If you stock a spool (bobbin) of light fishline (10 pound mono, 20 pound spectra braid, kevlar thread, etc) in your kit generally, then a kit can be as small as a pistol cartridge. I sold a few of these a few years back:

And have them scattered in my kits where I don't have anything bigger. Heck, a spool of braided, waxed fishline would work for line in a pinch.

As for the uses, get creative. YOu can catch fish, everyone knows that. Most of us know about hooking birds and small mammals. How about as anchors? Several years ago, I hung white board on my door, but rather than drilling holes in the door, I ran some cord over the top of the door, back down the other side, and some small fish hooks into the underside of the door to anchor it. *shrugs* looked odd, but it worked pretty well.

These posts have some outstanding info. I prepare myself for the desert so finding water is reward enough in itself but I'm considering adding a fishing kit after reading this series of posts.

I used to fly fish quite a bit and one thing I would add is that if you find yourself fishing in a survival situation on a smaller stream or in slower water on a river, stealth is critical. Fish have excellent hearing. To that end, the advantage of a simple rod or stick just to get the bait or lure over some part of the stream even just 6 feet away from where you are stepping can't be over-rated.

Also, don't think of just worms or grubs as possible bait. Any twitching critter you can catch from flies, grasshoppers to spiders and lizards look great to a fish from below.

I also prefer barbless hooks. Back in the day, there were some studies done that found they actually penetrated better than barbed hooks. I don't know if that has become accepted wisdom but I really like them because I always seem to hook myself or my clothes and barbless hooks make that much less of a problem.

That reminds me.... The one piece of fishing equipment I haven't seen mentioned (and would make a kit fairly large but not much heavier) that I like to have are hemostats for hook removal. A pair of pliers on a multitool would work but with all that water and fish slime, I'd probably drop them in the water.

Swivels are a must for me, especially important for leaving unattended lines set up. Fish takes bait, fish twists like feck to get the hook out, line kinks and makes a weak spot and the fish breaks the line and gets away.

My personal preference only.

Sorry, but must respectfully disagree. Only 4 hooks, some line, and some sinkers? Mind you, that is a "bare bones" kit... Hooks are small and the weight is so minimal, so carry a decent amount... The more hooks, the more you can set out at once, increasing the likelyhood of catching a fish. Ditto on the split shot.

Swivels are very useful, as someone else posted, as a way to keep a fish from stressing a line, esp. if left unattended.

How do you feel about large gaff hooks?

There was some speculation a few years back that barbless hooks would actually penetrate better, but I don't think it was backed by any solid evidence. There are really too many variables when it comes to a real live fish on a real live hook. Most people don't fish with optimally sharp hooks, anyway -- very few people ever sharpen a hook.

What's certain is that barbless won't hold as well, except on very small hooks (i.e. #18 or smaller) where the barb is more or less irrelevant. Barbless hooks will hold a fish if you keep constant pressure, but not if you relax that pressure. That makes them unsuitable for any kind of set line, which in a survival situation is generally your best method of fishing.

I do use them for all my normal fishing, though, as they're easier to remove from my own anatomy....

Depends on what you mean by large, I've got a 2/0 O-Shaughnessy in my fishing kit on top of the other bits and pieces. Some folks may call that excessive. Mind you my hook collection goes up to 8/0.

We have several fishing kits we bought from Best Glide, they're pretty good except they come with mono line, not braided. that's my only complaint.

I like swivels becuase a hook always fits on them, but not always on "whatever line". The loop on the swivel is much more forgiving.

oh, btw, and don't laugh, but a spool of dental floss comes in handy for line.

izzy, just to let you know, I'm ordering 6 of those kits you showed above.