Celebrating Bernard "Lefty" Kreh

Efforts are underway to place Lefty Statue in his

Hometown of Frederick, MD. and we need your help.

The Friends of Lefty Kreh, a nonprofit 501(c)3 chartered with Fly Fishers International, has launched an effort to honor the life of Bernard ‘Lefty’ Kreh.

The group has been established to plan and raise money to create and erect a statute of Lefty Kreh in his hometown of Frederick, Maryland. Kreh’s unparalleled contributions to the sport of fly fishing and his impact on the lives of all who knew him will be commemorated through this public monument just a few miles from where Kreh was raised and learned his considerable skills as an outdoorsman. Placing the statue in a lake, as if wading, and depicting Kreh casting — as planned by internationally recognized Maryland-based sculptor Toby Mendez — will encourage curiosity about the subject. The statue will be accompanied by a plaque providing more information about Kreh and his life.

Why honor Kreh in this way? Kreh was much more than just a fly angler. His professional accomplishments included guiding presidents, writing over 30 books and many articles, and founding conservation organizations. He was a conservationist, photographer, television personality, educator, and writer. Kreh’s generosity to all those who knew him and his gifts as a teacher made him an unparalleled ambassador for our sport.

The innovations that Kreh brought to fly fishing benefited the industry greatly. His leadership in a wide range of aspects of the sport at a time of growth in outdoor pursuits in America brought many new people into fly fishing, and greatly expanded the possibilities and mass appeal of our sport. His contributions to fly tying, rod and reel design, the growth of saltwater fly fishing, and more continue to benefit many within the industry.

The honorary co-chairs of the project are award-winning journalist Tom Brokaw, fly fishing notable Bob Clouser, and Oscar-nominated actor Michael Keaton, all avid fly fishers and friends of Kreh’s. The fundraising effort has already obtained significant grants from the state of Maryland, the Ausherman Family Foundation, and others, but more money still needs to be raised to make this statute a reality.

To learn more about the project, and how you can help the effort to honor Lefty Kreh’s memory and bring more people into the sport of fly fishing, visit www.friendsofleftykreh.com or contact us at friendsofleftykreh@gmail.com

About the Sculptor:

Based in Maryland, Toby Mendez has over 30 years of experience creating significant works of art

Toby apprenticed with the Academy Award winning makeup sculptor John Chambers. He then entered the Art Institute of Chicago where he learned the processes of bronze casting practiced by sculptors and fine art foundries for centuries

In 1988, Toby set up his studio in the Maryland/DC area. Toby primarily focuses on the figure, combining a classical approach with a contemporary eye for site design.

Some of his most well known works among his nearly 50 installations include

• Thurgood Marshall Memorial; Annapolis, Maryland
• The Six Baltimore Orioles Legends for the Baltimore Orioles; Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
• B.B. King Memorial; B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, Indianola, Mississippi
• Carl Yastrzemski and The Teammates for the Boston Red Sox; Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
• Three Bronze Panels for the United States Navy Memorial, Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC
• Danny Thomas and the Children; Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital; Memphis, Tennessee

AMBASSADOR SPOTLIGHT

Sonder is from Fort Collins, Colorado, and has been a lifelong angler and fly tier. His father first introduced him to fly fishing when he was about 2 years old. With the plethora of rivers in northern Colorado and Wyoming to fish, he grew up primarily a trout angler. After the age of 10, he became consumed by the sport and additionally, got very serious about fly tying. Around this time, he took his first saltwater trip to Southern Mexico in search of bonefish, permit, and tarpon. This trip got him hooked on some of the harder-pulling species one can pursue on a fly. Though he considers himself mostly a trout angler, he loves saltwater fishing, as well as carp and bass back home in Colorado.

In 2017 he decided to attend college in St. Petersburg, Florida where he honed his saltwater fly fishing and attempted to master a challenging snook fishery. Through these four years, he developed several baitfish patterns with unique actions that seemed irresistible to the seemingly impossible to catch, trophy-sized snook in the area. This is his favorite aspect of tying; creating his own patterns, or spin-offs of others. 

While in his college years in Florida, he had opportunities to target a huge variety of species from permit to peacock bass and tie specialty flies for each species, aiding in advancing his techniques with certain materials and imitations. 

During the summers, he would return to Colorado and guide on the rivers of northern Colorado where he grew up. This was essentially a dream summer job for him growing up and allowed him to make industry connections, guide fantastic people from all around the US, and watch countless new anglers catch their first trout on a fly rod (his favorite park of guiding).

After graduating from Eckerd College with a double major in Biology and Environmental Studies, he returned to Colorado to start his career in wildlife biology, where works as an Avian Field Biologist, and plans to attend graduate school within the next two years. 

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