Survival Fishing (Comprehensive)

Let’s go over some more detailed guidelines for survival fishing. While fish themselves are very simple creatures, catching them can be a fairly complex undertaking. But if you simply arm yourself with a bit of knowledge, you can increase your odds dramatically.

Let’s talk about a few physiological characteristics of fish that tend to dictate their behavior. Understanding and remembering these characteristics will help you figure out where the fish are and whether or not they will bite.

First of all, we need to remember that fish are "cold blooded" animals and this plays a major role in how they behave. So how does being cold-blooded influence a fish's behavior? Well...

Unlike humans, fish don’t have eyelids. This may seem like a pretty silly thing to point out, but if you think about it... how would your behavior differ if you didn’t have eyelids? You would probably spend a lot more time in the shade, wouldn’t you? Exactly. So... how do you think fish handle not having eyelids? You guessed it. They spend a lot of time lurking in shade and shadows. Knowing this... put your lure in the shadows of docks and trees. Also, larger objects underwater like rocks and trees also provide shade, so don’t forget deeper water structure and cover as shade producers. Also, don’t forget to look at man-made structure like bridges, vertical support structures and drain pipes as shade producers. Drain pipes can also provide a another draw for fish: cooler water (or warmer water). In hot weather, cooler water can be attractive to fish. In colder weather, warmer water can be an attraction. More on this later... but in short, never pass up a good drain pipe.

Many fish also have what is called a “lateral line”.

Fish, like other animals, do not like to expend any more energy than necessary to obtain a meal. They are opportunists. They like easy meals. Fish LOVE helpless prey that are slow, unsuspecting or even injured. They don’t want to fight for a meal, take risks for a meal, or burn unnecessary calories to obtain a meal. One exception to this is when a fish is directly competing with other fish for the same meal. This is a time when a fish will absolutely hit its meal like freight train. This is especially true of your larger game fish. Another exception is when a fish feels like a meal opportunity is slipping away. They will pursue a potential meal with great sense of urgency if they feel like this meal is a limited time offer.

Knowing this, you want to use a lure presentation that elicits a strike. Sometimes (especially during a cold front... more on this later) a slow undulating presentation is preferred. Other times, mimicking an injured baitfish or helpless insect does the trick. Think about the opportunities a fish might encounter in nature... and mimic it. Fish can be leery of anything that does not appear “normal”. You want to give them the sense that this is a safe meal that will provide them with lots of easy calories. Don’t give them any reason to suspect that this easy meal is too good to be true. They don’t need to know that this meal is going to be their last.

Fish breath oxygen.

Fish are cold blooded animals.

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