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.