The sport was perhaps more eloquently defined a century and a half ago by Frank Forrester in his book, "Fish and Fishing" ...

"Fly fishing may well be considered the most beautiful of all rural sports. For, in addition to the great nicety required to become proficient in the art, it is also absolutely requisite, for its successful attainment, to study much and long .... how to adapt and blend the various materials used in the construction of a fly; how to select your flies, thus carefully and correctly constructed, in accordance with the state of the sky, the colour of the water, and peculiar habits of fish in different rivers."