Take the Bait With These 125 Fishing Quotes That Will Get You Out on the Water in No Time

Renee Hanlon

April 27, 2023 at 7:10 PM·16 min read

Fishing is such a great activity for so many people. After all, what's not to love about spending the day on a lake or river, whether you actually catch a fish or not? The surroundings are beautiful and there's something so therapeutic about casting out a line. There's always the hope that you will reel in a big fish and it never gets old trying. If you haven't fished before, some inspiring fishing quotes are sure to reel you in!

For many, fishing is a necessary self-care activity to not only relax but to think and meditate about life. In fact, catching a fish may even be secondary to the feeling you get from being out in nature. Listening to the sounds of birds chirping and fish jumping is a lot more relaxing than all of the sounds of the city.

If you like to fish or are thinking about starting, these 125 fishing quotes will motivate you to either get back on the water or try fishing for the first time.

Best Fishing Quotes

1. “To fish for one’s food is meditation.” - Jessica Marie Baumgartner

2. “A bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at the office!” - Unknown

3. “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” - Henry David Thoreau

4. “…if catching fish is your only objective, you are either new to the game or too narrowly focused on measurable results.” - David Stuver

5. “If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.” - Doug Larson

6. “People fish because they are searching for something. Often it is not for a fish.” - Fennel Hudson

7. “Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers.” - Herbert Hoover

8. “A woman, who has never seen her husband fishing, doesn’t know what a patient man she married!” - Unknown

9. “Fishing enables us to get closer to nature.” - Fennel Hudson

10. "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." - Anne Isabella Thackeray

11. “It has always been my private conviction that any man who pits his intelligence against a fish and loses has it coming.” - John Steinbeck

12. "Good things come to those who bait." - Unknown

13. “Men and fish are alike. They both get into trouble when they open their mouths.” - Unknown

14. “Fly-fishing is an act of hope that leads to a net full of fish and a head full of dreams.” - Fennel Hudson

15. “Life, to me, is like fishing: you won’t catch anything until you start, and every year you get older is another year the fish might slip through the net.” - Alex Staniforth

16. “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

17. “If you are trying to look clean, neat and avoid casting your nets in trouble waters, you will catch no fish.” - Israelmore Ayivor

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

19. “Catching fish is secondary to the immeasurable joys of the watery world.” - Fennel Hudson

20. “Fishermen are born honest, but they get over it.” - Ed Zern

21. “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

22. “Angling is extremely time consuming. That’s sort of the whole point.” - Thomas McGuane

23. “It is impossible to grow weary of a sport that is never the same on any two days of the year.” - Theodore Gordon

24. “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

25. “Fishing is much less about the fishing, and much more about the time alone with your kid, away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday.” - Dan Pearce

Funny Fishing Quotes

26. "A fisherman is a jerk on one end of the line waiting for a jerk on the other." - Unknown

27. "A worm is a small, reluctant animal used to capture a larger reluctant animal." - Unknown

28. "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

29. "All fishermen are liars; it's an occupational disease with them like housemaid's knee or editor's ulcers." - Beatrice Gray Cook

30. "Do not tell fish stories where the people know you. Particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.” - Mark Twain

31. "Early to bed…early to rise…fish all day…make up lies.” - Unknown

32. "Fisherman’s prayer: Lord, help me to catch fish so large, that even I, in the telling of it, never need to lie.” - Unknown

33. "Fishing tournaments seem a little like playing tennis with living balls." - Jim Harrison

34. "Game fish are too valuable to be caught only once.” Lee Wulff

35. "Grant me the Serenity to accept the size of the fish I catch, the Courage not to lie about it, and the Wisdom to know that none of my fishing buddies would believe me anyway." - Fisherman's Prayer

36. "I am not against golf, since I cannot suspect it keeps armies of the unworthy from discovering trout." - Paul O'Neil

37. "I only make movies to finance my fishing.” - Lee Marvin

38. "I spent most of my money on fishing. The rest I wasted.” - Unknown

39. "I’m a man of few words, “Let’s fish.” - Unknown

40. "If you've got short, stubby fingers and wear reading glasses, any relaxation you would normally derive from fly fishing is completely eliminated when you try to tie on a fly." - Jack Ohman

41. "It is to be observed that ‘angling’ is the name given to fishing by people who can’t fish.” - Stephen Leacock

42. "Life is like a game, but fishing is serious.” - Unknown

43. "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

44. "Our tradition is that of the first man who sneaked away to the creek when the tribe did not really need fish." - Roderick Haig-Brown

45. "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

46. "The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad.” - A.K. Best

47. "Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It's quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn." - Chuck Clark

48. "Wanted: Good woman – Must be able to clean, cook, sew, dig worms and clean fish. Must have boat and motor. Please send picture of boat and motor.” - Unknown

49. “We ask a simple question and that is all we wish: Are fishermen all liars? Or do only liars fish?” - William Sherwood Fox

50. "What a tourist terms a plague of insects, the fly fisher calls a great hatch." - Patrick F. McManus

51. "Work is for people who don’t know how to fish!” - Unknown

52. "You say I`m a compulsive fishing freak like it’s a bad thing.” - Unknown

53. "I don’t exaggerate…I just remember big!” - Unknown

54. "Fishing will do a lot for a man but it won't make him truthful." – Unknown

55. "I got a fishing rod for my wife – good trade.” Unknown

56. “It is impossible to grow weary of a sport that is never the same on any two days of the year.” - Theodore Gordon

57. “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

58. “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

59. "If you think I'm pathetic for spending all this money to mount my prize catches just to impress people, you should see how much I pay the guy who catches them." - Lukas Saunders

60. “Calling fishing a hobby is like calling brain surgery a job.” - Paul Schullery

61. “I should never make anything of a fisherman. I had not got sufficient imagination.” - Jerome K Jerome

62. “If fishing is interfering with your business, give up your business.” - Sparse Grey Hackle

Inspiring Fishing Quotes

63. “In this ever-changing world, there are few things that have remained constant for me. The chance of hooking a nice trout still excites and thrills me to this day.... just as it did when I was a kid. I like that!” - M.A. Bookout

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

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

66. "Be patient and calm – for no one can catch fish in anger.” - Herbert Hoover

67. "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

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

69. "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

70. "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

71. "I don’t want to sit at the head table anymore. I want to go fishing.” - George Bush

72. "I go fishing not to find myself but to lose myself.” - Joseph Monniger

73. "I have fished through fishless days that I remember happily without regret." - Roderick Haig-Brown

74. “If I fished only to capture fish, my fishing trips would have ended long ago.” - Zane Grey

75. “Many of the most highly publicized events of my presidency are not nearly as memorable or significant in my life as fishing with my daddy.” - Jimmy Carter

76. “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

77. “The best time to go fishing is when you can get away.” - Robert Traver

78. "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

79. “I object to fishing tournaments less for what they do to fish than what they do to fishermen." - Ted Williams

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

81. "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

82. "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

83. "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

84. “Everyone should believe in something. I believe I’ll go fishing.” - Henry David Thoreau

85. “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

86. "If fishing is a religion, fly fishing is high church." Tom Brokaw

87. "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

88. "If you want to catch more fish, use more hooks." - George Allen

89. "It is not a fish until it is on the bank." - Old British saying

90. "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

91. "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

92. "May the holes in your net be no larger than the fish in it." - Irish Blessing

93. "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

94. “The fish is not so much your quarry as your partner.” Arnold Gingrich

95. "Most of the world is covered by water. A fisherman’s job is simple: Pick out the best parts.” - Charles Waterman

96. "Never throw a long line when a short one will serve your purpose." - Richard Penn

97. “The only thing bad about winning the pennant is that you have to manage the All-Star Game the next year. I’d rather go fishing for three years.” - Whitey Herzog

98. “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

99. "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

100. “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

101. "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

102. “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

103. "Some go to church and think about fishing, others go fishing and think about God." - Tony Blake

104. “So long, and thanks for all the fish.” - Douglas Adams

105. “Fish stories told here…. some true!” - Unknown

106. "Some people will just never understand us, fishing isn’t just a pastime or a sport, it’s a way of life.” - Unknown

107. "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

108. "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

109. "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

110. "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

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

112. "The season is ended. There was not enough of it; there never is." - Nick Lyons

113. "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 Da Vinci

114. "There are two things in life you should never be late for, Number one is Church and Number two is fishing.” - Unknown

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

116. "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

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

118. "You do not cease to fish because you get old. You get old because you cease to fish!" - Unknown

119. "There is no greater fan of fly fishing than the worm." - Patrick K. McManus

120. "There will be no end to angling controversies for there is no one best way for everyone to fish." - Lee Wulff

121. "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

122. "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

123. "When I go fishing, I like to know that there's nobody within five miles of me." - Norman MacCaig

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

125. “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

Next Up: These Best Fishing Spots in Every State Have Us (& the Numerous Fish You'll Find There) Totally HOOKED!

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Take the Bait With These 125 Fishing Quotes That Will Get You Out on the Water in No Time

Best Fishing Quotes

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Inspiring Fishing Quotes