The traveller fancies he has seen the country. So he has, the outside of it at least; but the angler only sees the inside. The angler only is brought close, face to face with the flower and bird and insect life of the rich river banks, the only part of the landscape where the hand of man has never interfered.
- Charles Kingsley, 1890

A gray-haired baitfisher is very rare, while the passion for fly-casting, whether for trout or salmon, grows by what it feeds upon, and continues a source of the highest pleasure even after the grasshopper becomes a burden.
- George Dawson, 1888

An angler, sir, uses the finest tackle, and catches his fish scientifically - trout for instance - with the artificial fly, and he is mostly a quiet, well behaved gentlemen. A fisherman, sir, uses any kind of 'ooks and lines, and catches them any way; so he gets them it's all one to 'im, and he is generally a noisy fellah, sir, something like a gunner.
- Dr. George Washington Bethune, 1847

Fly-fishers are usually brain-workers in society. Along the banks of purling streams, beneath the shadows of umbrageous trees, or in the secluded nooks of charming lakes, they have ever been found, drinking deep of the invigorating forces of nature - giving rest and tone to over-taxed brains and wearied nerves- while gracefully wielding the supple rod, the invisible leader, and the fairy-like fly.
- James A. Henshall, MD, 1855