Sep
29
Gone Fishing
Filed Under Alternative Workouts, Eating Healthy
Sorry for the lack of weekend update yesterday, I happened to be out most of the day and came back exhausted, which is actually the topic of today’s post.
Every weekend I try to find fun physical activities to do which don’t cost much money, are really enjoyable and provide a good amount of exercise. Well, this weekend I found a perfect such event, fishing!
What We Did
Sunday morning, at about 4am, my wife and I left our house and drove to Half Moon Bay. That’s a town about 30 minutes from our house with a beautiful harbor and lots of sport fishing charter boats. We joined my sister in law, her husband and about 13 others on a boat called the Tigerfish. We launched at 6am and 3 hours later, we started fishing. We stayed out for hours and only came back at about 6pm.
Cost
Each person needed a ticket which cost about $80. Each of us also needed equipment rental which was another $30. Add in gas and you have total cost of about $120 per person or $240 for both of us. Sounds a bit steep, but keep in mind that we also brought back about 30lbs of fish fillets which we would have to buy at the market for about $150. So total cost is about $90 for two people which isn’t too bad for a full day of fun for two adults. We could further lower that cost by having our own equipment and by catching bigger fish, but we’re amateurs. 
Oh, and as a bonus to all of this, we got some amazing looks at whales and seals. Seeing a whale literally jump out of the water 20 feet from the boat was incredible!
Fishing as Exercise
I always thought of fishing as a past time. You cast your line and then you go to sleep. Maybe lake fishing is like that (I really have no clue so if you’re a fisher, let me know), but relaxed ocean fishing? Hell no! First it was 8 hours of being out there constantly trying to steady myself as the boat rocked back and forth. Then came the wind which is not the warmest thing in the world and even with a good jacket your body is going to burn some calories staying warm. However, the real exercise was in the fishing. Yes, it’s A LOT of work to cast that line, reel it in (either empty or with a fish) and do that over and over and over for hours. My arms hurt, my back hurt, my legs hurt and my fingers were numb from exertion. Was it a weight lifting workout? No, but it was a really good day of physical activity.
Bonus Fish!
As a bonus to that exercise, we got lbs and lbs of fish. Fresh fish we caught ourselves. Unprocessed, no chemicals, not fried and not shipped thousands of miles to get to our market. It’s fresh, it’s tasty and it’s all ours. So we got a day of exercise AND a dozen meals worth of fresh, organic fish.
Notes
First of all, as many of you know, I am a bit of an environmentalist. Also, some of you may also know that salmon fishing has been canceled in California due to a population collapse. So I was a little worried about what we were doing and its impact on the world around us. Before we went fishing, I did some research. I picked a captain that was known for environmentally friendly habits like not overfishing certain spots and not going after prohibited fish. I also checked with the Monterrey Bay aquarium to make sure that the fish we were going to catch were being fished sustainably. Everything checked out good.
But Wait, Aren’t I A Vegetarian?
Actually, to be more accurate, I’m a healthy eater. That means I usually try to minimize the amount of meat in my diet, especially processed meat, and since processed meat is most of what you find in stores, that means I usually just tell people I’m vegetarian. It’s just easier to explain. By the way, I also try to limit non meat processed products in my diet but that’s a whole different post. So yes, I will eat some fresh meat, if it’s healthy, non factory farmed and sustainably raised, which this fish is. I have no moral issues with eating meat and I believe it can definitely be part of a healthy diet.
So Is Fishing For Everyone?
No. There can be a lot of reasons why fishing is not for you. Maybe you’re sea sick or you have a moral issue with killing living creatures. Maybe you live in Phoenix, Arizona and have no oceans near you or maybe you think it’s a bit too expensive. All of these reasons could be valid. All I want you to do is to start thinking of weekend physical activities in a different light. The weekend doesn’t have to be about BBQ’s where you over eat or movie marathons where you sit on your ass for hours. Fun activities can be healthy.
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Anyone got a good recipe for cod fillets? I have about 40.
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Comments
3 Responses to “Gone Fishing”
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I was in Half Moon Bay in July! We had a great San Fran trip, but my favorite dinner was at a restaurant in H.M.B! Didn’t do any fishing, but as I live in Florida, done some here!
I eat Vegan plus seafood, by the way
It’s easier to explain it that way!
Not only is a healthy sport - you catch a healthy meal also
That’s a lot of cod! I did some ocean fishing in San Diego a few years ago - half the battle was reeling the fish you caught past the sea lions waiting for an easy meal.