A DIY survival fishing kit is a compact kit produced by someone who is going to be in the vicinity of water, along streams or rivers, but is not there for the purpose of fishing. The important consideration when producing such a kit is portability, so it will need to be lightweight and small in size. If you are good at compacting materials into a small amount of space, you can produce a simple fishing kit that will weigh in at no more than a couple of ounces. This makes it portable by anyone’s standards, and ensures that it can be taken with you absolutely anywhere, The challenge comes in being able to pack the materials in tightly enough to achieve this.

Start with fishing line
As with any other type of fishing, the line is the most important piece of equipment. You will need to be prepared to spend a bit of money on this part of the project if you want to achieve the optimum result. A 20lb braided line will not be cheap, but it will cover you for just about any eventuality. A lighter line will be cheaper, and diminish the weight of the pack still further, but it will mean that you will need to be careful of the terrain in which you employ the line. Although this type of lighter line will be good enough to land some large fish, the line can easily be broken if you attempt to pull the fish through heavy seaweed or other foliage on the river bank. Make sure you are able to pull the fish into a clear area so you can pull it out of the water directly.

Add some hooks and weights
Some of the other equipment which will need to go into a DIY survival fishing kit would include hooks and weights. These will need to be suitable for the type of water in which you may need to fish, but try to find weights which are flexible enough to cover different situations. You will also need some wire which can be attached to an improvised rod made from sticks which can be found near just about any stretch of water. The only difficult part is finding a stick which is long enough to reach out far enough into the water to reach the fish, yet still have enough strength and stability to avoid breaking.

Include instructions
It is best to include a card with some basic instructions on how to tie knots, and even the best times to fish in certain waters. You should also have some aluminum foil which you can use as the cooking tray to heat the fish on. A fire will need to be improvised, and you will need to know in advance how much cooking each type of fish you are likely to catch will need.

Pack is away in an easy to carry pouch or tin and you are ready to fish under any circumstances. It’s not a bad idea to make one for the car, bike, or even backpack.

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