Survival Fishing

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  • Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,163
    What do the fishing experts recommend for survival fishing gear?

    Please be specific, sizes and types of hooks line lures etc., and include sources.

    What should be in a pocket survival kit?

    What would you include in a Bug Out Bag?

    What for shelter in place for long term SHTF situations?

    What would make good trading stock for TEOTWAWKI?
     

    twybyll

    Active Member
    Jan 20, 2021
    422
    MD
    One of my books says that fishing is generally not worth the energy unless you're in an area where the fish are calorie dense, like fatty salmon, or if there's such an abundance that catching multiple fish takes almost no effort.

    That's talking about needing the calories to hike out of the woods (2500 or more per day) though, so if you're just laying low at one location it's a different situation.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    I expect ponds and rivers to become over fished pretty quickly.
    Small hook popper/fly and line for bluegil is cheap and light, fashion to a stick. I have that in the hilt of one of my survival knives.
    One of the issues is that fishing on a bank can leave you exposed for a long time. I'd rather be armed with a rifle for squirrels and deer but expect those to be over hunted within weeks of a global SHTF situation.
     

    Brickman301

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 23, 2015
    2,534
    FREDERICK, MD
    Survival fishing …….the 1st thing that comes to mind for me, if fishing from the bank would be “bush-bobs, and fishing yo-yo’s. Pretty much any fishing line, or even twine would work. Since your fishing for food, always use a smaller hook than you think you need. No point in getting misses due to to large a hook. Bush bobs and fishing yo yo will catch you plenty of catfish, or even pan fish when using the correct bait.

    If you had a small boat running a trot line, is an excellent way to catch a lot of fish, or at least maximize your effort.

    Of course all these methods may not be legal in your area/body of water, but in a survival situation, the law won’t matter.

    I pick these methods, as the fish catch themselves, leaving you to do other task, or conserving your energy.
     

    Allium

    Senior Keyboard Operator
    Feb 10, 2007
    2,704
    better to look toward fish traps one would think. Divert stream, water run it through a woven funnel trap. fish go in and cant get out.
     

    govwontletmebuycoolguns

    ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 3, 2010
    3,879
    DPRM
    What works for one person in one place won't necessarily work for another person in another place.

    For me, I live ~2 miles from the Susquehanna. If I was survival fishing, i'd start out digging worms and with a 5' light action spinning rod and 6lb line, floating them out on a #10 J hook and split shot under a bobber for white perch. After I caught a couple, i'd chunk them up and toss them out with a 7' heavy action spinning rig with 30lb braid, a 3/4oz egg sinker, and a 6/0 circle hook for catfish. Make sure you have enough blackened seasoning and a good cast iron skillet.
     

    OneGunTex

    Escaped Member
    Jan 12, 2021
    232
    Southern Maryland, no longer
    I second the limb-line idea.
    I swear I've caught more fish in my life, everything from trout to halibut, from just letting a baited hook hang in the water and forget about it. I fish with nice gear and tactics for the fun of it, not because it catches me more fish to survive.

    Also, always go with heavier tackle than you think you need. That means 40-60lb test line, and as big of a spool of it as you can carry. Braided fishing line is smaller diameter and can be used better for other twine-needing tasks. Having a 2-part rod with a spinning reel tucked away that you can throw in a bug out bag is good too - you might need to cast if you're somewhere a limb-line is infeasible. Bobbers are unnecessary, lots of stuff floats. Sinkers are unnecessary, they weigh too much. A variety pack of hooks to handle different situations would be good.

    Know your knots.
    There will be fish long after we're out of ammo.

    Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
     

    Johnconlee

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 8, 2019
    1,149
    Mechanicsville
    Summer time, from shore, tidal waters around here a green beetle spinner and a kids fishing rod will produce a lot of perch. Take the perch heads on circle hooks and set bank lines for blue catfish. Once the water temp drops into the 40s fishing the shallows from shore gets tough. Survival fishing would need to include some sort of boat.
     

    Huckleberry

    No One of Consequence
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 19, 2007
    23,313
    Severn & Lewes
    Survival Fishing? You need this......

    And they used to work like a charm. Carried one in my ruck sack, kit bag or trunk for S,G&G (shits, grins and giggles) until it was stoken. Sure, pack fly rods and UL Spinnig Rods can do the same but old Ron Popeil's invention was just much more fun to a 10 yo kid and worked so well.

    View attachment 329591

    In US Military Aviation, the Aviation Life Support Equipment aka Survival Gear, we had gill nets in our ALSE vests and trout lines in the individual survival kits. And SERE school and classes taught you how to making fishing weirs which is technique that has successfully caught fish since the Stone Age.
     

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    Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    There are Gorges also. We showed the kids how to fish using hawthorn thorns. Glued the back end into the line and slide the thorn parallel to the string with the point up and slide a piece of work on it. The point catches ona bite, many times and turns sideways in the fishes mouth. The size of the gorge matters to the size of the fish.
     

    Silverlax

    Active Member
    Nov 13, 2014
    518
    Eastern Shore
    It all depends on the area, type of survival, and type of fish you would be catching.
    Yo-yo reels work great for minimum effort and ability to catch smaller fish. There are also hand casting lines that you wrap on a plastic type donut I've seen a guy use. Honestly for a bug out bag I would keep it minimal and maybe just a hook and some line (for myself) because if SHTF and I had to leave my home, there are much bigger problems.

    What I considered "survival" during the beginning of covid, when food was off the shelves (albeit many long lasting canned foods were still there because silly people just grabbed the perishable stuff), was being able to fish for meals that would then alleviate 2-3 meals of stored food we would normally go thru and thus putting us farther ahead for later on. Did this with a walmart kayak and catfishing gear. Again, really all depends on what you're actually looking to do.
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    A casting net is the most effective way to catch fish. AND it has other uses.

    I get women by talking to them…


    You can get fish without expending energy. You can eat practically any animal. You need protein.
     

    Trepang

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 10, 2015
    3,310
    Southern Illinois
    It's a slippery slope ...... this ......leads to this ........
     

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    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,500
    God's Country
    Video from Shanghai. Totally fits here in the survival fishing thread. Person casting a line into a Koi Pond from an apartment balcony about 20 floors up.

     

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