When you go out camping or go on another outdoor activity, there is always that chance that you or a loved one could become lost. In this situation, it is important that you have some survival skills to draw on. One of the neatest survivor skills is catching fish with no rod, reel, or hook to help you out. Sound impossible? Well, read on because it is far from impossible.
The first thing you will need is a body of water of course. Generally, you can find water when out in the wild. This article assumes that you have a lake or other body of water with fish to work with. Once you find a lake, then you need to scout out the shore for a shallow area. You do not need a lot of actual room, but you will need at least about ten square feet of water that is no deeper than your knees. You should try to find a spot that gradually becomes more shallow if possible.
Once you have found the spot to use, then you should go into the woods and find ten sticks or pieces of wood that are roughly four feet in length. The lengths do not have to be exact, but you should find pieces that are roughly the same length. You will also need to find a large flat piece of wood that is at least one foot wide and roughly the same length as the other sticks or wood. A piece of plywood is ideal, but you will probably not be so lucky to find that in the woods. Choose something with that in mind, however.
Now that you have your supplies, you are ready to go fishing. The first step is to go about five feet into the water, and place two of the sticks about a foot apart from one another. From that point, you will want to place sticks right up against the last one and bring them back towards the shore in a funnel formation. You want to have a blockade of sticks that go all the way back to the shoreline. This funnel is formed through carefully pushing the sticks into the ground one by one and right up against one another. Make sure you leave at least two feet of the sticks above the water so they can not swim out. Try to avoid any gaps in the sticks that the fish can escape from.
Once you have your funnel formed, you need to get some bait. The best bait is bugs. You will have little problems finding bugs throughout the forest if you go looking. The more the merrier. Gather as many as possible, and bring them back to the funnel. Scatter them across the water inside the funnel. You will probably not get much action immediately, but if you are patient the fish will come. The key is to keep your eyes open, and to close off the funnel with the larger board mentioned earlier. You can do this by sticking it into the ground at the narrow part of the funnel once the fish are inside.
This is a very difficult thing to do when you first try, but with some practice you will be amazed at how many fish you are able to catch. Nobody said fishing would be easy. Most of the fish will be bream and other small fish, but any fish is good eating when you are lost in the woods. Remain patient, and occasionally you will catch turtles as well. They are like a delicacy in the woods when you are hungry. Make certain that you clean the fish and cook them well before eating.
One last tip: When you are waiting on fish to come into the funnel, stand on either side of the narrow part with the board ready until they swim in. If you try to run into the water to close the opening, you will scare the fish and they may escape.
