SHTF Fishing

[bwframe]

After cleaning another batch of Crappie for the freezer, it occurred to me "what if this not just enjoyment, but was necessary to eat?"

I'm curious what others might think if we are fishing for survival?
Things that come to mind initially:
Meat storage, preparation, palatable recipes, waist.
Sales and bartering (assuming no refrigeration.)
Equipment, lines, nets, traps.
Security from all angles.

 

[TiminMishawaka]

Your best resource at that point will be knowing how to do it. Many people don't know how to fish.

As to storage, I'd keep them live if I could in trash cans filled with water. Couldn't put too many in each can unless you had a way to aerate the water. The best part about this is you can keep all you catch and grow the little ones while eating the larger ones.

You know, in all reality fishing and having/taking care of an aquarium are probably two skills that would help one greatly in pursuing this.

As to equipment give me fishing line and a bunch of size 10 hooks and that's all I need to get meat from ponds and lakes.

 

[Bunnykid68]

In SHTF me thinks the lakes and ponds will become focal points for a lot of people

 

[cosermann]

Some folks think that in a true SHTF situation, the game and fish stocks will be depleted fairly quickly.

Hunting/fishing work well currently as a few people recreate, but if EVERYONE heads for the outdoors to look for food, things could be picked clean fairly quickly.

 

[rparker3709@comcast.net]

I want one of these for my BOB - http://www.emmrod.com/products/Packer®-fishing-pole.html Wonder how well they cast.

 

[bwframe]

In SHTF me thinks the lakes and ponds will become focal points for a lot of people

Some folks think that in a true SHTF situation, the game and fish stocks will be depleted fairly quickly.

I'm kind of leaning towards this:

Your best resource at that point will be knowing how to do it. Many people don't know how to fish.

I see a LOT of people fishing. I see FEW people catching. Under normal conditions, at the right time and place, fishing can be productive. What is the likelihood these conditions will work out for those who need to eat?

Even the best fishermen are frequently skunked. The difference between good fishermen and those who have gotten lucky a time or two is the learning involved in how and what works.

 

[R3COIL]

In a SHTF scenario I would suppose any sort of passive fishing would be your best bet as it would allow you to work on other means of appropriating food, as well as all the other tasks that might have to be accomplished just to survive.

 

[rparker3709@comcast.net]

I think you would have to be more specific as to the SHTF scenario. It could fit in all sorts of ways according to the situation and in some instances would not be practical at all. During a prolonged severe economic downturn without a lot of civil unrest, it definitely could be a viable food supplement.

 

[bwframe]

In a SHTF scenario I would suppose any sort of passive fishing would be your best bet as it would allow you to work on other means of appropriating food, as well as all the other tasks that might have to be accomplished just to survive.

Who will be running your lines while you are gone? How will you protect them from anyone but you harvesting?

 

[R3COIL]

The methods involved would need to be specific to the task at hand; and therefore, particular to the type of scenario one may experience. My previous post was meant to incite reflection upon the importance of multitasking during a survival situation. However, in an attempt to answer your question without knowledge of the situation/location/time of year/etc a feasible passive system could be something like any bait on a stainless treble hook tied to a rock. Again, if one is attempting to procure food in any survival situation I'm supposing building snares and hanging drop lines ups my chances of acquiring food while I am also actively trying to get some.

 

[Kmcinnes]

I will just send my 3 yr old daughter, when we go fishing I can't even get my line in because she keeps hitting them....and I mean everytime and everywhere we go. She rocks at fishing with her pink princess pole and loves holding the worms! She takes after me in that because her mom is scared to death of fish lol.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I good method to try is a casting net, they take up a lot less space than traditional gear and can be far more productive. A method of storing the catch long term was used by the native americans and I can only assume other ppls from around the world was drying the fish near a fire on a rack. It takes NO refrigeration. Just something to think about. I won't be going there though as I don't eat fish. If the water becomes contaminated in any way the fish will too, after all, they are just biological water filters. Another thing to ponder...when european man first arrived on this continent the white tail deer population is estimated to have been about 500,000. What do you suppose it is now? Best guess is over 20 million with 30-40 per square mile and up to 100 per square mile in some areas. This is more than enough to sustain a pretty big population if the harvest is done responsibly. I don't expect such responsibility from my fellow man as we are wasteful, but I doubt they will dwindle too fast.

 

[buckstopshere]

I good method to try is a casting net, they take up a lot less space than traditional gear and can be far more productive. A method of storing the catch long term was used by the native americans and I can only assume other ppls from around the world was drying the fish near a fire on a rack. It takes NO refrigeration. Just something to think about. I won't be going there though as I don't eat fish. If the water becomes contaminated in any way the fish will too, after all, they are just biological water filters. Another thing to ponder...when european man first arrived on this continent the white tail deer population is estimated to have been about 500,000. What do you suppose it is now? Best guess is over 20 million with 30-40 per square mile and up to 100 per square mile in some areas. This is more than enough to sustain a pretty big population if the harvest is done responsibly. I don't expect such responsibility from my fellow man as we are wasteful, but I doubt they will dwindle too fast.

I agree on the white tails. On top of the fact that most have no idea how to hunt. It's not called killing for a reason.

I also think a TEOTWAWKI probably 80% of humans die in the first 18 months which gives nature an opportunity to replenish what might have been overly culled.

 

[TiminMishawaka]

I'm kind of leaning towards this:


I see a LOT of people fishing. I see FEW people catching. Under normal conditions, at the right time and place, fishing can be productive. What is the likelihood these conditions will work out for those who need to eat?

Even the best fishermen are frequently skunked. The difference between good fishermen and those who have gotten lucky a time or two is the learning involved in how and what works.

I could catch enough to eat every time I went out....if I was willing to eat what I caught. You can catch a half dozen blue gills and make up a stew that's enough sustenance for the day in less than an hour's fishing. Most guys just complicate fishing by going species specific.

 

[TiminMishawaka]

Who will be running your lines while you are gone? How will you protect them from anyone but you harvesting?

The trick to this is hiding your lines. Swamp people is a good show to watch on these tricks (not the jug lines - the bank lines).

 

[TiminMishawaka]

Another thing to ponder...when european man first arrived on this continent the white tail deer population is estimated to have been about 500,000. What do you suppose it is now? Best guess is over 20 million with 30-40 per square mile and up to 100 per square mile in some areas. This is more than enough to sustain a pretty big population if the harvest is done responsibly. I don't expect such responsibility from my fellow man as we are wasteful, but I doubt they will dwindle too fast.

That may be true but you have to remember that at the time, White Tail deer had competition for food and habitat. We had 10 million elk vs. 1 million now and who knows how many millions of buffalo vs. only 15,000 truly wild buffalo now. I don't even know where the bear population was at then and now. Humans have proved that without regulation they can decimate wild food sources even in time when the S is not hitting the fan. We focus on breeding the whitetail now because we are obsessed with protecting it as a trophy. Take away that industry (and hunger will) and people could shoot them out in less than a decade.

 

[HICKMAN]

I want one of these for my BOB - http://www.emmrod.com/products/Packer®-fishing-pole.html Wonder how well they cast.

better off putting some fishing components in a PVC pipe for storage.

Can use a stick to fish like with a cane pole, this little thing seems too gimmicky.

 

[bwframe]

The trick to this is hiding your lines...

I believe you are right on here. The difficulty is that we are not in deep remote regions here in Indiana, for the most part. It matters little how well you hide your lines if you are being watched while hiding them.

People will be watching ALL others for lots of reasons in SHTF. I feel that security is reason #1, but close behind is successful food harvesting.

 

[Creeper26]

I like the yo yo style reels, they are automatic and can be used
For snares also. Check into drying fish out like the native Indians.

 

[Davis0023]

Trount lines would be the most efficent way to fish, followed by jugs and bottles and lastly just a pole. There are plenty of river and streams creeks etc so, I agree hiding them would not be the most important but a thought to keep in mind. The bait could be harvested for free by easily heavily watering a tilled up flower bed or similar area. I have literally seen thousand worms in a freshly tilled field before. So the ability to collect several dozen would be of ease from any large flower bed, etc.
A good haul from a few well placed trout lines, could easily haul in cat fish, carp even bass. Not to mention the smaller pan fish such as bluegill and sunfish. (Lets not forget turtles can often be caught easily by hand while sunning on rocks etc.)
A good haul of fish could allow some for several or more days of eating as well as trading for other needed items and before allowing it to go to waste it could be used as bait or animal feed or for fertilzer for gardens. Just my two cents of input, hopefully its a contribution .