School me on fishing!

K

kage

Joined
Oct 25, 2006
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Alright, I am not much of a fisherman so I'm not up to date on the latest and greatest. I'm going to put together some small fishing kits for my various BOBs and survival kits, but I need your help. I was just going to get the small kits from Exploration Products http://www.epcamps.com/Small_Emergency_Fishing_Kit.html, along with Speedhooks and maybe a gill net (I've never used one) for my larger kits, but I find it more fun and satisfying to put together kits myself.

I'm thinking for streams, rivers, and lakes, not the ocean, but would like to hear it all. I'm thinking the Rockies, but would like to hear what you're using in your location, too, so that it can help others who read this.

How about posting pics of your own fishing kits? Let's make this a big thread if we can. If it's big enough maybe we can get a sticky for it and people like me won't be asking the same questions over and over again! :D

So what do you put in your kits and why? What line is best: braided or monofilament, which brands, why? I know some have a memory so don't store well, but don't know which. What kind and size hooks, etc.? Do you include a large hook to improvise a gaff? Do you include lures or make your own using foil, feathers, wood, etc? Real floats or improvise? What do you keep everything in? I would love to hear it all.

How do you plan to fish for sustenance during your different imagined scenarios (temporary survival, collapse of society, long term getaway from the world, the zombies are on their way, etc)? Handline? Make a pole as needed? Weave a net or use a hammock? Trot line? Bottle fishing? Gill net? Poison? Dynamite? Fish funnel traps, fish corrals, etc?

I would prefer to treat fishing like trapping: let it do the work for me while I get on with other things, but what do you do?

I've built fish corrals with great success and just speared them or left them in there as an aquarium for food when needed. This worked much better in freshwater than it did in the ocean for me. The streams were narrow, unidirectional and fast moving, whereas the ocean moved two directions, was beyond huge and slower so it allowed fish to escape as low tide slowly came in. I once used a spring pole to remotely fish when I was gone and it worked, but it may have been pure luck. I've caught fingerling- and guppy-sized fish using a fish funnel made from soda bottles. I spear fished when I was a kid living in Asia and some as an adult while diving (all saltwater). I've caught a few by hand, but don't think I could rely on it.

After a quick Google search here are a few links to survival fishing for those just learning:
http://www.m4040.com/Survival/Skills/Hunting%20and%20Snaring/Fishing.htm
http://www.survivaliq.com/survival/food-procurement_s4.htm
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fishing/index.html
http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/survival-fishing.html
 
I love to fish, but I've never survival fished.

That being said, I would take monofiliment, Light mono(4lb and 6lb test). Reason being is that you won't have a proper rod to absorb shock, and monofiliment gives you a little elasticity, plus in the Rocky's I take it you will mostly run into trout, at least that's the case for the Sierra's here. So, you'll want small hooks too, one large one if you want to use as a gaff. Maybe a small spoon, a fly or two, and a spinner, but your best bet is going to be with live bait if you can find it in your area. Some small weights, and a small bobber if you want, but you could just use a stick. A paper clip and some electrical tape would allow you to put eyes on a stick, to make a better rod and make longer casts. (Idea came from Jackknife's story). If you catch a fish with eggs in it, use those to catch more fish.

Other than that, if you can see the fish, you can whittle a spear and try to spear some.

That's pretty much what I have in my kit, because if I have to survive, trout is likely the only fish that will be available.
 
If your fishing in a survival situation all of rules and regulations go out the window. It's no longer a sport or pastime.

Instead of carrying various lures that you'll eventually lose I'd stick with hooks and lots of them. For maximum hooking treble hooks are the way to go. Good for snagging fish if you have to. Live bait would also be best. Something you could pack easily would be a couple pieces of Powerbait. Some trout nuggets wouldn't take up much room in a little kit.

For line 4 to 6lb test would catch you most stream and lake fish. If you're in an area with big catfish, pike, muskie or near the ocean you'd want something heavier. Line doesn't weigh much and can do double duty. I prefer Spiderwire cause it doesn't have any memory and lasts longer IMHO.

But for a very basic kit besides line, hooks, sinkers and a couple bobbers I'd toss in a couple Mepps spinners in the #0 and #1 size range. A couple flies a wooly bugger and some little plastic worms with the spinny tails would be good. Also a couple jig heads.
 
ilbruche covered it....make sure you have a few small hooks that way(survival fishing) fish swallows hook and all not just pick off bait....
 
I mostly have a lot of hooks and a whole bunch of line and some shot. Although probably the least appetizing catches, I can get loads of eels if I can get a bunch of baits on the bottom running off long lines. I do have some other odds n sods but the above rarely fails, usually gets my best harvest, is the least labour intensive, and I can be doing something else. It would be nice to take a trout on top of that, but that's the base line I work from.
 
Fishing is a lot like trapping. I grew up doing a lot of fly fishing and you really need to know how to read the river, creeks and small streams and even ponds. Fish in lakes also have "migration" patterns, so it pays to do a little research for your area; not to mention you'll find what works and what doesn't. I've done primitive fishing in the NW, SE, MW and SW of the states along with several areas in Ecuador. Most principles remain the same...locating where the fish hang out, sneaking up and practiced presentation. Even with all the greatest gear, I've struck out...I'm not a tournament fisherman like my brother-in-law, but given a little patience and preparation, I'm pretty confident I can land something if the area has fish...well, at least I could guarantee myself a cup of water:D

I love my fly rod, but I typically don't like to pack it unless I'm specifically going on a fishing trip. I've found the Emmrod very packable and quite effective once you get over the funky short looks.

FishingKit1.jpg


FishingKit2.jpg


Here's an example of a few small kits that I put together for most of my kits:

Fish1.jpg

Fish2.jpg


Here's a my son's kit and what we actually caught with it:

Kids4.jpg

Hike5.jpg


Fish aren't the only edibles either...(identities hidden to protect the prey and predator:D)

LobsterMobster.jpg


ROCK6
 
Crappie jigs will catch fish anywhere. Marabou is good and hold up better than plastic. You can shorten the length of the feathers and tip it with live bait. I would carry lots of jigs. Circle hooks and Octopus hooks work well on set lines.
 
What kind of fish is that? Looks like a sunfish but with a huge mouth. I would just get a spool of 100yd line of your choice. Small and light, and you can use it as a reel.

Now it's time to go out and do some hand lining. Fighting a fish with hand is different from using a rod. Anyone that ice fish can attest to it.
 
You got some great advice allready. I would like to add circle hooks of all sizes are a great addition to any kit. With a circle hook the fish can swallow the hook and you just needs tension to set the hook. Hook up ratio will increase.
 
I've always been intrigued by those Emmrods Rock6. I'm thinking of getting one. Seems like every time I pack without fishing gear I always run up on some trout and wish I had it with me. Those look pretty packable.
 
ejes said:
I've always been intrigued by those Emmrods Rock6. I'm thinking of getting one. Seems like every time I pack without fishing gear I always run up on some trout and wish I had it with me. Those look pretty packable.
Click to expand...

Also, just below the spring-coil is a large black nut where you can detach the whole steel rod. The whole package is quite robust and I've never had a concern about something getting broken when packed (unlike my Orvis flyrod that I need to carry in a tube).

I've practiced some pretty decent distant casts, but it shines in smaller streams with a lot of over-hanging branches and dense foliage...you can use it just like a cane pole or simple sappling.

ROCK6
 
Fishing is fishing, whether for survival or sport, the point is to catch fish. Walk into Gander Mountain and you'll be overwhelmed by the choices of lures and equipment. One thing I've learned is that worms and nightcrawlers are the best baits...crawdads are better...critters you find under logs and rocks are excellent. All of this falls under the category of "rough fishing" and you can learn about rigs and lures for that here:

http://www.roughfish.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
 
I have a friend whose survival kit includes a lightweight gill net, suitable for panfish and trout. May work even if they aren't biting.

DancesWithKnives
 
I would use some high quality circle hooks for the live bait intentions. They have an extremely high hook percentage; and fish can hook themselves just by swimming away (think: setting a float and leaving it).
 
Thank you everyone, excellent information so far!

Stingray4540: Great idea on the paperclip and tape. I've never seen that one before...simple and brilliant! So you prefer monofilament over braided lines? Which do you prefer? Definitely mostly trout where I'm at. I wish I liked the way trout tastes. :(:barf: Unfortunately I don't like most fish cooked! What's "Jackknife's story?"

Baldtaco-II: I loved eel when I lived in Japan but have hated it everywhere else. I've seen people catch eels by throwing some meat, intestines, etc. into a burlap sack, tying the sack off with a rope and throwing it into the river. The eels eat their way into the sack and hang out in there with their meal until you haul the sack out.

Rock6, thank you for the pictures. I'm a visual sort of person :eek: so I find it very helpful to see what people are talking about. I'll take a close look at what you have. That is the craziest fishing pole I've every seen! It looks very compact and durable, but is it heavy? Do they make an aluminum version? I might have to get one just to throw in the car. Great idea of organizing your hooks by size on safety pins. I'm going to have to steal that from you! I like how you keep your tape wrapped around your bottles. I do the same thing: I've got Gorilla Tape wrapped around pencils, old credit cards, film cannisters, pill bottles, Nalgene bottles, the back cover of my pocket survival guides and anything else I can wrap it around. Nice looking crawdad. I've caught them in California, Idaho and Wyoming by hand or buy using line and a washer.

I definitely need to try handfishing/hand lining. I would imagine gloves are a good idea. How do you get longer casts? Heavier split shot?

Thanks for the link Coldwood, I'll check it out.

I've never used circle hooks or octopus hooks and profess to not knowing what they were used for. I'll have to check them out.

Keep it coming guys! I want to hear and see what really works. Maybe tell us what area you're in and what you're fishing for. This way it'll be more helpful for specific areas. The areas I'm most concerned about are the Sierras in Northern California and the Rockies in Utah and Idaho. This is trout country.
 
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Making pole lines and setting them around logjams or other fish holding cover , would be one of the surest methods of securing meat. Small live fish can be used as bait as well as crawfish , frogs, worms... Use a heavy braided line , a stout sapling or limb , some circle hooks and some weight. Make as many as you can and leave them out over night.
 
kage said:
Stingray4540: Great idea on the paperclip and tape. I've never seen that one before...simple and brilliant! So you prefer monofilament over braided lines? Which do you prefer? Definitely mostly trout where I'm at. I wish I liked the way trout tastes. :(:barf: Unfortunately I don't like most fish cooked! 6What's "Jackknife's story?"
Click to expand...

Oh man, how can you not like trout?! It's one of the best tasting fish out there. Oh well, I guess I don't like eating big fat grubs, but if I'm in a survival situation...

Anyways, yes I prefer monofiliment because it stretches slightly, which is what you want when you are trolling(which is how I fish mostly), otherwise you'll just rip the hook out of the fishes mouth. Similarly, if I were fishing without a proper rod, which bends to absorb the shock of a hit, I would use monofiliment because it will stretch some. Also, in lakes, trout tend to be in open water and not so much in big tangles of bushes like bass, so the abrasion resistance of braided lines isn't as big of a factor. Not that braided won't work, mono is just what I prefer, and have used all my life for trout fishing.

"Jackknife" is one of the members here who mostly posts in the "Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades" subforum. Every so often, he writes a short story and posts it. Some of them are true from his past, or a story about his grandfather, dad, etc. And some of them are fiction like some of his cowboy stories. Anyways, they are great strories and I copy and past them into a Word document every time he posts one. One of his recent stories was about fishing with his dad, and his dad used a paperclip and some electrical tape to put eyes on a stick to use as a fishing pole. If your interested in his stories, I can email you a copy of the document, it's quite large, it could be a book.

"Sierras in Northern California"

That's were I do most of my fishing. Do you live norther California?
 
kage said:
That is the craziest fishing pole I've every seen! It looks very compact and durable, but is it heavy? Do they make an aluminum version?
Click to expand...

It's no heavier than most compact fishing poles, but it weight is a big concern, a few large safety pins could be attached to any sapling and used like a pole. The hand casting device is simple and light...another good option.

ROCK6
 
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