So, you think that you are a Bad Ass Angler. No fish is too large, and you never have enough gear and tackle. Limits are simply things to slow down how many fish you can catch. 

Maybe try to challenge your fishing expertise and that of your buddies. The next time you go camping, leave your modern fishing gear at home. No reels, rods, or boxes of tackle, flies, and lures. Now let’s see who the best angler is. 

You will be allowed a few things. Fishing line is ok, but you may find some along the shorelines. Beer is ok so you can manipulate the zip tab opener into a decent fishhook. Knives, axes, and basic tools are ok to help build your gear.

Back in the day, I vacationed in Jamaica. My wife made me leave my fishing gear at home. When I got there, I saw so many fish that I just had to catch something. Some of the local Jamaicans offered to take me fishing. When I arrived at the canoe, I noticed that there were no rods. I had brought a six pack of long neck bottled beer as instructed. They had the rest of the tackle. 

We paddled a few hundred yards out to a reef. You could see fish swimming everywhere. One Jamaican dove into the water and came up with a couple big conchs. The other readied our gear, He had a bunch of fishing line wrapped onto an old coffee can. In the can were some rusty hooks. 

We were in maybe 20 feet of water, so they wrapped enough line onto the neck of the empty beer bottles. We had drank the beer, since it was a hot day. The conch was chopped into bait chunks and baited onto the hooks. A bolt was tied on, for a sinker. We held the neck of the bottlers and cast out the baits. To reel in you simply rotated the bottle and wrapped the line back around.

Our rigs were cast into the water, and we all had fish on. Grouper were everywhere. In less than an hour we had a boatload of fresh fish. Now that’s some roughing it wilderness fishing! 

Fishhooks could be whittled, made from pins, wire, or beer can tabs. Rods can be made from branches or whatever you can scrounge. If you don’t have line, look for some vines or sinews. Braiding them together makes these fine fibers stronger. Bait or lures are what you can make or find. The key is to use what you have. Creativity and imagination will determine if you eat or not. Now let’s see who the Best Angler is!

Fish Hard, Fish Harder!

Montana Grant