55 Best Fish Quotes, Sayings And Phrases

Supriya Jain
Dec 12, 2023 By Supriya Jain
Originally Published on Mar 02, 2021
Edited by Luca Demetriou
A school of fish swimming in the ocean
Age: 0-99
Read time: 7.9 Min

“Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming” as Dory exclaimed in 'Finding Nemo', reveals that our lives can never stop for a second, and we should just keep going in life.

Fish symbolizes patience, and it teaches us to stay calmer during challenging situations; a fish can make us fall in love with almighty nature. Fishes have always fascinated us with their incredible moves, and we still cherish seeing them being one of the most beautiful creations on the earth.

Fishes are not only beautiful in nature but are the torch-bearer of power and patience. Here are the 55 best fish quotes to help you learn some significant aspects, plus the teachings that fish provide to us. If you like this article, check out these fishing quotes and ocean quotes as well.

Best Fish Quotes And Fish Proverbs

Famous authors like Henry David Thoreau, Alfred North Whitehead, William Shakespeare, Steven Wright, Benjamin Franklin have given us some famous fish quotes to enjoy. Read on for an extensive variety of old fishing sayings along with the most memorable Albert Einstein quotes about fish that you will surely like.

Cellophane betta fish swimming in the dark ocean

1. “Sharing the fun of fishing turns strangers into friends in a few hours.”

- Eugenie Clark.

2. “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

- Henry David Thoreau.

3. “Great fish do not swim in shallow waters.”

- Matshona Dhliwayo.

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

- Herbert Hoover.

5. “Look at where Jesus went to pick people. He didn’t go to the colleges…he got guys off the fishing docks.”

- Jeff Foxworthy.

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

- Doug Larson.

7. “Some go to church and think about fishing, others go fishing and think about God.”

- Tony Blake.

8. “Remember folks, fish are like relatives. After two days, they stink.”

- Bobby Heenan.

9. “I fish to scratch the surface of those mysteries, for nearness to the beautiful, and to reassure myself the world remains.”

- Carl Safina.

10. “A chub is the worst fish that swims.”

- Izaak Walton, ‘The Compleat Angler.’

11. “A fish only begins to realize its potential the moment you throw it in deep waters.”

- Matshona Dhliwayo.

12. “A river is honored for its fish, not its size.”

- Matshona Dhliwayo.

13. “When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.”

- Mark Twain.

14. “No human being, however great, or powerful, was ever so free as a fish.”

- John Ruskin.

15. “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

- Albert Einstein.

16. “A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.”

- William Shakespeare.

Fabulous Quotes About Fishes

Whether it be Theodore Gordon, Harry Middleton, Walter Scott, John Steinbeck or Alfred W Miller, fish stories and memoirs about fishing trips have been authored by many at one point in time or another. Read on for some of the best big fish quotes and fish sayings that you can use for some added motivation.

 

17. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

- Maimonides.

18. “The opposite for courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.”

- Jim Hightower.

19. “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Give a man a sub-prime fish loan and you’re in business, buddy.”

- Stephen Colbert.

20. “He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and a smelly fish.”

- José Rizal

21. “I don’t exaggerate – I just remember big.”

- Chi Chi Rodriguez.

22. “When they go fishing, it is not really fish they are after. It is a philosophic meditation.”

- E.T. Brown.

23. “There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind.”

- Washington Irvin.

24. “Most of the world is covered by water. A fisherman’s job is simple: Pick out the best parts.”

- Charles Waterman.

25. “There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind.”

- Washington Irving.

26. “She’d also called me brave...unless she was talking to the catfish.”

- Rick Riordan.

27. “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.

28. “Sure, it was your idea and your fly, but he caught the big fish. Remember, fairness is a human idea largely unknown in nature.”

- John Gierach.

29. “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.

30. “If fishing is a religion, fly fishing is high church.”

- Tom Brokaw.

Mesmerizing Fish Quotes

Not only for Americans, but for a large number of Europeans, Asians, and Africans as well, fishing is a way of life that ensures their food supply in different ways. Read on for the most incredible fishing quotes on your way to the next fishing trip.

31. “I thoroughly enjoy getting away from the game and going out fishing because it’s so relaxing, so quiet, and peaceful.”

- Tiger Woods.

32. “If you have the virtue of patience, an hour or two of casting alone is plenty of time to review all you’ve learned about the grand themes of life.”

- Carl Safina.

33. “I want everybody to go jump in the ocean to see for themselves how beautiful it is, how important it is to get acquainted with fish swimming in the ocean, rather than just swimming with lemon slices and butter.”

- Sylvia Earle.

34. “I am not eccentric. It’s just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond of catfish.”

- Edith Sitwell.

35. “Now I can look at you in peace; I don’t eat you anymore.”

- Franz Kafka.

36. “Fishing provides time to think, and reason not to.”

- Carl Safina.

37. “There are always new places to go fishing. For any fisherman, there’s always a new place, a new horizon.”

- Jack Nicklaus.

38. “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions of hope.”

- John Buchan.

39. “You think of its speed, its floating, flashing body seen through the water…If I made fins and eyes and scales, I would arrest its movement, give a pattern or shape of reality. I want just the flash of its spirit.”

- Constantin Brancusi.

40. “Time spent fishing is time well spent.”

- Justin Morgan.

41. “At high tide, fish eat ants; at low tide, ants eat fish.”

-  Thai Proverb.

42. “Different fields, different grasshoppers; different seas, different fish.”

- Indonesian Proverb.

43. “A child without a mother is like a fish in shallow water.”

- Myanmar Proverb.

44. “No good fish goes anywhere without a porpoise.”

- Lewis Carroll.

45. “Fish is the only food that is considered spoiled once it smells like what it is.”

-  P.J. O’Rourke.

46. “The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad.”

- A.K. BestMats Hagwall.

47. “Calling fishing a hobby is like calling brain surgery a job.”

- Paul Schullery.

Iconic Fish Quotes

Fish quotes can find use is most situations in life. Whether it be a large fish or a small fish, quotes about fishes offer motivation to one and all. Read on for some of the exceptional fish quotes that all people will enjoy.

48. “I got 99 problems and fishing solves all of them.”

- Earl Dibbles Jr.

49. “I still don’t know why I fish or why others fish, except that we like it and it makes us think and feel.”

- Roderick Haig- Brown.

50. “It doesn’t matter if the rod is or isn’t bent.”

- Justin Morgan.

51. “Game fish are too valuable to be caught only once.”

- Lee Wulff OL.

52. “I know that the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully.”

- George W. Bush.

53. “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he’ll sit in a boat with a fishing pole and drink beer all day.”

- Lorena McCourtney, ‘Invisible.’

54. “Having a fishing rod in your hand is merely an excuse to explore out-of-sight depths and reveal mysteries that previously only existed in dreams.”

- Fennel Hudson.

55. “The act of fishing – for fish, dreams, or whatever magic is available – is enough. It transports us to a special world, and a state of mind, where we are free.”

- Fennel Hudson

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for fish quotes, then why not take a look at boat quotes or blue quotes.

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Written by Supriya Jain

Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Business Administration specializing in Marketing

Supriya Jain picture

Supriya JainBachelor of Commerce, Master of Business Administration specializing in Marketing

As a skilled member of the Kidadl team, Shruti brings extensive experience and expertise in professional content writing. With a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Punjab University and an MBA in Business Administration from IMT Nagpur, Shruti has worked in diverse roles such as sales intern, content writer, executive trainee, and business development consultant. Her exceptional writing skills cover a wide range of areas, including SOP, SEO, B2B/B2C, and academic content.

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