Fishing Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old fishing quotes, fishing sayings, and fishing proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

The fun of fishing is catching 'em, not killing 'em. Norman Schwarzkopf
If your concentration is getting bad, take up bass fishing. It will really improve your ability to focus. If you aren't ready when that fish hits, you can't set the hook. Lee Trevino
Calling fishing a hobby is like calling brain surgery a job.__ Paul Schullery
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.__ Henry David Thoreau
Most of the world is covered by water. A fisherman's job is simple: Pick out the best parts. Charles Waterman
My Biggest worry is that when I'm dead and gone, my wife will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it. Koos Brandt
I fish because I love to . . . because I love the environs where trout are found . . . because I suspect that men are going along this way for the last time, and I for one don't want to waste the trip . . . and, finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant and not nearly so much fun. Robert Traver
Some go to church and think about fishing, others go fishing and think about God. Tony Blake
I went fishing, and I caught a minnow. If you think that's tiny, you should see the bait I was using. What micro fish could resist my love? Jarod Kintz
Don't worry, he said, that grandfatherly smile spreading across his face once more, 'I've been fishing for over forty years._ You've got plenty of time to catch up, maybe even pass what I've done._ You're a perspicacious piscatorial pursuer, and I'm sure you'll catch the big ones.' S. Bradley Stoner
There are two types of fisherman - those who fish for sport and those who fish for fish. unknown
There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind. Washington Irving
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 what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope. John Buchan
Fishing is much more than fish._ It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers. Herbert Hoover
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught._ unknown
Be patient and calm - for no one can catch fish in anger. Herbert Hoover
If I fished only to capture fish, my fishing trips would have ended long ago. Zane Grey
There are always new places to go fishing. For any fisherman, there's always a new place, always a new horizon. Jack Nicklaus
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. A form of meditation, some form of communion with levels of yourself that are deeper than the ordinary self. Ted Hughes
Bragging may not bring happiness, but no man having caught a large fish goes home through an alley. unknown
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
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
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
A trout is a moment of beauty known only to those who seek it. Arnold Gingrich
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
The great charm of fly-fishing is that we are always learning. Theodore Gordon
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
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
Fishing is not an escape from life, but often a deeper immersion into it... Harry Middleton
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
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
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other. Samuel Johnson
The agony and the ecstasy is a six-year-old boy trying to go to sleep, knowing he's going fishing in the morning. Frank P. Baron
Opportunity is ever worth expecting; let our hood be ever hanging ready. The fish will be in the pool where you least imagine it to be. Ovid
Quite possibly this is the key to fishing: the ability to see glamour in whatever species one may fish for. Harold F. Blaisdell
Those who fish get to know and understand a river in a way few others can. W.D. Wetherell
All earth is full of happy things when the angler goes a-trolling! Thomas Tod Stoddart
Perhaps all you can say is that there are great lapses or discrepancies in time; that and the simple if inexplicable fact that some people have fishing in their hearts. Russell Chatham
Fishing, with me, has always been an excuse to drink in the daytime. Jimmy Cannon
The wildness and adventure that are in fishing still recommend it to me. Henry David Thoreau
Fishing is marvelous... there is the irresistible urge to tangle with the mysterious and unknown, to rely on intuition and hunches. Katharine Weber
A boy and his dad on a fishing trip— / there is a glorious fellowship! Edgar A. Guest
There is nothing like the thrill of expectation over the first cast in unfamiliar waters. Fishing is like gambling, in that failure only excites hope of a fortunate throw next time. Charles Dudley Warner
If you ever wondered why fishing is probably the most popular sport in this country, watch that boy beside the brook and you will learn. If you are really perceptive you will. For he already knows that fishing is only one part fish. Hal Borland
The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore. Vincent Van Gogh
When we fish, we are awake. We are attuned to the environment, to the world, to the reverence and wonder of life. Dan Baughman
Fishing is fundamentally a game of chance, and at heart we are all gamblers. Dorothy Noyes Arms
Ours is the grandest sport. It is an intriguing battle of wits between an angler and a trout; and in addition to appreciating the tradition and grace of the game, we play it in the magnificent out-of-doors. Ernest G. Schwiebert Jr.
He catches the best fish who angles with a golden hook. Roman Proverb
He who wants to catch fish must not mind getting wet. Spanish Proverb
No fishing like fishing in the sea. French Proverb
The fishing is good in troubled waters. German Proverb
I love fishing. It's like transcendental meditation with a punch-line. Billy Connolly
If fishing is a religion, fly fishing is high church. Tom Brokaw
Fishing is unquestionably a form of madness but, happily, for the once-bitten there is no cure. Lord Home
It is to be observed that 'angling' is the name given to fishing by people who can't fish. Stephen Leacock
It has always been my private conviction that any man who pits his intelligence against a fish and loses has it coming. John Steinbeck
Fly fishing is to fishing as ballet is to walking. Howell Raines
I still don't know why I fish or why other men fish, except that we like it and it makes us think and feel. Roderick L. Haig-Brown
You will search far to find a fisherman to admit that a taste for fishing, like a taste for liquor, must be governed lest it come to possess its possessor. Sparse Grey Hackle
Enjoy thy stream, O harmless fish; / And when an angler for his dish, / Through gluttony's vile sin, / Attempts, the wretch, to pull thee out, / God give thee strength, O gentle trout, / To pull the rascal in! John Wolcot
If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles. Doug Larson
There is a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot. Steven Wright
If fishing is interfering with your business, give up your business. Sparse Grey Hackle
It doesn't matter if the rod is or isn't bent. Time spent fishing is time well spent. Justin Morgan
I got 99 problems and fishin' solves all of 'em. Earl Dibbles Jr.
There is no greater fan of fly fishing than the worm. Patrick F. McManus
Woke up this morning / Wanting to cry / Then I remember / Yes I know why / She's a real good one for having her cake / I'm gonna go fishing or jump in the lake / Yeah, I'm gonna go fishing / That's what I'll do / Think about nothing / Not even you / Catch a real big one, a big speckled trout / Snapping in the water I'll pull him on out Lee Ellington
There's a piping wind from a sunrise shore / Blowing over a silver sea, / There's a joyous voice in the lapsing tide / That calls enticingly; / The mist of dawn has taken flight / To the dim horizon's bound, / And with wide sails set and eager / hearts / We're off to the fishing ground. Lucy Maud Montgomery
I'm going fishing / Where the catfish bite / I'm going fishing / We can stay all night / I'm going fishing / And I ain't coming back. James Reyne