Modesty is the only sure bait when you are fishing for praise.

Modesty is the only sure bait when you are fishing for praise.

The biggest fish he ever caught were those that got away.

The biggest fish he ever caught were those that got away.

Best fishing in troubled waters.

Best fishing in troubled waters.

And angling too, that solitary vice,
What Izaak Walton sings or says:
The quaint, old, cruel coxcomb, read more

And angling too, that solitary vice,
What Izaak Walton sings or says:
The quaint, old, cruel coxcomb, in his gullet
Should have a hook, and a small trout to pull it.

For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught
of the fishes that they had read more

For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught
of the fishes that they had taken:
And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were
partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from
henceforth, thou shalt catch men.

A rod twelve feet long and a ring of wire,
A winder and barrel, will help thy desire
read more

A rod twelve feet long and a ring of wire,
A winder and barrel, will help thy desire
In killing a Pike; but the forked stick,
With a slit and a bladder,--and that other fine trick,
Which our artists call snap, with a goose or a duck,--
Will kill two for one, if you have any luck;
The gentry of Shropshire do merrily smile,
To see a goose and a belt the fish to beguile;
When a Pike suns himselfe and a-frogging doth go,
The two-inched hook is better, I know,
Than the ord'nary snaring: but still I must cry,
When the Pike is at home, minde the cookery.

They may the better fish in the water when it is troubled.

They may the better fish in the water when it is troubled.

To fish in troubled waters.

To fish in troubled waters.

The line with its rod is a long instrument whose lesser end holds
a small reptile, while the other read more

The line with its rod is a long instrument whose lesser end holds
a small reptile, while the other is held by a great fool.
[Fr., La ligne avec sa canne est un long instrument,
Dont le plus mince bout tient un petit reptile,
Et dont Pautre est tenu pau un grand imbecile.]