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#23492 - 01/19/04 07:18 AM Fishing lessons from "Survivor" series?
JeremyT Offline
Stranger

Registered: 10/20/03
Posts: 11
Loc: Johannesburg, South Africa
Having watched all the Survivor series out of interest in human behaviour one thing really caught my attention. In all of them they have been in a position to fish for food and have at some stage been supplied with basic fishing gear. However, I believe they could not have survived on the fish they caught which was very few and far between. In all our kits we pack fishing gear but do we have a real chance of catching fish in order to survive. What do you think the reason was the "Survivors" caught so few fish, I believe it was bait choice, and do any of you had experience and catching decent sized fish that one could live off?

I read once that Jacques Cousteau believed that spearfishing for fish for food was pointless because you consumed more calories trying to catch the fish than the fish could supply.
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#23493 - 01/19/04 04:10 PM Re: Fishing lessons from "Survivor" series?
M_a_x Offline
Veteran

Registered: 08/16/02
Posts: 1203
Loc: Germany
Fishing is a matter of skill and experience. If you have it itīs possible to catch enough fish if donīt have you may not be so lucky.
I frequently bagged my limit in a short time when others didnīt catch any fish for hours. I know fishing spots where the predatory fish bite for about 10 min a day or spots where you have to place the bait with an acccuracy of about 8". It takes time to find that out but that sort of thing is crucial for success. Those who donīt catch frequently are not fully aware of that.
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#23494 - 01/20/04 01:28 AM Re: Fishing lessons from "Survivor" series?
Hutch66 Offline
new member

Registered: 10/12/02
Posts: 148
Loc: Virginia, USA
I'm not all that familiar with the series, but they're usually on an island, right? If you're talking about shore fishing, I think it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to be successful with just the fishing gear taht is included in a survival kit.

Along the same lines as what Max said, experience is the key. If someone has never fished before, he probably won't be successful fishing in a survival situation. In addition to general experience, familiarity with the area will also affect the results. I, for example, would probably have more success fishing in a mountain stream in Virginia than I would fishing in a river in Africa, because I have a better idea of what fish will be where and what they'll bite.

Not sure if that rambling made any sense or not, but I hope that answered you're question.

Chris.

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#23495 - 01/20/04 08:35 AM Re: Fishing lessons from "Survivor" series?
JeremyT Offline
Stranger

Registered: 10/20/03
Posts: 11
Loc: Johannesburg, South Africa
And that is my point. I do not believe people will survive by fishing unless they have prior experience. One can spend an entire day and end up with one little fish, where the energy may have been better expended elsewhere.
Here in South Africa, you are seldom far from inhabitation and the wilderness areas where you can end up in a survival situation are mostly desert with little water and very few fish. So trapping ro small rodents etc would be the way to go. Up on the North American continent, I would think that you guys need to coem up with some training and decisions on lures and bait etc to ensure you can harvest the fish resources available to you in a survival situtaion.

Here we have barbel (catfish) in most rivers and dams that grow up to 6 ft in length and can be caught on any rotten meat on a hook. So find some carrion stick it on a heavy line and hook and hope for the best.

Jeremy
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#23496 - 01/20/04 04:40 PM Re: Fishing lessons from "Survivor" series?
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
I don't watch the show, since I believe that it is about as far from "reality" as one can get. I have fished around the Pearl Islands, long ago, and caught a ton of fish, but that was from a boat. From shore I just don't know.

Having said that, read (or watch the video if you want to see Amanda Donohoe run around naked a lot) Castaway, by Lucy Irvine. She and her "husband" had themselves deposited on a 'dessert island" near Australia for a year. They were yuppies from England, had minimal supplies (for a while), but did manage to catch a lot of fish from shore using only a handline and hook. Later on they got supplies from a passing boat and natives on nearby islands, but the point of this is that they did catch fish. Lots of fish...
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#23497 - 01/20/04 04:43 PM Re: Fishing lessons from "Survivor" series?
Glock-A-Roo Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 04/16/03
Posts: 1076
Good points. Yet again, the lesson is: test your gear AND YOUR SKILLS in a benign situation, before your life depends on it.

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#23498 - 01/20/04 07:28 PM Re: Fishing lessons from "Survivor" series?
aardwolfe Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/22/01
Posts: 924
Loc: St. John's, Newfoundland
>>Lucy Irvine .... and her "husband" had themselves
>>deposited on a 'dessert island" near Australia for a
>>year. They were yuppies from England,

I always thought "nutcases" was a better description. <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

One problem they had was that they lost all of their fish hooks within a few months. (Not due to carelessness, but to broken lines - possibly exacerbated by poor technique?)

Irvine came very close to killing herself when she impulsively feasted on some green beans she found, without waiting to consult their manual of edible and poisonous plants to discover that the beans in question, while harmless after cooking, were deadly poisonous in their raw state. (With no radio = no way to call for help = no professional medical treatment, she was damn lucky to live through the ensuing ordeal.)

And then they both nearly died of thirst after the monsoons failed to arrive on schedule.

The biggest irony was that it was her "husband", Gerald Kingsland, who wanted to write a book about the experience, and she just went along as his companion; but she ended up becoming a best-selling author, whereas his writing career went pretty much nowhere. (By the time he got around to writing about the experience, her book had pretty much come and gone from the best-seller lists, IIRC.)
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#23499 - 01/20/04 08:03 PM Re: Fishing lessons from "Survivor" series?
williamlatham Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 01/12/04
Posts: 265
Loc: Stafford, VA, USA
Remember there are two different scenarios here. First is inland, second is coastal/offshore.

Most PSKs seem to be aimed at the first scenario; freshwater (possibly costal) I can see it being aimed as a suppliment to trapping/hunting. Someone once said the there is not enough calorie content in trout for subsistance. If I was going to be in one place long enough to rely on this a food source, fish traps (rocks, planted spikes, basket type) would be the way to go as they don't require tending. As for the PSK, getting through the initial stages of long term survival or as an alternate source of food seems to be adequate justification. The hooks can also be used in bird snares.

Persons adrift in life rafts (Baileys in the Pacific) have subsisted on fish/turtles they caught. Bait/Light/Luck has alot to do with it. Coastal survival is similar, but can be supplimented with trapping/hunting. With both of these, the primary catch is saltwater, and can therefore be eaten raw if necessary. Hence all overwater/shipboard/liferaft survival kits should contain a significant fishing kit.

In either case I personally would not want to hook into a large (say 8-10 lb) catfish or salmon with a handline.

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#23500 - 01/21/04 11:01 AM Re: Fishing lessons from "Survivor" series?
JeremyT Offline
Stranger

Registered: 10/20/03
Posts: 11
Loc: Johannesburg, South Africa
I forgot about the "Irvines". Yes they did catch fish. Actually many lessons can be learned from them as land edge survivors rather than liferaft survivors like the Baileys etc

Good input guys has made me think some more. I do not dispute the uses and potential of fishing gear in a PSK, rather whether success was acheived fishing with them. Certainly "Survivor" is far from reality, I thought they would show when the guys had some fishing success which seemd few and far between.

Jeremy
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