A great survivalist knows how to prepare for any survival situation – especially in the wilderness. Check out the tutorial below to learn how to make your own fishing gear.
No Fishing Gear? No Problem
When SHTF, you may be forced to bug out and live in the wilderness. And in that situation, there's absolutely nothing more important than getting food. Of course, knowledgeable survivalists know to pack their bug out bag ahead of time, fully equipped with all the gear necessary to catch, trap and kill food for their next meal.
But things can always go wrong. You could lose your bag or have it stolen. Your gear could become damaged somehow. At the very least, you will almost certainly reach a point when you run out of ammo, bait or fishing line. At that point, you'll have to improvise.
Lucky for you, humans have been fishing for thousands of years with found materials. You don't need a fancy rod and reel and lures to catch a fish (although it helps, of course.) You just need to be able to work with what you find, and find a way to make it useful in a survival situation.
Making Your Own Fishing Gear
When scavenging for survival fishing gear, keep a lookout for:
- Shiny objects that might help attract fish (such as the top of a tin can)
- Discarded fishing line
- Discarded fishing gear such as lures, bait or hooks
- Soda cans — their tabs can be used to make a fish hook (check out the video below to learn how!)
Indian Fish Trap
Another great survival fishing tip is learning how to create an Indian fish trap. This type of trap should be set up in a sandy area with shallow water, where fish can swim into reeds and become trapped.
Here's how to make an Indian fish trap:
Step 1: Find a shallow part of the water near a sandy bank, where mosquitoes and other bugs gather.
Step 2: Gather some sticks in various sizes, and weave them together, as shown below.
Step 3: Take the woven sticks and place them firmly in the mud in the water.
Step 4: Make several more of these grids, arranging them in a triangle shape so that the trap is bigger closer to the bank and narrower at the opening.
The idea is for the fish to swim into the trap in an attempt to eat the insects hanging out near the bank. Once they are in, they will have trouble finding the opening and escaping.
The following video from KnifeHQ has even more tips for how you can fish without fishing equipment simply by looking around or using available materials cleverly.
Looking for more fishing hacks? Check out these related articles from our website:
- Fish Like A Redneck | 26 Wacky Fishing Tips
- DIY Paracord Fishing Lure
- DIY Fishing Pole Out of a Stick | DIY Survival Gear
For awesome survival gear you can’t make at home, check out the Survival Life Store!
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on July 26, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
