It’s Time To Get Into ‘Fishing Shape’ !

Spring has just arrived… NO MORE ‘COUCH FISHING’ !!!

If you’re like me and live up in the Northeastern part of the United States, you only have two options when it comes to fishing during the winter months… It’s either ice fishing or ‘Couch Fishing’ … I typically opt for the ‘couch fishing’ option ;^) It’s not that I don’t like ice fishing – lots of folks really enjoy it. It’s more that I am not a big fan of being cold… I’d rather be sweating it out on a humid, sunny 85 degree day than standing out on the borean tundra waiting for a flag to tip.

Anyway, many months spent ‘fishing from my couch’ and catching nothing but glimpses of my packed away rods and tackle, occasional snippets of professional anglers competing in televised/streamed warm weather tournaments and consuming a fair amount of decent IPAs have resulted in a body that’s definitely no longer in tip-top fishing shape.

Now, you may be asking yourself – ‘What do you mean by fishing shape’ ?

You may also be thinking to yourself – ‘Fishing is a quiet, fairly sedentary activity. Why would anyone need to get into shape to fish ?’

Well – fishing can be a very quiet, sedentary and relaxing activity… IF that’s how you choose to fish. Casting a bobber and worm from the bank or a dock and waiting for a bite is a perfect example of this.

However, when you typically fish from your bass boat (or kayak) like I do it is definitely not a sedentary activity…

Launching and pulling your boat isn’t always simple or easy and can require a push or pull or just some old fashioned muscle
Standing on your boat for many consecutive hours requires stamina
Controlling the trolling motor pedal
- Add some wind and waves and both standing on your boat and controlling the trolling motor becomes even more difficult and taxing
Making hundreds of casts during the course of the day…
- Have you ever tried casting a 1/2 ounce or heavier spinner bait, jerk bait or a deep diving crank bait at the end of a long day ? Oh my aching upper back and shoulders…
- Sometimes at the end of a long day it’s all I can do to just lazily toss a weightless worm ;^)
You’ll also notice that I don’t have the seat in place at the front of my boat… that’s a conscious decision as I find that it gets in the way more than it helps… If I need a break I just go and sit down for a few minutes in the regular boat seats.

I’m not the only one that thinks fishing is a physical demanding activity ! For example, check out this ‘Anatomy of a Fisherman’ article.

So, watch out fish !!! It’s off to the gym I go !

Oh yeah… what good is a blog post about fishing without fish pictures ?