Being able to catch fish in a survival situation can literally alter your fortunes while increasing the likelihood you will emerge from the incident in one piece and in good health.

Using a fish trap is about the easiest and least time consuming manner of fishing you can find; this is one design for a fish trap that while complex, is very reliable.

You need to make some hoops which will be part of the basic frame of your trap. With some wood that is still fresh, gradually work it in your hands to make it more flexible, then begin to shape into hoops.

Wrap string around them to hold them in place. Now leave them to dry and when all the moisture in the wood is gone they should keep their shape.

I used 6 hoops in the frame of my trap.

Once they are dry and solid you can taper the ends so that they fit together nicely. Then bind them to create a nice hoop. I used Lime bark to bind mine.

Once the hoops are done and dusted, take some of your dry wood and begin to make the basic frame up. Start by tying 4 lengths of wood to the hoops. And then another 4 between them.

Make sure all your knots are good and tight!!

Made this door on mine for getting the fish out. I would advise this! It was very helpful having this door so that I could put bait inside etc.

Now just keep on adding wood to make up your cage. And you should have something which looks like this

Now its time to make the one way door/ doors. (you can have one on both ends or not) Its very hard to explain how i did this so im just going to give you another picture

While I am not sure about the “primitive” part of this fish trap, I am sure that once built, it would be very reliable and effective.

This is particularly true if you place it in areas where fish are known to traffic.

For more information on this fish trap as well as other survival projects, please visit Jon's Bushcraft.