Survival Fishing Kit For UK Preppers
When you consider that the UK is an island surrounded by water with many inland rivers and ponds, it makes sense to carry a survival fishing kit as you’ll never be too far away from some water and therefore some fish.
In a survival situation or if you decide to bug out, even for a short while, its possible to find a source of good food from many rivers.
Of all the various ways to procure food in a survival situation, I think fishing is without doubt the very best method.
You can always find a pond or lake or a coastline not too far away, and be pretty much guaranteed there will be fish in it.
The main problem is catching the fish in the first place - This is where a good quality survival fishing kit is required by all UK Preppers - A fishing kit that will stand up to the job but also be suitably compact and light enough to have in your bug out bag.
Remember, your not out on a jolly, to catch a nice fishy or two then throw them back.... Your fishing kit is an essential part of your survival gear but without all the normal clobber you would expect from a fishing trip.
Essentially you can do one of a few things
Spear, Hook, Trap or Net
To catch a fish by the spearing methods does require some practice as well as a clear-ish pond or river to actually see the fish in the first place.
It is highly unlikely you will have brought a fishing spear with you so you will need to make one - time consuming and requires some skills to perfect.
Catching fish by the spearing method can also be very time consuming. As a general rule spear fishing is not really recommended as the most productive method for most preppers in a survival situation.
Net Fishing.
Net and Hook fishing can be much more productive methods -
But a net in itself can be a bulky piece of survival fishing kit and in a bug out bag, would may well take up more space than you wish to give up.!
So the net option is generally not considered unless your home is near a river or your planned bug out has room for one.
However, if this is an option, a Gill Net
Once set up across a river it can be left to do its own work enabling you to get on with other things. The net itself can be rolled up quite small and is very light but the net length needs to be reasonable (20mtrs plus) to be effective and this means more bulk.
A good piece of survival fishing kit if you have access to a river where you can get to both sides for setting up and room in your bug out bag.
fish trap
Making a fish trap is based on an easy principle, but a lot more difficult in real life!
A high degree of skill is needed to make this trap. Fortunately there are simpler methods to achieve the same result, namely:
Take aplastic bottle, cut the top part off, turn it around and insert into bottle.
This will allow the fish to swim in, but not find their way out.
The bottle will need to be weighted down to allow it to sit on the bottom and not float about.
Hook Fishing
When it comes to survival fishing, most people think of the good old hook and line type. This is certainly one of the mainstays of survival fishing, and you can get quite good telescopic fishing rods with lightweight reels and compact systems that work quite well.
But the main idea of a survival fishing kit is something that's light, compact and requires little time to setup and even less to manage.
If you have to spend hours sitting along the river bank watching and waiting for a fish, then that's definitely not practical in a survival situation and just a waste of your valuable survival time and effort..!
For that reason alone I do not recommend your normal rod and line approach.
Instead I go for the automatic fishing reel approach.
This method gives you an excellent bit of survival kit to add to your bug out bag - in fact I have three automatic fishing reels in my bug out bag -
The best and without a doubt, the 'daddy' of all auto fishing reels is the YO-YO Automatic Mechanical Fishing Reel
Once set you just leave it to go to work and catch you fish..! For next to no effort.
A cracking bit of survival fishing kit and a 'must have' in you bug out bag and any emergency survival kit.
The best bit is the price - at under £10 complete - I have had success every time I have set my yo-yo reels and they have never let me down.
click here for some more details and prices on the yo-yo reel
I have also added a video showing 'how to' with the yo-yo but it just so simple - take a look.
What next - Preparing your fish to eat
Whatever method of fishing you decide to use in order to catch your fish and ultimately, be able to eat for your 'dinner'. It is essential you know how to prepare and cook the fish correctly.
Badly prepared and cooked fish will definitely make you ill and create more problems for you in a survival situation. We have several 'Survival Skills' articles covering all aspects of wilderness survival and situations.
We also have a dedicated article on 'How to butcher and prepare wild food' -
3 comments
Muchas gracias por este consejo, es una gran idea! me la guardo para la próxima vez
What a brilliant idea,
Never seen the yo yo reel before.
It looks so simple….. even for me!!
Love it, great idea. Thanks for sharing.
Lee.