received the prestigious "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the American Sportfishing Association, has been honored with the "Lifetime Contribution Award" by the North American Fly Tackle Trade Association, and is also in the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. In 1997 he was named "Angler of the Year" by Fly Rod and Reel Magazine. In 2003 Kreh was inducted to the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame.{{cite web |url=https://www.igfa.org/Museum/HOF-Kreh.aspx |title=IGFA Hall of Fame=Bernard "Lefty" Kreh |publisher=IGFA.org |access-date=December 30, 2016}} Kreh has served a number of years as Senior Advisor to Trout Unlimited, the Federation of Fly Fishers. Lefty was inducted with {{cite web|url=https://macbrownflyfish.com/bio-mac-brown/|title=Bio Mac Brown-owner Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina}} Mac Brown in the category of recreation into the {{cite web|url=https://flyfishingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame.html|title = Bryson City - Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians Hall of Fame}} Fly Fishing Museum of Southern Appalachia Hall of Fame in 2018.

Video Games: The iPad games [https://web.archive.org/web/20131220220404/https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chuckin-bugs-101/id552663387?ls=1&mt=8 Chuckin' Bugs 101] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20131220220452/https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/olive-the-woolly-bugger/id552652971?ls=1&mt=8 Olive the Woolly Bugger] pay homage to Kreh. One of the main characters, "Lefty Crayfish", is an anthropomorphized crayfish named after the famous fisherman. Beginning in 2010, Lefty co-hosted the Outdoor Channel fishing show Buccaneers & Bones, along with host/narrator and retired news anchor Tom Brokaw, several other outdoor professionals, and entertainment personalities. The show is shot on location on the coast of Belize and the Bahamas and features the cast teaming up with local guides. The focus of the show is to draw attention to the efforts of The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, a conservation and research organization dedicated to the preservation of the two warm climate saltwater gamefish species.

Much of Lefty Kreh's personal collection of angling memorabilia, tackle, literature, and original fly patterns are held by the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vermont. {{cite journal |url=http://www.amff.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2013-Vol39-No1web.pdf|title=The Legacy of Lefty |author=Comar, Catherine |journal=The American Fly Fisher |publisher=The American Museum of Fly Fishing |location=Manchester, VT |volume=39 |number=1 | date=Winter 2013 |access-date=2014-11-16 |pages=18–19 }} A fishing access trail along the Gunpowder Falls in Baltimore County, Maryland is named after Kreh. The waterway, which has undergone extensive habitat restoration to become a premier cold water trout fishery, is only a few miles from Kreh's home.

Kreh died of congestive heart failure at his home in Cockeysville, Maryland, March 14, 2018.{{Cite news |last=Keller |first=Mitch |date=2018-03-14 |title=Lefty Kreh, a Fly Fisherman With Few Peers, Is Dead at 93 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/obituaries/lefty-kreh-a-fly-fisherman-with-few-peers-is-dead-at-93.html |access-date=2023-10-25 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Klingaman |first=Mike |date=March 15, 2018 |title=Bernard 'Lefty' Kreh, renowned fisherman and outdoors writer, dies at 93 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/bernard-lefty-kreh-renowned-fisherman-and-outdoors-writer-dies-at-93/2018/03/15/e04c3bfc-2860-11e8-b79d-f3d931db7f68_story.html}}

• {{cite book |title=Tips & Tricks of Fly Fishing (Garcia Sports Library) |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Athletic Activities Publishing Co. |location=Paterson, NJ |year=1972 }}
• {{cite book |last=Kreh |first=Lefty |title=Fly Fishing in Saltwater |year=1974 |publisher=Crown Publishers Inc. |location=New York }}
• {{cite book |title=Fly casting with Lefty Kreh |year=1974 |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Lippincott |isbn=9780397009992 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/flycastingwithle0000kreh }}
• {{cite book |title=Fishing the Flats |author1=Kreh, Lefty |author2=Sosin, Mark |publisher=Lyons Press |year=1987}}
• {{cite book |title=L.L. Bean Guide to Outdoor Photography |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Random House |year=1988 |isbn=9780394550350 |url=https://archive.org/details/llbeanguidetoout00kreh }}
• {{cite book |title=Practical Fishing Knots |author1=Kreh, Lefty |author2=Sosin, Mark |publisher=Crown Publishers, Inc. |year=1988 |isbn=9780517521342 }}
• {{cite book |title=Longer Fly Casting |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Lyons Press |year=1991 |isbn=9781558211278 |url=https://archive.org/details/longerflycasting0000kreh }}
• {{cite book |title=American Masters Fly Fishing Symposium Part 2 - Tackle - Lefty's Little Library of Fly Fishing |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Odysseus Editions |year=1991 }}
• {{cite book |title=Lefty's Favorite Fly Fishing Waters Vol. 1 -- United States |author1=Kreh, Lefty |author2=Middleton, Harry |publisher=Odysseus Editions |year=1991 }}
• {{cite book |title=Fly Fishing Knots and Connections (Lefty's Little Library of Fly Fishing)|author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Odysseus Editions |year=1991 }}
• {{cite book |title=Lefty Kreh's Modern Fly Casting Method: Mastering the Essential Casts (Lefty's Little Library of Fly Fishing) |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Odysseus Editions |year=1991 }}
• {{cite book |title=Lefty Little Tips (Lefty's Little Library of Fly Fishing) |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Odysseus Editions |year=1991 }}
• {{cite book |title=A general survey of fly fishing techniques & tactics in fresh and saltwater (Lefty's little library of fly fishing) |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Odysseus Editions |year=1991 }}
• {{cite book |title=Advanced Fly Fishing Techniques: Secrets of an Avid Fisherman |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Delta Press |year=1994 |isbn=9780385308359 }}
• {{cite book |title=Saltwater Fly Patterns |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Lyons Press |year=1994 |isbn=9781558213364 }}
• {{cite book |title=The Complete Book of Flyfishing |author1=Oglesby, Arthur |author2=Kreh, Lefty |author3=Ulnitz, Steen |publisher=Stoeger Publishing Company |year=1998 |isbn=9780883172087 }}
• {{cite book |title=Presenting The Fly: A Practical Guide to the Most Important Element of Fly Fishing |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Lyons Press |year=1999 |isbn=9781558217881 |url=https://archive.org/details/presentingfly00kreh }}
• {{cite book |title=101 Fly-Fishing Tips: Practical Advice From a Master Angler |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Lyons Press |year=2000 |isbn=9781585740352 }}
• {{cite book |title=Solving Fly-Casting Problems |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Lyons Press |year=2000 |isbn=9781585740345 }}
• {{cite book |title=L.L. Bean Saltwater Fly-Fishing Handbook |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Lyons Press |year=2001 |isbn=9781585741519 |url=https://archive.org/details/saltwaterflyfish00kreh }}
• {{cite book |title=Fly Fishing the Inshore Waters: How to Catch Stripers, Blues, Redfish, Snook, Seatrout, and More |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Lyons Press |year=2002 |isbn=9781585746057 }}
• {{cite book |title=Lefty's Little Fly-Fishing Tips: 200 Innovative Ideas to Help You Catch Fish |author=Kreh, Lefty |isbn=9781585746293 |publisher=Lyons Press |year=2002}}
• {{cite book |title=Flyfishing (Complete Guide to Fishing) |author1=Oglesby, Arthur |author2=Kreh, Lefty |author3=Ulnitz, Steen |publisher=Mason Crest Publishers |year=2002 |isbn=9781590844953}}
• {{cite book |title=Modern Fly-Casting Methods: Decades of Fly-Casting Wisdom from America's Fly Casting Coach |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Lyons Press |year=2003 |isbn=9781585747894 }}
• {{cite book |title=Fly Fishing for Bass: Smallmouth, Largemouth, and Exotics |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Lyons Press |year=2004 |isbn=9781592283101 }}
• {{cite book |title=Lefty's Favorite Fly-Fishing Waters |author1=Kreh, Lefty |author2=Middleton, Harry |publisher=Lyons Press |year=2005 |isbn=9781592284948 |url=https://archive.org/details/leftysfavoritefl00left }}
• {{cite book |title=Basic Fly Fishing: All the Skills and Gear You Need to Get Started (How To Basics) |author1=Rounds, Jon |author2=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=2006 |isbn=9780811733038 }}
• {{cite book |author=Kreh, Lefty |title=Lefty Kreh's Ultimate Guide to Fly Fishing: Everything Anglers Need to Know by the World's Foremost Fly-Fishing Expert |publisher=Lyons Press |year=2006 |isbn=9781592282388 }}
• {{cite AV media |people=Kreh, Lefty; Clouser, Bob |year=2007 |title= Tying Flies that Catch Fish with Lefty Kreh & Bob Clouser ( 1-1/2 Hour Fly Tying Tutorial DVD) |medium=DVD |publisher=Reel Resources }}
• {{cite book |author=Kreh, Lefty |title=My Life Was This Big: And Other True Fishing Tales |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |year=2008 |isbn=978-1602393592 }}
• {{cite book |title=101 Fish: A Fly Fisher's Life List |author=Kreh, Lefty |publisher=Stackpole Headwater |year=2012 |isbn=9780811711487 }}

• [http://www.letsflyfish.com/lefty_1.htm] Biography
• [http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/lkdeceiver] Instructional video on tying Lefty's Deceiver
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130615002044/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-06-09/sports/bs-sp-outdoors-0610-20120609_1_lefty-kreh-tochterman-small-mouth-bass] Q&A With Fly-Fishing Expert Lefty Kreh
• [http://www.flyfishinsalt.com/blogs/qa-lefty-kreh] Q&A with Lefty Kreh
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/sports/lefty-kreh-remains-ambassador-for-fly-fishing-at-87.html] Lesson in Timelessness by a Fly-Fishing Master
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/13/AR2010091304460.html] "The Big Catch: Fly-Fishing Guru 'Lefty' Kreh of Maryland is Still Making a Splash" by Dave Jamieson
• [http://troutunlimitedblog.com/qa-with-bernard-lefty-kreh/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508021035/http://troutunlimitedblog.com/qa-with-bernard-lefty-kreh/ |date=2012-05-08 }} "Q&A With Bernard "Lefty" Kreh" by Samantha Carmichael

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14. Buccaneers & Bones, Outdoor Channel - http://outdoorchannel.com/showabout.aspx?show-id=741

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Category:1925 births

Category:2018 deaths

Category:Angling writers

Category:Fly fishing

Category:Sportspeople from Frederick, Maryland

Category:People from Baltimore County, Maryland

Category:Writers from Maryland

Category:United States Army personnel of World War II