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If I'm out in the wilderness and want to catch fish to survive, what are some ways I can do this without a conventional fishing pole/line?

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When I lived in Bolivia, some acquaintances took me fishing with dynamite. We parked under a billboard sized sign notifying readers that fishing with dynamite was illegal. They cut the stick into thirds, and used a strip of bicycle tube to tie an old spark plug to each piece. Then they cut about 10 seconds (1/2" or so?) of fuses, inserted them into blasting caps and crimped them on. Once these were inserted into the dynamite, they lit the first one with a cigarette. It sank to the bottom of the river and detonated. 15 seconds later there were hundreds of tiny fish floating tot he surface. Sad –  That Idiot Aug 28 at 14:24

5 Answers 5

up vote 18 down vote accepted

I like the native american fish trap (fishing weir). It's relatively easy to build if you have the right access to a stream.

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The basic idea behind this trap is to create a funnel that the fish follow into a trap that they cannot easily get out of. To build it, you simple stake off an area with small branches pushed down into the mud. The water must be able to get through, but make sure the sticks are close enough to prevent the fish from coming through.

Notice in the picture that the bottom set of sticks creates a funnel that fish easily follow into the trap. Once in there, it's very difficult for fish to find the one point where they can escape the trap.

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The weir is a great way to go. I've actually used this successfully. It's easy to do and can be done even without blocking the whole stream (as in the picture). –  Russell Steen Jan 25 '12 at 21:08

You can actually reach in to the water and grab the fish. No running or chasing. You just quietly get in position, and then when it's time, you quickly grab the fish.

Thomas Elpel describes the process in his wonderful book, Participating in Nature: http://www.hopspress.com/Books/Participating_in_Nature.htm

The nice thing is that it requires no equipment.

He says the technique is illegal in many places, because it is so effective that if widely used it would harm the fish population. In a survival situation, I would accept the legal consequences.

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wait wait wait. this sounds impossible :D –  Stefano Borini Jan 25 '12 at 23:55
I've tried it and it's really really hard. Only thing I managed to catch was those tiny 1 inch long fish, and I was using a cut-in-half javel container, not my hands. Just scoop a whole lot of water + a fish. When I finally caught the bugger, it jumped out, so I had to catch another one, which I immediately "drank" like a pill before it could get away too. This was not a survival situation, just the desire to succeed! –  Shawn Jan 27 '12 at 8:09
Tom Elpel says it's really easy when you get good at it - easier than a hook & line. –  Jay Bazuzi Feb 4 '12 at 4:42
“You’ve nobbut to guddle ’em.” –  Jan Hlavacek Jun 2 '12 at 14:53

One time in the Bihor mountains I watched a group of locals catch quite a remarkable number of fish by hand. They would walk upstream fairly fast running creek, two of them actually in the water, and several of them on the sides. The ones in the water would every once a while throw themselves down, scoop a fish with their hands and throw it to the bank, where the rest of the guys would immediately fall upon it and kill it with a hatchet.

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Whoever downvoted: please explain why, so we can learn to make better answers. –  Jay Bazuzi Jan 26 '12 at 0:11

You can use a net to catch fish like you would do in an aquarium. Fastening a net at a strategic place in a rapid can, in theory, act as a fish trap, but I've never tried it.

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Spearing is both viable and varies in legality within the U.S. Spearing during salmon runs has been done for centuries in the pacific northwest. "Darkhouse" spear fishing is popular on frozen lakes in the upper midwest and during the summer natives still spear for pike and walleye on many upper midwest lakes.

http://gf.nd.gov/fishing/other-fishing-information/darkhouse-spearfishing http://www.leg.state.mn.us/lrl/issues/issues.aspx?issue=indian

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