Tips for Catching fish in a difficult Survival Situation

If you ever find yourself stuck in an SHTF situation in the wilderness, knowing how to Catching fish survival situation can help. Not to worry, catching fish to save your loved ones and you from starvation is possible even without fishing gear. When no other options are available, hitting a waterway close to you and pulling out some fish is never a bad idea. But you must know a few tips and tricks for fishing during survival situations. Keep reading if you want to learn some amazing survival fishing techniques like hand fishing, gorge hooks, etc.

While you can find plenty of fishing gear that you can take on trips that can turn into emergencies, you don’t need it. Catching a fish during survival situations is easy to learn, as well as eventually master. Plus, it is a good way to get some protein in your body on hard days like this.

Survival Fishing Benefits

There are numerous reasons why you should learn how to fish. First and foremost, learning the skill can prove significant help in unexpected emergencies. You may get lost on a trip or be a victim of a long-lasting SHTF situation. Regardless, catching fish is a great technique that can help you survive starvation and gain physical energy at the same time.

Experts suggest that a person’s top priorities in these situations should always be to build a fire, find water, and make or find shelter. However, finding food is still incredibly important. Having food to eat helps meet your body’s nutritional needs, giving you energy so you don’t experience fatigue. Not to mention, this is extremely important to any survival scenario.

If you can fish with little to no fishing equipment, you can feed yourself or your family. Most of the time, one successful trip of catching fish can last you two meals, at least.

Additionally, survival fishing is an excellent way of passively getting food that requires minimal effort.

Catching fish in a difficult Survival Situation- Things to Keep in Mind

Fishing during a survival situation requires you to think about it differently. Of course, you can try fishing with a reel and rod. But in the long run, you will need something that does not take up a lot of time and energy.

Passive fishing is the answer to catching fish in difficult situations. Not only this, but you must also find a reliable spot for fishing. This place can be where you collect fish for later, saving you from having to gut them.

This suggests that you must have a variety of strategies to survive in these survival situations.

Survival Fishing Techniques

Here are fishing techniques that you can use to combat starvation in an emergency or survival situation. You do not need to require any sort of fishing gear for these.

Set up different Fishing Lines

If you don’t own a fishing pole, you will need to make one using available items. However, putting together a fishing pole might not be enough so consider going for several.

To make a fishing pole during a survival situation, find a willow reed or strong stick. Now, tie the fishing line around the stick. You can also look for alternatives for this item around you. Then, add a hook and some sinkers to the fishing line.

For catching fish, bait your fishing line’s hook and drop it in a waterway near you. Making several fishing lines and dropping them in water can simultaneously improve your chances of a catch.

You can also fix your DIY fishing rod near the riverbank by fixing it in the ground, which will keep it steady. Furthermore, if your water body has low branches, you can also tie a fishing line onto one of those branches. Remember to use multiple fishing lines in this situation as well.

Spear Fishing

As the name suggests, spearfishing requires a fishing spear. Of course, there is a high chance that you wouldn’t have it during Catching fish survival situation. But you can always make one using materials like wood and metal. Not to mention, you can also use animal bones if you find any.

All you need to do to make a fishing spear is sharpen your piece of metal, wood, or bone to make a barb-pointed end. Although mastering this method requires practice, it is not so hard.

While catching fish with your hand-made fishing spear, aim below a fish to compensate for the refraction of light. It is best to spearfish in night darkness with the help of torchlight. This way, your shadows will not alert the fish.

Fish Traps

Survival fish traps are one of the best ways to catch fish during a survival situation. To make traps, start with a container. Then, search for items around you that can serve as an inverted funnel. This should open up into the container.

The main idea behind a fish trap is to allow fish to swim through the inverted funnel into the trap. The fish should not be able to figure a way out of the fish trap. Remember to make sure that you’re trap is big enough for the fish that you’re looking to catch.

Moreover, you can also use the same method for capturing minnows, etc. In such cases, removing the top of pop bottles can create highly-effective funnels.

Hand Fishing

Sometimes, you don’t need any equipment to catch fish. Even your hands will do the trick. Hand fishing or noodling also proves to be a great technique for survival fishing with an impressive success rate. Some people also refer to this fishing technique as hogging or graveling.

Hand fishing involves directly using your hands to grab fish from inside the hiding spot. Most of the time, this technique is used for fish like suckers and catfish that will try hiding in dark areas such as holes under rocks, hollow logs, and undercut banks.

To catch a fish by hand, first, block the hole and then work your way inside. When you finally feel a fish, continue sliding your hand across its body until you feel its gills or mouth. Then grab and get a tight grip on the fish before finally pulling it out.

You might want to be careful of barbells around a catfish’s mouth. The barbs sting your hand, causing conditions like irritated and red skin or even pain.

Fish Weir

A fish Weir or fish garth refers to a wall or fence that you use to guide the fish in any direction you want. Often, this is to lure fish into a small body of water where the fishes stay alive until they’re needed.

During a survival situation, your desired spot would be your fish trap. So if you’re planning on catching fish through fish traps, a fish weir will help.

When you don’t have a fish weir to guide the fish, you can make one yourself with the help of rocks or stakes. How? You will need to construct a barrier, similar to a fence, by driving stakes or piling rocks next to each other.

Your fish weir is also useful for gathering fish for other fishing techniques such as using a net to catch a fish or spearing. It is also possible to use a fish weir for hand fishing sometimes.

To create an effective fish weir, put your sticks or rocks next to each other, stretching from one water bank to the next. By placing the rocks in such a way, you created a screen that blocks all pathways. Your fish pool or trap will only have one opening left.

Gorge Hooks

Using gorge hooks for catching fish is incredibly different than fishing with a regular bent hook. Gorge hooks are rather straight and 1 inch long, unlike traditional bent hooks.

During a survival situation when you don’t have gorge hooks readily available, you can make your own using any hard objects like hard plastic, twigs, or even bones. Sharpen the hard material that you find and sharpen it from both ends.

Then, create a notch in the middle of your gorge hook. This is where you secure the hook to your fishing line. A gorge hook entices fish to swallow both the hook and bait. Rather than jerking the fish line to set the hook, pull it slowly.

This way, the gorge will turn sideways and lodge in the fish’s throat. You can then easily pull your fish out and capture it in a net or cloth, etc.

Conclusion

Finding food is extremely important in emergency scenarios and catching fish is a great way of acquiring energy and fighting hunger. Making multiple fish lines, fish traps, fish weirs, fish spears, and gorge hooks requires minimal materials. Not to forget, you can also fish by hand. For more information, tricks, and survival tips, check out Survival Hacks!

This post is sponsored by Medical Gear Outfitters