Book honors fly fishing guru

By The Montana Standard News Services - 12/26/2008

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — Tuscarora Creek, and small streams near Frederick that don't exist anymore, are the waters where 83-year-old Bernard "Lefty" Kreh perfected the art and the love of fishing, especially with a fly rod.

"When I started fly fishing, in the late 1940s, there was only one fly fisherman I knew of in Frederick County, and he just dabbled with a fly rod in Fishing Creek," Kreh said.

Kreh didn't stop with a few small waters. In a lifetime of fishing, Kreh's fished every American state, every Canadian province and around the world, including South America, the South Pacific, Europe and Iceland. He's also written for The Frederick News-Post, The Baltimore Sun and has written more than 30 books on fly fishing.

"Lefty is the Babe Ruth of fly fishing. There has never been a person in the sport who has made nearly the contribution he's made," according to Flip Pallot, who wrote "All The Best: Celebrating Lefty Kreh." Pallot's book came about after Kreh approved Pallot's ideas, sparked in a conversation with a fellow fisherman, Rick Pope.

Now, readers can see photos of Kreh growing up fishing on local rivers and streams, shots from his marriage and dates with Evelyn, his wife of 61 years, and fishing trips around the world.

Contributors to the book — who were asked to share a story and a photo — include Bob Clouser, who invents fly patterns; outdoor writer C. Boyd Pfeiffer, avid fly fisher Heather Templeton, and Kreh's son, daughter and brother.

Through these stories and their friendship, especially in times of trouble such as when Kreh helped after Hurricane Andrew destroyed Pallot's Florida home, Pallot learned Kreh is "so highly principled and has such a marvelous outlook on life." In the book, John Randolph, Fly Fisherman magazine's editor and publisher, wrote, "Lefty can have the first shot on any water to which he is invited. That is not what happens. ... He practices hallowed rules: let your guest or your student go first; share the water; share your flies; share your knowledge." And Pallot says Kreh's got plenty of knowledge. On one trip here in Maryland, Pallot says he and Kreh were walking to a fishing spot when "Lefty put out his hand and said, ‘Stop, that's stinging nettle. Touch it and it will sting and itch all day."‘ "We walked a little farther and Lefty points out jewelweed. ‘This plant is what you rub on your skin if you touch stinging nettle.' We walked a little farther and he pointed out something else," said Pallot. "This went on all day." But his knowledge hasn't made him too proud, according to Peter Van Gytenbeek. Gytenbeek's the CEO and president of the Montana chapter of the Federation of Fly Fishers. He recalls a time when the governor of Montana and former President Jimmy Carter attended the gala where Kreh was the guest speaker. Nobody could find Kreh when it was his turn to speak because he was outside teaching some young children how to fly cast.

It's that love for fishing and teaching others that keeps him going despite a stroke, two heart attacks and a torn knee cap in the last five years.

"I had a couple of doctors who are fly fishers, so they took very good care of me," he said.