The start of my primitive fishing kit

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

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Mar 22, 2006
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Just wanted to post some pics of my new work in progress, a primitive fishing kit..

currently it consists of about 8 ft of reverse wrapped coradage from the iner bark of a wisteria vine,, and a few barbed hooks carved from appropriately shaped Black Locust thorns.and a smaller bobber made of a stick section and a thorn spine

I plan to add a multi pronged spear.. More cordage..a few sinkers and perhaps a bark container for it all down the road (we'll see)

in all honesty this was just an effort on my part to practice joining strands together while making cordage. so I deliberately cut all my pieces in to 8-12 inch lengths so i'd have an opportunity to throw in plenty of joins through out the continuous strand.. they seem to be holding very well so far

There are some bulges and weak spots throughout the strand.. Wisteria is much more suited for lashings or basket making than such fine cordage.. but it was what I had.and it gave me plenty of practice splitting the wyhtes down into controlled segments.. (which my new DP knife worked great for)

I'm happy with it over all, but my cordage making still needs ALLOT of work
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nice RR... looks great man.. i'm sure that'll do the job just fine...:thumbup: this reminds me, i need to work on my cordage skills.. it's been a while since i have done it..:o
 
Hey, John, that's really, really cool!:thumbup:

Talk about a primitive fishing kit: well that's it. I like the cordage, but how securely is that hook fastened to the line? It looks like the first whopper you hook will take the hook right off.

You've given me inspiration to try cordage making again (I really need practice).
 
Thanks.. The hook is relatively secure.. The stalk is notched above and below to hold it place... WHen I can get to a fire again. I'll make some pitch glue to keep it in place (at least that's the plan)
 
Looks cool, I'd like to try fishing like that. I'll bet its not easy.

The hook doesnt look like the shank has enough angle to it? Still might work by getting lodged in the fish's mouth though instead of 'hooking' the fish.
 
Now that I think about it, a gorge might be more effective, and you could tie it more securely on the line.

You could only use one in a survival situation though. To the best of my knowledge they're illegal almost everywhere.

They're really, really effective, though.
 
Thanks Guys... The hook was just a quicky... Might hand carve one.. I'm sure a gorge will be effective.. but they are illegal here, and often they are hard to dislodge without killing the fish..(bad news if its under limit)

Thanks for commenting though....If I can get out weds I plan on adding some new components...and making up some pitch glue
 
RescueRiley said:
Thanks Guys... The hook was just a quicky... Might hand carve one.. I'm sure a gorge will be effective.. but they are illegal here, and often they are hard to dislodge without killing the fish..(bad news if its under limit)

Thanks for commenting though....If I can get out weds I plan on adding some new components...and making up some pitch glue
Click to expand...

I mentioned that the gorge is illegal almost everywhere, and it's just for the reason you gave. On the other hand, in a survival situation, there's no such thing as under limit: food is food.

Can't wait to see what you come up with on Wednesday.
 
Looks good for a primitive kit. Cordage is one of the hardest things to get in quantity when out and about. Time consuming, too.

:thumbup:
 
Good stuff Riley.

An inch or so of bright red wool seems a popular addition to lures here. Wonder what wild things you can find and wind together to mimic that. I've not had the opportunity to try yet.
 
Hmm... Dog bane has a reddish color..but its kind of dulled... Have to mull that over.I'll put a little more work in tonight on the kit to see if I can make it a bit nicer...( I was just perusing over that primitive fishin link you posted a while back for ideas...
The Game Cordage making can be time consuming... however it was typically done by primitive folks by fire light at night, or in inclement weather....I like the skills..in a short time survival situation.. I don;t know that I would really try fishing...I almost defintiely would not be twisting any significant lengths of cordage.. Most shelter supports.lashings or basic binds can be done with the whole of the Wisteria vine or with spruce roots.. or rootlets from varied species of evergreens or withes...(almost readily avail cordage..with minimal effor to obtain),,but knowing that and trying it, I want to reall nail the cordage thing... No better way to do that than keep twisting line....
 
Looks good, I think to really refine your skills you will have to try to catch fish, that will really show where the weakness' are. Wish you lived closer, we'd make kits and go check them out. Chris
 
That sounds like it'd be fun.... I plan on trying to pull some blue gils out of the pond once the ice melts...
 
I was thinking about trying for some cats. I have just learned to make cordage, so me being the fishing fanatic I am, the next logical step is to try to make good enough cordage to fish with. Now I think I will try with homemade hooks as well. To bad I have to wait a year to try it out, but I can make some gear while I am here. Chris
 
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