Kenny,
I got back from King Salmon fishing on the Nushagak River outside of
Dillingham, AK on saturday. I had a blast. If you've never caught
salmon and you like fishing this trip needs to be on your list. Some of
the reasons I was able to have so much fun was the training you and I
have been doing:
* The guide likes to feel our biceps when we're reeling in a big fish
and then announce to everyone that the person with the fish is really
working hard. When he felt mine he said, "I thought we were fishing,
not at a gun show!" He then referred to my biceps as pythons the rest
of the trip.
* All the experienced fisherman were surprised and commented about how
well I was able to pick up the form and technique for reeling these big
fish in. It's because planting my feet, squaring my body, and using my
back, arms, and legs with the pole was very natural because of all the
different exercises we do in training. I listened to guys complaining
about soreness in their legs, back, and arms, but it was just like a
regular workout for me.
* My guide was very pleased with my performance and called me his
protege. I had the strength to be able to maintain pressure on the fish
with an arched pole as I reeled it in. The experienced guys didn't
have the strength to maintain that form, so they had to relax the line
as they reeled in, which made me, the rookie, look very good and enabled
me to lose fewer fish because they couldn't get any slack on the line.
I don't have words to describe how much fun this trip was. I can't
promote it enough. I brought home 44lbs of salmon filets. I attached a
picture of the first King I caught.
My buddy gained 5 lbs on this trip, because the camp cook fed us very
well. I lost 2 lbs. This is what I was hoping for. I figured that if I
got out and started moving around a bit every day, instead of sitting
at a computer, the weight would start coming off, again. We ate well,
my activity level was significantly increased, it was cold (below
freezing 1 night) but my metabolism kept me very warm, and I lost
weight. And even though I only lost 2lbs, I could see the difference on
my belly in the mirror (so exercise must have built up some muscle
elsewhere), and my belt shows I lost nearly an inch off my belly for the
week. I figure if I could do stuff like this all the time my belly
would shrink down in no time!
I look forward to resuming training once my play schedule settles down.
:)
Jim