Lefty's Deceiver FFI
Fly of the Month 09.23 Lefty’s Deceiver
The “fly of the month” series for 2023 will celebrate the Fly Fishers International Fly Tying Group Fly Tying Skills Awards Program. Each month Tom and I will present one of the fly patterns used to evaluate a fly tyer’s skills toward a Bronze Level in the first six months, then one of the fly pattern used to evaluate a fly tyer’s skills toward a Silver Level in the later part of the year. The third fly pattern in the Silver Level series is a saltwater streamer fly pattern. The deceiver has evolved to be tied in various sizes and used in warmwater and coldwater as well.
Lefty’s Deceiver- Saltwater Fly
One of the finest gifts the late, great Bernard Lefty Kreh left to the fly fishing world was the Deceiver fly pattern. In the early 1950s, Lefty could typically be found out in the Chesapeake Bay chasing striped bass on the fly.
“I’m going to design a fly that won’t foul on the cast! It will have a fish shape but can be made in many lengths. You can vary the color combinations; it will also swim well but when lifted for the back cast it will be sleek and have little air-resistance.” - Bernard Lefty Kreh
Lefty shifted his focus from the Stripers to the tropical species of the Florida Peninsula, and it was here that the pattern then took on a life of its own as creative tyers put their own twists on it to mimic the bait of their own fisheries.
Lefty's Deceiver is a very versatile salt water pattern intended to imitate a small bait fish to act as prey for larger predatory fish. This streamer originated by Bernard Lefty Kreh in the late 1950’s is one of the most popular saltwater fly patterns today. Lefty incorporated several characteristics into the design;
1) Easy to cast long distances and into the wind
2) Have a baitfish shape and appeal to predator fish
3) Materials shouldn't foul during the cast
It is not a precise pattern but more of a style or method of tying. It typically is tied with lighter colors of feathers and bucktail with a little flash. Over the years it has been tied using many combinations of colors and size variations from size 10 bronze hooks for bream to 2/0 stainless steel hooks and larger for saltwater species. The techniques for tying this pattern are generally those used for tying many other saltwater patterns. However, the instructions and materials described here generally follow those demonstrated by Lefty Kreh in his video "Lefty Kreh Saltwater Fly Tying" produced in 1990 as well as Lefty's book, “Presenting The Fly”, 1999,
Tying the fly pattern for the Silver Level Submission
Visit the FFI website and navigate to the Fly Tying Group, then to the Silver Award Handbook pages. The website has excellent instructions as to how to tie and submit the required group of fly patterns to an FFI Silver Award Evaluator. The website includes a video presenting each step to tie the Lefty’s Deceiver. The handbook is easy to understand and follow. Tie three flies with consistency for the Silver Awards submission, then tie more for the fly box.
Fly of the Month 09.23
Lefty’s Deceiver- Saltwater Fly
Hook: Daiichi 472, or Mustad S71SNP-SS (was 34007).
Size: 10 – 2/0 Size (size 2 used here)
Thread: White Danville's Fly-Master Waxed, white UTC 140, or 3/0
Tail/Body/Collar
Assembly: Six white and two Grizzly rooster feathers, 5 strands of
Krystal Flash (doubled), white bucktail on sides and brown bucktail on top
Throat: Ten strands of red Krystal Flash
Head: White thread, eyes, head cement
Eyes: 3-D Eyes (5/32” or smaller)
Cement: * Loon Hard-Head Clear Finish, Loon UV Clear Fly Finish, or The Original Super Glue GEL
*Some cements may be incompatible with the adhesive on the back of the eyes as well as some head cements. If this is the case the eyes may not become securely attached to the fly. Some head cements may cause the incompatibility issue. It may be best to not use head cement prior to applying the eyes. The UV finish will harden quickly when exposed to a UV light.
Directions:
1) De-barb the hook and place it in the vise. Attach the thread with a jam knot approximately 1/3 shank length in front of hook bend. Wrap thread towards hook bend using flat side by side or touching wraps. Stop wrapping and leave thread hanging at a position mid-way between hook point and barb point.
2) Form the body by selecting three paired white hackle feathers and one pair of grizzly hackles. Feathers should be selected from each side of the cape or saddle to assure the two sides of the body match when paired. Three of the white hackles should curve to the left and three should curve to the right. Hackles need to be matched for curvature, and width. Similarly, the grizzly hackles should be chosen with one curving to the left, and one to the right while matching the white feathers for width and curvature. Length of the stems will be adjusted later.
3a) Adjust the tip ends of all the hackles that curve in the same way so they are together and laying parallel to each other. The grizzly hackle is to be located on the outside of each set to represent a scale like pattern. The grizzly hackle should be slightly shorter when placed over the white hackles.
3b) Constructing a set of feathers with tips matching can present a frustrating situation with all the handling that will take place in the mounting procedure. The feather sets should extend past the mounting position one hook shank length. You can do a preliminary length adjustment by stripping off excess feather fibers. If you cut the stems to different lengths you can later identify which stem to pull on to adjust mis-aligned tips.
3c) While holding the feather assembly for one side between your fingers, dip them in water and stroke them with the fingers of the other hand to remove excess water. Repeat for the other set of feathers.
3d) The white and grizzly sets are separated. You can then position the grizzly hackle on top and adjust for length or add the grizzly to the white set before wetting. Notice how the lengths of the stems on the white sets are of different lengths.
4a) The neck or saddle feathers on each side were flared inward on the original Deceiver to better represent the motion of a swimming baitfish. Place both halves of the wing sets together while still wet, with tips matching and feathers flared inwards. Handling the feathers while wet makes keeping them together and in position much easier. Hold the feather assembly over the hook shank to determine a length that will extend rearward from the hook bend approximately one hook shank length.
4b) Strip excess feather fibers to clear the stem tie-in section. Place the paired hackles with barbs vertical on top of the hook shank with the tie-in point of the hackles on top of where the thread is hanging. Make one soft thread wrap over the hackle shafts and pull upward to tighten slightly and make two more wraps forward and touching in the same manner. Leave the thread hanging and release your hold on the hackles to see if the stems lay horizontal and with barbs vertical.
4b) The hackles may be adjusted for position by adjusting the butts in each group and the groups with respect to the shank. Trim stems to approximately 0.5 inch in length for tie -in. Hold the feathers again with left fingers, wrap thread to cover butts, return thread to tie-in point using touching flat wraps. Leave thread hanging.
5) Tie in five strands of Krystal Flash on near side with three forward and touching thread wraps,
double the flash over to far side and wrap thread rearward in three touching wraps to tie-in point.
Krystal Flash ends should be cut at varying lengths with longest just short of hackle tips. Wrap the thread to eye and then back in touching turns to a point approximately two eye widths behind hook eye.
6) Cut a sparse bunch of white bucktail and generally even the tips by holding butts in right fingers and grasping the longer tips in fingers of left hand. Pull long tips from bunch and then overlap both bunches once to generally even tips. The tips should not match perfectly. Hold the bunch to measure a length that approximates the distance from hook eye to mid-way on the paired hackles with some hairs just short of the hackle tips. Hold bunch in left fingers pre-glue and cut butts, leaving butts approximately the length of two hook eyes. Hold bunch in left fingers on near side of shank with butt tips just short of hook eye. Tie in butts with two forward soft wraps and tighten thread by pulling towards you. Continue wrapping thread in flat touching wraps to eye and back to tie-in point.
7) Cut a second sparse bunch of white bucktail, generally even tips, and tie-in on far side of hook shank similar as in step 6. Leave thread hanging approximately 2 eye widths behind eye.
8) Cut a sparse bunch of grey or brown bucktail, generally even the tips, cut to length and tie in on top of shank as in step 6 and step 7.
9a) Tie in ten strands of red Krystal Flash as a throat on the underside of the hook shank, wrapping the thread to the eye, double them over by pulling the Krystal Flash back and to the rear. Bind down the Krystal Flash by wrapping the thread to the tie-in point.
9b) Cut Krystal Flash to length that extends halfway to hook point. The point where thread is hanging becomes the rear of the head. Wrap thread in flat touching flat turns forward and rearward over the head until all hair butts are covered and a desired head shape is achieved. Finish with wraps to back of head, whip finish forward and seal with head cement.
10. Add eyes and seal with head cement or epoxy.
- Tom Adams, Alen Baker
The “fly of the month” series for 2023 will celebrate the Fly Fishers International Fly Tying Group Fly Tying Skills Awards Program. Each month Tom and I will present one of the fly patterns used to evaluate a fly tyer’s skills toward a Bronze Level in the first six months, then one of the fly pattern used to evaluate a fly tyer’s skills toward a Silver Level in the later part of the year. The third fly pattern in the Silver Level series is a saltwater streamer fly pattern. The deceiver has evolved to be tied in various sizes and used in warmwater and coldwater as well.
Lefty’s Deceiver- Saltwater Fly
One of the finest gifts the late, great Bernard Lefty Kreh left to the fly fishing world was the Deceiver fly pattern. In the early 1950s, Lefty could typically be found out in the Chesapeake Bay chasing striped bass on the fly.
“I’m going to design a fly that won’t foul on the cast! It will have a fish shape but can be made in many lengths. You can vary the color combinations; it will also swim well but when lifted for the back cast it will be sleek and have little air-resistance.” - Bernard Lefty Kreh
Lefty shifted his focus from the Stripers to the tropical species of the Florida Peninsula, and it was here that the pattern then took on a life of its own as creative tyers put their own twists on it to mimic the bait of their own fisheries.
Lefty's Deceiver is a very versatile salt water pattern intended to imitate a small bait fish to act as prey for larger predatory fish. This streamer originated by Bernard Lefty Kreh in the late 1950’s is one of the most popular saltwater fly patterns today. Lefty incorporated several characteristics into the design;
1) Easy to cast long distances and into the wind
2) Have a baitfish shape and appeal to predator fish
3) Materials shouldn't foul during the cast
It is not a precise pattern but more of a style or method of tying. It typically is tied with lighter colors of feathers and bucktail with a little flash. Over the years it has been tied using many combinations of colors and size variations from size 10 bronze hooks for bream to 2/0 stainless steel hooks and larger for saltwater species. The techniques for tying this pattern are generally those used for tying many other saltwater patterns. However, the instructions and materials described here generally follow those demonstrated by Lefty Kreh in his video "Lefty Kreh Saltwater Fly Tying" produced in 1990 as well as Lefty's book, “Presenting The Fly”, 1999,
Tying the fly pattern for the Silver Level Submission
Visit the FFI website and navigate to the Fly Tying Group, then to the Silver Award Handbook pages. The website has excellent instructions as to how to tie and submit the required group of fly patterns to an FFI Silver Award Evaluator. The website includes a video presenting each step to tie the Lefty’s Deceiver. The handbook is easy to understand and follow. Tie three flies with consistency for the Silver Awards submission, then tie more for the fly box.
Fly of the Month 09.23
Lefty’s Deceiver- Saltwater Fly
Hook: Daiichi 472, or Mustad S71SNP-SS (was 34007).
Size: 10 – 2/0 Size (size 2 used here)
Thread: White Danville's Fly-Master Waxed, white UTC 140, or 3/0
Tail/Body/Collar
Assembly: Six white and two Grizzly rooster feathers, 5 strands of
Krystal Flash (doubled), white bucktail on sides and brown bucktail on top
Throat: Ten strands of red Krystal Flash
Head: White thread, eyes, head cement
Eyes: 3-D Eyes (5/32” or smaller)
Cement: * Loon Hard-Head Clear Finish, Loon UV Clear Fly Finish, or The Original Super Glue GEL
*Some cements may be incompatible with the adhesive on the back of the eyes as well as some head cements. If this is the case the eyes may not become securely attached to the fly. Some head cements may cause the incompatibility issue. It may be best to not use head cement prior to applying the eyes. The UV finish will harden quickly when exposed to a UV light.
Directions:
1) De-barb the hook and place it in the vise. Attach the thread with a jam knot approximately 1/3 shank length in front of hook bend. Wrap thread towards hook bend using flat side by side or touching wraps. Stop wrapping and leave thread hanging at a position mid-way between hook point and barb point.
2) Form the body by selecting three paired white hackle feathers and one pair of grizzly hackles. Feathers should be selected from each side of the cape or saddle to assure the two sides of the body match when paired. Three of the white hackles should curve to the left and three should curve to the right. Hackles need to be matched for curvature, and width. Similarly, the grizzly hackles should be chosen with one curving to the left, and one to the right while matching the white feathers for width and curvature. Length of the stems will be adjusted later.
3a) Adjust the tip ends of all the hackles that curve in the same way so they are together and laying parallel to each other. The grizzly hackle is to be located on the outside of each set to represent a scale like pattern. The grizzly hackle should be slightly shorter when placed over the white hackles.
3b) Constructing a set of feathers with tips matching can present a frustrating situation with all the handling that will take place in the mounting procedure. The feather sets should extend past the mounting position one hook shank length. You can do a preliminary length adjustment by stripping off excess feather fibers. If you cut the stems to different lengths you can later identify which stem to pull on to adjust mis-aligned tips.
3c) While holding the feather assembly for one side between your fingers, dip them in water and stroke them with the fingers of the other hand to remove excess water. Repeat for the other set of feathers.
3d) The white and grizzly sets are separated. You can then position the grizzly hackle on top and adjust for length or add the grizzly to the white set before wetting. Notice how the lengths of the stems on the white sets are of different lengths.
4a) The neck or saddle feathers on each side were flared inward on the original Deceiver to better represent the motion of a swimming baitfish. Place both halves of the wing sets together while still wet, with tips matching and feathers flared inwards. Handling the feathers while wet makes keeping them together and in position much easier. Hold the feather assembly over the hook shank to determine a length that will extend rearward from the hook bend approximately one hook shank length.
4b) Strip excess feather fibers to clear the stem tie-in section. Place the paired hackles with barbs vertical on top of the hook shank with the tie-in point of the hackles on top of where the thread is hanging. Make one soft thread wrap over the hackle shafts and pull upward to tighten slightly and make two more wraps forward and touching in the same manner. Leave the thread hanging and release your hold on the hackles to see if the stems lay horizontal and with barbs vertical.
4b) The hackles may be adjusted for position by adjusting the butts in each group and the groups with respect to the shank. Trim stems to approximately 0.5 inch in length for tie -in. Hold the feathers again with left fingers, wrap thread to cover butts, return thread to tie-in point using touching flat wraps. Leave thread hanging.
5) Tie in five strands of Krystal Flash on near side with three forward and touching thread wraps,
double the flash over to far side and wrap thread rearward in three touching wraps to tie-in point.
Krystal Flash ends should be cut at varying lengths with longest just short of hackle tips. Wrap the thread to eye and then back in touching turns to a point approximately two eye widths behind hook eye.
6) Cut a sparse bunch of white bucktail and generally even the tips by holding butts in right fingers and grasping the longer tips in fingers of left hand. Pull long tips from bunch and then overlap both bunches once to generally even tips. The tips should not match perfectly. Hold the bunch to measure a length that approximates the distance from hook eye to mid-way on the paired hackles with some hairs just short of the hackle tips. Hold bunch in left fingers pre-glue and cut butts, leaving butts approximately the length of two hook eyes. Hold bunch in left fingers on near side of shank with butt tips just short of hook eye. Tie in butts with two forward soft wraps and tighten thread by pulling towards you. Continue wrapping thread in flat touching wraps to eye and back to tie-in point.
7) Cut a second sparse bunch of white bucktail, generally even tips, and tie-in on far side of hook shank similar as in step 6. Leave thread hanging approximately 2 eye widths behind eye.
8) Cut a sparse bunch of grey or brown bucktail, generally even the tips, cut to length and tie in on top of shank as in step 6 and step 7.
9a) Tie in ten strands of red Krystal Flash as a throat on the underside of the hook shank, wrapping the thread to the eye, double them over by pulling the Krystal Flash back and to the rear. Bind down the Krystal Flash by wrapping the thread to the tie-in point.
9b) Cut Krystal Flash to length that extends halfway to hook point. The point where thread is hanging becomes the rear of the head. Wrap thread in flat touching flat turns forward and rearward over the head until all hair butts are covered and a desired head shape is achieved. Finish with wraps to back of head, whip finish forward and seal with head cement.
10. Add eyes and seal with head cement or epoxy.
- Tom Adams, Alen Baker