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Survival fishing

8K views 26 replies 20 participants last post by  hag 
#1 ·
The use of poles, line and hooks is a poor way to fish in a survival situation. (IMHO)
It requires your time that can be better utilized doing other things. Using a trot line is a better way but still requires the use of hooks and line. and it must be checked often to make sure that you don't lose the whole line to a big fish or random log. Nets are better still but they can be a maintanance nightmare, they can be heavy, and take up valuable space in your BOB.
What is best?...... TRAPS!
Fish traps can be used in many different kinds of locations. They can be built on site in a short period of time and checked when you have the time without worrying about losing them to some freak event. You can use bait or place them where fish naturally move and trap and keep them alive for long periods of time. You can build them large or small depending on your needs or the available area that is usable.

The added benifit is that they can be adapted for land use to catch small game so you can conserve your ammuntition for other needs. On land you can build them large enough to catch deer or small enough to catch quail and rabbits.
 
#2 ·
In Penang, there's a lot of common snakehead and giant snakehead. Casting works great. Also many local people here fishing for climbing perch or in malay "ikan puyu" simply using a pole, a fishing line, a bobber and hook, of coz some bait (cricket and worm works great).
 
#3 ·
The use of poles, line and hooks is a poor way to fish in a survival situation. (IMHO)
Yeah I agree that for the most part for the average fisherman this is a pretty labor intensive method. For some of the more skilled though...its quiet possible for some folks here to snatch up a stinger full in short order most of the year. It usually doesnt take more than an hour to pull in a dozen or so slab Crappie here on our lakes with a couple of jigs. 2-3 rods set up in spike type rod holders here can usually result in a half dozen Blue Cats in the 2-10 lbs range in an hour or so.

What is best?...... TRAPS!
Hard to beat these for sure and this is by far probably the most time efficient method of collecting some fish for the dinner table day in and day out. I have several that I have made and use them quiet often, mainly for Sunfish and Shad for bait. The biggest issue I see with them here is the fact that if folks on the lake find them...they generally will relieve you of them! Luckily they are very easy to make and a roll of heavy wire mesh will make a number of them pretty cheap too. They can work for you 24/7 which is the best part. Its pretty rare I check one and dont have a few morsels available or some bait to get me a good start. They are far less maintenance than nets and hold up to hard use very well. This is probably a survivalist best option for fishing at least down in the southern parts of the US for max production on minimal effort expended.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I think the yoyo is the way to go. They are small light weight inexpensive and can also used on land for snares and trips wires. They are truely a multi use item. The only down side is they are a bright silver in color, applying a bit of camo spray paint will make them easier to hide and and as such less likely to be discovered. Other than that they are a great item to have...

Knowing how to make a fishtrap is a plus as survival skills go, and its something everyone should know how to do. There are numerous ways to catch fish, some more labor intensive than others. In a survival situation you'll be gauging the calories you expend in activity against the calories you gain from that activity. If you cannot break even or come out ahead you will eventually starve to death.

Fish traps can (but not necessarily) be labor intensive...If the trap produces fish then all is well if not then one is in a situation of going to the effort and expending calories and then not replacing them.


When considering the how to of catching fish, an honest assessment of ones ability should be taken into acount. Some people are simply going to be more capable and as such will be more successful at building a fishtrap than others. I can build a fishtrap yet I'd prefer to set out some yoyos or a trotline.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I've been a "bait" fisherman for my whole life. Irregardless of weather if it a BIG FRIGGEN NIGHCRAWLER or a something dredged up off the bottom of the creek we USED to catch 10+ trout/whitefish in a evening of fishing and go home with COOLERS full of fish for a few hours of effort/fun

When the current pansy catch and release laws no longer apply I'll be catching fish and feeding the family for very little effort.
 
#13 ·
I bought one originally from Academy for catching sunfish and larger bait fish. I then went to Lowe's and bought the heavy gauge wire mesh and with a pair of dikes cut sheets of the mesh to size. I then used hog ring pliers and hog rings to connect the panels together into a trap. I built most of mine a good bit larger scale wise than the one I bought that was commercially built and available. It shouldnt take more than a couple of hours one afternoon out on the patio with a 6 pack of your favorite suds to crank out 2-3 pretty good sized traps. If you use the coated heavy mesh they will last a long longer and rust will be much less of an issue.

Mine are mainly used to catching larger shad and sun fish which I often use for bait when I am after Brusier sized Blue Catfish. They work really well for that. I occasionally catch Crappie and Bass as well in them but since they are considered game fish they have to be immediately tossed back in the water. That wont be applicable in a SHTF situation.
 
#11 ·
Whenever we go fishing my daughter usually pulls a dozen or so perch and sunfish out of the river. I always told her if needed that would be her job if were were in a SHTF kind of thing. I would guess she could pull in about 30-50 small fish in the course of a few hours.
 
#14 ·
You do realize that they can be made from twigs, old coat hangers or wire, right?
I made a couple on a back-packing trip once. One went inthe water and one went on a rabbit run. They were made on the spot from small diameter branches woven together to make a box open at both ends and then I made two "funnels" facing into the box. Easy to make it took me about an hour while my friend was trying to fish with a rod and reel. The next morning we had three nice cut-throat trout and a couple of squirrels "in the bag".
 
#15 ·
Jeeze...It's SHTF people!.....No law enforcment....No game warden...You ain't in no BASS Contest anymore!

Get the biggest waterproof (M-80) type firecrackers you can find and FISH!...If dozens float up get em all and dry em just like the Inuit and native Americans did!

YOU fish overnight!.....I'll fish in less than 60 seconds!

Not biting...dont matter....No bait...dont matter!
 
#16 ·
Trout/fish lines are all good and well if your in a spot you can leave them where it's safe too and no one will mess with them and you're planning on staying that long. If I'm bugged out on foot I'll likely be on the move where I will want to fish with a rod and keep moving. I'll set up lines if I'm staying a while and it's safe and do other things, but I've fished with a rod all my life and can make it produce if there's fish in the water. Small hooks and bugs or shore minnows for sunfish and larger hooks and bugs, frogs, snails, worms, grubs, pieces of game for bass and catfish. I'm not in trout country so trouts not the concern at the moment. I carry a lite Ugly Stick spinning rod and reel and a variety of hooks, ball sinkers, and some Rooster Tails. Down here you often have to work a lake a lot of the time, walking the shore and fishing. Unless there's a huge die off of people at the time, you won't want to leave gear and walk off. If I make my BOL's and there still good than things will be depending on the circumstances.
 
#17 ·
Fuzze you makes good points about fishing on the move...but if a person is bugged out and traveling on foot wouldn't they more than likely want to be focused on the route and their surroundings. I'm sure one can both fish and walk but for brief periods of time (while fishing) they would be distracted.

Once one reaches a stopping point for a break or overnight stay setting out a trot line, yoyo or trap would frees a person up to do other things. Like put moleskin on blisters J/K...or get off the trail and away from the water, because water (rivers streams and lakes) will be a magnet for displaced people and other people who have bugged out.

I just don't know how safe conventional fishing while bugged out would be. I would hope that there would be times I could walk along and fish, and because the possibility exists that I could, I would pack along a small rod and reel. More than likely though I'd set out and camoflage some yoyos or a trot line and then find a good spot away from the water where I could watch the approaches.
 
#19 ·
When we were kids, we used to "hunt fish". We would throw some popcorn out on the water and when the fish would come up to eat it, we shot them with a .22. Probably not the safest, but when you are 13 years old you do not think of things like that.
 
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#20 ·
If I were lost and engaging in survival fishing, I'd probably go about it differently that if I were bugged out.

If Lost, I'm hoping to be rescued find other people or find my way to safety. If bugged out I'm looking to get from point A to point B without interference or incident...I'd fish accordingly...
 
#21 ·
I have nothing against traps...but I can catch a sunfish or bluegill per minute if I use a tiny hook.

The size of the hook is key! If it's too big for thier mouth, it'll be tough to catch.

I'll run to a lake and catch 10-12 sunfish in 10 minutes for use as garden fertalizer.
 
#23 ·
I know where a salt water pond is that comes and goes with the tide.

High tide the pond fills with water and in comes the baitfish running from speckled trout,white trout,flounder and redfish.

In an emergency food situation I could stretch a gill net across the entrance/exit to the pond and catch everything in there. It's about the size of a football field and waist deep at high tide.
 
#24 ·
Not my thing but I know many that would be more than happy to take full time fishing duty.
 
#25 ·
I'm alot more familiar with trot lines. I usually sink mine to just a few feet off the bottom and tie off to a tree or "stick up" out in the lake only accessible by boat. If you tie your line off a few feet below water they are alot harder for thieves to find. I have 50 hooks on each line. You can get several pounds of meat in short order if they are biting. I usually run 4 lines when I go
 
#27 · (Edited)
Father in law, his brother and myself have been running our trot lines the last couple days. Lots of hooks cut off so it looks like the thieves are eating good. We still managed to beat them to a few pretty good ones. Wound up with six so far that will go 20plus pounds and managed to fill 2 igloo coolers with some decent 2 to 10 pounders. These were all blue catfish. Also caught a darn good channel that weighed 49 pounds. Took the lines up and gonna try again in a couple days after the thieves move on
Here are some pictures because a fishing tale will never be believed without proof. That's me on the left and my father in law in the center. The fish he is holding has a2 pound catfish in its mouth. Put it there just to show a size comparison. That's my wife's uncle holding the big channel cat
 

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