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Fishing Without Fishing Gear
FISHING WITHOUT FISHING GEAR
Written by Clayton Krebs
When you are in a survival situation, knowing how to fish can get you a great source of high-energy protein quickly and easily. But let’s say you are in a survival situation and don’t have any fishing gear such as tackle, line, or hooks. What then?
Knowing a few basic techniques for catching fish without gear can be the difference between going hungry and staying alive.
Improvised Gear
It’s important in a survival situation to be resourceful enough to find and improvise traditional fishing gear from anything on your person or what you can scavenge.
Hooks. Hooks can be improvised from a wide range of different items, including nails, safety pins, soda can tabs, and a range of organic materials, such as bones, claws, antlers, shells, and even whittled sticks.
If you have a knife, you’re already ahead of the curve. You can quickly make a gorge hook by sharpening either end of a straight piece of material and notching the middle, where the line will be attached. The gorge hook is hidden inside a piece of soft bait, which, when swallowed, will catch the hook in the fish’s throat.
Lines. Improvised lines can likewise be made from a range of materials.
You can improvise fishing lines from strong threads in clothing and equipment, lengths of wire, and organic materials like braided grass or bark. The line does not have to be particularly long, but it should be strong – you don’t want to make a hook, find bait, and weave a line only to have it snap when you have a fish on the other end of it.
That can waste hours of time if you’re not careful, which is all too precious in a survival situation. Be sure to test the line by tying one end to a sapling and pulling firmly on it several times before you use it.
Lures. Lures can be made from any number of shiny or colorful materials. Feathers, jewelry, and pieces of aluminum all make excellent lures.
Even better is live bait; you can dig for earthworms almost anywhere ground is warm and fertile, and plenty of insects, arthropods and worms should be easily found along the banks of any pond or river.
Setting the Lines
While fishing is a relaxing pastime, in a survival situation you will want to set lines and accomplish other tasks while they do the work for you. You can either set lines by attaching them directly to stakes that you set in the riverbank or by tying them off on thin, springy branches that hang out over the center of the river or pond.
This allows you to set several lines at once and even leave them while you go about with other activities in the near vicinity.
You can create bobby or spring poles cut from saplings or willow branches. Drive the bobby poles deep into the riverbank and at an angle that allows the line and bait to drop down into the river. Make sure you cycle back to the riverbank to check on your bobby poles often.
Spear Fishing
Spear fishing can be another useful way to capture fish, especially if bait or materials for making a line are not readily available.
You can whittle a short branch into a basic spear. Be sure to make the end of the spear barbed by cutting 6-inch ends into the stick. Then weave thread or small rope between the cuts to spread the ends – making the barbs spread out like a fork or rake.
Using a flashlight or torch, you can fish with a spear in the shallows at night. Spear fishing takes patience to learn how to do effectively, but with practice you can become a natural. Spear fishing has the advantage of allowing you to select the largest fish instead of the more random nature of line fishing.
Weir Fishing
Weir fishing is an old and highly effective technique for trapping fish in rivers or tidal flats. The weir is built by driving long stakes into the water to make a V-shaped fence that is open on the downstream end and basically funnels swimming fish into another enclosure (made by driving more stakes into the riverbed).
This kind of trap can also be built with rock walls instead of stakes. When the fish are trapped in the smaller enclosure at the end of the weir, they can easily be caught by hand or speared.
Noodling
When no supplies are readily available to make improvised fishing gear, spears, or fishing weirs, the remaining option is fishing by hand, popularly called noodling.
You can effectively fish by hand by finding banks that are undercut, hollowed-out logs, or overhanging rocks that suckers and bottom-feeders like catfish like to hide under.
Block the escape entrance so fish can’t get out, and simply move your hand along the side of the fish until you can grab them by the gills or mouth. Noodling, like spear fishing, takes practice, but once the skill is learned, it is not easily lost. Noodling only works in warmer water, but it can be an effective way to get protein when you have no gear on hand.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by KOMRAD RHINO☭ on
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Noodling is also a dangerous thing to do. What some don't know is that when you are in the water. The fish is at its strongest. Many a man have been drowned by a good 10 pound or more catfish when they turn to fight. What will happen is when the fish turns to fight. It will clamp down on the mans whole hand if it can. Then proceed to drag them out to deeper waters. When there. It will then turn its head downward and go to the bottom not letting go of the hand. So if the fish feels larger then 10 pounds and you have no experience in noodling. You will want to use caution in trying to bring it in for food. If you have someone with you in the survival situation. Then both together can team up to bring in the finned feast and enjoy.
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Permalink Reply by Jessie W. Garrett III on
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Yeah that could happen...But that's why I would try everything else first before I would do that hand fishing, noodling or whatever stupid name they gave it...
Hell, I would use pantyhose as a fishing net before I would do the noodling crap...But if you are that desperate to eat, you'll try anything...
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Permalink Reply by Komrad Venessa Wicked☭ on
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How about Can Fishing?
Catch fish without a rod, using just a pop can, fishing line, and tackle.
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That's one hell of a unique way...I like that...
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Catfishing with a Trotline
What is Trotline Fishing?
Fishing with a trot line is just a real easy way to wet alot of hooks with just a couple of people. It's kind of a "set it and forget it" way to get several fish without spending all day casting, baiting, and stringing fish on the bank of your favorite fishing spot.
Since you are dealing with multiple hooks, trotlines can eat you up if you aren't careful. But once you get the hang of using them, they can be fun, and efficient! Not considered a means of "sport fishing", trotlines are more on the line of "food to feed the family" activity, and a great tool to use when you're after free food.
Find Your Spot
Just like with most enterprises in life, when you're working a trotline, it's all about location, location, location! You sure don't want your trotline to get caught up in someone else's boat motor! You SURE don't want to hook some innocent swimmer!
Also check with your local Fish and Game Warden to make sure it's legal to run a trotline in your area. No one wants a trip to the slammer. or a hefty fine, instead of a mess of catfish!
You want a spot where the fish will be. So pick somewhere known to give up catfish. A creek or river, off the beaten path of recreational swimmers and boaters will be ideal.
Be aware most Bass fisherman just HATE trotlines. They feel no sorrow cutting a trotline away and bye-bye to your freezer full of catfish. So stay away from bass fishing hot spots.
Which Trotline to Use?
You can buy "store bought" trotlines at places like bait shops and Bass Pro Shop. Or you can build your own. The advantage of building your own is you can use a stronger, sturdier line for a smaller fish, than what you might get at the store. I like a thick nylon twine for my trotlines. Plus when you make your own, you can make it just the right size for the spot you want to trot, and you can have the number of hooks you want.
If you decide to make your own trotline, consider the average depth of the creek or river you want to trot. Catfish stay close to the bottom most of the time, so cut your hook lines accordinly. Don't make them so long that your bait lays on the bottom, or gets tangled up with each other. (Spacing between the hook lines is important too!) You may have regulations in your area concerning legal lenghts and spacing. So ask the Game Warden to be sure.
After you get all the "ifs, ands, and buts" figured out about your local laws, use fishing line with a test weight a bit stronger than what you're fishing for. Make sure when you tie your hook lines on to your trotline, you have them firmly secured so they won't slide up or down the line once a fish is hooked.
Securing Your Trotline.
Make sure your trotline is firmly secured to the starting side of the creek or river before you venture out to secure the other end of the trotline on the far side. And flag each end so you can find it when you come back, if you plan on leaving it alone. I also suggest you flag randomly along the length of your trotline, just to be on the safe side concerning other people who may happen up at the same spot. A fisherman could cast over your trotline and get all tangled up, loosing his favorite lure, making him so angry he cuts your trot! Or someone could swim into it and get hurt!
Your trotline will also have to be weighted. And I'm not talking about little lead weights like you use on the end of the line on a fishing pole. I'm talking about concrete blocks, or something just as heavy. This does need to be on the bottom, so when you tie it on, make sure the rope you use is long enough to sink it to the floor of the creek or river.
You need a couple of "floats" too, at either end of your trotline. A couple of empty milk jugs work great. Make sure the lids are on good and tight. You can tie them on to your trotline through the handles of the jugs. Some trotters weight each end, and put a float above the middle weight too. Just remember, if you use extra weights, you have to pull those weights out of the water, along with (hopefully) a whole bunch of fish. So don't over do it on the weights if you don't have to.
Baiting and Checking Your Trotline
It's good to have two people when baiting the trotline. One to ease the boat or canoe down the line while the other one baits.
You can use any bait you know works, but remember if you hook a fish, it's going to thrash around and fight the hook. So use a bait that won't flop off easily. If your going to leave your trotline for more than 12 hours unattended, take the bait off of it. If you are planning on rod or pole fishing while you trot, check your trotline every 4 hour or so. Don't be surprised if you hook turtles, eels, snakes, or any other creature native to the water you're trotting.
NEVER leave your trotline permanently!
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My great grandparents used trot lines to fish with during the Great Depression. It worked so well that not only did they NOT go hungry. They caught catfish so big that they ran poles through the gills and the tails still dragged the ground. My mom has the pictures somewhere. I didn't believe it until my great grandfather showed it to me. So I am a firm believer in the trot line method.
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Permalink Reply by Komrad Gas Mask Killer☭ on
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Fishing with out any fishing gear is a necessary way of life in a undead world. Now lets hope and praythe water is not toxic.
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