The Ultimate Collection of Inspirational Fisherman Quotes

"Fishing is not just about catching fish; it's about understanding the delicate balance of nature."

- Aldo Leopold

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

- Chris Campanioni

"A trout is a moment of beauty known only to those who seek it."

- Arnold Gingrich

"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

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

- Linda Greenlaw

"I’ve gone fishing thousands of times in my life, and I have never once felt unlucky or poorly paid for those hours on the water."

- William Tapply

"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

"Angling is a way of calming the soul and setting the spirit free."

- Dave Hughes

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

- James Prosek

"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters."

- Norman Maclean

"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

"I've gone fishing thousands of times in my life, and I have never once felt unlucky or poorly paid for those hours on the water."

- William Tapply

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

- John Buchan

"Poets talk about "spots of time", but it is really the fishermen who experience eternity compressed into a moment. No one can tell what a spot of time is until suddenly the whole world is a fish and the fish is gone."

- Norman Mclean

"I go fishing not to find myself but to lose myself."

- Joseph Monniger

"I believe I’ll go fishing."

- Henry David Thoreau

"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 of us probably would be better fishermen if we did not spend so much time watching and waiting for the world to become perfect."

- Norman Maclean

"If our father had his say, nobody who did not know how to catch a fish would be allowed to disgrace a fish by catching him."

- Norman Maclean

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

- Lee Wulff

"To him, all good things—trout as well as eternal salvation—come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy."

- Norman Maclean

"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

"No life is so happy and so pleasant as the life of the well-govern'd angler."

- Izaak Walton

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

- Harry Middleton

"I salute the gallantry and uncompromising standards of wild trout, and their tastes in landscapes."

- John Madson

"In the best stories about fly fishing ... big fish are caught or lost; people say wild and spontaneous words; event becomes memory and sometimes, in the hands of a master, bleeds into art."

- Nick Lyons

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

- Doug Larson

"The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: "What good is it?""

- Aldo Leopold

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

- Jack Leonard

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

- Ted Trueblood

"Often I have been exhausted on trout streams, uncomfortable, wet, cold, briar scarred, sunburned, mosquito bitten, but never, with a fly rod in my hand have I been less than in a place that was less than beautiful."

- Charles Kuralt

"There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a gentleness of spirit and a pure sincerity of mind."

- Washington Irving

"If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere."

- Vincent Van Gogh

"There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home."

- Roderick Haig-Brown

"They say you forget your troubles on a trout stream, but that's not quite it. What happens is that you begin to see where your troubles fit into the grand scheme of things, and suddenly they're just not such a big deal anymore."

- John Gierach

"In silence and patience, the wisdom of fishing unfolds."

- Julian Barnes

"Whether I caught fish or not, just the thrill of rolling out that line and watching my fly turn over has been good enough for me. That and the hundreds of treasured memories I have of this wonderful sport."

- Curt Gowdy

"Beginners may ask why one fishes if he is to release his catch. They fail to see that the live trout, sucking in the fly and fighting the rod is the entire point to our sport. Dead trout are just so much lifeless meat."

- Ernest G. Schwiebert, Jr

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

- Revelation 7:3

"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 best fisherman I know try not to make the same mistakes over and over again; instead they strive to make new and interesting mistakes and to remember what they learned from them."

- John Gierach

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

- Will Rogers

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

- Theodore Gordon

"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

"Government cannot close its eyes to the pollution of waters, to the erosion of soil, to the slashing of forests any more than it can close its eyes to the need for slum clearance and schools."

- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"It is only the inexperienced and thoughtless who find pleasure in killing fish for the mere sake of killing them. No sportsman does this."

- W.C. Prime, 1888

"Only when the last tree has been felled, the last river poisoned and the last fish caught, man will know, that he cannot eat money."

- Cree Indian saying

"What are more delightful than one's emotions when approaching a trout stream for the initial cast?"

- T. Nash Buckingham

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."

- Aristotle

"More than half the intense enjoyment of fly-fishing is derived from the beautiful surroundings, the satisfaction felt from being in the open air, the new lease of life secured thereby, and the many, many pleasant recollections of all one has seen, heard and done."

- Charles F. Orvis

"I think there is a connection between thinking and fishing mostly because you spend a lot of time up to your waist in water without a whole lot to keep your mind busy."

- Anthony Doerr

"Fishing is a hard job and a good job, it’s a rich man’s job and a poor man’s job, it’s a happy job and a sad job, it’s a lot of things. But most of all it’s a rewarding job."

- Tom Brokaw

"It doesn't matter if the rod is or isn't bent. Time spent fishing is time well spent."

- Justin Morgan

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

- Jacques Cousteau

"To fish is to hold a mirror to nature."

- Paul Schullery

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

- Herbert Hoover

"I love fishing. You put that line in the water and you don't know what's on the other end. Your imagination is under there."

- Robert Altman

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

- John Bucha

"The best time to go fishing is when you can get away."

- Robert Traver

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

- Henry David Thoreau

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

- Harry Middleton

"Fishing provides that connection with the whole living world. It gives you the opportunity of being totally immersed, turning back into yourself in a good way."

- Ted Hughes

"Fishing is a discipline in the equality of men - for all men are equal before fish."

- Ernest Hemingway

"There will be days when the fishing is better than one’s most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home."

- Roderick Haig Brown

"I am firmly convinced that the ideal combination leading to a happy life is to have the time to both fish and read."

- Brian Murphy

"Fishing is an affirmation of life's richness and our profound interconnectedness to the natural world."

- Carl Safina

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

- Herbert Hoover

"Lots of people committed crimes during the year who would not have done so if they had been fishing. The increase of crime is among those deprived of the regenerations that impregnate the mind and character of the fisherman."

- Herbert Hoover

"I think I fish, in part, because it's an anti-social, bohemian business that, when gone about properly, puts you forever outside the mainstream culture without actually landing you in an institution."

- John Gierach

"It is impossible to grow weary of a sport that is never the same on any two days of the year."

- Theodore Gordon

"I frankly don't make much of a living, but I make a hell of a life."

- Jack Gartside

"The trout do not rise in the cemetery, so you better do your fishing while you are still able."

- Sparse Grey Hackle

"Water is the driving force in nature."

- Leonardo da Vinci

"The water you touch in a river is the last of that which has passed, and the first of that which is coming; thus it is with time."

- Leonardo DaVinci

"By the time I had turned thirty, I'd realized two important things. One, I had to fish. Two, I had to work for a living."

- Mallory Burton

"One thing becomes clearer as one gets older and one's fishing experience increases, and that is the paramount importance of one's fishing companions."

- John Ashley-Cooper

"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. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?"

- Ernest Hemingway

"Fishing is fundamentally a game of chance, and at heart we are all gamblers."

- Dorothy Noyes Arms

"In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that have got away that thrill me the most, the ones that keep fresh in my memory. So I say it is good to lose fish. If we didn’t, much of the thrill of angling would be gone."

- Ray Bergman

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

- Roderick Haig-Brown

"If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're doing something wrong."

- John Gierach

"I fish better with a lit cigar; some people fish better with talent."

- Nick Lyons

"If fishing is interfering with your business, give up your business."

- Sparse Grey Hackle

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

- Izaak Walton

"He who wants to catch fish must not mind getting wet."

- Spanish Proverb

"Angling is extremely time-consuming. That’s sort of the whole point."

- Thomas McGuane

"All you need to be a fisherman is patience and a worm."

- Herb Shriner

"My biggest worry is that my wife (when I'm dead) will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it."

- Koos Brandt

"You can observe a lot just by watching."

- Yogi Berra

"All the romance of trout fishing exists in the mind of the angler and is in no way shared by the fish."

- Harold F. Blaisdell

"In these sad and ominous days of mad fortune chasing, every patriotic, thoughtful citizen, whether he fishes or not, should lament that we have not among our countrymen more fishermen."

- Grover Cleveland

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

- Leonardo Da Vinci

"All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again."

- Ecclesiastes 1:7

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

- Wayne Gretzky

"Fish are, of course, indispensable to the angler. They give him an excuse for fishing and justify the fly rod without which he would be a mere vagrant."

- Sparse Grey Hackle

"There is only one theory about angling in which I have perfect confidence, and this is that the two words, least appropriate to any statement, about it, are the words 'always' and 'never.'"

- Lord Edward Grey

"I used to like fishing because I thought it had some larger significance. Now I like fishing because it's the one thing I can think of that probably doesn't."

- John Gierach

"Something to think about: If you fish the wrong fly long and hard enough, it will sooner or later become the right fly."

- John Gierach

"Fly tackle has improved considerably since 1676, when Charles Cotton advised anglers to 'fish fine and far off,' but no one has ever improved on that statement."

- John Gierach

"Creeps and idiots cannot conceal themselves for long on a fishing trip."

- John Gierach

"Soon after I embraced the sport of angling I became convinced that I should never be able to enjoy it if I had to rely on the cooperation of the fish."

- Sparse Grey Hackle

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."

- Heraclitus

"The fish and I were both stunned and disbelieving to find ourselves connected by a line."

- William Humphrey

"The season is ended. There was not enough of it; there never is."

- Nick Lyons

"If I'm not going to catch anything, then I'd rather not catch anything on flies."

- Bob Lawless

"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

"I look into... my fly box, and think about all the elements I should consider in choosing the perfect fly: water temperature, what stage of development the bugs are in, what the fish are eating right now. Then I remember what a guide told me: 'Ninety percent of what a trout eats is brown and fuzzy and about five-eighths of an inch long.'"

- Allison Moir

"The Essentials of a Good Fly-Hook: The temper of an angel and penetration of a prophet; fine enough to be invisible and strong enough to kill a bull in a ten-acre field."

- G.S. Marryat

"Angling is extremely time consuming. That's sort of the whole point."

- Thomas McGuane

"Scholars have long known that fishing eventually turns men into philosophers. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to buy decent tackle on a philosopher's salary."

- Patrick McManus

"Never leave fish to find fish."

- Moses, 1200BC

"Put backing on your line; even if you never use it. It helps you dream."

- Jimmy D Moore

"He told us about Christ's disciples being fisherman, and we were left to assume...that all great fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fisherman and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman."

- Norman Maclean

"Smoked carp tastes just as good as smoked salmon when you ain't got no smoked salmon."

- Patrick F. McManus

"There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process."

- Paul O'Neil

"Never throw a long line when a short one will serve your purpose."

- Richard Penn

"Fishing books should ooze from a riverbank, not rocket out of publisher's offices in big cities."

- Neil Patterson

"Fear No Fish, Never Grow up."

- Flip Pallot

"One fish. Two fish. Red fish. Blue fish. Black fish. Blue fish. Old fish. New fish. This one has a little star. This one has a little car. Say! What a lot of fish there are."

- Dr. Seuss

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

- Sam Snead

"One evening I was awakened from a deep sleep by a weird noise coming from my husband, only to find out he was dreaming and he was a Dry Fly. I suspected then, and now realize, his dreams are not made up of wild crazy women, only episodes of his days of being in the stream."

- Jan Thousan

"...buying a fly rod in the average city store, that is, joining it up and safely waggling it a bit, is much like seeing a woman's arm protruding from a car window: all one can readily be sure of is that the window is open."

- Anatomy of a Fisherman by Robert Traver

"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

"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

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

- Steven Wright

"Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to produce uncommon results."

- Andrew Carnegie

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

- Charles Waterman

"Why does a salmon rise? Why does a small boy cross the street just to kick a tin can?"

- Lee Wulff, The Atlantic Salmon

"I object to fishing tournaments less for what they do to fish than what they do to fishermen."

- Ted Williams

"It's not the fish you catch, it's the peace of mind you take home at the end of the day."

- Earl Dibbles Jr.

"I only hope the fish will take half as much trouble for me as I’ve taken for them."

- Rudyard Kipling

"Everyone should believe in something. I believe I’ll go fishing."

- Henry David Thoreau

"The act of fishing transports us to a special world, and a state of mind, where we are free."

- Fennel Hudson

"Give a man a fish, and he has food for a day; teach him how to fish, and you can get rid of him for the entire weekend."

- Zenna Schaffer

"The best fisherman I know try not to make the same mistakes over and over again; instead, they strive to make new and interesting mistakes and to remember what they learned from them."

- John Gierach

"Most anglers, especially tyros, false cast too often. Three false casts should be sufficient for any throw and two is better. One is perfect."

- Joe Brooks

"The greatest attraction of a fishing trip is that it allows washing one's soul with pure air."

- Hercules Courtenay

"The angling fever is a very real disease and can only be cured by the application of cold water and fresh, untainted air."

- Theodore Gordon

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

- Mariano Rivera

"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

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

- M.K. Soni

"There's certainly something in fishing that makes a man feel he is doing right; I can't explain it, but it's very pleasant."

- Norman Maclean

"The fish is not so much your quarry as your partner."

- Arnold Gingrich

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

- Herbert Hoover

"Angling is extremely time consuming. That’s sort of the whole point."

- Thomas McGuane

"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

"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

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

- Herbert Hoover

"Hatchery fish have the same colours, but they always seem muted like bad reproductions of great art."

- Bill Barich

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

- Zane Grey

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

- Anthony T. Hincks

"The world is water, and we are all connected by its deep, flowing rhythm."

- Roderick Haig-Brown

"There's more B.S. in fly fishing than there is in a Kansas feedlot."

- Lefty Kreh

"Most fishermen use the double haul to throw their casting mistakes further."

- Lefty Kreh

"Some men would rather be photographed with their fish than with their wives."

- Gwen Cooper and Evelyn Haas

"The fisherman weaves a tapestry of dreams from the memories of the waters he's known."

- Derek Mills

"Fishing is a hard job. Fishing at night. Rain. Day, night. You have to be wise and smart. And quick."

- Mariano Rivera

"There are always new places to go fishing. For any fisherman, there's always a new place, always a new horizon."

- Jack Nicklaus

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

- Larry Koller

"Our love story began with a simple fishing trip, and now it's a tale as deep as the ocean."

- Nicholas Sparks

"Every time I cast my line, I hope to catch a moment with you."

- Lila Monroe

"You and me, we're like two fish in the sea of love."

- Cassandra Clare

"You are the fish that I never want to release back into the sea."

- Colleen Hoover

"Like a fisherman's lure, you've captured my heart with your love."

- E.L. James

"In the stillness of the waters, I found my heart hooked on you."

- Juliet Marillier

"The great trawler fleets sweep the seas and deliver their daily catch to tables worldwide, but they do more than that. They deliver hope, give life itself."

- Jacques Yves Cousteau

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

- Steven Wright

"With you, every fishing trip becomes an adventure of love and memories."

- Nora Roberts

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

- John D. Williams

"The angler forgets most of the fish he catches, but he remembers the streams in which they are caught."

- Charles K. Fox

"A wise fisherman always casts his net on both sides of the boat."

- African Proverb

"The wise fisherman knows that satisfaction is not always measured in the size of the catch."

- Lao Tzu

"Fishing is a discipline in the equality of men – for all men are equal before fish."

- Herbert Hoover

"The best fishermen I know don't look for the fish. They look for the places where fish hide."

- Tommy Bolton

"A fisherman's skill is born from moments of stillness and patterns of movement."

- Bryant McGill

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

- Will Rogers

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

- Henry David Thoreau

"Fishing seems to be the great occasion when all manner of contradictions reconcile themselves."

- Iris Murdoch

"The sea is the same as it has been since before men ever went on it in boats."

- Ernest Hemingway

"I don't exaggerate... I just remember BIG!"

- Chi Chi Rodriguez

"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing."

- John 21:3

"Fish die belly upward, and rise to the surface. It's their way of falling."

- André Gide

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

"In the vast ocean of life, it was fishing that brought our hearts together."

"Our love is like fishing – it's about patience, timing, and the thrill of the catch."

"Fishing is a passion that can never be fully explained."

"I love people who make me forget my troubles. I love fishing because it's one of those things you can do alone or with someone, and either way, it's delightful."

"Men and fish are alike. They both get into trouble when they open their mouths."

"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."

"Fishing is like dating; it's all catch and release until you find a keeper."

"Dad always said, 'Fishing isn't about the fish. It's about the time spent together catching them.'"

"In dad's boat, I learned more about life than fishing."

"Dad taught me how to fish, but more importantly, he taught me how to appreciate the quiet moments in between."

"To the world, you're just a dad. To me, you're the world's best fishing buddy."

"If I can get my son to love fishing half as much as I do, then I will have done my job as a father."

"The best way to teach your children about fishing is to take them out on the boat with you."

"A father is someone who can teach his son how to catch a fish, but also knows how to let him loose."

"When in doubt, fish!"

"They say there are plenty of fish in the sea, but for me, you're the only catch."

"Making waves and catching dreams. 🌊 #FishingAdventures"

"Every cast tells a story. What's yours? 🐠 #ReelTalk"

"Reeling in the good vibes. 🐟 #FishOn"

"Lost in the serenity, found by the water. 💦 #FishingDiaries"

"If you can't find me, check the fishing spot. 📍 #HookedOnLife"

"Chasing fish tales and unforgettable moments. 📸 #GoneFishing"

"Gone fishing, be back at sunset. Or maybe sunrise. 🌅 #CatchOfTheDay"

"Casting lines and making memories. 🎣 #FishingLife"

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

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

"You do not cease to fish because you get old, You get old because you cease to fish!"

"I fish to burn off the crazy!"

"That's about as big as a fish that big gets."

"I spent a lot of money on fishing gear. The rest I just wasted."

"A day without fishing is like a day without sunshine."

"Always think like a fish, no matter how weird it gets."

"A man and his boat do not need to be justified."

"Fishing is fun…catching is better."

"I fish because the voice in my head tells me to."

"It is not how abundant nor how considerable our catch be, but rather to the sport, and manner in which our quarry, the noble trout is angled."

"Life's better with a rod in hand. 🎣 #FishermanFeels"

"We got no troubles, Life is the bubbles, Under the sea..."

"Fishing: My kind of social distancing. 🛶 #NatureCalls"

"There is no such thing as too much equipment."

"If you wish to fish, you must venture your bait."

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

"A fish and a guest smell after three days."

"Fish or cut bait."

"A woman who has never seen her husband fishing doesn't know what a patient man she married!"

"The fish always sees the bait, never the hook."

"A big fish is caught with big bait."

"If wishes were fishes, we'd all cast nets."

"A bad day fishing still beats a good day working."

"Fishermen own the fish they catch, but they do not own the ocean."

"The best time to go fishing is when you can."

"Where the water is too clear, there are no fish."

"The fish that is being chased does not tire."

"You can't catch trout with dry breeches."

"Even a fish wouldn't get into trouble if it kept its mouth shut."

"The bigger the bait, the bigger the fish."

"When the river is silent, the fish has swum to the sea."

"The fish sees the worm, not the hook; a man sees not the danger, only the profit."

"The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap."

"Fishing is the sport of drowning worms."

"The fisherman is the biggest liar in the world. Except for writers, of course."

"If you want to make a living from fishing, start with two boats."