Help me set up a survival fishing kit

For actual survival, nets and fish traps will get you more food than hooks and line.

But they are also generally illegal!

Google "trot line fishing" for an effective way to use hooks and line that is legal, at least in a number of states.

Check the local fishing regs before you throw your line in the water.
 
Yes sir! :thumbup: also search for Limb Lines one the"tube"
Hooks work on other Game, also have as many as you can pack in your gear box.
As an aside I have Fishing gear in my wallet as we speak a pre-rigged line and spinner with a small jig at the bottom,gives me a double chance on a cast.
 
Small marabou jigs will catch fish almost anywhere and will last much longer than plastics. Get some /16 or 1/8 ounce,in bright colors like yellow and some drab colors like brown. They have worked well for me. Tie some line on a long stick and jig them around fallen logs or other fish holding cover.
 
Wow so much info to digest, you guys are awesome.

Lol i took one step. today i picked up some #8 Eagle Claw snells, with the little bait-holder barbs. I passed on the braided line for now, cause i couldn't remember what brands were recommended, and most of it was fairly expensive.

I'll be reading up on all the other stuff you guys mentioned. lol.
 
The Braided line is high $. But it a lot of bang for the buck, I left a few odd sections hanging in a tree outside for over a year(sun,rain,UV exposure ect) with no apparent loss of strenght. And It too me almost 5 years to use up the first spool I ever bought. I still have some of the first lines I made up, in 1997 and the line is still strong. Mind you I dont use a reel but I can set 5,6 even 10 single hook lines up and down the bank from my campsite looped off to any sapling,overhanging limb or root and check them as often as I want.
 
I must agree that fish traps, gill net and trot lines are probably the most effective "passive" methods of collecting fish. However, most are illegal outside of a real survival situation which sucks because you can't practice. Most states allow trot lines...with something like 25 hooks being the maximum...that's still pretty big for one or two people.

I just updated and made a few more small kits. I just like using them when we go backpacking and most of my fishing in the last couple years has been my short packing pole (Emmrod) or improvised from my "survival" fishing kits.

Here's a mini-fishing kit I have in my son's pack (bottom right corner). It works and he's caught small perch/sun fish with it in smaller pools long the creeks we hike:

Kids4.jpg


Here's my old one...in a container a little larger than a film canister:

Fish1.jpg


Fish2.jpg


Here's my packing pole and another hand-casting device (can't remember where I picked it up) and my larger kit:

FishingKit1.jpg


I just made a another hand caster with a small plastic tube...works quite well. Dave Canterbury of Wilderness Outfitters Archery does several decent You-Tube videos and a search of his stuff I found a great video he did on a hand-casting tube/kit. Pretty cool little kit.

Usually what I put in my kits (fresh water) are:

Assorted lead weights
Assorted hook sizes
Smaller treble hooks
Stainless steel leaders
Swivel clips (helps make a trot line)
Poppers for panfish
Dry flies
Artificial worm lures/hooks
A couple of jigs/spoons
Spyderwire fishing line (40-60 pound test)...excellent stuff!

I've used the small stainless sewing spools for the small kits. I can get about 40-45 feet on a single spool.

With a few safety pins, you can improvise a small fishing pole. I've seen one guy just carry a decent fishing reel and some zip ties. He finds a nice long sapling and trims into a pole. A few eyes for the line and zip-ties secure the reel to the pole. Much more compact than most set ups!

The kit I just built has those mini bobbers in them and some other different lures I want to try out. I'll need to get a picture up of the two larger kits.

I also added some small pouches of artificial bate (smells like dead fish:barf:), but I've heard it works great around here...anything to tip the balance.

In my larger "game kit", I have several of the yo-yo automatic fishing reels along with some of the Speedhook "fishing snares". Again, not legal in most states, but I can tell you they work quite well!

ROCK6
 
Joben said:
Wow so much info to digest, you guys are awesome.

Lol i took one step. today i picked up some #8 Eagle Claw snells, with the little bait-holder barbs. I passed on the braided line for now, cause i couldn't remember what brands were recommended, and most of it was fairly expensive.

I'll be reading up on all the other stuff you guys mentioned. lol.
Click to expand...

Depending where you live, the local tackle shops may sell line by the ft/yd which would allow you to buy only what you need. There are a lot of braids available and I have not found one to be better/worse than others. A lot of good advice has been given so far. One thing to think about if you try plastic baits is that they will "melt" when they come in contact with certain containers.
 
Lots of good advice here. Limb lines, trot lines, and panfish are good strategy. I would make sure a survival fishing kit could make use of these. It is hard to beat a simple rig of hook,line, sinker, bobber,and natural bait if you are trying to include a compact kit. Snagging fish, illegal in many places, can be highly effective. You need a weighted treble hook for this.

A baited hook, leader, and drag can produce ducks and geese. You can also catch large lizards with a baited hook set with a release and springy limb.

lizardboy.jpg

This was a problem lizard caught with a hook/drag combo tied to a baby chick.

Mac
 
Most of you probably know this, but for those that don't...and don't want to find out the hard way...
The soft plastics used in worms and grub tails can react badly with some paints and some other plastics. Causing one or both to "melt".
Never to dry or harden again.

For long term storage with little use, I'd stick with chenille and marabou crappie jigs.
 
Ebbtide is right - the plasticisers in the soft rubbers can leech into some hard plastics on prolonged contact, with a 'melting' effect. I've seen this on the rubber used on some electrical crocodile clips as well. Stored them in plastic boxes and they melted almost through the bottom.
 
foxyrick said:
Ebbtide is right - the plasticisers in the soft rubbers can leech into some hard plastics on prolonged contact, with a 'melting' effect. I've seen this on the rubber used on some electrical crocodile clips as well. Stored them in plastic boxes and they melted almost through the bottom.
Click to expand...

Yikes:eek: I haven't noticed this yet, but I may put the small worms in their own mini plastic bag to avoid contact...assuming they won't melt a hole through them either:D

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 said:
Yikes:eek: I haven't noticed this yet, but I may put the small worms in their own mini plastic bag to avoid contact...assuming they won't melt a hole through them either:D

ROCK6
Click to expand...

No, if there in their own baggies you should be ok, add salt to keep them fresh.

When you put them with other plastic worms the colors run and melt together. If you leave a soft plastic trailer on a rubber jig or spinnerbait, the rubber band holding the skirt on will melt off as well.

I don't keep soft plastics in my survival fishing kit, cause its kind of PIA to fish by hand and impart the action that will trigger a strike.

I have lil spinners and ice fishing jigs that are easy to use and work well on panfish. Live bait is still your best bet. I like to use circle hooks, it gives you the added benefit of not having to be there to set the hook. Let the fish swallow the bait and retrieve with steady pressure.
 
I like the looks of those circle hooks after reading about then...sounds like a good addition to any "surival" fishing kit:thumbup: Thanks for the heads up guys,

ROCK6
 
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