# All in one fishing kits



## AlaskanWilly

Has anyone had any experience with any of the all in one kits, IE: includes a rod, reel and some tackle, with a either hard or soft case? I am going to try and include some pics of the ones available from one of the local stores.

Trying to get 5 B.O.B.s ready with "camping stuff" and figured that even though we don't currently eat a lot of fish, that once TSHTF that fish vs starve will see a lot of fishing.

Any input good or bad would be awesomely appreciated.:wave:


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## NaeKid

I have seen those kits as well. I have never bought one, so, I don't know if they are worth the money or not. Did you want to report back to us on those kinds of kits?


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## AlaskanWilly

Probably will, thinking of getting one of them and letting the kids fish since they fish for free lol


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## Littlebit

I have bought a couple of those for my self in the past. Not bad depending on the maker. Good for kids and also for emergencys. Not to change the subject, but how are the food prices where your at?


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## AlaskanWilly

Hmm, about 3.50-4.00$ for a gallon o milk, roughly .75-2.00$ for canned veggies if not on sale. Bread is roughly .97-4$ a loaf... bout norm for here since I have been up here going on 4 years.. Costco helps alot on the meat/veggies/other items bought in bulk  Nothing like down south tho  or least what I remember from down south prices.


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## sailaway

Are those fishing sets strong enough for the size fish up there, I visualized needing heavy duty equiptment for the size fish you have in Alaska. For fishing on Lake Erie, I have several poles, but I always go back to a good old medium action Zebco 202. I have caught more fish with a 202 than any other rod and reel combo. They are only about $10.00 at the discount stores. Just make sure what ever you buy has a metal gear set.


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## SurvivalNut

*Fishing Kit*

I saw this fishing outfit demonstrated at a Boy Scout Expo. Made for kayaking or backpacking, these seemed very durable, packable and broke down very compactly. I would have purchased some myself, but my location has very limited fishing options.

MyCompactFishing.com


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## AlaskanWilly

In all honesty most of the fish here laugh at convential tackle :/ so perhaps a good net will suffice for the salmon in the few streams that have them, and forget about trying to "fish". Sadly, Juneau is at the end of a glacier with only plane/boat entry/exit :gaah:


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## sailaway

SurvivalNut said:


> I saw this fishing outfit demonstrated at a Boy Scout Expo. Made for kayaking or backpacking, these seemed very durable, packable and broke down very compactly. I would have purchased some myself, but my location has very limited fishing options.
> 
> MyCompactFishing.com


These look interesting, but awfully high priced. I would recomend an ice fishing rod and reel, you can buy a combo with line already on it for $20.00 at the outdoor stores in Ohio durring the season. AlaskanWilly, as for fishing where you are and the salmon laughing at standard equiptment I think I would use a bear.


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## backlash

I have used them in the past.
Wouldn't waste my money.
Get an inexpensive rod and reel and you can actually catch fish.
One combo I bought came apart the very first cast. Sent the end section of the rod right into the lake and the line broke trying to reel it back in.
If you have to rely on something to save your life cheaper isn't better.


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## Grizz

They are a waste of money, unless thats all a person could afford. It seems to me that in your area where fish may become a major staple in anyones survival that you would want quality gear. If you know where your bugging to, fish it and see what works and put together your own kit. But I would think that a slightly better pole would be a great investment. In my BOV I have a 50 cal box with my shooting and fishing supplies, minus the guns and poles. They are tucked away elsewhere in the BOV. The fishing gear has a a lot of different tackle as my needs where i'm going will vary just as much as my BOL.


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## jrg24

If you want a reel that will last for a long time, there are two reels i would suggest, but neither one of them are cheap. One is called Van Staal. It is a manual bale spinning reel, made entirely out of metal. it is marketed as the toughest reel on the planet (maybe). you can get them in smaller sizes more suited for most fresh water fishing, but even then you will pay $700 for it. but it could quite literally be the last reel you ever buy. The other is zeebaas, which was designed by the same guy who created van staal (he sold his van staal business). The zeebaas is a larger reel, but is marketed as practically indestructible, but you are looking at almost $1000 for one. However, if we are talking SHTF, and there is no bait and tackle shop to go to, it will keep you in business for a long time. personally, even though it is not practical to grab and go with really, i would buy fish traps and use those. you can use em to catch small pan fish. also, dont forget about bamboo. if you have a place to bug out to, plant some clumping bamboo and use it to make cane poles.

also, i chose the two reels above mainly due to the low amount of maintenance and that they both have relatively few moving parts. less moving parts means less things to break.


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## backlash

If I paid $1000 for a fishing reel it better come with a free boat.


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## NaeKid

Ok - I took the bait. I purchased two different "all-in-one" kits to test out this weekend.

My plan is to open the package 2 minutes before I will cast the line and report back on how they do. Both packages state that they are designed towards shore-fishing and boat-fishing, not fly-fishing. In the package there are some wormy-looking-things, some bobbers, some line, hooks .... you get the idea.

One of the package-deals is made by Rapala - a fairly good name in fishing supplies. That kit cost me about $30 at the local CanadianTire store.

The other kit cost about $20, called X-treme, but, it was purchased at PrincessAuto. I will update this thread after the weekend with my findings / feelings / thoughts on both of the kits and if there would be any "add-on" things that would be recommended to add to your BOK (Bug Out Kit) to go with the fishing kit.


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## NaeKid

Alright - here is my take on the two kits (all inclusive) and what they give you vs what you need.

Rapala - kit has line, hooks, bobber and some rubber "things" that are supposed to make a fish look at it and think its a meal and dive for it. No tackle-box to put the stuff into.

X-Treme - kit has line, hooks, bobber and some rubber "things" that are supposed to make a fish look at it and think its a meal and chomp down on it. It also comes with a basic "tackle-box" to put everything in.

Rapala - spinner-casting with two-piece rod allows for easier transport of rod when taken down.

X-Treme - center-line trigger-release casting with two-piece rod. The trigger-release is quite difficult to figure out how to toss the line out into the water for many people (handed the rod to 3 other experienced fishers to see how well they could toss-the-line).

*Missing from both kits:*
No plyers, scissors, knives, gloves or instructions on how to fish, how to tie on a hook, how to attach a bobber. No line-weights (lead). No fish-identification guides (or where to locate), no instructions on what to do with a fish once caught (remove hook, gut, cook, freeze), no net to land a fish.

*Two seperate fishing trips*

Trip #1 was a combination of stream and lake fishing. Nothing caught using the supplied bait even when others were able to pull in fish.

Trip #2 was a lake where one friend was casting weights with butter/garlic shrimp as bait. One friend was casting weights with gummy-bears for bait and myself casting what was given in the kit.

Friend casting with shrimp pulled in three fish. Friend casting with gummy-bears pulled in no fish. Myself tossing out the bobber with rubber-thingy pulled in no fish. The two of us that pulled in no fish switched to shrimp and each pulled in one fish about 6". All fish landed were Rainbow-Trout and all about the same size.

*Purchased for the experiment*

After getting the two kits, I still needed to spend more money on fishing gear in the form of a proper tackle-box, weights and for safe-transportation, rod-carry-cases. Found a decent priced fish-processing-center (tape-measure, weigh-scale, knives, plyers, fish-glove, cutting-board) to add to the kit as I didn't want to use my "good-stuff" for the experiment.

*Going forward*

I will spend a little more money on some complimentary fishing gear (similar to what was in the kit) but will not spend more money than what was on the original kits, and report back on what brings in "supper". I will not "mix" my old fishing gear in with the "new" fishing gear till such time as I feel that the experiment has reached a closure. I will do my best not to catch-n-release fish (size restriction), but, catch-n-keep fish with the kit I have and cook as required.


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## sailaway

How about a fishing kit that fits in an Altoids tin? I bottom fish Lake Erie for perch and only need hook, line and sinker. I am worried about the arrival of Asian Carp though!


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## NaeKid

sailaway said:


> How about a fishing kit that fits in an Altoids tin? I bottom fish Lake Erie for perch and only need hook, line and sinker. I am worried about the arrival of Asian Carp though!


I would love to read your experiment with an "Altoids Fishing Kit" where what you have in the kit is what you use to catch, kill, gut and prepare to cook your meal. So far, my experiment with both of the "All in one" kits would be considered a failure due to needing more than what is supplied in the kit to catch a fish in our lakes and streams. I haven't caught one fish using only what was supplied in the kit - I needed "outside sourced" bait in order to catch my first fish with the kit.

My biggest issue was that no knife for gutting was supplied and no plyers for removing a hook were supplied. Yes, I realize that I could have used my Leatherman for both of those tasks, but, a simple "cheap" multi-tool in the kit would have been a welcome addition. I wouldn't expect a fryin' pan and fire-starter in a kit of that sort, but, it would have been nice to have it a truely "All-in-one" kit for someone who has never fished before to be able to catch a fish on the first or second time out.

So far, I love my Rapala rod for size, flexibility and ability to toss a line out about 30' into a lake.


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## HozayBuck

Damn !! you guys...ok here's how... 1/4 stick 60% DuPont ,tie to rock , 10 second fuse..deep water is best, light fuse, toss in deep hole...get back or get wet...after the water stops falling collect fish.. NOTE, this unit does not come with a tool to gut fish .... good luck..OH and after getting all the fish you can gather...run!! F&G types get a case of the ass over the "BAIT"


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## mdprepper

I have been trying really hard not to post in this thread, but here I go. 

My Stepdad used to love to fish. He would spend hundreds of dollars on gear and NEVER caught a thing. My Grandmom would go out and fish with him, she used a hand line with corn or pieces of hotdog for bait. She would land everything. Bass, flounder, catfish, whatever they were fishing for.

I married a man with so much gear we have to have a rider on our homeowners insurance to cover it (that and my engagement ring-an antique from my mom-are the only things of value in the place). His friends all have the expensive gear too. My DH can catch everything and his friends will get skunked. 

I think the biggest reasons are the same principles as hunting. Know your prey. Know the habits of the type of fish you are trying to catch. Sinkers are not going to help you if you are trying to catch a top feeder. Using flies will not get you a bottom feeder. 

And...practice, practice, practice. Those artificial baits (rubber worms) do not act like real worms, there are certain ways that you tug on your line and reel it in that make it "look" real to a fish.


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## gds

The original poster specified "when TSHTF". So I will agree with HB, explosives, gill nets, depth charges, fire arms, archery, black walnuts in a sack, etc.. whatever puts the food on the table!


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## trapperjon

*fish pole*

I bought a zebco one bout 10 years ago. Keep it in the jeep has come in handy more times than I can count. I maintain the reel every few years (oil and new line). Mine came with a bunch of junk tackle I swapped out for more usable lures.


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## sailaway

I think the best all in one fishing kit is the one you put together yourself for the area you are in and what you will be fishing for. Personally, I have caught more fish with a zebco 202. Just make sure your reel has all metal gears!


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## Diego2112

Currently looking into the Shakespeare "Ladyfish" spinner rod/reel combo for my wife (comes with basic tackle etc, plus some of the money goes to early detection of breast cancer! ), and just looking to get a decent Ugly Stick to go with my Daiwa reel (the first guide eye BROKE on the rod I had, granted, it was close to 20 years old!).

To be honest, I dont know why I even bother with rods and reels, I've caught more using a stick with some line on the end of it than I have with a rod! But hey, I guess it's the fact of HAVING one, ja?

I'll be grabbing that as soon as I'm back in NC and get my license (changed the :ignore: rules again! Now for C&R fishing you've got to have a license! :gaah!


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