Fish sense, applied in the field, is what the old Zen masters would call enlightenment: simply the ability to see what's right… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
I used to like fishing because I thought it had some larger significance. Now I like fishing because it's the one thing… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Something to think about: If you fish the wrong fly long and hard enough, it will sooner or later become the right… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
I think I fish, in part, because it's an anti-social, bohemian business that, when gone about properly, puts you forever outside the… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Fishing in rainy conditions may make fisherman seem crazy to the great mass of unimaginative people, but then few fishermen care what… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
We do have to think seriously about conservation now, although it is chilling to realize there are catch-and-release fishermen alive today who… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
I don't really know how to tie a fly until I've tied a hundred dozen of them. — John Gierach Copy Share Image
It's an odd fact of life that whichever side of the stream you're on, two-thirds of the best water is out of… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
The best fisherman I know try not to make the same mistakes over and over again; instead they strive to make new… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
The things fishermen know about trout aren't facts but articles of faith. — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Sure, it was your idea and your fly, but he caught the big fish. Remember, fairness is a human idea largely unknown… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
I know I'm a long way from greatness, but I am beginning to come at it in my own way. I can… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Flyfishing does have its social aspects - on some of our crowded trout streams it can get too social - but esentially… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Successful trout fishing isn't a matter of brute force or even persistence, but something more like infiltration. — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Trout aren't naturally as selective as they've become in crowded tailwaters - they've been trained to be like that by too much… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
I like to do every operation the same way on each fly. In the course of tying a batch of flies, I… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
From my own experience I can say that a bad back makes you hike slower, stove-up knees keep you from wading confidently,… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Maybe your stature as a fly fisherman isn't determined by how big a trout you can catch, but by how small a… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Accurately recalling an entire day of fishing is like trying to push smoke back down a chimney, so you settle on these… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Fly-fishing is solitary, contemplative, misanthropic, scientific in some hands, poetic in others, and laced with conflicting aesthetic considerations. It's not even clear… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Fly tackle has improved considerably since 1676, when Charles Cotton advised anglers to 'fish fine and far off,' but no one has… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Fish sense, applied in the field, is what the old Zen masters would call enlightenment: simply the ability to see what's right there in… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
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… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
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 Copy Share Image
I still enjoy the company of most dogs more than that of most people, because dogs are capable of uncomplicated enthusiasm. — John Gierach Copy Share Image
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… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're doing something wrong. — John Gierach Copy Share Image
Fishing in rainy conditions may make fisherman seem crazy to the great mass of unimaginative people, but then few fishermen care what they think — John Gierach Copy Share Image
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… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
If we carry purism to it's logical conclusion, to do it right {fishing} you'd have to live naked in a cave, hit your trout… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
I don't really know how to tie a fly until I've tied a hundred dozen of them. — John Gierach Copy Share Image
It's an odd fact of life that whichever side of the stream you're on, two-thirds of the best water is out of reach on… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
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… — John Gierach Copy Share Image
