NEWS & STORIES
American Presidents on Fishing
“Fishing seems to be one of the few avenues left to Presidents through which they may escape to their own thoughts, may live in their own imaginings, find relief from the pneumatic hammer of constant personal contacts, and refreshment of mind in rippling waters. Moreover, it is a constant reminder of the democracy of life, of humility and of human frailty. It is desirable that the President of the United States should be periodically reminded of this fundamental fact — that the forces of nature discriminate for no man.” – Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States
We are honored to share some of our favorite Presidential angling photographs and quotes with you.
President George H.W. Bush casting a fly line. Photo by David Valdezl 
President Barack Obama and Dan Vermillion fish for trout on Montana’s East Gallatin River 
President Jimmy Carter fishing along a trout stream on Four Lazy F Ranch near Jackson, Wyoming, August 1978. Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/NARA 
President George W Bush fishing with Barbara Bush. Walker’s Point. Kennebunkport, Maine. Holding up fish. Photo by Eric Draper, Courtesy George W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum 
President Dwight D Eisenhower casts a line 
FDR and Churchill fishing in 1943, FDR Presidential Library & Museum 
President Theodore Roosevelt and Russell J. Coles on a devil fish harpooning expedition off the coast of Florida, March 16, 1917.Library of Congress 
President Herbert Hoover flyfishes for steelhead on the Klamath River in California, 1933. — Image by © CORBIS 
President Harry S. Truman and First Lady Bess Wallace Truman fishing from the boat “Big Wheel” off Key West, Florida while on vacation, December 2, 1949. Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum/NARA 
“Silent” Calvin Coolidge with a dry-fly trout. Photo courtesy AMFF 
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt tarpon fishing during a 1937 visit to Port Aransas, TX 
President Grover Cleveland enjoys some fishing at Lockhouse 22
Many presidents have enjoyed the sport of fishing. This pastime provides an opportunity to relax or to enjoy the sportsman’s thrill of the hunt. From Washington to the present day, fishing has been one of the president’s and the nation’s favorite pastimes. A few chief executives were particularly efficient and excelled at specific types of fishing. Fishing provides a chance for the president to be a sportsman.
Many people across the nation are avid fishers or have gone fishing at some point in their lives. Fishing is a way for a president to connect with American citizens and allows citizens to be able to view him as an everyman. Despite being the leader of the United States, the president is still a regular human being, but with larger responsibilities. When it comes to the act of fishing, many presidents have done so at their summer or vacation residences. Many other White House residents and guests have also fished in their leisure or accompanied the president on a fishing trip.
The President’s Catch of the Day, The White House Historical Association
Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States
“Fishing seems to be one of the few avenues left to Presidents through which they may escape to their own thoughts, may live in their own imaginings, find relief from the pneumatic hammer of constant personal contacts, and refreshment of mind in rippling waters. Moreover, it is a constant reminder of the democracy of life, of humility and of human frailty. It is desirable that the President of the United States should be periodically reminded of this fundamental fact — that the forces of nature discriminate for no man.”
Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States
“There are three sports that I like all for the same reason; golf, fishing and shooting…because they take you into the fields, they induce you to take at any one time, two to three hours, when you are thinking of the bird, ball or wily trout. Now to my mind this is a very healthful, beneficial kind of thing and I do it whenever I get a chance”
Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States of America
“The best fishermen do not attempt it; they move and strive in the atmosphere of mystery and uncertainty. In these circumstances fishermen necessarily see and do wonderful things.”
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States of America
“Enthusiasm for the sport had so taken hold of him that at the close of the fishing season he was reluctant to give it up. He scanned the New York State fish and game laws and learned that while fishing was not permitted in the county in which we were living after the first of September, it was not prohibited in the adjoining county until Labor Day, a fact which was not known to the guide or to the caretaker of the camp, himself an ardent sportsman.” – Grace Coolidge on her husband
