If you’ve ever wondered if a survival fishing kit was a worthwhile addition to your survival gear then the short answer is yes, definitely!
Consider the following.
In a survival type situation you will quickly discover that possessing the skills, knowledge, and any equipment needed, to help feed yourself will be a major factor in whether you survive or not!
Knowing how to catch fish is one such skill that is relatively easy to learn, but one that will also take quite some time to master fully and only after a lot of practice.
Catching fish when the weather is warm and the fish are seemingly abundant and feeding like crazy is child’s play; but when stocks are not so abundant or are extremely inactive as is often the case during cold winters, then those with experience and knowledge, not to mention patience, will be the ones eating fish for dinner!
Okay, we understand that maybe taking up the sport full time in order to become the next grand master of fishing isn’t something that might float everybody’s boat, nor is it necessary as you won’t need to go quite so ‘full-on’ in order to pick up the necessary basic survival fishing skills.
This post isn’t about studying fishing techniques or learning how to catch that elusive big fish in the middle of winter. It’s about the benefits to the survivalist, backpacker, and prepper of owning a survival fishing kit or any other type of fishing equipment that will enable him or her, to supplement their diet with some good wholesome aquatic protein.
Survival Fishing Kits – Are they your best option for catching fish?
A Survival fishing kit is a great survival item, what isn’t there to love about a complete kit for catching fish that can be stored, in its entirety, in a tin small enough that it can be carried in a pocket?
Unfortunately, as handy and as compact as they are, they do not, and never will, out perform an actual rod and reel!
Fishing with a rod and reel is so much easier than using a survival fishing kit and by doing so you will also greatly improve your chances of catching fish quickly!
However, as many of you will have no doubt already guessed, the problem with a rod and reel is often the extra size and weight involved in carrying them or having them in your kit, but there are solutions to these problems.
Telescopic fishing rods along with small lightweight reels are designed for anybody who wants to fish whilst travelling light such as backpackers and hikers; this also makes this type of rod design ideal for preppers and survivalists whose plans may include bugging out to a location where fishing is a definite possibility.
Telescopic rods take up very little room in your bag and are extremely light compared to regular fishing gear, sure they’re not strong enough, or designed to catch Moby Dick, but they can certainly handle decent sized trout and other small fresh water fish.
Using a rod and reel isn’t your only option, there is of course another method of catching fish and that is to trap them. Trapping fish is relatively easy to do, as it simply involves making traps then setting and forgetting then hopefully, when you go back to the fish traps later, you’ll have some fish for your dinner!
There are many different types of fish traps some easier than others to make and use and we will be publishing a post covering many of them in the not too distant future. For the meantime though we are going to concentrate on our main topic, survival fishing kits!
For the hardened survivalist, only the smallest and lightest gear will ever make it into their emergency gear, and that means rods and reels are out and survival fishing kits are in; so what is, and what makes a good survival kit then?
What should you expect to find in a good Survival Fishing Kit?
If you know anything at all about fishing you’ll know that there are certain items that are absolutely necessary in order to catch fish, these are; fishing line, hooks, weights, bobbers (or floats, depending on where in the world you come from), and of course, bait!
All fishing kits, good or bad, will have these five basic pieces of equipment included in them, the difference will definitely be found in the quality of each of these items and that of any additional items included in each kit.
Why not put together your own Survival Fishing Kit?
If you are reading this post and thinking to yourself, ‘if that’s all there is to a survival fishing kit I’ll put one together myself!’ all I will say is, go for it, you should definitely go for a bit of fishing kit DIY!
Your local fishing store will almost certainly have everything you need in stock, and I’m pretty sure if you tell them what you are trying to put together they’ll be able to advise you on the best sizes of hooks to buy, which line strength is best, the types of bait fish are going made for, and any other information that is specific to your geographical location, including local and state wide fishing regulations and licensing requirements.
However, if the thought of spending a few hours in a tackle shop talking all things fishing (trust me, fishermen are quite fanatical about their hobby!) when all you are interested in is fishing as a means to survive, doesn’t sound enticing to you, then a pre-made survival fishing kit that comes with everything you need already included will probably sound like a smart investment, it will often cost less too and save you the time you would have spent putting a kit together yourself.
Summing Up
Remember, it’s not about fishing it’s about surviving. If you want to win fishing competitions or have bragging rights about catching the biggest fish a survival fishing kit is not for you.
A handful of minnows may look pitiful when compared to a 20 pound trout but they’ll still keep you alive!
Practice! Practice! Practice!
Don’t wait until you find yourself in a real life survival situation before breaking the seal on your tin, be ready for that situation by using your kit often.
Better still, buy two kits, one to keep in your survival kit or bug out bag left unopened, and one to use for practicing right from the moment you buy them!
Survival Fishing Kit Pin
