Three Letters Re: Prepping for Fishing in TEOTWAWKI

James,
I was thinking about the fishing e-mails and thinking: why are we talking [about using hand-held] rods?

In a true TEOTWAWKI situation [where present-day conventions and legalities on sport fishing have gone by the wayside] I don’t want to be standing there for hours trying to catch dinner just like I don’t want to be sitting in a tree stand trying to shoot dinner either. Like hunting, which I tend to agree with you on (you do it all the time by carrying your rifle and being ready at all times — or at least some firearm capable of taking big game)…the same goes for fishing.

Should I find myself near a lake or pond that has fish in it I’ll rig up a trot/trout line and get it set across the lake or between to jutting trees etc. Then I’ll go back to surviving and check the line later in the day, even the next day. I don’t have to sit there and watch it so I can gather wood, work in my garden (should I be fortunate enough to have one) etc etc..

When I was young I remember an older native lady who used to set up multiple poles on the pier she fished from. It was up north in British Columbia and far anyone so no worries about getting in trouble with the law. The point is, she put multiple hooks in the water then went back into her little shack and waited out the day doing something else.

She always caught lots of fish and you’d never know unless you watched her pull them up or put the lines in…she often set trout lines from one wharf to another also and always caught fish on them.

How did I know? I was an enterprising young lad who spent hours with my rod and reel to catch one or two fish, while she caught 10 or 12.

So it’s just lines, hooks and gear of that sort for me with one or two compact rods to use if traveling.

Otherwise, why waste the time? – Erik

Sir,
While a good discussion on fishing gear please remember that post-collapse the “old” rules no longer apply.

There are two excellent methods for getting fish that have not been mentioned.
The first is courtesy of Larry Dean Olsen (primitive survival expert) and I have tried this myself and it works like a champ. Basically you trap a small rodent (ground squirrel, prairie dog, etc. that you would not eat) and hang it over a deep cut bank on a stream or lake. As flies come maggots will grow and gravity being what it is, they will drop off the carcass and into the water. This process takes three days at a minimum. But it conditions the fish to come to that spot for a “free” meal. Then using a large net or other means, the fish are relatively easy to catch.

The second is courtesy of my brother who worked doing fish surveys for the Division of Wildlife in the back country of Utah for a number of years while finishing his education. Basically you drive two copper rods into the bottom of the stream or pond and attach them to your vehicle’s electrical system (I use jumper cables). The 12 volt DC current acts as a magnet for the fish and you can pick and choose which ones you want for supper. Now I’ve only tried this in areas that are predominately populated by trout and char (brook and lake trout) so I do not know if it works on other species. – Hugh D.

Jim,
Many of your readers seem to think that hunting and fishing are going to be feasible ways to feed their families after the balloon goes up. I guess this is possible in very remote areas, but I would caution them not to count on it. Even assuming the disaster that caused the collapse doesn’t destroy wildlife (radiation for instance), wild game is a very undependable food resource.

The assumption is that without game laws, a resourceful fisherman can take many times more fish from a body of water than if he were following rules. This is absolutely true. Having fished with grenades in the past, I can vouch for the effectiveness of unrestrained fishing techniques.

Unfortunately, game laws are there for a reason: to keep the resources from being over-exploited. I participated in an exercise with a Tahan Pran unit (Irregulars attached to the Royal Thai Army) in 1986 and watched a platoon fish out an entire section of a fairly large river in just a few days. By the end of a week, they stopped throwing grenades in the water because there weren’t enough fish to justify the activity any more. This small group of people basically denuded several miles of river and harvested all the fish available, including minnows. We ate a lot of fish that week, but their technique was too effective for long term use.

Even a large body of water has a finite carrying capacity and I expect most of them will be exceeded after the balloon goes up. Even if nobody is fishing with dynamite, lots of people are going to have the same idea and most bodies of water are going to be exploited much more heavily than they currently are. Most lakes, rivers and ponds are stocked regularly with fish to keep anglers happy. Without constant re-stocking and feeding programs, the watershed will be dependent on native fish breeding to restock. This is a slow process at best. Add to that over fishing by lots of hungry people and I expect water resources to be quickly depleted in most areas.

Hunting is even more prone to over-exploitation. Shooting deer from a feeding station or spotlighting them is very easy, but the downside is that anyone can do it. Deer, bear, and other large game may be poached to extinction in most areas and are going to be scarce wherever there are hungry people. Even rabbits and squirrels are likely to be in short supply.

Perhaps more serious is the topic of security. After TEOTWAWKI I expect fishing to be extremely hazardous. Water courses and lake shores are lines of drift and attract people. Standing around dangling a hook in the water seems to me to be a very dangerous activity and drifting around in a boat can make you a convenient target. You are vulnerable to rifle fire from basically anywhere on the shore. Tramping around in the woods is little better. If you run into anyone, you may find yourself on the receiving end of an ambush, or at best, in a battle, far from help.

Hunting and fishing are very time consuming (with the exception of traps and trot-lines). After TEOTWAWKI, there may be better uses for your time and energy. If you are truly isolated, hunting and fishing can be valid ways to put some meat on the table, but if you are anywhere near a population center, I would forget about buying fishing gear and use the extra money to store more food. – JIR

Economics and Investing:

The Other Jim R. mentioned a piece in the SHTFPlan blog: Hyperinflationary Depression – No Way of Avoiding Financial Armageddon

Markus suggested this piece over at 321 Gold: An Introspective Look at the Future of America Craig Harris.

A recent post from the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Real Homes of Genius: Culver City Housing Bubble. Housing Shadow Inventory in Action. Countrywide Bank Owned home versus Duplex on Same Block. Foreclosure Holiday.

Items from The Economatrix:

Geithner: Tight Lending Threatens US Recovery

Global Food Crisis 2010 Means Financial Armageddon

Bob Chapman: The Credit Crisis is Not Over

Global Markets Face Rising Risk of a 2010 Double-Dip Recession

Fragile U.S. Economy Under Increasing Stress From Escalating Afghanistan War

US Dollar Breakout Means Gold Has Further to Fall

Odds ‘n Sods:

F.G. spotted this: New high-tech vehicles pose trouble for mechanics. Here is a quote from the article: “As cars become vastly more complicated than models made just a few years ago, Baur is often turning down jobs and referring customers to auto dealer shops. Like many other independent mechanics, he does not have the thousands of dollars to purchase the online manuals and specialized tools needed to fix the computer-controlled machines.” F.G.’s comment: “It sounds like that clean, 1965 Mustang, or 1978 pick-up truck may be a better investment than just being a nice vintage ride. You can still work on it yourself. “

   o o o

Freeze Dry Guy has introduced a number of novel scheduled buying club plans. This is designed to inexpensively and consistently set aside a supply of long term storage food for your family. These plans uses calendar-scheduled discount purchases, based on your available budget.

   o o o

Reader D.A.S. notes that Brownell’s has a article on different rust preventatives and their effectiveness. This great information for storing metal equipment and tools.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The degree of equality in education that we can reasonably hope to attain, but that should be adequate, is that which excludes all dependence, either forced or voluntary. We shall show how this condition can be easily attained in the present state of human knowledge even by those who can study only for a small number of years in childhood, and then during the rest of their life in their few hours of leisure. We shall prove that, by a suitable choice of syllabus and methods of education, we can teach the citizen everything that he needs to know in order to be able to manage his household, administer his affairs, and employ his labor and his faculties in freedom; to know his rights and to be able to exercise them; to be acquainted with his duties and fulfill them satisfactorily; to judge his own and other men’s actions according to his own lights and to be a stranger to none of the high and delicate feelings which honor human nature; not to be in a state of blind dependence upon those to whom he must entrust his affairs or the exercise of his rights; to be in a proper condition to choose and supervise them; to be no longer the dupe of those popular errors which torment man with superstitious fears and chimerical hopes; to defend himself against prejudice by the strength of his reason alone; and, finally, to escape the deceits of charlatans who would lay snares for his fortune, his health, his freedom of thought and his conscience under the pretext of granting him health, wealth, and salvation.” – Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet

Two Letters Re: Prepping for Fishing in TEOTWAWKI

James:
This is in response to the articles on fishing. Depending on where you are, I would assume that everyone and his relations will be sitting on the bank and hoping for a fish to bite. Fishing is hit or miss, unless you have a boat and have spent a great deal of time on the water, you will starve to death waiting for a fish to bite. You will be sitting exposed and probably looking over your shoulder.

I have a better solution and it is one that will work every time it is tried. Assuming you are operating in survival mode, a device my dad and, now I, have is a simple thing called a crawfish (crayfish, or freshwater lobster) rake. You make a rectangular wire basket with a long pole on the top and the end facing you open. You thrust it out into the water and let it sink. Then you rapidly pull it back in by letting it drag along the bottom. You dump it on the bank and poke through all the leaves and sticks for all the small fish (occasional big fish), crawfish, frogs, mussels etc. You not only have bait, you can also add this to a pot of stew or gumbo, it may not look good but I assure you it will be good for you. I am attaching a picture of one I’ve used for 25 years. You can probably describe it better than I can for your readers.

You can easily supply the protein needs of a family with what you can drag out of a ditch, or most any still body of water. The murkier the water the better.

Another devise is a minnow seine, one or more persons will have to get in the water. One end is secured on land, the other is walked out into the water and then in a wide arc as it is slowly walked until you get the other end on shore. Then you simply keep walking until the net and its contents are on shore. I recommend at least a 20 foot one.

There is also a device called a cast net, it requires practice, but is very effective at catching fish.

Webbing is very effective, this requires a boat or shallow water and is extremely effective at snaring fish, turtles, etc. I have a 100 foot one stored in a duffle that will go with us when we bug out.

A hoop net is another type of net. There is a company in Jonesville, Louisiana called Champlin Net Company. They have been making and selling nets for as long as I remember (Hoop, webbing, gill, and even baseball). [JWR Adds: OBTW, the large mesh commercial fishing netting (1.5-inch squares) is also perfect to use for the base layer for assembling ghillie camouflage ponchos.]

Although bulky, fish and crab traps are also effective. They can be hidden and out of sight, just remember where you deployed them. And don’t forget the trot line and simple lines tied to tree limbs that you run at intervals during the day and night.

Everyone likes to get out the rod and reels, but ask anyone who goes fishing how many trips they make to Wal-Mart or Academy Sports for supplemental gear for every trip. There may not be a sporting goods store to go to, so keep plenty of hooks, line and sinkers. Don’t just keep monofilament line, it goes bad from old age.

Hope this helps, catching a mess of fish is great and the eating is good. But using any or all the techniques I have described above will feed you every day. Thanks, – Ken G.

 

Mr. Editor,
No offense to W. in Atlanta – but that isn’t a TEOTWAWKI fishing article, it is geared more toward “what to consider before your weekend fishing trip” article.

First, my nephews catch just as many pan fish (from shore) on their $12 SpongeBob Squarepants and Batman poles as I do with my 10x more expensive Shimano/St. Croix rods. So while it’s a good idea to have some more expensive/reliable equipment, you might also consider getting a number of bubble pack rod/reel units too. More hooks in the water, lots of spare parts,
and cheap.

Regarding fly fishing – It’s difficult enough to remain semi-hidden when fishing from shore, but a fly fisherman flipping a 9′ rod around while wading in waist deep water can be seen from a great distance. It also puts you at a serious disadvantage tactically. Another advantage of the cheap bubble pack rods is their short length, making it easier to cast from the cover of weeds, trees, or rocks – albeit at less distance.

Some additional equipment I’d add would be:

1) Gill nets with mesh sizes appropriate for the fish species in the nearest bodies of water, and nylon rope for trot lines. Draped under the waterline after dark, these hopefully go unnoticed during the day for retrieval the next night. These also allow you to be ‘fishing’ while you’re performing other activities.

2) Minnow nets/traps for bait (and pet food).

3) Ice fishing gear, if applicable (or again, another use for the short bubble pack poles).

4) Devices capable of producing an underwater shock wave. (‘Nuff said).

Lastly, don’t forget to store lots of brine ingredients, seasonings, and freezer bags/wrap, cause at TEOTWAWKI we’re going catching – not fishing.

Merry Christmas, – Off-Grid Al

Letter Re: Root Cellar Alternatives

Mr. Rawles:
Just a quick note. For years my father-in-law used a refrigerator, stripped of motor and coils, buried in the backyard.on it’s back to ‘pit’ his potatoes

He would add some straw and store his veggies. The rubber seal was removed as was the [door latch] closure mechanism. A simple handle allowed access with no worry about children getting into trouble. A few holes allowed any water to drain. The local water table is many yards under the surface so that was never a concern. Only about one inch of the refrigerator’s body was above ground.

If use of a refrigerator is not allowed in your jurisdiction, then the trash cans might work. But I would suggest adding insulation prior to dropping the can in the ground.

As always, thanks for the blog and all the fine folks who write in. Thanks, – Hambone

Economics and Investing:

The Other Jim R. was the first of several readers to alert us to this article: We’re Screwed! ShadowStats.com founder John Williams explains the risk of hyperinflation. Worst-case scenario? Rioting in the streets and devolution to a bartering system. [Gee, what blog has Mr. Williams been reading?]

YRC Has Until Yearend to Corral Bondholders, Avert Bankruptcy.

Items from The Economatrix:

Retailers Slash Prices After Christmas

Shoppers Return to Malls, Looking for Deals

Stores Hope Gift Cards Will Give Post-Christmas Lift

Credit Crunch: Home Equity Lending Evaporates

China Closer to Becoming World’s Second Largest Economy

US Removes Caps on Fannie, Freddie Lifelines for Three Years. This means unlimited funds to failed mortgage giants.

Treasury Yield Curve Steepens to Record on Debt Demand Concern

Letter Re: “Range, Range in the Home”

Sir,
I would expect that most readers of SurvivalBlog either are good marksmen already, or desire to be better marksmen. I consider myself to belong to the latter group with skills that place me, at best, in the very modest middle of that category. As the prices of ammunition and reloading components increased during this past year my visits to the range became fewer and fewer while my skills languished accordingly. This is not good for someone who hopes to be better prepared to put meat on the table, or to defend oneself.

Not long ago my younger brother was hampered by the rising cost of regular practice at his local range, decided to try a bit different means of honing his marksmanship skills: indoor target practice using his pellet rifle and pellet pistol. I know that this is probably not a new concept to many SurvivalBlog readers, but I had never given much consideration to it until my brother began emailing me photos of his ever improving groups.

I decided that he must be onto something and that I would give it a try as well. I established an unobstructed lane in my basement from one wall, through a doorway to my garage, to the outside garage wall. This gave me just over ten useable yards–not a long range, but plenty long enough to practice the basics and fundamentals of shooting with pellet rifle and pellet pistol. Whether a target is 30 feet away or 500 yards away, you still need to concentrate on such things as steady position, sight picture, breathing, and all the other elements of marksmanship that result in making the projectile go where you intend it to go.
In the weeks since I began using my little range-in-the-home I am very pleased with the steady progress I have been making. I’m a long way from striking fear into the hearts of the competitors at Camp Perry, but the local game animal population may have greater cause for concern. With the cost of pellets being negligible compared to the cost of rifle and pistol ammunition I can now shoot many, many more times per session and thereby more readily discover and correct shooting errors than I could have otherwise.

A few bits of cautionary advice might be helpful to readers who may want to try this method. Do not underestimate the power of a pellet rifle or pistol. They can be lethal. The pellets can easily tear through a layer of plywood with enough energy left over to damage the mortar in a block wall (don’t ask how I know this), so be sure you have a backstop that can safely stop the pellets without ricochets which are also dangerous. Also, I have chosen to wear a thin nitrile glove, such as mechanics sometimes wear, on my right hand as a precaution against absorbing lead from the pellets I am handling. I don’t know if this is necessary, but I handle quite a few pellets during a session, so I figure it can’t hurt to take that added step.

A range-in-the-home can never fully substitute for practice with “real” firearms at a “real” shooting range, of course, but it can certainly help you to sharpen or maintain your skills when the weather, or the cost of ammunition is frightful. – Daniel M.

Letter Re: Root Cellar Alternatives

Hi Jim,
Thank you so much for the wealth of information on your blog. It is encouraging to see so many people working towards self-sufficiency.

I was recently introduced to a gardening concept called Square Foot Gardening. There are several advantages to the concept not the least of which are: much less area needed to grow a bounty of fresh veggies, no longer needing to till a large area that only grows plants in a few inch-wide rows, less watering, no weeds, and also no need for numerous gardening tools to tend your crops. A friend used this method last year and had fabulous results; until a once-in-a-lifetime hail storm wiped out her crops with golf-ball sized hail. For more information, readers can go to the web site or read the book All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.

In the book, he had a great alternative to the traditional root cellar. My husband and I are doing everything we can to prepare for TEOTWAWKI, including paying off a mortgage, car loan, etc., as fast as we can, thus are doing our prep work as frugally as we can. A large concern about growing produce is of course storing the fruits of our labor. I can some and dehydrate some, but I also wanted an inexpensive way to keep fresh veggies and possibly some apples over the winter. In his book, Mel suggests using either plastic or metal garbage cans (probably the bigger, the better) and burying them in the ground, leaving the top couple of inches above ground so that you can still fit the lid on snugly. You then layer inside the can moist sawdust, peat moss or sand (I am planning on using straw since my husband grows so much of it!). Note: this method is for veggies that need cold moist conditions such as all root crops and those in the cabbage family. You then secure the lid tightly, cover with at least 12 inches of hay or leaves, and then cover that with a well secured tarp to keep the moisture off the mulching material, so that you can access the lid to the can throughout the winter. I was also thinking it would be a good idea to line the can with a trash bag so that you can easily lift out the contents at the bottom of the can as you use them up, and to help prevent additional unwanted moisture from seeping in.

I am curious if you or your readers have any thoughts or experience in this area. Thank you so much in advance, and may Christ richly bless you this Christmas season! Warmly, – W.D.

Letter Re: Covert Home Power for When The Grids Go Down

Hello,
I just wanted to pass along a link to a company that sells new made in USA alternators for common vehicles, 190 up to 270 amps, and brackets and belts to run duals. the base model 190 amp puts out a 130 amps at idle ( factory puts out maybe 60 amps, on a full size truck) these things look built to last, and would run an inverter a lot better than stock, never mind worrying about burning out your electrical system. I will be getting one of these soon! As usual just an interested consumer, not affiliated with company at all. I saw this at the DieselPowerMag.com blog. – Matt Bradley

Economics and Investing:

Bailout nation continues: Schwarzenegger to seek federal bailout of California on threat of deep cuts. (Thanks to GG for the link.)

Also from GG: Austria nationalises Hypo in ECB-backed rescue deal because of “systemic importance in the former Yugoslavia”.

Items from The Economatrix:

Fitch: Britain and France Risk Losing AAA Rating
Thrifty Families Accused of Prolonging the Recession

UK: Families Hit By Worst Wages Crash in 50 Years

By way of Steve Quayle‘s web site: National Irish Bank Stops Handling Cash

Lack of Bank Liquidity Threatens Commercial Real Estate Market

States’ Jobless Funds Going “Absolutely Broke”

Economic Data Dump For Christmas Eve: Durable Goods Numbers “Ain’t” What They Seem

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"A people may want a free government; but if, from insolence, or carelessness, or cowardice, or want of public spirit, they are unequal to the exertions necessary for preserving it; if they will not fight for it when it is directly attacked; if they can be deluded by the artifices used to cheat them out of it; if by momentary discouragement or temporary panic, or a fit of enthusiasm for an individual they can be induced to lay their liberties at the feet of even a great man, or trust him with powers which enable him to subvert their institutions; in all cases they are more or less unfit for liberty; and though it may be for their good to have had it even for a short time, they are unlikely long to enjoy it." – John Stuart Mill, Essays on Representative Government, 1861 & 1862