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famous quotes

2K views 19 replies 16 participants last post by  aaron j 
#1 ·
Yesterday I stirred the pot a bit much, unintentionally. Today to lighten things up a bit and to explain how I think about things. I would like to see some fishing quotes from people you admire or just connect to in regards to fly fishing. Here are a couple that I like. The first may not be directly about fly fishing but was written by a person I admire greatly and encourage all to read his books. The second is one that I always thought explained the fisherman well.

"I have been, all my life, what is known as a conservationist. It seems clear beyond possibility of argument that any given generation of men can have only a lease, not ownership, of the earth; and one essential term of the lease is that the earth be handed down on to the next generation with unimpaired potentialities. This is the conservationist's concern."

Roderick Haig-Brown


"Besides egotism there is in every fisherman a humor, a certain loquaciousness, a friendly levity, an inclination to argument, an inexplicable sense of the pleasure in idling hours along a river, and a peculiar tendency toward exaggeration which he can recognize in his companion, but is rarely capable of seeing in himself."

Zane Grey
 
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#4 ·
"Flyfishing gives me a perspective on conservation and the environment unlike anything else. I Believe it comes from the tradition and the commitment to beauty which are so much a part of the sport. That, in turn leads to a unique appreciation for the natural world. And that is why I flyfish." - Lefty Kreh
 
#5 ·
All of my posts are tagged with the following quote: "If I don't catch them today, I'll catch them another day." It comes from the book Bright Rivers (my userID) by Nick Lyons, my favorite book about flyfishing (or about anything for that matter). Following is more an exerpt than a quote, but I'd like to take this opportunity to put my tag line in context:

"There is another reason Art spends less time on the water today. It's not his age; I'm nearly thirty years his junior and he'll wear me out any day. 'Lots of times,' he told me confidentially, 'when March Browns or Gray Foxes are on the water, I'll be on the stream in the late morning or afternoon, when they should be coming. But if they don't I think of my long-suffering wife' - he has one, too! - 'who has never said one word about my fishing, or when I should or shouldn't fish, in fifty years.' Mine has. 'I just haven't got the heart to stay out on the stream anymore, and lots of times now the flies will come after I've gone home to dinner. Back in the old days, I'd want to be there. I wouldn't miss one minute of it. But I've gotten over that feeling.' He pauses reflectively, then adds, 'If I don't catch them today, I'll catch them another day.' Art Flick, fisherman, usually does."

I have a wife and two kids now, and they are my first love (followed closely by flyfishing). Art Flick's sentiments are mine exactly.

db
 
#6 ·
In the last few weeks I have learned the hard way that every little shred of literature you just quoted could not be closer to the truth. It took a mind opening experience to realize that the best things in life are your loved ones first and foremost, followed by your passions. I think I will go buy this book as it may contribute to making me a better person and a better fly fisherman. :THUMBSUP

Thanks

~Patrick
 
#7 ·
Patrick --

It's better to learn the hard way that not learn at all, I guess. I tried to respond to you via e-mail but it was returned as undeliverable. Regarding "Bright Rivers," the book is out of print. I just checked Amazon.com and they have a used one for $6 that will ship in 2 business days. Mine is a limited edition leather-bound collector's edition (signed by the author :BIGSMILE) from Easton Press. I think they still have them, but they're slightly more spendy at $50. I hope you can get your hands on a copy as it will be worth your while. Nick Lyons has been called "the master of frustration." He speaks "for the poor guy who sits in his office all year dreaming, gets out for only two weeks a year, and then bungles everything." Very entertaining read.

db
 
#9 ·
My two favorite quotes are from Bill and Kate Howe (they often write in tandem)

1. Know your place in the food chain

2. Fish behave the same way whether you are there or not

my next favorite is from Ralph Cutter

"flies work because fish don't have hands"


They ain't flowery and they don't speak to the "spiritual core of the sportsman", but all three remind us what fish are, and what we are. Burn them into your mind, and you will be a better fisher.
 
#12 ·
Here are two quotes I have, cannot remember who actaully said them:

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

"Time spent fishing is not deducted from a man's life."
 
#13 ·
Here are two I like. The first is something of a personal credo; the second helps to keep me grounded (especially when I start taking the first too seriously).

"If the trout are lost, smash the state." - Thom McGuane

"A fishing rod is a stick, with a hook at one end and a fool at the other." - Samuel Johnson
 
#16 ·
This sums it up for me:

"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. It brings meekness and inspiration from the decency of nature, charity toward tackle-makers, patience toward fish, a mockery of profits and egos, a quieting of hate, a rejoicing that you do not have to decide a darned thing until next week. And it is discipline in the equality of men - for all men are equal before fish."

Herbert Hoover
 
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