"In our family, there was no clear line between religion and flyfishing. We lived at the junction
of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly
fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being
fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on
the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman."
This is the very first passage in the book. This is a great quote because it is showing you how they think throughout the whole book and where they are living at the time of the book. It talks about the river that is in junction with Missoulia and gives you a hint to what it looks like around them.
When we were silent we could hear the needles falling like dry leaves. Suddenly the needles
stopped. "I should leave Montana," he [Paul] said. "I should go to the West Coast."
I had thought that, too, but I asked, "Why?"
"Here," he said, "I cover local sports and personal items and the police blotter. I don't have
anything to do. Here I will never have anything to do."
"Except hunt and fish," I told him. "And get into trouble," he added.
At this point in the book paul and Norman are fishing and have been talking for a while and kind of have a heart to heart with each other. Paul tells Norman that he wants to get out of this town because there is nothing here for him. Oddly this is true. The only thing Paul doesnt know is that Norman feels the same way. This quote shows a brief but yet strong feeling of the relationship between Paul and Norman.
"Fishing is a world apart from all others, and inside it are special worlds of their own–one is
fishing for big fish in small water where there is not enough world and water to accommodate a
fish and a fisherman, and the willows on the side of the creek are all against the fisherman."
There are all kinds of ways to describe the metaphor for the river or the fishing itself but this quote really helps to bring it all home for you. It shows how Norman feels about the world around him while he is fishing and about how the world of fishing is like life in a big way.
"Help is giving part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept it willingly and needs it badly."
This quote to me is the main theme of the book I beleive that the whole book is about helping each other through thick and thin even if they don't ask for it.