In a survival scenario, it’s crucial to make sure you and your family have enough nutrients and sources of food to last the length of the situation. When prepping it can be hard to estimate how long you’ll need to have food for.
Fishing is a sure way to make sure that you and your family are provided for, for however long the survival scenario lasts. It’s a great idea to have a fishing kit in your bug out kit to ensure that you can get food and resources for your family.
The following things are things that should be included in your fishing kit to ensure that you can get the fish you need.
Things to Be Aware of Before Getting a Fishing Kit
Before deciding if a fishing kit should be added to your survival bug-out gear, it’s important to assess a few things. One, it’s important to know where or what body of water you’ll be fishing at. This will help you to know what fish will be available and what specific gear you will need to catch those fish.
Another thing to assess is whether you’ll be purchasing a fishing kit or compiling one on your own. Depending on your specific needs, one might be better than the other for you and your family. Let’s talk about some things to be aware of, some fishing kits you can buy, and what to include in a homemade fishing kit, which will bring you closer to knowing what you need.
Benefits of Fishing Survival Kits
There are many benefits of including a fishing survival kit in your bug out gear.
- They are small and lightweight, which makes it great for packing.
- If you choose to compile your own fishing kit, they are cheap and easy to make.
- If you choose to purchase a fishing kit, they are relatively cheap as well.
Challenges of Fishing Survival Kits
Of course, every great thing has its challenges. The following challenges aren’t brought on by having a fishing kit, but rather the challenges of using that kit.
- You’ll need fire or some other method to cook the fish you catch.
- Fishing can take a lot of time, which isn’t efficient if you need to be on the run.
- Depending on which survival situation occurs, the water could be contaminated, which would contaminate the fish.
- Need to have access to a body of water with lots of fish.
Types of Fishing Kits for Sale
There are many kinds of fishing kits for sale that it can be overwhelming to find what you need. Outdoorsman Toolkit provides a list of a couple of great fishing kits and add-ons. This list will give you an idea of the range of fishing kits that are for sale on the market.
Vigilant Trails Pocket Survival Fishing Kit
Price: $22.48 on Fishing kit
Includes basic gear needed for catching fish including:
- Various sized hooks
- Various sized sinkers
- Large bobber
- 125 feet of 10 lb. tested monofilament line
- Variety of specialized lures
- Two swivels
- Lockback knife
- Line winder
Best Glide ASE Compact Survival Fishing Kit
Price: $12.89 on Amazon
Ultra-lightweight set of fishing gear.
- Six hooks
- Salmon egg bait
- Swivel
- 50 ft. of 12 lb. test line
- Sinkers
- Bobber
- Artificial lures
Best Glide ASE Standard Emergency Survival Fishing Kit
Price: $24.99 on Amazon
This is the next level up version of their ultra-compact kit. This has the basics plus some extra tools.
- 11 hooks
- 50 ft 12 lb. line
- 50 ft 30 lb. line
- Ready line including hook, bobber, and sinker
- Salmon egg bait
- Jig, fly, and spoon lures
- Leaders, bobbers and sinkers
- Folding knife
Uncle Flint’s Survival Fishing Kit
Price: currently unavailable on Amazon
Lightweight, but intense with 63 pieces of fishing gear.
- 20 different hooks in various sizes
- Lures, jigs, and flys
- Snap swivels
- Two steel leaders
- 50 ft. 10 lb test
- 50 ft 20 lb test
- Folded aluminum foil
- Basic fishing knot guide
- Single edge razor blade
- Four large safety pins
Last Man the Ultimate Paracord Survival Kit
Price: $24.95-$39.95 on Amazon
This is a bracelet-style survival kit. It’s more than just a fishing kit, but the full survival experience. The best part is that it all fits on your arm in an easy-to-wear bracelet.
- Tinder
- A striker
- A ferro rod
- Compass
- Basic cordage
READYMAN Survival Cards Wilderness 2.0
Price: Currently unavailable on Amazon
This is a survival kit that fits inside your wallet, as it’s the size of a credit card. It holds a whopping 25 pieces of gear great for many situations.
- Hooks
- Arrowheads
- Snare locks
- Awl
- Sewing needles
- Saw blades
- Tweezers
- Fishing trident
- Lures
Ka-Bar Backpacker Kaster Lightweight Fishing System
Price: $15.93 on Amazon
This is a three-part plastic handle that can act as a handheld reel and casting tool. This is great for packing away in an emergency kit because it’s much less bulky than a full fishing rod.
BCB Liferaft Fishing Kit
Price: $9.49 on Amazon
This fishing kit has just 10 components, which work as a fantastic lightweight add-on to a bug out bag.
- 118 ft of Line on a Winder
- Two hooks
- Two sinkers
- Two swivels
- Two lures
High Altitude Brands Lightweight Portable Telescopic Fishing Pole
Price: Currently unavailable on Amazon
This is a great add-on to your fishing survival kit. It’s a combination full-size fishing reel, collapsible telescoping rod, and compact tackle/rod/reel carry case. This is a full-fledged fishing system. It’s lightweight, packable which makes it perfect for a fishing survival kit. While it’s not the lightest or most packable kit, it is considerably light considering all it carries.
Mechanical Fisher’s Yo Yo Fishing Reels
Price: $22.50 on Amazon
This is one of the perfect fishing survival kit add-ons. It’s basically a self-contained fishing unit that is pre-spooled braided nylon line on a spring-activated reel. The reel is made of stainless steel and uses a spring tension system with a flat trigger mechanism. Basically, this reel will fish for you.
What to Include in a Fishing Kit
If you will be compiling your own fishing kit, there are several things that you should include to ensure your success fishing in your bug out location. Blogs on both Primal Survival and Outdoorsman Toolkit offer a list of some great things to include in your fishing kit. This list will give you an idea of what to start out with, and spark ideas for what else you need.
50 Feet of Fishing Line
At least 50 feet of monofilament fishing line is needed. Best if it’s tested to hold 10lb to 20lbs. coil the line so that it can fit more easily in the kit (the bigger the loop, the less it will tangle
Hooks of Various Sizes
It’s crucial that there’s a variety of hook sizes in your fishing kit. This is where it’s important to know what kind of fish you’ll be catching. You’ll need specified hooks for the different kinds of fish.
If you’re not sure what fish you’ll be catching, it’s better to get small hooks. Small hooks can catch both big and small fish, so that is a safer bet.
Bobbers
Bobbers aren’t essential to have, but they make it much more convenient to keep track of your line. There are many kinds of bobbers, but slip bobbers are great for regulating how deep your line goes into the water. While there are fancy bobbers, anything that floats can work as a bobber in a pinch.
Sinkers/Weights
This will help with fishing in deep waters. Your bait will need to get deep into the water to get the fish. They will also help with casting the line. Anywhere from 10-12 sinkers should be included in your emergency kit.
Fishing Lures
In a survival situation, time is often of the essence. While sometimes, you may have time to sit around and fish all day, most often fishing will have to be quick and efficient.
Bait
Bait is a good idea to have on hand. Often, you’ll be able to find insects or worms to use as bait., but this won’t be consistent. It’s a good idea to have bait as a backup if worms or insects can’t be found.
Knife
A knife is essential for many reasons in a survival situation, but especially when concerning a survival fisherman’s kit. Concerning fishing, a good knife can be used to cut bait, prepare kindling or wood for a fire, and to properly clean and scale any fish.
Pliers
Pliers or forceps can be essential in a fishing survival kit. These can be great for getting hooks out of fish and many other things.
Multi-Tool
A multi-tool is important to have in any survival situation, even your survival fishing kit.
Collapsible Pole
While it’s not essential to have a collapsible pole in your fishing kit, it is extremely convenient for a fishing kit. That way it can be packed in a small space that is extremely handy.
Alternatives to Fishing
In case all goes wrong and the fishing kit falls into the ocean and the food can’t be found, here are a couple of alternatives to traditional fishing.
Fish traps
Fish traps are great to have as another option because they require less work, time, and attention. You can set it and forget it. Then, you can check it later and find your bounty. It may be fish, frogs, or just trash. But it can be really helpful.
Foraging
It’s important to find plants and nuts that can be eaten in your area. This may be the difference between life and death.
Eating insects
When times get rough, insects are always available. Insects can seem to gross people out, but there are many benefits to eating insects. They are plentiful, easy to catch, a great source of protein and fat, and almost all insects are edible. Once they’re cooked you barely notice that they’re bugs.
I hope this article helps you in your fishing kit decisions! Happy prepping!
