The Ultimate Collection of Fishing Inspirational Quotes

"If you fish and catch nothing, you have still caught a lesson."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"It is in deep waters that the greatest fish learn how to swim."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing."

- Norman Fitzroy Maclean

"Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers."

- Herbert Hoover

"You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive, and you loved him after."

- Ernest Hemingway

"When you are on the river, ocean or in the woods, you are the closest to the truth you'll ever get"

- Jack Leonard

"When you're going through hell, keep going."

- Art Walker

"There's no such thing as a bad day when you're fishing."

- John D. Williams

"To go fishing is the chance to wash one's soul with pure air, with the rush of the brook, or with the shimmer of sun on blue water."

- Herbert Hoover

"You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take."

- Wayne Gretzky

"The solution to any problem—work, love, money, whatever—is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be."

- John Gierach

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."

- Jacques Cousteau

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."

- Henry David Thoreau

"There is only one reason in the world to go fishing: to enjoy yourself. Anything that detracts from enjoying yourself is to be avoided."

- Leigh Perkins

"The act of fishing takes us to the hidden corners of the world, revealing the beauty that lies beneath the surface."

- James Prosek

"Game fish are too valuable to only be caught once."

- Lee Wulff

"Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in."

- Henry David Thoreau

"To fish is to hope. Each cast a new beginning, each retrieve a new promise."

- M.K. Soni

"The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope."

- John Buchan

"The great charm of fly-fishing is that we are always learning."

- Theodore Gordon

"Every time I cast my line, I connect with the heart of nature."

- Linda Greenlaw

"Fishing is not just a hobby; it's a state of mind."

- Mariano Rivera

"Fishing is a discipline in patience. It's about the journey, not just the destination."

- Chris Campanioni

"Fishing is not an escape from the world, but a deeper connection to it."

- Anthony T. Hincks

"Fishing is a quest for knowledge and wonder as much as a pursuit of fish; it is as much an acquaintance with beavers, dippers, and other fishermen as it is a challenge of trout."

- Paul Schullery

"Fishing brings out the reverence of the harmony of all things."

- Ted Trueblood

"The angler forgets most of the fish he catches, but he does not forget the streams and lakes in which they are caught."

- Charles K. Fox

"Take care of the fish, and the fishing will take care of itself."

- Art Neumann

"If I fished only to capture fish, my fishing trips would have ended long ago."

- Zane Grey

"I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious."

- Vince Lombardi

"The finest gift you can give to any fisherman is to put a good fish back, and who knows if the fish that you caught isn't someone else's gift to you?"

- Lee Wulff

"Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."

- Henry David Thoreau

"If fishing is like religion, then fly fishing is high church."

- Tom Brokaw

"The two best times to fish are when it's rainin' and when it ain't."

- Patrick McManus

"I have fished through fishless days that I remember happily without regret."

- Roderick Haig-Brown

"Be patient and calm - for no one can catch fish in anger."

- Herbert Hoover

"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it."

- Norman Maclean

"Fly fishing is the most fun you can have standing up."

- Harald Bainbridge

"He who is content to not-catch fish in a skillful and refined manner, using the best tackle and technique, will find his time and attention free for the accumulation of a thousand experiences, the memory of which will remain for his enjoyment long after any recollection of fish would have faded."

- Sparse Gray Hackle

"A fish will never realize its potential until you throw it in water."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"If my father had his way, no one who didn't know how to catch a fish would be allowed to disgrace one by catching it."

- Norman Fitzroy Maclean

"Fish will never be afraid of living in the ocean, no matter how deep it is."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"A pond full of fish is better than a river full of stones."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"It would take a fish a lifetime to climb a tree but only a year to cross the ocean."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"Fish don't worry about their fate when you throw them in deep waters."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"The greatest barrier fish have to overcome before they can rule the waters is fear."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"Fishing gives you the opportunity to improve your self-esteem, respect the environment, learn new outdoor skills and achieve personal goals."

- Jeremy George Lake Charles

"Sometimes I wish I could join them... The fish, I mean. Really, could you imagine? How splendid it would be... to swim among the stars? Sigh."

- Ryan Andrews

"The man who coined the phrase 'Money can't buy happiness', never bought himself a good fly rod!"

- Reg Baird

"A small river full of fish is better than a large sea full of none."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"If you try to drown a fish, the ocean will laugh at you."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"If you feel like a fish out of water just go back in the water."

- Tamerlan Kuzgov

"Never leave fish to find fish."

- Moses, 1200BC

"Angling may be said to be so like the mathematics that it can never be fully learned."

- Izaak Walton

"Opportunities are everywhere and so you must always let your hook be hanging. When you least expect it, a great fish will swim by."

- Og Mandino

"Fishing is not an escape from life, but often a deeper immersion into it..."

- Harry Middleton

"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles."

- Doug Larson

"The fisherman knows that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore."

- Vincent Van Gogh

"In fishing, as in life, opportunity is often a matter of being in the right place at the right time."

- Larry Koller

"You can never step in the same river twice."

- Heraclitus

"Never leave fish to find fish"

- Moses, 1200BC

"There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot."

- Steven Wright

"Things fishermen know about Trout aren't facts, but articles of faith."

- John Gierach

"If the trout are lost, smash the state."

- Thomas McGuane

"When it rains on the ocean it rains on fish too."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"Fish don't need swimming gear when speeding through deep waters."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"The fish is in no hurry to take a bath."

- Tamerlan Kuzgov

"Fear No Fish, Never Grow up."

- Flip Pallot

"Most fishermen swiftly learn that it's a pretty good rule never to show a favorite spot to any fisherman you wouldn't trust with your wife"

- John Voelker

"The only reason I ever played golf in the first place was so that I could afford to hunt and fish."

- Sam Snead

"Most of the world is covered by water. A fisherman's job is simple: Pick out the best parts."

- Charles Waterman

"If all politicians fished instead of spoke publicly, we would be at peace with the world."

- Will Rogers

"As no man is born an artist, so no man is born an angler."

- Izaak Walton

"You can't say enough about fishing. Though the sport of Kings, it's just what the deadbeat ordered."

- Thomas McGuane

"Just as in cooking there's no such thing as a little garlic, in fishing there's no such thing as a little drag."

- H.G. Tapply

"The angel cried with a loud voice, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees."

- Revelation 7:3

"A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work."

"The best way to catch a fish is to let him think he's escaping."

"Fishing is our handshake, our language. A Heritage that binds us together. A passage our fathers took. A Journey that lasts a lifetime, That we have begun again with our sons and daughters."

"A bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work."

"The best way to a fisherman's heart is through his fly."

"Fishing is just like drinking - if you do it right, you'll eventually fall into it."

"The solution to any problem -- work,"