Enjoy thy stream oh, harmless fish, And when an angler for his dish, Through gluttony's vile sin, Attempts--a wretch--to pull thee out God give thee strength, oh, gentle trout, To pull the rascal in.
- Peter Pindar

In the fly book the sportsman collects his treasures--the fairy imitations of the tiny nymphs of the waterside --and it is the source of much delight in inspecting, replenishing and arranging during the season when the trout are safe from honorable pursuit.
- R.B. Roosevelt

The fisherman has a harmless, preoccupied look; he is a kind of vagrant, that nothing fears. He blends himself with the trees and the shadows. All his approaches are gentle and indirect. He times himself to the meandering, soliloquizing stream; he addresses himself to it as a lover to his mistress; he woos it and stays with it till he knows its hidden secrets. Where it deepens his purpose deepens; where it is shallow he is indifferent. He knows how to interpret its every glance and dimple; its beauty haunts him for days.
- John Burroughs, 1886

April 1st, 1878 - Opening day. Fished Halfway brook from Morgan brook to, and through the woods; then fished Ogden brook from Van Husen's road to Gleason's. Banks more than full of roily snow water; weather decidedly cold; strong wind from the Northwest; cloudy sky. Caught one small trout that I returned to his native element to grow; discovered from my single specimen of the Salvelinus fontinalis that they have the same bright spots that they have always had; look the same, smell the same, feel the same; other peculiarities lacking. Warm sun and rain required to develop the characteristics we so much admire in our leaping friend. Managed to fall into the Ogden brook - in fact went in without the slightest difficulty, amid applause from the bank; discovered from my involuntary plunge that the water is just as wet as last year, and if memory serves, a trifle colder. Reached home in the evening, cold, wet, tired and hungry. Nevertheless, had a most glorious time.
- A. Nelson Cheney, 1878