LD6. Plain White & Chartreuse Lefty's Deceiver Saltwater fly
Lefty's Deceiver Saltwater Fly Hook size 2/0, 4, 6 - $US each
LEFTY'S DECEIVER
Lefty Kreh, the
internationally know author and respected fly fisherman from Maryland, developed this pattern
in the late 1950's originally for striped bass in Chesapeake Bay, VA, USA but it is now an adaptable modern classic suitable for most fish.
He wanted to make a fly that would not foul, could be made in different colour
combinations to match the local baitfish and one that could be made in different
sizes. He succeeded. The Lefty's Deceiver is a style of tying designed to resemble the shape and size of various swimming baitfish but when lifted from the water it can be cast with ease like a sleek missile. The wing is attached at the tail of the hook to prevent fouling in flight.
It also helps to animate the fly in the water because of its great swimming
action. The collar
is extend well beyond the hook shank allowing the wing feathers to undulate and giving the fly the shape of a
fish. We use red flash on the beard of the fly to imitate gills. If a predator
fish looks up and sees the white silvery underside of a bait fish it knows which
way to attack by which end the gills are. If the gills are at the front it will
attack from the rear. The wing material gives the illusion of body width without a lot of extra
bulk which would make it sink. The inclusion of generous amounts of flash make
the fly a more attractive and noticeable target as it glints in the sun. You
cannot go wrong with this fly. Lefty started his fly fishing addiction in
1947 when fishing guide Joe brooks introduced him to the delights of a fly rod
and reel whilst fishing on the Potomic River above Washington DC, USA. When
flying ants were falling on the water through exhaustion as they tried to cross
the large expanse of water and failed,. Bob would cast to the little rings that
appeared on the water surface and catch the rising trout. He did that about
eight times. Lefty was amazed. The next day Lefty drove back to Bob's home in
Baltimore, Maryland and purchased his first set of fly fishing tackle. Bob gave
Lefty his first 9 o'clock to 1 o'clock casting lesson. Lefty carried on
practicing and started reading up on his new hobby. Jock Scott's Guide to fly
fishing was an early favourite read. It was Bob Brooks who introduced Lefty to
saltwater fly fishing in 1964 by getting him a job in Miami working for Orvis. He got to
met all the local guides and learn from them. He later started to act as a guide
and also demonstrate casting techniques, provide fishing lessons and give talks
to various groups. This is not a fly just for American waters. If you fly fish
in Europe, Australia, New Zealand or South America this is a good fly to use if
your target fish feeds on medium sized bait fish. Salmon, steelheads, large
trout and pike will attack this beauty.
CUSTOMER'S COMMENT
Your flies fish Great! I have caught a lot of seatrout on the Lefty's Deceiver
in Norway fjords. I would like to order some more of them. Alex Ekberg,
Kristiansand, Norway.
CUSTOMER'S COMMENT
I went on a fishing trip to Tobago during March. The Blue and White Lefty's
Deceiver turned out to be the winning fly for both Tarpon and Jack Cravelle.
Fredrik Forsberg from Sweden
SALTWATER FLIES OF NORTH, CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICAN
The sea hatches few insects. Saltwater flies are various types of streamers that represent baitfish and many types of crustaceans like shrimp, lobster or crabs, They range from one inch (2.5cm) to over a foot in length (30cm). You have to offer the fish something that makes it feel it is worth chasing. A big sailfish is not going to eat a small fly you would use to catch a bonefish. A large meal for a kitten is a titbit for a lion. Try offering flies that are reasonably good imitations of local food first. If that does not work then try to stimulate an attack with a brightly colored attractor pattern. There are times when a brightly colored fly that looks like nothing on earth brings results.
BLUEFISH AND STRIPED OR 'STRIPER' SEA BASS
A Lefty's Deceiver is ideal for Bluefish and Striped bass fishing. Striped bass can be found in many costal
waters from the St Lawrence River south to Northern Florida on America's Eastern
Coast and from Washington to California on the Pacific Coast where they were
introduced in the 1879. They swim far upstream in rivers to spawn. The stripped
bass can be distinguished from the European Bass by the seven to eight dark
strips running down its body. Stripers spend the winter semi dormant in
river systems like the Hudson and Chesapeake Bay on the Atlantic Coast but when
the sea temperature reaches 48 degrees F in the spring they become active and
start to feed. The shoals migrate north up the coast and return in
September/October. Big fish are caught deep in early winter, but in warmer
places like Jamaica Bay they are still caught near the surface. In warm waters
they can be fished for all year on the fly. They can feed in the roughest surf.
You can see them chasing smaller bait fish along the beach until their
backs come out of the water. You will also find them holding in estuaries, deep
channels, and off jetties, piers or sand bars.
Bass feed by trapping bait fish against a shoreline or by attacking them from deep below. Small fish are inhaled and larger bait fish are are grabbed head first and crushed. Stripers have a dangerous spiky dorsal fins so handle them by their lower lip. Stripped bass can grow up to 70lb. A bluefish feeding melee can bring up the bigger stripped bass
Stripers can be temperamental compared to the Bluefish who are an aggressive formidable predator that have a full set of sharp teeth. They are found in the same habitat as stripers. The bass normally can be found feeding on Bluefish leftovers of dead and dying fish after a feeding frenzy. If you are lucky you might witness one of these feeding blitz. They corral a shoal of baitfish into a big ball and then when the ball is surrounded they attack.
I was lucky to witness this on my last trip to the States last September. I was fishing for stripers when all of a sudden the captain pointed to gulls swarming around an area of water that was turning white with fish breaking through the surface. 'Bass?' I asked him. 'No those are Bluefish on the feed, change your tippet for wire. Those things have very fast teeth'. I used a floating line with a chartreuse and white 2/0 Lefty's Deceiver attached to the wire tippet. The gulls must have thought Christmas had come early. They were eating as many fleeing bait fish as they could swallow. The noise was very, very loud.
We were told to cast into the center of the swirling mass of
activity. I hooked almost immediately. Blue fish are very strong powerful fish.
My first was a seven pounder and my second a 12 pounder. The Captain shouted at
me to be very careful and use big pliers to extract the hook or end up in
hospital with bluefish bite wounds. I must have caught over 12 of about the same
size range that day. I had a fantastic days fishing. Later in the bar I found
out that many of the locals looked down on bluefish as easy prey. I'm sorry I
think they are a wonderful sporting fish.
CUSTOMERS COMMENTS - BARRAMUNDI FLY FISHING
Greeting from Asia, Malaysia. For your information, my country do have dry flies
targeting fish such as trout and salmon. Mostly, fly fishermen in my country are
using wet flies to catch barra, giant snakehead, king fish and M.J. The
enclosed photos shown 1 out of the 3 barramundi that I caught
yesterday by used your Lefty's Deceiver salwater flies. Thank you. Admund
Malaysia
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