Last night, I had the pleasure of spending time with one of the world's premiere fly fisher and came to understand and appreciated that I was in the presence of a legend. My local fly fishing club brought in Lefty Kreh for the monthly meeting. Lefty shared some tips, showed us his favorite places to fish, and taught us how to cast. From a knitting perspective, spending time with Lefty is comparable to spending an afternoon with Elizabeth Zimmerman just knitting. From a cooking perspective, it's like being in the kitchen with James Peterson on a Saturday afternoon.
Lefty has fished with presidents, with fly fishing pioneers, with fishing leaders, with rock legends, with actors, and with several people he calls friends. He's written books, produced countless DVDs, and invented his own flies. He's personable, funny, and knowledgeable. He shares his wealth of knowledge with anyone who will absorb it and he conveys it with a twinkle in his eye. He is excited about you learning, which only makes you want to learn more. Meeting Lefty was special, but having Lefty teach me how to cast is an experience I'll always treasure. Casting with Lefty also made me realize that fly fishing is not just something I do with Italian and Little Clover anymore. Fly fishing is something I do. It is a skill I want to master, and why shouldn't I? Lefty said I could be really good, and I took that as a huge compliment.
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