Survival Fishing Kit?

Marion David Poff

Marion David Poff

Joined
Oct 8, 1998
Messages
5,403
Good Day,

What items would you all suggest in a survival fishing kit.

Maybe you could suggest a order of importance?

And please be as specific as possible in terms of size and type.

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Thank you,
Marion David Poff aka Eye mdpoff@hotmail.com

My website, guided links, talonite/cobalt alloy info, etc....
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..all theoretical opinions here, lord help me if I do have to live off my angling skill..but the one thing I feel is LOTSA line. The kit I made up consists of a full wheel of line, with leaders, sinkers, small hooks and lures (that are sized to hopefully smaller fish.. a big pike with no or jury rigged rod?) that all fit in the centre of the line wheel which in turn fits neatly into one of those small round candy tins,(about 5.5' across) sealed with some elec. tape.. I consider hand jigging or nightlines my best option in a survival situation. Read/hear alot about how a Green spotted tailwagger is the only thing for walleye at that crucial 10' level on the southern bank with the west wind during an equinox. Wonder if our knife posts would seem that arcane to a casual observer...nah.
my kit lures are small spoons, a Mepps or two and some jigs, looking forward to more knowledgeable answers. Cheers
 
My current pocket kit that I put together has a fishing kit in it, but I have also put together complete fishing kits in clear 35mm film cannisters. Artificial lures are great but if there is not enough space for everything then that stuff is the first to be left out. Line and hooks are "mission critical" and you should pack as much of these as possible. You could probably make field expedient sinkers out of pebbles, but if you can fit one or four lead ones in your kit, that's a big help. For line I use 12lb. Spiderline (Wal-Mart). I buy empty thread spools at W-M and wind as much line as will fit onto the spools using my wife's sewing machine. To do this by hand would take forever, but the sewing machine will wind a whole spool in a couple minutes. A lot of people prefer to wind their line by hand around a small piece of cardboard, but I think the spool is more compact, actually, although the cardboard has the potential to hold a lot more line. Just a guestimate, but I can probably fit about 60-70 ft. of 12# Spiderline on one of those little spools. I've also learned that packing a bobber is just a waste of space, and that in particular, styrofoam bobbers and rubber lures don't mix. (bad chemical reaction; the rubber melts the styrofoam) Save space by packing reflective, hunter orange, or glow-in-the-dark tape instead of a bobber. In the field make a bobber out of a twig, wrap the appropriate tape around it, then tie it to your line. I have a short piece of all 3 types of tape in my kit, and they're all waterproof. The tape can also serve mutliple other purposes, if you're resourceful.

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Molon Labe


[This message has been edited by X-Head (edited 06-05-2001).]
 
A couple of things I'd add to the above...

Toss in at least one very large hook that can be paired with a piece of wire or heavy line to use like a gaff. It beats the heck out of having a hard caught fist toss the hook right as you get him out of the water and disappear back to the murky depths giggling at you.

Secondly some kind of very tough line or wire to use as a leader. Some of those fish can slice right though your line. (Of course you won't always need to use this but its nice to have if its a problem.)
 
If space in the kit & the legalities of using such items are not concerns, you might want to consider adding a gill net & a few pre-made trot lines to your gear. Another addition could be a cast net of the type that is used to collect baitfish.

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Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
I agree with the gill net. In most states, I think you could avoid prosecution if you were truly in a survival situation. In addition, I would add a large treble "snagging" hook, if possible. It could also serve the gaff function mentioned above.

DPD.
 
Build a fishing kit:

Micro Fishing Kit:
1- #4 Tru-Turn BloodRed Hook
lead split shot
20 feet of 10lb test XL Tough Fishing line like Spiderline or equivilant

Mini Fishing Kit:
3- #4-#6-#8 Tru-Turn BloodRed Hooks
3-lead split shot
60 feet of 10lb test XL Tough Fishing line like Spiderline or equivilant

Micro Fishing Kit:
9- #4-#6-#8 Tru-Turn BloodRed Hooks (3 of each)
3-lead split shot
60 feet of 10lb test XL Tough Fishing line like Spiderline or equivilant (Sewing Spool)
rubber worm
small Silver or Red/White Spoon
4 flys
Nylon cord (Can be included in another part of survival Kit)

Midi Fishing Kit:
9- #4-#6-#8 Tru-Turn BloodRed Hooks (3 of each)
3-lead split shot
60 feet of 10lb test XL Tough Fishing line like Spiderline or equivilant (Sewing Spool)
rubber worm
small Silver or Red/White Spoon
2 Glow Fish with hooks
4 flys
Nylon cord (Can be included in another part of survival Kit)

Maxi Fishing Kit:
Are we going Fishing?
Tackle Box,
2 Rods/Reel Setup
Net
Snorkel/Mask/Fins/ Spear Gun
And the Kitchen Sink.
 
I did not see to be mentioned above Speedhooks that are made for emergency/survival fishing. They are not cheap however. Has anyone tried to make them at home? It should not be too difficult.

I would also recommend gill nets. You can also make a frame and lower under water in horizontal position with bait in the middle and pull up to catch small fish for food or bait. A way to catch many small fish in lakes and large rivers.

I have several feet of 15 lb (?) monofilament and several small single hooks and treble hooks. I don’t know size but I think they were recommended for trout (?). Few lead sinkers and that is it. I am no expert of fishing and have not much space in midi kit so that is it.

HM
 
If fresh water then lots of smalish hooks (size 14) only a couple or slightly larger ones. A coulple of weighted pheasant tail trout flies. All hookes barbed and eyed. 10lbs double strength nylon leader, and lots of it. I always have some trace wire 30lbs multi strand breaking strain as for pike fishing with the squeeze joiners. Kite string or ultra fine para cord. A good few slit shots and a couple of small ledger plumb weights. Finally, some swivels.

Worms, worms and maggots work best. Preditor fish eat fish head/tails and bits.

Sea fishing everything has to be bigger, tougher and longer. Open ocean then even bigger.

A good general fishing book is all that you need. Then just remember that they are written for the sports fisherman. So break all the rules; you want the protein, tidlers are just fine.

Don't skylight yourself as fish can see you.
 
Has anyone tried fishing hooks on other than fish? Birds for example.

HM

[This message has been edited by HM (edited 06-12-2001).]
 
Bullfrogs will go for popper flys in a big way. Lots of protein there. Would imagine smaller frogs might hit flys also. I used to just sort of wave them past the frog, and their big tongue would do the rest.

Unfortunately, never learned from my uncle the fine art of catching catfish along the edges of streams in the dark. He was real good at it.

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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
Kinda off topic, but has anybody ever caught fish by hand? (as seen in movies)
 
I was backpacking in the Sierra, east of the Fresno area, with my friend Tom. He grew up in the Sierra because his family ran cattle in the high meadows during the summer. He became very skilled at all varieties of fishing.

On this trip I had the hot hand. I was catching the first, largest, and most fish. Tom was not happy about that. We arrived at a lake with a small stream coming in. It was about two feet wide, almost as deep, with undercut banks. Before I could get my fishing rod out, Tom was crawling up to the edge of the little stream. He slowly lowered his arm over the edge. After a minute or two of feeling around, he pulled out a 8-9 inch trout. I was astounded.

Tom told me that he reaches into the water about 5 or 6 inches from the nearly vertical bank. He then slowly moves his hand toward the bank. If his hand is moving VERY slowly, he can feel a fish without spooking it. The fish usually moves closer to the bank. At that point he follows it toward the bank and, when close enough, pins it against the bank and grabs it.

I tried this a few times with no luck at all. I guess that if you spend several months (each summer) in the mountains for a few years as a youth, you eventually develop the correct touch. In any event, I didn't put much faith in the method until I saw Tom make it work.

By the way, this approach is illegal in Calif. and many other states, unless you are in a survival situation.

DPD.
 
Years ago in the midwest we would catch frogs for bait with a sort of "fly". You could do the same to use the frogs for food. We would use the red cellophane from cigarette packs as the fly. Poke a smallish hook (IIRC we used about size 12) through a strip of the red cellophane about an inch or so long.

We would use a stick and light monofilament line to wave the cellophane in front of a frog sitting on the mud. The frogs jump up and snatch the waving cellophane right out of the air. Don't know if it was the movement of a bug sized target or the red color that triggered the response.

When thinking about bait for fishing, keep your eyes on the grasses along the stream and what's in the water. You can often catch there with your hands what the fish see as the "smorsgasbord du jour". Mayflies & larvas in spring, grasshoppers in late summer, etc. depending on where you are. Minnows & worms anytime. Or you could just eat the bugs & worms yourself.
wink.gif
 
Bugs3x and RokJok, thanks for the 'frogging' (term based on fishing) info. I totally forgot about it, however saw it done long-long time ago. Yes, red plastic was the bait/fly.
Also, SAS Survival Encycl. shows seabird catching with baited hooks attached to a pole sticking out from water. In my experience with seagulls on beaches, they seem to bite on many things. (Have you tried grapes? They love it!) They are also not afraid getting close to humans.
Other experience: some kids catching pigeons in my childhood in an urban setting with monofilament and small hooks. It was illegal and I have never seen any caught but sounds possible.
Is here a coinsidence or maybe hook is best for animals that swallow quickly since cannot chew? Anybody with any experience on hooks for small mammals?
BTW, frogs are not a bad survival food. Easy to catch, skin and prepare. I would put them above grubs though less fatty...

HM
 
I tried to do this earlier in the week, but as usual the weather closed out my phone line before I could get this posted. So, here goes again...

MDP-

Alot of what has been said before is good advice. My personal kits consist of lots (perhaps 50+) hooks ranging in sizes from 6 to 10. Usually the smaller the better, as a small hook will catch a big fish but not vice versa. I also have two 1/0 hooks to tie to a stick to use as a gaff. I keep about 5 oz. of split shot (usually BB size). All of this fits inside the line spool which I cover with duct tape to hold it all in. I agree that you need LOTS of line. I keep two spools, one with about 150 yds. of 2/10 lb. spiderwire, and one of 6 lb. monofiliment.

In a separate small plastic box (in my daypack) I keep small slip bobbers and bobber stoppers. The bobber stoppers allow the bobber to slip down to the sinkers but also mark the depth which you want to keep your bait. I have commercial ones, but they can be made from small rubber bands or dental floss. Just knot the floss (or band) around your line at the right spot and your bobber will slip up to it and stop.

In this box I also keep several 1/32 oz. jigs (heads various colors, but pink and chartruese seem to work best) with small plastic grubs attached. The white and chartruese grubs seem to work best. I am also trying out some feathered jigs (same weight) with pieces of grubs or worms attached and they seem to be working very well.

I like to use a pole of willow or bamboo if available as opposed to a handline. I like the control of the pole better. A hand line will allow you to fish further from the bank however.

Hope this helps out.
 
Hooked lines were an old poachers trick. The hook usually catches in the throat and is difficult to remove without killing the bird, whatever you have cought. Large birds are powerfull and their beaks will cut line. Don't rush in to collect your game, but move slowly.

You can catch Swallows and Martins, casting at them with a fly line. Easier said than done - read: don't waste your time.

Catching fish by hand needs practice and best learnt young. I can't do it. A rubber powered hand fish spear works better; just shoot from a few inches. Find a fish, move very carefully to its position with as little distubance a posible. If the fish moves off don't worry just wait and keep very still. It should return and when it does move your spear sloooowly to it and let rip. An elastic firing method is faster than you can do without a whole lot of practice. It just works a whole lot better.

[This message has been edited by GREENJACKET (edited 06-27-2001).]
 
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