# Subsistance Fishing



## PopPop

I have enjoyed fishing all of my life and appreciate the skills and knowledge gathered over these many years, But: If I had to fish for food I sure would get hungry. The competetive Tourney Style fishing I have been doing is not very efficient. Recently I have been aquiring fish baskets and trying them out but I catch mostly turtles. I also have been moving back towards small boats and smaller lakes and rivers. When I was a boy this was all that was available to me and was high adventure indeed. I have discovered that the adventure is still there and it is much more productive than competative tourney fishing. So to the gist of this post, How many of you include fishing in your WSHTF planning. Anybody got tips for successful fish trapping.


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## Woody

There are several reservoirs, streams and ponds in my area. All contain lots of fish. My plan is trot lines and pole fishing, lots of hooks in the water. I will not be targeting large fish but lots of smaller ones like bream and crappie. Sure a nice huge cat or bass would make a few meals but it is easier to catch smaller fish that hang near the shoreline in schools. I have stockpiled lots of hooks, lots of them, from 10/0 down to size 10. Also have many sabaki rigs.

Next time you are out put a smaller hook on and cast it by the shore, you’ll find all those little guys eager to bite!


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## The_Blob

don't forget night fishing for catfish... set the sinker/weight about 1 1/2 ft above the bait (worm or crawfish) & just tie the line to a stick jammed in the dirt & goto sleep, breakfast in the morning will taste gooooooooood!

a simple small fish/crawdad trap can be made with rolled chicken wire:

make a tube about 1' diameter 1 1/2' - 2' long with inward pointing conical shaped sections of the same with a 2" hole on the ends, cut a rectangularhole in the middle for a hatch to remove the catch & put in the 'bait' (canned catfood with a couple holes in it is cheap & works well)










or you can buy one...


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## Emerald

Hey Blob! That trap would work great for the Rusty Crayfish that is just crawling all over the lakes and streams here in MI! The DNR even recommends eating them puppies! I told my Uncle about it and he made a couple traps like yours and they ate them most of the summer this year.
I might have to get ta working and make a couple for me!


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## HozayBuck

*Get a Gill net.. look on line.. there are many sizes and they are simple to use and a bit again the law.. but when the mushroom clouds rise the limits and need for a lic go away.. you can put a gill net out and in a short time have something to eat.. placed across a stream and you going in and making some splashing will get the fish heading out fast.. full net!!..

In a shtf event it will be a very good tool!..

Gillnet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia*


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## *Andi

We live on a river (small... 8 - 10 ft wide and a few deep) with our very own 'fish trap' . Some say from the Natives a hundred years ago ... (I say it could have been the boys from the manor, 50/60 years ago)

but ... which ever ... it is cool 

someone (natives or boys ) made a V in the river with rocks ... this V drops into a 'box' made of rocks again... the rock are now in the 'open trap' but with the change of a few rock could be put in the 'close trap' ...

Again, very cool and easy to do.


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## azurevirus

I havent been fishing in a couple yrs..but the law if it hasnt changed is
2 trotlines @ 49 hooks each and 3 poles..I would always go with my friend ..so we could double that..plus the floats..we could live off the fish we caught easy..it was nice...sitting on the bank pole fishing watching the floats and we would ck the trotlines twice a day..biggest problem we had was other ppl..the big bass boats would run through our floats at 50 mph..and then there were the losers who would actually run our trotlines..I couldnt do anything to stop them as I had a jon boat with a 9.9 Evinrude and they had 30-40 hp jobs..really made me mad as my friend and I would have given the fish to them if they had asked..Lord knows we gave away alot of fish over the summers


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## PopPop

azurevirus said:


> I havent been fishing in a couple yrs..but the law if it hasnt changed is
> 2 trotlines @ 49 hooks each and 3 poles..I would always go with my friend ..so we could double that..plus the floats..we could live off the fish we caught easy..it was nice...sitting on the bank pole fishing watching the floats and we would ck the trotlines twice a day..biggest problem we had was other ppl..the big bass boats would run through our floats at 50 mph..and then there were the losers who would actually run our trotlines..I couldnt do anything to stop them as I had a jon boat with a 9.9 Evinrude and they had 30-40 hp jobs..really made me mad as my friend and I would have given the fish to them if they had asked..Lord knows we gave away alot of fish over the summers


Yes trotlines are big around here as well, the problem is just as you encountered, there is no security. That is why I have been trying the traps, they are much easier to hide. One other thing is trotline is much more practical if set and checked by boat. I am thinking tthat using a boat is going to become more and more difficult and exspensive. Where ilive there are 3 watersheds within 2 miles, close enough to walk or bike to.


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## BasecampUSA

I live 1/4 mile from the ocean and I've got a lobster boat... sometimes I long-line, sometimes I jig.

When I go fishing to _fill the freezer_, I don't want to take all day to do it, so sometimes I use a cast-net like these when a school of mackerel or menhaden swarm through our bay:






- Basey


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## philjam

BasecampUSA said:


> I live 1/4 mile from the ocean and I've got a lobster boat... sometimes I long-line, sometimes I jig.
> 
> When I go fishing to _fill the freezer_, I don't want to take all day to do it, so sometimes I use a cast-net like these when a school of mackerel or menhaden swarm through our bay:
> - Basey


You eat menhaden?


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## Woody

Bunker patee on a ritz!


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## Sonnyjim

I consider fishing in shtf to be anything you catch a bonus. I would not rely on this as a full time food supply. Even one person in a small lake could easily eat the lake out in a year or two. For short term if there's great fishing or a steady supply of smaller panfish like crappie or sunfish this to me would be a great source. You can use just about anything to catch these small fish and eat them whole if you have to. 

I'm not sure if I found it on this site or not but there is a great site on how to make a 2L pop bottle minnow trap. It works in the same way as any other minnow trap and there you have free bait or a small meal. Essentially you cut the top of the bottle off and put it reverse in the top of the bottle and staple or sew it on, put it in the stream and the fish come in but can't get out.


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## Clarice

The weather is suppose to be sunny with a high of 65* tomorrow, GOING FISHING.
DH got a new foot controled trolling motor for his birthday last week, can't wait to try it out.


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## Clarice

Update, the weather was beautiful, the trolling motor worked great, the lake was calm and crystal clear and I think that was the problem, the fish could see us before we got to them. Not one bite, but we had fun anyway. It is always good to get away for a few hours and do nothing but enjoy the scenery.


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## sailaway

I am fortunate to live in the Western Lake Erie Basin, We have lots of fish. Alot of people I know have 100 plus #s put away, ice fishing has been good also. Our primary concern is the Chineese Carp, it will destroy our eco system, lots of healthy tastey protein right now trhough.


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## BillM

My dad was a Combat Engineer during WWII.

He told me that they regularly fished to supplement their rations.

Of course they used hand grenades ! 


:hmmm:


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## philjam

sailaway said:


> I am fortunate to live in the Western Lake Erie Basin, We have lots of fish. Alot of people I know have 100 plus #s put away, ice fishing has been good also. Our primary concern is the Chineese Carp, it will destroy our eco system, lots of healthy tastey protein right now trhough.


I think the Chinese carp are edible.


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## sailaway

BillM said:


> My dad was a Combat Engineer during WWII.
> 
> He told me that they regularly fished to supplement their rations.
> 
> Of course they used hand grenades !
> 
> :hmmm:


I've wondered about dynamite? used to throw M80s in when I was a kid,(the good ones) they would throw a fountain of water about 12' in the air. I hind site if through them in the right place, they might have stunned fish. Now they would only attract homeland security, can't be too carefull when it comes to our neighbors to the north.:surrender:


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## sailaway

philjam said:


> I think the Chinese carp are edible.


Your right philjam, they are, so are the carp and sheephead that are already in Lake Erie. They just wont taste as good. A # of Lake Erie yellow perch costs more than a good steak at the meat market. If I had to survive around here, I would rather eat perch or walleye. We also have steelhead, some salmon and catfish along with the bass that are fun to catch. I would hate to have to give the selection up for Chineese Carp to survive on. However my cousins Uncle Louis knew how to make really tastey smoked carp. Around here smoking fish has become a lost art from a generation ago. I should probably look into that.


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## PopPop

I have often wondered about the cost effectivness and taste quality of salting and smoked fish such as Bass, Bream and Catfish. I know my mom says that when she was a little girl, they would seine the creek and smoke the fish. But they also already had a smoke house and a salt house. I think that I would gladly trade my Bass Boat for a good smoke house and salting room and the knowledge to make good use of them


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## sailaway

PopPop said:


> I have often wondered about the cost effectivness and taste quality of salting and smoked fish such as Bass, Bream and Catfish. I know my mom says that when she was a little girl, they would seine the creek and smoke the fish. But they also already had a smoke house and a salt house. I think that I would gladly trade my Bass Boat for a good smoke house and salting room and the knowledge to make good use of them


Hey PopPop,keep your bass boat and build a little smoke house for around $50.00, saw this on a cooking show the other night. Get a real terracotta plant pot with a bottom. (big one) Put a 5th burner in the bottom of it, run the cord through the hole. Lift pot off ground with a couple pieces of 2 x 4. Put a pie plate or pan on top of the burner, put your smoking wood in this, then get a round grill rack that will fit in the pot near the top. Use the plant pot base as a lid and get a meat thermometer from the hardware store, put that through the hole in the lid and adjust the burner temperature so it is 200 degrees. Should take around 12 hrs. to smoke a piece of pork.


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## Teufel_Hunden

Just wanted to share some info about what we here on the east side of Wisconsin call dipnetting.

Having fished here all my life, I have done a little dip netting during the spring. We used to have a good smelt run to go dip netting but those days are no more. We do, however, get a good spring sucker run in the rivers here in my town. Back when I was a little dude, my buddy's Grandpa would send him out with the dip net to a bridge, and I would tag along. I guess his grandparents enjoyed pickling spring suckers. We'd tie the dip net off to the railing on a bridge, toss it in the water, wait a bit, and pull it back out and up. Pretty soon we had a couple 5-gallon buckets full of suckers to take back with us.

Perhaps this method is not good for a year-round subsistence, but it definitely augments a current foodstore. Not being familiar with pickling but wanting to give it a shot, I am going to do some sucker dip netting this spring.

For those wanting to give it a shot if they have a sucker dense river in spring nearby, be sure that you get yourself a sturdy bow for the net. Me? I like the 5' x 5' bow to accomodate the same size net. I have, however, seen them anywhere from 3' x 3' to 7' x 7'. Also, be sure to get a net with the larger holes in it. I have seen 2 types of nets for these bows. One with smaller mesh for smelt, minnows, crayfish, etc. The other for larger fish like sucker. The larger mesh allows for the net not to be affected by a faster river current. The rivers I would dip net here have a slow current by nature, but after the spring melt, they get moving pretty good.

I wanted to include a photo of a dip net as well in case there are those out there who weren't ever familiar with this method of fishing.

http://www.preparedsociety.com/foru...en/albums/just-some-stuff/523-type-dipnet.jpg

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will definitely share an answer if I have the knowledge. Otherwise, I will be happy to say, :dunno:

Geo


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## FreeNihilist

Teufel_Hunden said:


> Just wanted to share some info about what we here on the east side of Wisconsin call dipnetting.
> 
> Having fished here all my life, I have done a little dip netting during the spring. We used to have a good smelt run to go dip netting but those days are no more. We do, however, get a good spring sucker run in the rivers here in my town. Back when I was a little dude, my buddy's Grandpa would send him out with the dip net to a bridge, and I would tag along. I guess his grandparents enjoyed pickling spring suckers. We'd tie the dip net off to the railing on a bridge, toss it in the water, wait a bit, and pull it back out and up. Pretty soon we had a couple 5-gallon buckets full of suckers to take back with us.
> 
> Perhaps this method is not good for a year-round subsistence, but it definitely augments a current foodstore. Not being familiar with pickling but wanting to give it a shot, I am going to do some sucker dip netting this spring.
> 
> For those wanting to give it a shot if they have a sucker dense river in spring nearby, be sure that you get yourself a sturdy bow for the net. Me? I like the 5' x 5' bow to accomodate the same size net. I have, however, seen them anywhere from 3' x 3' to 7' x 7'. Also, be sure to get a net with the larger holes in it. I have seen 2 types of nets for these bows. One with smaller mesh for smelt, minnows, crayfish, etc. The other for larger fish like sucker. The larger mesh allows for the net not to be affected by a faster river current. The rivers I would dip net here have a slow current by nature, but after the spring melt, they get moving pretty good.
> 
> I wanted to include a photo of a dip net as well in case there are those out there who weren't ever familiar with this method of fishing.
> 
> http://www.preparedsociety.com/foru...en/albums/just-some-stuff/523-type-dipnet.jpg
> 
> If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will definitely share an answer if I have the knowledge. Otherwise, I will be happy to say, :dunno:
> 
> Geo


This brings back fond memories. I used to do a lot of dipnetting growing up. And the smelt run and sucker runs were always a big event in my family and perch runs were always an exciting event. Maybe its a WI thing like chili with noodles and cheese curds (not together). lol

As far as pickling suckers I used to have a recipe that was handed down to me but I cant find it for the life of me after moving. We would also however grind the sucker meat and throw in diced onions and green peppers and seasonings to make what we called sucker patties.

As for subsistence fishing, roughfish like carp, catfish and freshwater drum (sheephead) and etc are all very easy to catch even hook and like most of the year and are very edible despite rumors to the contrary. Carp are bony so smoking works best and smoked carp is among my favorites, the local stores sell smoked carp even at certain times of the year but like all things homemade is better. Sheephead are a very dry whitefish so moist cooking methods must be used. Both are quite tasty although like catfish they can have a bit of a muddy or off aftertaste if they come from certain waters that are less clean (algae blooms usually being the culprit often times in off tastes).

A lot of people unnecessarily overlook non-gamefish as a food source. Everything is edible and most things are tasty. The thing to remember is that in freshwater every fish is edible as well as turtles, frogs, and crayfish.Dont limit your options and make use of whats available.

Wilderness Survival: Food Procurement - Animals for Food

Bowfishing is an option for carp as is cast netting since they tend to school i n decent numbers and are quite abundant.

Ive even caught carp by hand by chasing groups into the shallows and trapping them in shallow creeks or stretches of rivers.

It really depends on what youre fishing as to what method works best. I grew up on rivers and streams mostly so my techniques revolve around those environments. Reservoirs and deep lakes would do better with jug fishing and trot lining probably.

Its all about learning the ecology of the local waters and learning when everything runs, what hatches when ( as far as insect hatches), what spawns when (spawning fish are easy targets as they defend nests aggressively esp in shallow waters) and so on. Ive been running about rivers and streams my whole life so I can always fill up my freezer as needed on hook and line alone.

There actually many books on the subject of each fish species and where they migrate to and school during what times of the year and their feeding habits. Ive found these sorts of books quite interesting and have read quite a few over the years.

All it really takes is a good run or two a year to fill your shelves with pickled and canned fish for the year if you take advantage of it.

Trout and salmon runs are definitely the most rewarding as a few big salmon go a long way and it doesnt take long during a run to catch a few or several and have a freezer full.

Any sort of survival is about tapping into our primitive selves and relearning the skills our forefathers and ancestors took for granted. They just knew when to do what because they had been doing it their entire lives.

The best thing you can do is find some of the local old timers if you can and convince them to teach you.

I learned everything I know about trout and salmon (especially quick gutting and processing/preserving methods) from an old timer who lived on the river, who had been fishing the river his whole life.


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## philjam

All kinds of substinance fishing/netting/trapping gear Google "Netcraft fishing". They also have stuff for catching turtles, crawdads, etc.


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## kyfarmer

I would not want to depend on the fish here to eat all the time but not hard to catch or net. Would be an extra but because of the water quality it would a true have to case. Doing it to feed the family during times of distress SHTF.


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## sailaway

It just occured to me that one problem with living on fish from Lake Erie is that you could get mercury poisoning. The gubbermint recomends no more than two fish meals a week.


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