Food for Survival IX/Foraging

Fishing and hunting are also part of foraging. Fish are easier to obtain than many of the warm blooded animals. The only place this would not be true would be in desert areas. Almost anywhere there is water, there are fish. They are an excellent source of protein and fairly easy to come by. When survival fishing, forget everything you know about sport fishing. Here you want the easiest fish to obtain and thet becomes whatever is Handy.I have obtained fish by many methods, including scooping them out by hand the way a bear does it. You can make a dip net out of a tee shirt and a forked stick. Crude fish traps can be fashioned, which may be nothing but a row of sticks driven into the streambed forming a vee. You then wade the stream on the upstream side of the trap and drive the fish into the wide end. When they get to the narowest end, which should also be the shallowest end, you merely scoop them out with your hand and tos them ashore. I cary survival fishing almost everywhere I go. I have some in each car, I cary it in my suitcase or on my person when I travel by train, plane or bus. I have not taken a plane since 9-11 so do not know if I could get it on board. My equipment consist of three split shot, three hooks, (two #6, one #8) and sixteen feet of line. The line is in two lengths, ten feet of 10 lb test and 6 feet of 4 lb test. The ten pound is for strength while the four pound is for when certain fish will not take the bait on the ten pound. All of this equipment will fit inside a retractable pen barrel. Simply remove the filler and replace it with the items listed. When fishing with this type of equipment I like to cut a willow or alder pole to use as a rod. If you think you need a bobber, simply use a small piece of wood. Using worms for bait I have caught panfish, bulheads, chubs, shiners, trout, bass, carp and suckers with this equipment. I usually dig my bait right on the bank when I am doing this type of fishing. I have used grubs, worms, crickets, grasshoppers and a couple of times was able to hand scoop minnows out of the stream and used them for bait. In a survival situation these minnows could have been eaten. You can also use the ten lb. test line for a limb line. At night, when you are going to bed, bait the hook, toss it out into the water and tie it to a strong, springy limb. In the morning you should have a fish. For those that are really interested in survival skills, go out with a minimum of equipment and do some fishing. You might be surprised how much fun it is. It will give you an idea of what you need to do.