Survival Fishing

Survival fishing is a whole lot different than sport fishing. First of all you do not care about whether you catch the fish in a sportsmanlike manner. These are survival situations we are talking about here. Things that might not be legal or ethical now would be perfectly okay in a survival situation. One of the things I always have in my vehicle is a small collapsible fishing rod and spincast reel. I also have a small box with a few hooks, split shot sinkers and a couple of spinners and other small lures. Actually I carry these for the times I come across a good looking stream or river and want to stop and fish for a few minutes. However, having said that, just think how handy the would be if I were to be stranded in some area due to a storm or other natural disaster.

My regular survival fishing gear is a little bit different. In my bug-out backpack I carry a very small kit. It consists of five yards of ten pound test monofilimant line and ten yards of six pound test. There are ten hooks, five number six and five number eight. There also a half-dozen small split shot sinkers and a number zero red and white Mepps spinner. With this I feel that I could live on fish if I had to, as long as I was near water. When I was a kid, I used to head for the creek with just a length of line with a hook on it and usually came back with fish. When I got to the creek, I would cut a nice limber tag alder about six or eight feet long. I would tie my line to it, turn over some rocks or other debris and find a worm or other bug of some type and go fishing. I could only get the line out in the water about fifteen feet if I had a six foot "rod". If I had more than nine feet of line I would simply wrap some of it around the end of the pole. I caught many fish using this method. If the stream was a little to fast to fish without a sinker, I would find a small rock to tie on my line. I did not have real sinkers so sometimes I would carry a couple of small bolts and nuts or even small nails to use for sinkers. I like to get out about once a year with just my survival fishing gear and sit by on a stream bank and fish. I still almost always catch fish. They may be chubs, shiners, suckers or carp, but they are fish and they are edible. When you are in an actual survival situation, you cannot be picky.

Carrying this equipment is not really a problem. Any small plastic container or leather or cloth bag will work. I even have one friend that simply uses the correct size zip-lock bag. Personally, I use film canisters. I have taken two of them and connect the two tops. I glued the two tops together and then put a small bolt and nut right in the middle to hold them together should the glue let go. Before I added the second length of heavier line and the Mepps spinner, I only needed one film canister.

I also have a smaller kit which is contained in the outer part of a large ball-point pen. This is one with the screw-off top. First I take out the part that holds the ink. Next I drop in about four split-shot and about five or six number eight hooks. Add to this about twenty feet of six pound test line and you have a good fishing rig. This one can be carried in your shirt pocket in a plane or anywhere else. These kits along with a good knife are all one really NEEDS to survive under most circumstances. Next week I will get into a little more about how to actually catch fish, whether you have a rod, a net, a fish trap or any other means of fishing.

Survival Vehicles II

Now that you have decided what type of survival vehicle is best for you, it is time to outfit it for a survival situation. There are many things that you can do to any vehicle and many things that you should carry in a survival vehicle. As I stated last week, one of the first things that you should do is to put a skid plate under your oil pan and also your gas tank if it one that lays flat near the rear of the vehicle. You can mount an electric winch that runs off your battery if you choose. This is especially if you have a four wheel drive and intend to go into places where there is a good possibility of getting stuck. I prefer to save my money and do my best not to get stuck. When I do get stuck, I use other means of getting out. I carry a hi-lift farm jack in my vehicle and by using this and tow strap, cable or chain, I can get out of most anything I get into. First you can use the jack to lift the vehicle high enough to get some rocks, logs or something under the drive wheels. Next you tie off to a tree or something solid and use the hi-lift jack as a come along and pull the vehicle out. This is not the easiest process, but it does work. Learning how to spot places that you should not drive is the best defense.

You should also carry a shovel in your vehicle. In the summer I just carry a folding GI shovel. In the winter her in Wisconsin I add a small snow shovel. I also add a small bucket of wood ashes to the vehicle in the winter. This is the best thing that I have found to give traction when stuck in snow and ice. If you cannot get wood ashes, cat litter is the next best thing. I also carry a small pick in the vehicle all year. This can help in both winter winter and summer. I carry a tow strap which I use to wrap around any tree that I need for pulling myself out of a hole. I also carry about 30 feet of plastic coated cable and a twenty foot chain. Along with these items I carry a small folding saw and a Boy Scout sized axe. These are for getting dead branches, etc. for putting under your wheels. They can also be used to clear small trees and brush from old unused roads. With these items I have been able to extricate myself from anything I have been able to get myself into.

Tools are a requirement in a survival vehicle. You should know enough to do at least some repair on the vehicle. I do not have all the tools in my vehicle that I do in my shop, but I carry enough wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, etc. to fix most anything that I understand about my vehicle. Along with the tools you should have a complete set of hoses and belts for the vehicle. Most of these are quite simple to change and any survivalist should learn how to do so if they do not already know. While it seems only common sense to make sure that you have a good spare tire and tools with which to change a tire. I like to carry a small 12 volt compressor and a tubeless tire repair kit along with a can of fix-a-flat. This should pretty much cover all emergencies as far as tools go. There are other things you could carry and if you feel better having them and have room, go right ahead.

Next are a few items that you should have for personal safety. A good first aid kit is number one. If his is your getaway vehicle and you do not intend to go back once you leave, you may want to have your full medical kit in the vehicle. I keep mine in my fold down camper which I intend to take with if I have to bug out. I keep a smaller but still complete first aid kit in the vehicle. I also keep a small supply of non-perishable food in the vehicle. Enough for about three days for two people if we are careful with it. In my camper is a two week supply. Do not forget to add a couple bottles of water. I usually add a couple of blankets, an extra set of warm clothes, candles (with small candle lantern) and matches for winter. You will get a lot of both heat and light from candles in a vehicle. Just make sure you have the window open a crack so you do not get carbon monoxide poisoning. While some of these items are winter items, they stay in the vehicle year around. Everything except the blankets are in a small backpack and the blanket I use for seat covers.

There you have a good idea of what is necessary. As with the tools there are other things you may want and again, if you have room, go ahead and take them. With what I have given you you should be able to cope with almost anything that comes along.