Primitive fishing techniques are very helpful skills to understand if you find yourself in a survival scenario. The chores of survival need plenty of calories which might be hard to replace out there in the woods. In some areas fish are an excellent survival food – if you know a way to catch them. They supply protein, fat and essential nutrients – vitamins and minerals that are necessary for muscle and bone health. In the Pacific Northwest entire primitive societies were built round the seasonal migrations of a certain fish – salmon!
In this article I’ll share three ways of getting fish in a survival situation if you’re caught out there without any trendy fishing gear.
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Fish Spears
Fish spears are easy and simple to create but need plenty of talent and information to use with success. They’re only practical on certain kinds of fish and in certain environments. The best conditions for hunting with a fish spear are areas with significant cover on the bank and clear or shallow water where you’ll be able to see the fish. Carp and catfish root in the early mornings close to the shores of ponds and slow moving rivers so if you find a spot with good cover, you may be ready to catch one in the act.
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Bone, Wood & Cactus Hooks
If you have patience and materials available to create cord and a hook, this may be a viable choice. The most effective location for this technique could be a bank with good cover and a sharp drop off. It’s hard to get a long cast with natural cordage and you need deep water to get fish to come right up to the bank thus find a spot wherever the water drops down deep right next to the bank. Use live bait – grasshoppers are nice. If you would like to catch one fish it’ll most likely take five grasshoppers. So if you want to catch five fish you must collect twenty five grasshoppers. Pull their heads off and skewer them on a grass stalk, for easy storage. When you fish with one of these natural hooks there’s no barb so you need to hook the fish in the lip and flip it out of the water onto the bank. Be fast to jump on the fish before it flops back into the water.
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Fish Traps
Fish traps are widely used everywhere the planet as a method of procuring fish, crabs, and lobsters for food, each by people who use modern and primitive fishing techniques. They’re a good possibility in areas where fish are funneled by a slim spot in the river or when there’s a significant salmon run. Bottom feeders like catfish and carp can also be caught in fish traps that are baited on the shore of a pond or slow moving watercourse.
All of these primitive fishing techniques can offer food in a survival scenario. The tactic you select will be determined by the body of water and species of fish you seek. Keep in mind that in most states there are laws that forbid the utilization of primitive fishing implements.
