When I was a kid I really didn't care what kind of fishing pole & reel I owned, I was just happy to go fishing with something other than a tree branch, a safety pin and some string. But guess what? Should you ever need to use any of the fishing gear that comes with all these survival kits a "Tom Sawyer" tree branch is exactly what you're gonna use for a fishing pole. Now check me out here, look what I caught me. Yep, I caught me a trout with a Tom Sawyer tree branch pole, some paracord nylon thread and a safety pin as a fishing hook. And so here's proof you can catch fish with just a few simple things and you don't need all that high-speed, expensive fishing stuff.

Well after examining no less than a dozen survival kits from the cheapos to some really expensive ones, they all basically came with the same ol’fishing gear. Though a few of them had some fancy fishing lures, but what good are lures if you don’t have a fishing reel, you know? To use a fishing lure you gotta be able to cast out and steadily reel it in at different speeds and depths, right? And so without a fishing reel you really can’t use lures without getting'em caught in some underwater weeds, logs and rocks. You know what I mean?

Well good ol’Army Ranger Rick has come up with a few good ideas in what you can use as an improvised fishing pole and some reels, check'em out. And the most important items you need for your improvised fishing pole are some small "screw eyelets." Note: The fishing poles you see in the photo are bamboo, and the only reason why I am using bamboo is so you can see more clearly how and where I attached these screw eyelets and my improvised fishing reels. And so if you look very closely at the photos you should be able to figure out how I made these survival fishing kits.

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• Photo #1 - Shows three (3) types of fishing reels; store purchased, modified sewing spool and kite string reel.
• Photo #2 - Shows what a package of small screw eyelets look like.
• Photo #3 - Shows how and where to attach these screw eyelets to make an improvised wooden fishing pole.
• Photo #4 - Shows a closer look at my plastic sewing spool converted into a small fishing reel.
• Photo #5 - Shows how you can take a few cheap store purchased fishing reels and attach them to an improvised fishing pole.
• Phote #6 - Shows how easy it is to place my fishing reel spool inside a 35mm plastic film container with some other fishing items.
• Photo #7 - Shows how you can convert a 35mm plastic film container into a small compact pocket survival fishing kit.
• Photo #8 - Shows a closer look at how to convert a kite reel into a fishing reel and kit.

And these photos below show how to make and use a coke can for a fishing reel.

A coke can fishing reel that other sites teach ya.	My coke can "casting" reel position.	And my coke can "reeling" position.

And sold separately but only when you order my SOS Survival Kits... my mini "SOS Fishing & Snare Kit!

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• Photo #1 - Shows some of the items that come with my mini fishing & snare kit, screw eyelets, fishing line, assorted hooks, and some snare wire (not shown).
• Photo #2 - Shows how just a few pieces of red & white chewing gum can be molded into a fishing lure the shape of a minnow, worm, or different types of bugs.
• Photo #3 - Shows how to make some improvised fishing hooks out of safety pin and how to make larger size hooks from a few small fishing hooks.
• Photo #4 - Shows how to make different types of fishing lures from some parachute cord, a straw, chewing gum, a rubber band, clothe and some pieces of aluminum.

When I can find them I’ll throw in a few small mini minnow fishing hooks too. Why small minnow hooks? For some reason minnows are the least preferred fish to catch and eat in a survival situation. I don’t know why when they’re not very hard to catch, and believe it or not they are quite tasty too. And if they’re less than three inches long you don’t have to worry about gutting'em before cooking'em, and you can eat’em raw too. Really!

DID YOU KNOW...here in Italy and in many other countries people eat fried and boiled minnows all the time? Yep, and I'm not talking about just at home but in restaurants and wine & food festivals too? Here’s what a fried minnow meal looks like in Italy. So should you someday find yourself in a life or death survival situation and you can’t seem to catch any big fish, try catching minnows instead. Or you can catch minnows first, use’em for bait and if you can't catch any big fish with'em, you can always eat the minnows instead.

Know Your North American Fish
Information Provided by:
Jon Anderson
(Check out: www.angelfire.com/ia3/fishing/whatfisheatwh.htm)

Perch Where They Live What They Eat Perch live in lakes and ponds with slightly deeper water; larger perch like depths of 10 to 50 feet. Perch hang out together in schools, so . . . Where there is one . . . there are probably MORE! minnows worms grasshoppers crayfish artificial spinners jigs   Brown Trout Where They Live What They Eat In Lakes and streams where the water is cool and clean. They usually hide under a log or the stream bank. they are wary creatures that scare easily. worms grasshoppers / crickets artificial flies artificail spinners Brook Trout Where They Live What They Eat In Lakes and streams where the water is cool and clean enough for them to survive. They need cooler water than rainbow and brown trout. these fish are usually small and fairly fragile. They can be found hiding behind rocks, stick, and logs. You will have to sneak up on them!  worms grasshoppers / crickets salmon eggs artificial flies artificail spinners Rainbow Trout Where They Live What They Eat In Lakes and streams where the water is cool and clean. In streams they will usually be found near the faster water in the cover of the rocks or logs. Because of state stocking programs, trout streams will often be matked by signs. worms grasshoppers / crickets salmon eggs artificial flies artificail spinners Lake Trout Where They Live What They Eat In the deep water of cold lakes. they may be very deep, so you will probably need LOTS of line on your reel. In the spring, they spawn (lay eggs) in the shallow water and can be caught with artificial flies. artificial spoons artificial spinners minnows artificial flies Catfish Where They Live What They Eat Prefer really warm, slow water in rivers and lakes. They can be found on the bottom, so a weight and bobber will work great! Catfish like to feed at night so they use a sense of smelland touch to identify thier food. WARNING: The dorsal and pectoral spines on a catfish carry a toxin that will irritate your hands. Use gloves when removing them from your hook! minnows dough balls cheese (especially Limburger) crayfish Largemouth Bass Where They Live What They Eat In lakes with warmer water.Usually found near the shore in weed beds, under lilly pads or around sunken logs, trees and stumps. These fish are ferocious feeders, so when they take your bait they will give your rod a jolt! worms crayfish crickets surface plugs artificial worms popping bugs artificial flies plastic worms spinners bug shiners and shiner minnows Smallmouth Bass Where They Live What They Eat In streams with water slightly cooler than preferred by their largemouth cousins. They like to be around rocks and boulders and will chase your bait before they take it, so, be patient! worms crayfish crickets minnows hellgrammites underwater plugs artificial spinners popping bugs artificial spoons Walleye Where They Live What They Eat They live in large lakes with hard, rocky bottoms. If you can find a place where the edge of the lake drops off into the deep water - drop your line right there at the edge, DEEP!  minnows worms spinners with worms jigs with worms or minnows Muskellunge or Muskie Where They Live What They Eat Muskellunge's spend most of their time in the deep water of lakes, but they like to feed in the weeds. Most muskies are caught while trolling  (slowly pulling your lure along) behind a moving boat. WARNING: Be very careful removing a Muskellunge from your hook! Their teeth are very sharp!!!  minnows worms spinners with worms jigs with worms or minnows Northern Pike Where They Live What They Eat A Northern Pike can be found in slow-moving streams and the weedy shallows of lakes, under logs and lilly pads and besides stumps. They are aggressive feeders and eat other forms of aquatic life. They even eat small ducks and muskrats. WARNING: If you should happen to catch a Pike, be very careful removing it from your hook. It's teeth are very sharp and can cut your hands.  minnows frogs (real or artificial) large artificial plugs  (underwater and surface) big spoons

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