Help me set up a survival fishing kit

Joben

Joben

Joined
May 22, 2009
Messages
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I am not a fisherman.

I've done it once or twice, but my knowledge is extremely basic.

I want a set of minimalist equipment to include in my PSK.

A quick foray into the Wal-mart fishing section showed I was totally out of my depth. Faced with several dozen different types each of line, hooks and lures I decided I had better ask advice.

What types and sizes of line and hooks should I include?
What about lures, sinkers and all the other doodads?
 
As far as lures, one castmaster, one needlefish, and one white grub, should cover most freshwater fish species. Roostertales also do very well for just about everything. A couple small hooks, like size 10 or 12 for eggs and insects, and a couple larger hooks for worms.

As far as lines go, the braids and super lines will be smaller diameter for the strength, but monofiliment will have a little stretch that will help especially if you aren't likely to be using a rod with its shock absorbing qualities. I don't use superlines so I can only talk regarding mono. 4-6 lb. test will be good for weary trout and panfish, and say 8-10 lb. test will be fine for larger bass. Actually you could probably get away with 4-6 for everything, but it can't hurt to have some stronger stuff.

You can use pieces of sticks for bobbers, or through a small one in your kit. Same with rocks as sinkers, or add a couple split shot, and a couple egg sinkers, they don't need to be that heavy.

I hope this helps a bit.
 
Im not an expert fisherman by any means, but heres my 2 cents.

Small hooks can catch big and little fish, big hooks can only catch big fish.

Monofilimant line is a PITA to store on a tiny spool effectively, and use w/o it turning into a birdsnest. Use sewing bobbins loaded with spyderwire brand string, its super easy to unwind, and good stuff.

some splitshot, a few bright worms etc, and youre GTG IMO.

Now, like I said im no expert, but thats what I carry in my PSK.
 
in my opinion use some braided line. it's great for all sorts of things other than fishing in a pinch, it's super strong.
get SMALL hooks, small hooks will catch lots of fish, big hooks will catch a big fish. in a survival situation it just makes good sense to pick up a few small panfish for a feed.
a few few splitshot would be helpful too.
as far as bait, if you're in a survival situation (or any general woodsbumming type place) there will be bait all over the place, so there is no need for anything but plain hooks in your kit.
i don't know the guy, but this is a very informative guy, especially for this kind of kit. i hope it's alright to post, if not just delete this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS80MMOAsEU&feature=channel_page
 
Go with the braided super line. spiderline or Gorrilla braid is good.(can also be used as dental floss or thread.) Get the heaviest breaking strenght you can( mine is 60 lb test) because if you're fishing for food to keep you alive you dont want it to break the line.(loss of hook,food,is very dishearting depressing in survival sitution) Use smaller name brand hooks.(Eagle Claw is the best IMHO) I carry both single point and treble in size 8. a fish hooked thru the lip might get loose but a fish that swallows bait/hook to his stomach is mine to eat. I carry a small blister pack of Berkley "Power Grubs just because you might not be able to find bait. They are some type of synthetic stuff with a attractant smell/fluid in them. Heres my set-up: I used a small SS split ring eye on one end(also ava. at wal mart) measured 10 ft line section and put a small size brass swivel on the other. pass the swivel thru the eye to attach to a pole or limb to use.(means you can take it back off the pole without cutting line) I made up 10 lines,wound them onto individual little cards cut in the shape of a capital letter "I"(cut from non-corrugated cardboard,shellbox,cereal box ect). I carry 1 hook for each line(5 singles,5 trebles) and 5 tiny splitshot all contained in a fuse box from blade fuses. The whole kit is 1/2of an inch thick and 1 3/4's long,1 1/2 inches wide. weighs less than an ounce...about the size of 2 postage stamps side by side.
 
j williams said:
Im not an expert fisherman by any means, but heres my 2 cents.

Small hooks can catch big and little fish, big hooks can only catch big fish.

Monofilimant line is a PITA to store on a tiny spool effectively, and use w/o it turning into a birdsnest. Use sewing bobbins loaded with spyderwire brand string, its super easy to unwind, and good stuff.

some splitshot, a few bright worms etc, and youre GTG IMO.

Now, like I said im no expert, but thats what I carry in my PSK.
Click to expand...

Best info in the thread. You can add a couple of lifelike lures but I have not seen them at Wal-Mart, you will have to go to some better fishing stores. Get a couple ants, couple small grasshoppers and a couple crickets.

I'll post a picture later.
 
here is mine.....
DSCF1002-10.jpg

DSCF1001-11.jpg
 
Kevin has a powerpoint he did for PWYP a couple of years ago.

Also you can do what I ended up doing and purchasing one from Best Glide.
 
+1 on high test braided line, mono is too troublesome for a mini-kit. Braid has a multitude of uses, other than fishing.

I would recommend getting pre-snelled hooks (I use Eagle Claw #182 in size #10) using a swivel to attach the snelled leader to the braid. Snells don't tangle and are easier to handle in poor conditions. Nothing works as well as a small bell sinker and be sure to include a smallish float (like a Thill slider). Trout sized power worms (in natural) work great for small fish (and larger ones). I tried my kit out when I'm fishing with rod and reel just to see how well it works (it does). Haven't decided on a container as yet, but am leaning toward a Otterbox 1000.
 
JB in SC said:
+1 on high test braided line, mono is too troublesome for a mini-kit. Braid has a multitude of uses, other than fishing.

I would recommend getting pre-snelled hooks (I use Eagle Claw #182 in size #10) using a swivel to attach the snelled leader to the braid. Snells don't tangle and are easier to handle in poor conditions. Nothing works as well as a small bell sinker and be sure to include a smallish float (like a Thill slider). Trout sized power worms (in natural) work great for small fish (and larger ones). I tried my kit out when I'm fishing with rod and reel just to see how well it works (it does). Haven't decided on a container as yet, but am leaning toward a Otterbox 1000.
Click to expand...

only down side i see is the otter 1000 is smaller inside and you'll hafta roll or curl up snelled hook leaders and curling can be an issue on using them,be sure and not kink'em
 
Ok, so right the concencus for far is braided line, a bit heavy side.
And small hooks. I saw #8 mentioned, should i get other sizes?

What's a snell?
 
Snell is a hook with pretied mono line on it .....I would also get some small Treble hooks but that is just me
 
I have been able to ketch my dinner in a lot of places in the world with 1 1/2" tube jigs. Have used them in both fresh and salt water with equal effect. don't worry about color just have some that are light color, (white yellow, or chartreuse) and some that are dark (black, blue brown or red) As a general rule use light colored lure in clear water and dark in murky water.
 
Joben,

What kind of water are you around, freshwater or saltwater?

When I think PSK fishing kit, I think survival situation. circle hooks would be at the top of my list. They were designed by longliners and the fish basically hook themselves. This is not 100% of the time but if you read about the hook they recommend a slow rise to set this type of hook, not a rip the lips off the fish hook set. I think this works very well in a survival situation. Think several lines tied off of branches, mulitple lines working for you while you tend to other survival tasks.

Braided line is the way to go for stregnth, just brush up on some of the new knots because it doesn't tie like mono line.

I would also pack some fluorocarbon leader material for those line shy fish.

Splitshots and small weights would be a plus, but I don't see a need to take up any room with floats or bobbers. I think there is plenty of material in the wild that floats. I would also recommend freeze dried bait over artificial lures most lures need a rod and reel to look life like. Most hand lining is done with bait not lures.

This is merely my take on PSK fishing.

Paul
 
A few year ago i got some cheap flys at big5 10 flys for $6. Tied one to a stick with 6ft of line. As simple as you can get. I fished in small creeks with lots of smaller trout. I got more fish then the fly fisherman that was working same area. I would second the braided line as well. Now those old flys are in my kit and they got me some fish in the high sierra a few times as well.
 
crappie jigs in white, chart, PINK and black. they are small and catch a variety of fish. buy a pack of each. 1/32 oz head or one size up would do great.
 
+1 on the crappie jigs.
Throw in a couple of "Adams" dry flies as well.
A variety pack of bait hooks.

Braid is good, but you need to, at least, learn the Palomar Knot.
Braid is very slippery and most knots will slide out.
Practice!
Braid will also cut you like a steak knife if you try to break it or free a snag.
Be careful. I usually wrap 6 or 8 turns around a smooth stick & use that as a handle to free snagged baits.
I used a chop stick chucked in a hand drill to spool leftover fireline for a kit.
When I had enough on a 2" portion of the stick, I trimmed the stick down to fit in the kit.

Once you assemble your kit, get a license and go fishing.
Having the gear doesn't guarantee a catch.
That's why we call it fishing instead of going catching ;) :D
 
valcas1 said:
Joben,

What kind of water are you around, freshwater or saltwater?
Click to expand...

I live in Connecticut. Any hiking and camping trips would likely be there or in nearby states like Vermont and Maine. The Atlantic isn't that far away, but primarily I expect fresh water. Lakes, streams and ponds.
 
Great thread. I am in the same boat. Looked in the fishing aisle at Walmart and got lost. I will be following this thread closely.
 
get Circle/hooks that are made for Salt Water.Steel hooks un-coated will rust in a blink of an eye and will fail at the worst time.Also look at Long shank hooks for the more toothy salt water fish.
This will help answer many questions.
http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/
More gear than Wal Mart
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...6&navAction=jump&cm_re=LeftNav*Fishing*071009
http://www.basspro.com/homepage.htm...AID=&hvarEID=&cm_ven=&cm_cat=&cm_pla=&cm_ite=
try a Mouse Lure on Fresh water fish and Frogs and some Birds:}
 
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