Old Project Avalon Forum (ARCHIVE) - View Single Post

Sol Invictus · 10-06-2008, 02:43 AM

So you are in a remote area, and your starting to get settled in. You have your shelter, you have you water, but now it comes to the crunch. You need food.

Theres a river near by, but theres not enough people in your group to have one stood by a river bank all day catching death of cold or sunburn.

So what to do ?

Well, first off select your location. A bend in the river where water slows down is a great place to start - slower water means safer fishing and easier trap placement. It also narrows the choice of route for a fish to travel through the water.

So, a bendy stretch with some over hanging greenery is ideal for our needs as shade makes fish come closer to the surface and feel safer.
Heres an example of what I am talking about in the picture above.

So we know where we aim to place our trap. Now lets build it.

First off we need to know roughly how deep the water is - so we wde out with a measuring stick and mark off the depth.

Next, we need six solid shafts of wood that are say 15 % longer than our depth marker. Trim these down and sharpen one end to form a stake.

Now, taking three of these stakes lash them together to form a tripod or tee pee construction.

So we have the foundations for our fishing trap. Here we get out from our bob either some 25 Lb fishing line or para cord, which ever you prefere. I have used both with alot of success. We attach this to both of the tripods securely.

We then get some more line and hooks (of course I assume every body has fishing hooks in their survival kit - if not, why not ?) and make three or four free hanging lines along the length of our top wire. Make them different lengths and different baits to ensure maximum exposure to all fish types if you can.

These will dangle freely in the water and can be baited and lured to what ever specs you see fit. I would use a combination of fly and shiny lures. Best of both worlds this way.

Avoid weighting them too heavy as they will just present a straight line in the water to a fish, and that can spook them, instead try for a mid river sink, or no weights at all just hooks and bait.

Taking the entire trap out into the water and planting it firmly into the river bed we will end up with some thing along these lines. A trap thats both covert in nature, and able to be left alone for a few hours at a time, leaving you free to focus on other tasks. the simple beauty of it is also that it can be left in situ for a large amount of time and become a feature of the river to fish.. thus making them lazy and complacent.

So, I hope thats some thing you can relate to and possibly mull over whilst prepping yourself for what evers coming down the pipeline.

Now, do note that the trap is entirely under the surface of the water for a number of reasons.

1) it creates no surface disturbance, thus giving it an element of covertness - if a person cannot see it they will not be alerted to your presence.

2) Fish will swim near structures, but avoid structures that break the skyline unless its absolutely neccessary or there is a source of food near by. This makes the fish get used to the trap and thus will more likely take the bait offered.

3) The water itself camouflages our suspend line. if the line was above the water it would caste a glaring shadow in sunlight on the surface. Fish avoid this like the plague and you will catch nothing at all.

10-06-2008, 02:43 AM	#7
Sol Invictus Banned Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 599	Re: Survival fishing. Fish trap. So you are in a remote area, and your starting to get settled in. You have your shelter, you have you water, but now it comes to the crunch. You need food. Theres a river near by, but theres not enough people in your group to have one stood by a river bank all day catching death of cold or sunburn. So what to do ? Well, first off select your location. A bend in the river where water slows down is a great place to start - slower water means safer fishing and easier trap placement. It also narrows the choice of route for a fish to travel through the water. So, a bendy stretch with some over hanging greenery is ideal for our needs as shade makes fish come closer to the surface and feel safer. Heres an example of what I am talking about in the picture above. So we know where we aim to place our trap. Now lets build it. First off we need to know roughly how deep the water is - so we wde out with a measuring stick and mark off the depth. Next, we need six solid shafts of wood that are say 15 % longer than our depth marker. Trim these down and sharpen one end to form a stake. Now, taking three of these stakes lash them together to form a tripod or tee pee construction. So we have the foundations for our fishing trap. Here we get out from our bob either some 25 Lb fishing line or para cord, which ever you prefere. I have used both with alot of success. We attach this to both of the tripods securely. We then get some more line and hooks (of course I assume every body has fishing hooks in their survival kit - if not, why not ?) and make three or four free hanging lines along the length of our top wire. Make them different lengths and different baits to ensure maximum exposure to all fish types if you can. These will dangle freely in the water and can be baited and lured to what ever specs you see fit. I would use a combination of fly and shiny lures. Best of both worlds this way. Avoid weighting them too heavy as they will just present a straight line in the water to a fish, and that can spook them, instead try for a mid river sink, or no weights at all just hooks and bait. Taking the entire trap out into the water and planting it firmly into the river bed we will end up with some thing along these lines. A trap thats both covert in nature, and able to be left alone for a few hours at a time, leaving you free to focus on other tasks. the simple beauty of it is also that it can be left in situ for a large amount of time and become a feature of the river to fish.. thus making them lazy and complacent. So, I hope thats some thing you can relate to and possibly mull over whilst prepping yourself for what evers coming down the pipeline. Now, do note that the trap is entirely under the surface of the water for a number of reasons. 1) it creates no surface disturbance, thus giving it an element of covertness - if a person cannot see it they will not be alerted to your presence. 2) Fish will swim near structures, but avoid structures that break the skyline unless its absolutely neccessary or there is a source of food near by. This makes the fish get used to the trap and thus will more likely take the bait offered. 3) The water itself camouflages our suspend line. if the line was above the water it would caste a glaring shadow in sunlight on the surface. Fish avoid this like the plague and you will catch nothing at all.