From midcurrent.com
by Lefty Kreh
A Lefty's Deceiver, as tied by Lefty himself. Marshall Cutchin photo.
War veteran, exhibition shooter and fly caster, columnist and book author, lecturer and inventor, Lefty’s name almost defines ‘authoritative’ for most fly fishers. But few have insight into the origins of Lefty’s knowledge about saltwater fly fishing or about the growth of the school of thought that led to so many key innovations in the 1960s and 70s. In a recent conversation we had with Lefty, he offered his perspective on the real history: the people and the places where it all got started.
I BELIEVE THAT between the early 1960s and early 1970s the light tackle club members and the Met Tournament in South Florida were responsible for more improvements and innovations in light tackle and saltwater fly fishing than at any other period in this sport.
I was so lucky to be in the right place at the right time. As manager of the MET (there were no major tournaments in South Florida in the mid-60s — and none in the Keys), I would guess that less than 80 or 90 guides worked the Keys at that time. And maybe there weren’t that many. I was responsible, for example, for convincing Bob Montgomery, who was coming out of the Navy, to start the first skiff guide business in Key West and helped him get a boat, gear and tackle as well as clients. I was fortunate to fish with many of the early pioneer and innovative fishing guides who were legends — Cecile Keith and his dad, Jack Brothers, Jimmy Albright, many others, and the guide whom most of us who have known many Keys guides over the decades consider maybe the greatest of them all — George Hommell. Every one of them shared their knowledge with me because I never told anyone in South Florida where they took me fishing. I learned so much from these great guides/friends.
