Chapter 8 Fishing
If you've never fished before and you're not sure it's something you'll want to take up as either a hobby or a serious food source, just buy a cheap rod & reel combination at a store like Wal-mart or Kmart. Dig some worms, or turn over rocks and look for grubs, or buy a container of night crawlers at the local store.
Don't get pulled in by the urge to buy a bunch of cool-looking lures until you know which fish they'll really catch and whether the lakes or rivers in your area even have those fish in them.
That's the place to start: Find out what fish are in the lake or river you plan to fish. It might be different in the lake down the road, so find out for that lake too.
We have one lake near us that has lake trout in it and not much else. Half a mile down and across the road is another lake that has no lake trout in it. That lake has perch and bass. A few miles away is a lake with primarily pike and perch.
Usually you can find out online or in the state fishing regulations handbook (free in sporting good departments) which fish are in each body of water. This is very useful to know before you set out.
Exactly what the fish are biting that day can be annoyingly variable and elusive! I can pull in perch after perch one day with a “white wiggler” on my hook, and the next day they'll swim right by it, turn up their noses, and say “eh...no thanks”. Some days they'll gobble up a worm, other days they act like the worms are toxic waste.
If the fish aren't biting after a dozen or so casts I either move to another spot on the lake or river, or I start trying other things in my tackle box. I'm not an accomplished fisherman, but I'm persistent. If I stick with it I'll usually go home with lunch or dinner in my pail.
We have an interesting thing here called the Salmon run. I always thought that only happened by the coast but it happens here in NW Montana. They swim upstream to spawn, and when they first leave the reservoir and start upriver, we're allowed to toss snagging hooks in and yank the Salmon to shore.
It's important to do this as soon as possible when they begin their upriver swim. After a few days the fish begin to die as they swim, and they literally begin to decompose and fall apart while still alive.
These Salmon are at the end of their cycle. We're catching fish that will die in a day or so and be nothing but rotting waste in the water. They're among the healthiest fish you can eat up to that point. The limit varies each year but it's usually high enough that we have plenty for canning.
When I was a child we used to sit there with a handheld tool called a scaler, and we'd scrape the scales off the fish. I think they were Bluegill. It was in northern Wisconsin, and we mostly caught Bluegill and Bass. It's been years since I've done that.
We seldom 'clean' a fish by traditional methods. Usually my husband starts at the tail and makes a cut. He slides the knife up along the bones and filets off the meat. Then he flips that over and slides the knife along between the meat and the skin.
The rest of the fish body is either buried in the compost bin, or fed to the cat or dog. There's no cutting off of heads or slicing open the belly to remove the guts. I don't know if this method works with fish other than the pike, perch, trout, and salmon that we catch here.
Just like with hunting, check to see if there are “nuisance” fish you can catch and keep. Flathead Lake, a huge lake in NW Montana, has a fishing tournament every year to clean out a fish that is threatening the other fish in the lake. These guys catch over a thousand of this fish, each, during the weeks of the tournament.
One of our sons fishes in the tournament and he keeps the ones under about 12” to 14”, some of which he gives to us. We usually get a box or two full of these fish, and we stuff them in jars and run them through the canner. The bigger fish aren't good for eating, but they can be cooked in a pressure canner, mixed with rice, and used for dog food.
If you hear of such a tournament in your area but you're not a fisherman/woman and aren't interested in becoming one, hang around the public boat landing and get to know the fishermen. Spread the word that you'll take extra fish off their hands. Our son would hand you a huge box full! Some of those guys will too.
We've come off the lake bone-weary with a pile of fish to take care of, and if someone was there and interested, we'd gladly share some of the catch. It's easy to start a conversation with a fisherman. Just casually ask “how're they biting?”
Chapter 9 Conclusion
Someone said to me the other day that 100 years ago people were able to keep chickens and other animals fed without having to buy feed from the store. Yes, they did, but can you tell me how? Do you have the tools, equipment, and land? Are you physically able and mentally committed to the kind of work you’d be doing?
Having a garden and a few chickens is a breeze when things are going well and the economy is stable, and if you‘re not trying to be self-sufficient. If your goal is self-sufficiency as a lifestyle or in a crisis, crunch some numbers of your own!
If you have questions or comments, please email me at: povertyprepping@yahoo.com.
You may also be interested in my blog, which goes hand-in-hand with my other book, “Poverty Prepping: Stocking Up For Tomorrow When You Can't Afford To Eat Today”. I make no money off the blog. It's just a resource for readers who want to share ideas for food independence or preparedness and storing food.
http://www.povertyprepping.blogspot.com
Find “Poverty Prepping: How To Stock Up For Tomorrow When You Can't Afford To Eat Today” and other books by Susan Gregersen at: Amazon