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{ the big ca tch}


other sport, I’d have millions in the bank instead of pennies,” he says — but the work served as a calculated self-educa- tion. The writing and instruction were really just excuses to explore the waters of the world and make a living doing it. “I said, ‘This is how I can get some-


where and learn more,’ ” Kreh says. “They would pay my way there, and I’d charge them a hundred dollars for doing the show. I’d get up in front of the club and some local hotshots would say, ‘We know more than he does.’ And that’s exactly why I was there.” Locals always know their own fishery


better than out-of-towners do. As Kreh is fond of saying, “All fishing is local fish- ing.” He wanted to learn from them even more than they wanted to learn from him. So he would spend the next two or three days with those locals, soaking up everything he possibly could. “And I got to fish all over the planet


like that.”


in Waynesboro, in his afternoon lecture called “Practical Fishing Tips and Knots,” Kreh will share some of the innu- merable tidbits he’s picked up streamside and on the boat over the years. Knots are a favorite specialty of Kreh’s.


In fly-fishing, where the equipment and the quarry can vary widely, different situ- ations call for different knots — some of them simple and adequate, others vastly more complex and durable. A fly angler can choose to learn anywhere from three to 100. But most anglers don’t pay much attention to knots until a poorly tied one costs them the fish of a lifetime. Kreh has studied knots all of his life. He likes to tie them, test them, watch them heat up and break under high-speed pho- tography. He knows down to the pound how much stronger one is than another. “I got a $2,300 knot tester, and it ain’t got no opinion,” he says. He’s learned to tie so many knots over the years that he’s felt compelled to write three volumes on the subject. He demonstrates three speedy knot-


tying techniques that he picked up in typical Kreh fashion. The first came from a precocious 12-year-old boy at a fishing show in Long Beach, Calif., who proved he could do the same knot as


The writing and instruction were just excuses to explore the waters of the world.


Kreh in about a 10th of the time, and the last two came from a doctor, who taught Kreh how to quickly tie two com- mon fishing knots with a hemostat. Kreh recently underwent surgery


for acid-reflux disease; the surgeon was an admirer Kreh had met at one of his presentations, and the two went fishing together after the operation. Any doctor who opens up Kreh will be quizzed on his or her favorite knots. From knots, Kreh’s lecture moves


on to how to sharpen a hook properly (with a $2 nail file) and how to fight a large fish onto shore (using the current against the fish). These tips usually start with something such as, “I was in Sas-


30 The WashingTon PosT Magazine | september 19, 2010


katchewan with an Indian guide this one time …” or, “My first world-record was a 19-pound blackfin tuna I hooked off of Key West in 1964. …” After he ends his talk and the ap-


plause dies down, fans corner Kreh in the back of the tent. One wants to show Kreh how he likes to tie his nail knot. Another asks about fishing for carp. Kreh takes a few minutes to explain why the best carp bait on the planet is a dough ball cut with strawberry Jell-O. He learned the recipe from a buddy in the 1950s and hasn’t changed it since. Kreh plans on dishing out these tips


every week for the foreseeable future. Soon, he’ll be picked up at his home and


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