Thomas McGuane

[Pearly Invicta]

The best angling is always a respite from burden. Good anglers should lead useful lives, and useful lives are marked by struggle, and difficulty, and even pain. Perhaps the agony of simple mortality should be enough. But probably it is not. As they say in South America, everyone knows they are going to die; yet nobody believes it. Human lapses of this kind enable us to fish, fornicate, overeat and bet on the horses.

Therefore, bow your back and fish when you can. When you get to the water, you will be renewed. Leave as much behind as possible. Those motives to screw your boss or employees, cheat on your spouse, rob the state, or humiliate your companions will not serve you well if you expect to be restored in the eyes of God, fish, and the river, which will reward you with hollow waste if you don't behave. You may be cursed. You may be shriven. You may be drowned. At the very least, you may snap off your fly in the bushes.

[Pearly Invicta]

I've just finished "Nothing but Blue Skies" by the same author. A novel set in Montana and not really about fishing....but with a fair amount of fly fishing going on all the same. Well worth a read.