“Something within fishermen tries to make fishing into a world perfect and apart - I don't know what it is or where, because sometimes it is in my arms and sometimes in my throat and sometimes nowhere in particular except somewhere deep. Many of us probably would be better fishermen if we did not spend so much time watching and waiting for the world to become perfect."
“Below him was the multitudinous river, and, where the rock had parted it around him, big-grained vapor rose. The mini-molecules of water left in the wake of his line made momentary loops of gossamer, disappearing so rapidly in the rising big-grained vapor that they had to be retained in memory to be visualized as loops. The spray emanating from him was finer-grained still and enclosed him in a halo of himself. The halo of himself was always there and always disappearing, as if he were candlelight flickering about three inches from himself. The images of himself and his line kept disappearing into the rising vapors of the river, which continually circles to the tops of the cliffs where, after becoming a wreath in the wind, they became rays of the sun.”
“If our father had had his say, nobody who did not know how to catch a fish would be allowed to disgrace a fish by catching him.” 
“I never knew whether he believed God was a mathematician but he certainly believed God could count and that only by picking up God's rhythms were we able to regain power and beauty.” 
“It is not in the book, yet it is human enough to spend a moment before casting in trying to imagine what the fish is thinking, even if one of its eggs is as big as its brain and even if, when you swim underwater, it is hard to imagine that a fish has anything to think about. Still, I could never be talked into believing that all a fish knows is hunger and fear. I have tried to feel nothing but hunger and fear and don't see how a fish could ever grow to six inches if that were all he ever felt.”
“My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things - trout as well as eternal salvation - come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy.”
“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by waters.”
6 comments:
Dad says "Amen"!
And, those are awesome fish, and 'when are we going?'
:)
Love the fish pictures-- what a beautiful river too. Where was this? Guess we can't tease about the size of the fish anymore... they really are that big :)
"Love the fish pictures-- what a beautiful river too. Where was this?"
The pictures in the first half are from the Sandy River and the second half are from the Clackamas.
Wow, Fancy new Blog! Cool, I like it.
Dad is chomping at the bit to go fishing....this pict's make him drool!
Okay, Lance, do you have that movie memorized, or did you have to go online?!
The quotes are from the book that the movie is based on. They did a great job with the movie and it is one of my favorites, but Norman Maclean's writing is superb in that part of the book.
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