Because of their resiliency, fishing gives you a better chance of catching a meal than just about any other form of hunting.
Knowing how to catch fish is important, but so is knowing what to do with them once you catch them; here are some simple instructions for both!
Catching Fish
Before tossing a line into the water, you first need to consider what kind of fish you want to target. If you live near a lake, you may have access to a wide variety of fish. Many lakes and ponds have some sort of panfish swimming about. Panfish refers to small fish like bluegill, perch, and crappie. These fish are generally small, abundant, and relatively easy to catch.
If you hook a worm on a bobber, toss the line out, and wait long enough, odds it will be one of these that takes the hook. To target panfish, make sure your bait is suspended off the bottom.
Another favorite fish you can start catching relatively easily are catfish. Catfish are generally plentiful in all waterways, but you can usually find them in rivers. These wide-mouthed fish use their “whiskers” to smell waterways for any food available. Good places to look for them are deep holes, bends, and fallen trees. You can catch them on a wide variety of bait, and, like panfish, worms work just fine. Knowing that catfish smell their food can be helpful. In fact, one source points to catfish being able to smell some scents at
Knowing that catfish smell their food can be helpful. In fact, one source points to catfish being able to smell some scents at one part per 10 billion parts water. If it stinks, odds are a catfish will at least check it out. Unlike panfish, catfish tend to hang near the bottom. The easiest way to fish for them is to find a good hole, attach a heavy sinker to your line, bait your hook, and just let it sit on the bottom.
Cleaning Fish
Once you’ve gone out and were fortunate to catch something, the next step is to clean the fish. To be honest, there is no part of the fish you can’t eat. There are two basic approaches to cleaning fish, gutting and filleting.
Gutting a fish is just about what it sounds like. Using your knife, make an incision from the anus of the fish, along the belly, to the bottom jaw. As you do this, try not to puncture any of the internal organs. Next, you can remove the head if you like, or take your knife and severe the internal organs that connect the head to the digestive and respiratory tract.
With that chore completed, the next step is to reach in near the head and begin to peel out the internal organs. Generally, the organs come out fairly easily and soon the body cavity should be empty. With the guts out, next, you can simply wash the body cavity out with water.
Filleting a fish can be done after gutting, or in lieu of gutting as well. When filleting a fish you are simply trying to remove the meat portions of the fish from the skin. It starts with an incision near the head of the fish. Cut down behind the pectoral fin until you are straight with the spinal cord.
Then you turn your knife 90˚ and start cutting laterally back toward the tail. Some folks cut clear through and remove the fillet at this point. When you flip the fillet, now meat-side up, you next slide your knife along between the meat and skin in order to cut the skin off.
Cooking Fresh Fish
This primitive cooking method will require only three ingredients; a fire, a small and sharpened stick, and a fish. For this method, it works best if your fish has been gutted and not filleted. Also, it is very helpful to leave the head on as well. To begin, get your fire going and begin building yourself a bed of coals.
Many people wrongly assume the best way to cook over an open fire is with the flames. It is true you can cook over the flames, but the heat is inconsistent and you can often scorch your meal. A better way to cook is to get your fire very hot, then let it dissipate into a bed of coals. Coals are very hot and the temperature is much more constant.
While you are preparing your fire you can begin working with your thin stick. The stick should be of a diameter small enough to pass through the fish’s mouth, but large enough to hold the fish without breaking. It should also be long enough where you can comfortably hold it while you cook. Whittle a point in one end of your stick with your knife. Now the stick is complete. I told you it would be simple!
Slide the pointed end through the fish’s mouth and continue until you have reached just in front on the tail. Gently puncture the flesh with the pointed end of the stick and allow the end to protrude out the backside. If you’ve done everything correctly, you should be able to hold the fish above the coals as it lays suspended on your roasting stick.
Cook time for this method depends on a few variables. How hot your coals are, how big your fish is, and how close you keep it to the coals all impact cook time. Generally, you can aim for around 15 minutes of cook time. When 15 minutes are up, check to see if the fish is done. When it is done the meat will easily flake off and leave the skin behind. If it is cold, or not flaking off the skin, you need to put it back to the heat in order to fully cook your meal.
Fish can exist virtually anywhere; there is even a show on television about a guy who once caught huge fish in the cooling ponds of Chernobyl!
That means your chances of securing a meal, almost anywhere, are greatly increased if you focus your energy on fishing.
To learn more fishing tips and tricks, check out Backdoor Survival.