"Fishing Blues" is a blues song written in 1911 by Chris Smith, who is best known for "Ballin' the Jack". "Fishing Blues" was first recorded in 1928 by "Ragtime Texas" Henry Thomas on vocals and guitar with the introduction and breaks played on quills, a type of panpipe. It is Roud Folk Song Index No. 17692.

Henry Thomas was an American country blues singer, songster and musician. Although his recording career, in the late 1920s, was brief, Thomas influenced performers including Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Grateful Dead, and Canned Heat. Often billed as "Ragtime Texas", Thomas's style is an early example of what later became known as Texas blues guitar.