--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I caught a tremendous fish and held him…" description: "\"I caught a tremendous fish and held him beside the boat half out of water, with my hook fast in a corner of his mouth. He didn't fight. . . . . . . . ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aac/elizabeth-bishop-9054_boat_i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him_1532701.png" --- # I caught a tremendous fish and held him beside the boat… ![“I caught a tremendous fish and held him beside the boat half out of water, with my hook fast in a corner of his mouth. He didn't fight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I stared and stared and victory filled up the little rented boat from the pool of bilge where oil had spread a…” quote by Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aac/elizabeth-bishop-9054_boat_i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him_1532701.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aac/elizabeth-bishop-9054_boat_i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him_1532701.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aac/elizabeth-bishop-9054_boat_i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him_1532701.png) > “I caught a tremendous fish and held him beside the boat half out of water, with my hook fast in a corner of his mouth. He didn't fight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I stared and stared and victory filled up the little rented boat from the pool of bilge where oil had spread a rainbow around the rusted engine to the bailer rusted orange, the sun-cracked thwarts the oarlocks on their strings, the gunnels-until everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! And I let the fish go.” [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid encounter with a captured fish reveals beauty in struggle, leading to release and appreciation of life’s colors. **In simple terms:** Seeing beauty in hardship, then letting go. Key Takeaway Find wonder in challenges, release when ready. Themes nature beauty letting go Mood contemplative serene Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - fishing - artistic creation - personal crisis - meditation Key Concepts perception impermanence gratitude Questions to Reflect On - What does the rainbow symbolize for you? - When should you choose to release? A Different Perspective Holding on may cause unnecessary suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Filled up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filled-up/) [Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish/) [Rainbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainbow/) [Rainbows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainbows/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“I caught a tremendous fish and held him beside the boat half out of water, with my hook fast in a corner of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him-beside-the-boat-half-out-of-2/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [I like fish, and I also like bear's paws. If I cannot have the two together, I will let the fish go, and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/i-like-fish-and-i-also-like-bear-s-paws-if-i-cannot-have-the-two/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Fish is held out to be one of the greatest luxuries of the table and not only necessary, but even indispensable at all dinners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-beeton/fish-is-held-out-to-be-one-of-the-greatest-luxuries-of-the-table-and/) [Isabella Beeton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-beeton/) > [Fishing is a pleasure of retirement, yet the angler has the power to let the fish live or die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zicheng-hong/fishing-is-a-pleasure-of-retirement-yet-the-angler-has-the-power-to/) [Zicheng Hong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zicheng-hong/) > [“Fish held the silence for so long that I had to restrain myself from prodding her. That's never a good idea. Sometimes people hesitate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-troy-castro/fish-held-the-silence-for-so-long-that-i-had-to-restrain-myself-from/) [Adam-Troy Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-troy-castro/) > [I get a headache when films are too filled up with people. And I don't understand what's going on if there are too many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eran-kolirin/i-get-a-headache-when-films-are-too-filled-up-with-people-and-i-don-t/) [Eran Kolirin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eran-kolirin/) > [If you empty, you can be filled up with anything. It could be water or it could be gasoline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/if-you-empty-you-can-be-filled-up-with-anything-it-could-be-water-or/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [Pythagoras, Locke, Socrates - but pages might be filled up, as vainly as before, with the sad usage of all sorts of sages, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/pythagoras-locke-socrates-but-pages-might-be-filled-up-as-vainly-as/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Creative people have to be fed from the divine source. I have to get fed. I had to get filled up in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/creative-people-have-to-be-fed-from-the-divine-source-i-have-to-get/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) > [Courses that you've had success on, all of a sudden your game turns around because you feel comfortable on your tee shots, you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/courses-that-you-ve-had-success-on-all-of-a-sudden-your-game-turns/) [Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/) > [A week filled up with selfishness, and the Sabbath stuffed full of religious exercises, will make a good Pharisee, but a poor Christian. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/a-week-filled-up-with-selfishness-and-the-sabbath-stuffed-full-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [A secret is powerful when it is empty. People often mention the "Masonic secret." What on earth is the Masonic secret? No one can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/a-secret-is-powerful-when-it-is-empty-people-often-mention-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Now I have notebooks that are filled up, mostly with Doom Patrol, but also angry letters to myself mixed in with the comic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/now-i-have-notebooks-that-are-filled-up-mostly-with-doom-patrol-but/) [Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/) > [Oh! think what anxious moments pass between The birth of plots, and their last fatal periods, Oh! 'tis a dreadful interval of time, Filled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/oh-think-what-anxious-moments-pass-between-the-birth-of-plots-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [I drove to Oxford with my van full of petrol and tin cans, as I didn't know there were service stations on the motorway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-drove-to-oxford-with-my-van-full-of-petrol-and-tin-cans-as-i-didn-t/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More by Elizabeth Bishop > [“Exchanging Hats Unfunny uncles who insist in trying on a lady's hat, --oh, even if the joke falls flat, we share your slight transvestite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/exchanging-hats-unfunny-uncles-who-insist-in-trying-on-a-lady-s-hat/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [“At the Fishhouses Although it is a cold evening, down by one of the fishhouses an old man sits netting, his net, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/at-the-fishhouses-although-it-is-a-cold-evening-down-by-one-of-the/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [I am sorry for people who can't write letters. But I suspect also that you and I ... love to write them because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/i-am-sorry-for-people-who-can-t-write-letters-but-i-suspect-also-that/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [Time to plant tears, says the almanac. The grandmother sings to the marvelous stove and the child draws another inscrutable house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/time-to-plant-tears-says-the-almanac-the-grandmother-sings-to-the/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [“All the untidy activity continues, awful but cheerful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/all-the-untidy-activity-continues-awful-but-cheerful/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [“But they made me realize more than I ever had the rarity of true originality, and also the sort of alienation it might involve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/but-they-made-me-realize-more-than-i-ever-had-the-rarity-of-true/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [“Should we have stayed home and thought of here?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/should-we-have-stayed-home-and-thought-of-here/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [“The art of losing isn't hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/the-art-of-losing-isn-t-hard-to-master-so-many-things-seem-filled/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [The armored cars of dreams, contrived to let us do so many a dangerous thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/the-armored-cars-of-dreams-contrived-to-let-us-do-so-many-a-dangerous/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [Hoping to live days of greater happiness, I forget that days of less happiness are passing by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/hoping-to-live-days-of-greater-happiness-i-forget-that-days-of-less/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [Someone loves us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/someone-loves-us-all/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [Open the book. (The gilt rubs off the edges of the pages and pollinates the fingertips.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/open-the-book-the-gilt-rubs-off-the-edges-of-the-pages-and-pollinates/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [Democracy in the contemporary world demands, among other things, an educated and informed people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/democracy-in-the-contemporary-world-demands-among-other-things-an/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [All my life I have lived and behaved very much like the sandpiper - just running down the edges of different countries and continents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/all-my-life-i-have-lived-and-behaved-very-much-like-the-sandpiper/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [“I leave a lovely opalescent ribbon: I know this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/i-leave-a-lovely-opalescent-ribbon-i-know-this/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) [Explore all 75 Elizabeth Bishop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) ## More Boat quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Fly-fishing for wild trout on quiet waters must be one of the toughest and craziest ways to catch fish ever invented by man, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-voelker/fly-fishing-for-wild-trout-on-quiet-waters-must-be-one-of-the/) [John D. Voelker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-voelker/) > [It was just the sort of yatch you'd expect a rock promoter to have. Mirrored ceilings, marble, Jacuzzis and leopard-skin everything, it made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/it-was-just-the-sort-of-yatch-you-d-expect-a-rock-promoter-to-have/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) > [It's a hindrance in trying to get a serious acting role. The minute a producer has a script and my name comes up, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbi-benton/it-s-a-hindrance-in-trying-to-get-a-serious-acting-role-the-minute-a/) [Barbi Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbi-benton/) > [Something I like to do a lot is just sit by water when there’s a current and just stare into the water. I don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/something-i-like-to-do-a-lot-is-just-sit-by-water-when-there-s-a/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The trouble is, you can't properly present something you don't believe in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/the-trouble-is-you-can-t-properly-present-something-you-don-t-believe/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [A film is a boat which is always on the point of sinking-it always tends to break up as you go along and drag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-truffaut/a-film-is-a-boat-which-is-always-on-the-point-of-sinking-it-always/) [Francois Truffaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-truffaut/) > [I took one guitar lesson, and they wanted me to play 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' or 'Michael Row the Boat Ashore,' and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-nielsen/i-took-one-guitar-lesson-and-they-wanted-me-to-play-mary-had-a-little/) [Rick Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-nielsen/) > [I was 35 years old and in a position to take a shot at whatever I wanted to try. The Air Force said I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-doyle/i-was-35-years-old-and-in-a-position-to-take-a-shot-at-whatever-i/) [Jerry Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-doyle/) > [We wanted a musical number that would capture the exhilaration of being out on a boat as they were and sailing with the stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-musker/we-wanted-a-musical-number-that-would-capture-the-exhilaration-of/) [John Musker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-musker/) > [I thought I would try my hand at sailing. It was too small and kept sinking, so I decided to try a boat instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-jolly/i-thought-i-would-try-my-hand-at-sailing-it-was-too-small-and-kept/) [Arthur M. Jolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-jolly/) > [I once went down the Amazon and our boat got charged by Columbian policemen with guns and we all had to get on motorbikes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-skelton/i-once-went-down-the-amazon-and-our-boat-got-charged-by-columbian/) [Helen Skelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-skelton/) > [Most of the world is covered by water. A fisherman's job is simple: Pick out the best parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-waterman/most-of-the-world-is-covered-by-water-a-fisherman-s-job-is-simple/) Charles W. Waterman Browse all 1,788 Boat quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I caught a tremendous fish and held him beside the boat half out of water, with my hook fast in a corner of his mouth. He didn't fight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I stared and stared and victory filled up the little rented boat from the pool of bilge where oil had spread a rainbow around the rusted engine to the bailer rusted orange, the sun-cracked thwarts the oarlocks on their strings, the gunnels-until everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! And I let the fish go.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Bishop" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him-beside-the-boat-half-out-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him-beside-the-boat-half-out-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aac/elizabeth-bishop-9054_boat_i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him_1532701.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aac/elizabeth-bishop-9054_boat_i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him_1532701.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aac/elizabeth-bishop-9054_boat_i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him_1532701.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I caught a tremendous fish and held him beside the boat half out of water, with my hook fast in a corner of…” — Elizabeth Bishop", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elizabeth Bishop", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I caught a tremendous fish and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him-beside-the-boat-half-out-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/i-caught-a-tremendous-fish-and-held-him-beside-the-boat-half-out-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```