On the advice of a friend I ordered METrix powdered drink to mix up for a liquid breakfast before hitting the river on the forthcoming expedition to BC. I've also got an order in for a couple of boxes of Power Bars, too.

Fancy names aside am I just as well off buying a breakfast drink off the shelf at the supermarket and then chucking a couple of boxes of granola bars in the cart, or do these high tech, high priced foods make a difference?

More broadly, there's nothing so tasty as a good pack lunch on the river (eaten somewhere between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. depending on weather, water and fishing conditions). And nothing quite as disappointing as opening the bait shop's or lodge's pre-packed lunch to find a mayo-smeared piece of inedible mystery meat, sour onion Lays (vs. Fritos or fried Cheetos) an orange or mushy apple (vs. a crispy apple) and, perhaps worst of all, some rotten candy bar (vs. a Snickers or Baby Ruth). Of course, individual tastes differ but if you've been getting the same lunch 3 days in a row and someone does a menu change w/o request, well it's enough to make a man jump up and down in a drift boat and complain about how unfair life is.

Truth be told, ANY food eaten on a steelhead river in the rain tastes just fine.

I'm a 'natural woman', so I prefer the 'real stuff' when I fish!

Having been a vegetarian for 12 years (no longer) I gained a love and appreciation for good whole foods...so I always will have some fresh fruit with me when I fish! To me, whether on the river OR the salt, there's nothing better than good, flavor filled REAL food!

Smoothies would be another option for the AM buzz-in-a-blender and drink on the run idea! Throw some yogurt and honey into the blender (along with that powdered stuff if you like it) with some ice and FRESH or FROZEN fruit!!! Whizz and chug! Yumm!

Full of natural enzymes that give you LIFE!!!! LIFE is what gives you vitality! Vitality is what gives you strength! And strength is what hauls in the fishies!!!

True advice: Read the ingrediants on the 'stuff' you eat! If it's got lots of corn syrup or corn thickeners or high fructose corn sweetner it'll do a number on your blood sugar 30 min. to an hour after you eat or drink it! Then your power is zapped! You end up with gas and bloat and feeling miserable!

Just my opinion on the nutrition thing! Have a great time on your trip!

L

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"Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds!" Albert Einstein

Stay away from the high sugars and carborhydrates. Read labels, need to stick to foods that have a high protein count and low or no carb's.
Helps to build engery and burnt off fats, wou't make you sleepy like sugars do.
Stay away from alot of processed flour's, just lay at the bottom and swell, more so if in a boat, because you are limited in the amount of movement so you won't burn off those carb's and sugars.
Just learning about this stuff, have been overwieght for way too many years and it is slowly starting to come off.
Check all label's for carb's and sugar.
Try some of the new flavored waters. most have no sugar or carb's, are fizzie and taste pretty good, and they qeunch your thrist without causing your teeth to rot.

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elmtree (woody)

Your food intake for a day of fishing should be directly related to your amount of activity. Elmtree said that you should stay away from foods containing processed(refined) flours if sitting in a boat and I have to agree with him. A couple of my friends that fish with me regularly, except for Parker because he never eats anything, sit in front of my boat munchin' doughnuts and chips living it up while I'm rowing my tail off. I spend most of my fishing time behind the oars of my driftboat or hiking the banks of the Sauk River Steelhead Ranch. I am almost always "active" while fishing. Rowing a driftboat can be very physically demanding, especially if you're rowing a 20 ft. beast like Bob does on the Kasilof, my back hurts just thinking about it. The oarsman needs ample carbohydrate stores in order to have enough energy to be on the "sticks" all day.

Ideally, the night before an all day float trip I eat large helpings of food containing unrefined carbs whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and don't forget a big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. The unrefined carbohydrates will release slower than the forementioned refined carbs(sugars). Throw in some chiken breast, salmon, hatchery steelie, or steak for protein which you will need to build and repair all those rowing muscles.

A two ounce serving of MET-Rx only contains 24 grams of carbs which you will burn off rowing through or hiking to the first fishing hole, however, within that two ounce serving you get 37 grams of quality protein. I used MET-Rx as a meal supplement for one, two, and sometimes three of my six meals a day when I used to pump iron. The stuff is like the supercharged version of Ultra Slim Fast; great for meal supplements and weight(fat) loss. Don't expect MET-Rx to give you a days worth of energy but unless you drink a serving about every two hours.

Fishing Farmgirl mentioned reading ingredients to find products containing corn sweeteners, she'sright, PowerBars are made with high fructose corn syrup or something similar, which gives you a "burst" of energy but soon leave you feeling burnt out. Save the PowerBars for your between meal rations. I am often seen munching on a PowerBar shortly before arriving at a long plugging slot or before the hike back to the camp at the SRSR. All in all, PowerBars are not much better for you than a granola bar. Most of the hype behind PowerBars, Gatorade, etc. is just that, hype; a lot of marketing behind a lot of sugar if you ask me.

Low carb diets are great if you are concerned with weight loss. Your body will turn towards its reserve energy stores(bodyfat) when carbohydrates are not present or have been depleted. Most people will feel sluggish without carbs until their blood sugar levels stabilize which can take several days.

I don't always have the time to prepare quality foods for fishing trips and that quick fix of junk food from 7-11 doesn't give me the sustained energy I need for a days fishing. I burn out too quickly when I resort to mooching doughnuts from my buddies. Beer has not helped me win any marathons either.

Take the time to eat right and you will feel better on the river and have that extra energy for that long hike into the canyon on the Zipperlip. If you want to eat junk then you might as well run a 50/50 mix of gas and water in your jet sled motor. See if you make it over those riffles then.

Life is short....Fish hard!!!




[This message has been edited by SAUKit2em (edited 08-28-2000).]

Banana's. Eat lots of Banana's.

Each and every morning on the way to the river I eat a small six pack of the little Hostess chocolate covered doughnuts, and a Hostess blackberry pie. Wash it all down with an entire pot of coffee, and you're good to go til at least 9 a.m.. I then binge on Snickers, Butterfingers, Jolly Ranchers, Gummi Worms, Doritos, and whatever other garbage I can get my hands on to get me by until lunchtime. Lunch is just a relative term, as it usually just consists of even more Doritos, and maybe a pop or two. By the end of the day I'm speaking in tongues that only Bill Herzog would understand, and it's all good.

SAUK & others,

The info you gave is mostly correct but there are some misconceptions being held here. I've been an insulin-dependent diabetic for 25 years, so I keep pretty informed on diet and nutrition issues. For the first 15 years of being a diabetic, every dietician I spoke with said to eat complex carbohydrates rather than simple sugars, because the rise in your blood sugar would be more gradual, and thus easier to control with insulin injections. However, the latest research shows that there is little differnce in the rates of conversion into glucose between simple sugars and complex carbohydrates. Your body only burns glucose, so whether you eat fructose in fruit, lactose in milk, sucrose in a candy bar, or something natural like honey, it ALL gets broken down into glucose before it's metabolized by your body. The same research group found that much of the "pick me up/slow me down" feelings people claimed from eating simple sugars was more phychological, rather than physiological.

What you DON'T get with simple sugars, is any nutritional value. A Coke and Baby Ruth will give you about 400 calories, 14 grams of fat, and 65 grams of carbohydrate without much nutritional value at all. So you're eating a quarter-day's (almost) worth of carbs/calories/fat without gaining any nutrtion. But, if you're not a nutritional-minded guy, like Robbo for instance, the only worse off you'll be is finding yourself a little more poorly nourished than your healthy-eating counterparts. Other than that, the "healthy eaters" have no advantage over the "Hostess Fruit Pie eaters".


Fish on.........

when i go fishing at about 3:00 in the morning i eat my wheaties and take a caffine pill to keep me awake the rest of the day. i also drink a soda called Jolt. it is loaded with caffine.

When rowing all day on the sky, the rower (me) ingests the following (supplied by the freeloaders in the boat...)

1) Beef Jerky, a lot of beef jerky
2) Gatorade
3) Maybe a sandwhich
4) maybe some doritos
5) more beef jerky
6) a thermos of coffee
7) more beef jerky (and it has to be Oberto's)

when over on the peninsula

1) breakfast at The Restaurant: omelet and hashbrown's
2) lunch provided by The Restaurant (if you even get hungry after the breakfast...)
....sandwhich
....hostess product
....apple (no bananas)
....snickers bar
....chips
3) gatorade or bottled water
4) thermos of coffee

I eat a couple of lan jagers, maybe stop for some biscuits and gravy if I didn`t get
my butt up in time to cook something, or the old favorite standby, 3 breakfast jacks and a couple of milks, thenthe reat of day I just munch, chips, candy bars, doesn`t really matter so lond as there`s a Dr. Pepper in my hand to wash it all down with.

I seem to always stay with what works for me... Caffine and nicatine 2 of the basic food groups to start my day then for lunch always doritos with a fresh sandshrimp dip,washed down with some Pepsi and more cigarettes ummmmm goood,by the time I get home Mrs.Osprey is waiting there with my sedative to get me to unwind and tell her about my adventure.

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Row Quietly and fish a Cataraft }<<(('>----<'))>>{
Release all Wild Fish



[This message has been edited by Osprey (edited 08-30-2000).]

Hey Robbo, you forgot the Yukon.

Folks are coming my way for Thanksgiving. Would the weekend of December 2nd work for dawgs? Was up hunting boo boo last week, and only had two show up. Both were gomers, so I let them walk. Gott to track a 350 pound wounded chocolate through an adler thicket at 1:45 a.m. with a flashlight and 44 pistol. Found her about 3:30 in the morning. I didn't know that goiose bumps could get that hard. Like a big time gummi worm high.

When I'm in the drift boat,we heat water on the little heater/cooker then pour it in our cup of noodles add some soy or worchestesire sauce,While that's cooling down we slice up some elk or deer sausage and place it on the grate of the cooker/heater,warm both sides just long enough to cook it so that people down stream can smell what we're cookin so it will make them hungry and start blowing off water so they can get to the first greasie spoon in town.For desert we eat smoked steelhead,salmon that we caught earlier that season.Yes the steelhead was hatchery orgin.Then later on that day we consume the snicker's / chocalate chip cookies and what ever else may be on board.I still try to drink water or juice while out fishin. STRIKE ZONE

I gotta go with Robbo on the fishing diet. Only I prefer the powdered doughnuts with my coffee to kick things off unless I'm in Forks. The doughnut droppings make a nice pattern on the waders and fleece. Smokes are also a must as well as the most unnatural flavored can of Pringles I can find - usually sour cream and ranch. No other brand will do. And don't forget the vitamin "R" in the summer.

Hamburger steak and eggs at JJ's or chops and eggs at Payless. These two breakfasts have enough grease to get you by until dinner. A Red Bull at noon keeps the concentration level peaked for strike detection.

Based on the above answers, I think most of us will die early (as we all expect) but not from sliding off icy roads in the dark, fights at the put-in/ take-out ramp, getting drowned by following Ike over the falls or even getting eaten by a bear (Hawk excepted) while answering The Call in the woods. We'll die from the crap we eat while floating the river.

Robbo, all 6' 6" and 240 lbs of lean and mean muscle, seemingly has the worst diet though it's fair to say that he lied a bit in his post (omitting the Yukon Jack slugs every time he sees a water ouzel or some other "rare' speciies). I'm not certain the truth would help, even if it's out there. So he's a goner. Osprey, Bill Gray, Kev and Mike of Fisherman's Heaven (didn't post here, but it's McD's eggamuffins in bulk), me, etc, we'll maybe our kids will attend college on Phillip Morris/ Better Croker Fellowships.

But thanks for the suggestions. I feel better about my 235 cholesterol count. I figure I'm low man on the Board. I'm going to stick with mystery meat sandwiches ("Nothing natural added"), Nacho Cheese Doritos, Red or Black Vines and a gallon of water.

Don't forget the all-time after fishing pick-me-uppers, a few Alaska Ambers and a half a box of original flavor Cheez-Its. Dang, there's nothing like a long day on the river, a drive when I wake up before the rig is all the way in the ditch, a quick shower (and quicker dump), and an aggressive rehydration program supplemented by Cheez-Its.

So what's your favorite AFTER FISHING combo?

Hey snagly don't knock the Eggamuffins until you've tried em. When I was growing up I used to have a ritual of eating kippered snacks and pouring the oil water in the river and getting it on you bait. Seems to work well for coho. Or maybe I'm just superstitious. For after fishing, any fast food will do. But when I lived in Oregon City a Mike's special delux would definately hit the spot. I miss those burgers, talk about a coronary waiting to happen, 2 beef patties, tillamook cheese slices, pepper bacon and a fried egg with mikes special sauce and lettuce and tomato. Mmmmmmmm

Guess I'll take a snort or two on the ol' Jack when I'm with friends, but never, ever with clients in the boat. With friends, though, it's pretty much a free for all, as Snagletooth and Hawksticle can attest. As long as it stays fun and doesn't get out of hand, it's all good.

After waking up at 2 a.m., 3 a.m., or 4 a.m. and driving from Tacoma down to the Kalama and fishing all day (I always try to drive, so my buddies - becoming fewer and fewer - can't dictate when it's time to go home), I like to stop by Prichard's and get one of those blueberry Danish things that stay fresh for about 6 months, even after you open them. It's a long drive home so I also get a couple of packs of Grandma's Cookies - only the Oatmeal Raisen will do. These will hold me all the way to I-5, so I need a big bag of chips - always barbecue. I get those because none of my buddies like them, so I can offer them some without fear that they'll actually eat any. I can slosh it down with just about anything, but I usually get some sort of diet soda (the great big bottles), because I am, after all, a diabetic and need to watch my calories, units, and food groups.

When I working, it's just a couple of quarts of a hot chocolate / coffee mix. But when I'm playing ... Costco chocolate chocolate chip muffins, hands down!! Just about time for me to make my stop in Anchorage to pick up a half dozen flats to provide my lunches for the Zipperlip!!

By the way, since this place was mentioned a few times ... for those who don't know it, it appears that Forks is going to lose our traditional breakfast spot, the Pay 'n Save. Store and Coffee Shop to close down. Rumors abound if they might try to keep the restaurant going. If not, we're going to have to find Lori and Renee a new spot in the AM