32 Quotes by John Gierach

Cell phones have changed us from a nation of self-reliant pioneer types into a bunch of men standing alone in supermarkets saying, ‘Okay, I’m in the tampon aisle, but I don’t see it.’

Okay, I’m in the tampon aisle, but I don’t see it.

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.

Trout aren’t naturally as selective as they’ve become in crowded tailwaters – they’ve been trained to be like that by too much fishing pressure. I’ve seen tailwater fish that are so hysterical they’ll refuse naturals. You wonder how they get enough to eat.

Fishing in rainy conditions may make fisherman seem crazy to the great mass of unimaginative people, but then few fishermen care what they think.

Flyfishing does have its social aspects – on some of our crowded trout streams it can get too social – but esentially it’s a solitary, contemplative sport. People are left alone with themselves in beautiful surroundings to try to accomplish something that seems to have genuine value.

We do have to think seriously about conservation now, although it is chilling to realize there are catch-and-release fishermen alive today who don’t know how to clean and fry a fish.

The things fishermen know about trout aren’t facts but articles of faith.

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.