reviews

Lefty Kreh's Ultimate Guide to Fly Fishing

By Scott Richmond

Lefty Kreh's Ultimate Guide to Fly Fishing, by Lefty Kreh. Published by The Lyons Press. 406 pages in an 8.5 by 11 inch format. Black-and-white with some color plates. $40.00. Available in some fly shops and online (google the title).

an you judge a book by its cover? If so, what does the cover of Lefty Kreh's Ultimate Guide to Fly Fishing tell us to expect?

At the top of the cover is the title, with "Lefty Kreh" in the largest type. Lefty is one of the most recognizable names in the sport, and justifiably so. He is a clever innovator who has contributed much to fly fishing, especially in the areas of casting and saltwater angling. Lefty is an authority, and I listen when he speaks. On the other hand, Lefty is based in Maryland and his orientation is decidedly eastern, and southeastern at that. Judging the book by its cover:

1. There will be some good fly fishing advice, especially about casting, bass, and saltwater fly fishing. However, those who fish Western waters for trout and steelhead may feel they've been given short shrift.

The second line of this book's title is Ultimate Guide to Fly Fishing. Under this grandiloquent declaration is the subtitle: Everything Anglers Need to Know. Hmm. "Ultimate" means a state beyond which you cannot go. If this book is truly the ultimate guide, than the rest of the world's fly fishing writers might just as well break their pencils and get a job at McDonald's (which probably pays better, anyway) because there's nothing more that can be said. Further, "Everything" is a pretty big word. The only way a life-time of fishing can be compressed into a 400-page book is when the author didn't fish much or learn anything, and you know that Lefty Kreh has fished plenty and learned much. Judging the book by its cover:

1. Less will be delivered than is claimed. Perhaps the publisher believes that hype can make up for substance. Maybe the book lacks focus and tries to cover too much.

Below the title is a photograph of an angler (apparently The Man himself) fishing a small stream. He's kneeling behind a rock, drifting his fly past another rock. This is probably the poorest quality photo I have ever seen on the cover of a fly fishing book, and I've seen some doozies. It's an indistinct, low contrast. I've seen better quality photos come out of a disposable camera. Yet, if you look closely you can learn something about stealth and presentation. Judging the book by its cover:

1. The graphics will be of uneven quality, but you might still pick up some good tips despite shoddy production values.

On the book's back cover are statements from people prominent in the industry. They praise Lefty, but not this book. Hmm again. Here's how these things work: the publisher sends a pre-publication version around to its stable of writers and solicits praise. Sometimes the writers don't like the book and decline to write any puff-prose. If the back-cover comments are for the author and not for the book, it's probably a weak book and no one wanted to blow their credibility by saying good things about it. They got around the ethical issues by praising the author for previous works and remaining silent on this one. Judging the book from its cover:

1. Don't expect a world-beater. This book isn't up to previous standards for this author and publisher.

So what's inside? Exactly what you'd expect from the cover. There are some unbelievably crappy graphics. Stuff that makes the internet look like the Sistine Chapel. Graphics that even the cheapest and most ignorant of self-publishers wouldn't be caught dead taking to a printer. I wonder if The Lyons Press took a two-month vacation and turned production over to a stray dog. What were they thinking!?

On the other hand, there's some good tips, and some excellent drawings and graphics--all of them familiar from previous works by this author and publisher. The casting and knot material is excellent. Of course it (and much else) feels like it was pulled from other books by the author. A check of my library reveals this to be true.

Is this book "ultimate"? No way. It's not even marginal. The Freshwater Fish chapter is 38 pages long, 25 of which are devoted to bass. There's almost as much on pike as on trout. The Freshwater Flies chapter disposes of caddisflies in less than a page.

In conclusion, this is not a useful book for a Western fly fisher. In my humble opinion, Westfly readers should save their money and buy Lefty's knot, casting, bass, and saltwater books, if the subject matter interests them. There's more value in those books than in this work. The covers are better, too.

Bottom Line: A poorly-produced pastiche of the author's earlier writings. Limited use to the Western fly angler. Reviewer Rating: 2

Scott Richmond is Westfly's creator and Executive Director. He is the author of eight books on Oregon fly fishing, including Fishing Oregon's Deschutes River (second edition).

Uploaded 01/23/2004.

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