Buckshot's Article

Survival

I have many times been asked what I would look for in an ideal practice spot for survival. You know, what would I look for on a spot that a person could practice to survive in all different times of the year. One word, water. It sounds basic enough but, what kind of water I would choose? A stream flowing into a  small lake with marsh cattails and lily pads. Why you might ask?

It is simple enough. You will have something to eat and drink for sure just about any time of the year. Meaning with cattails and lily pads you have a food source except in the dead of winter.  You have water that can be run through a filter to drink, wash with, boil dishes, etc. But you will also have fish, frogs, turtles and maybe crayfish. What is simply amazing to me is how people look at fishing. A lot of beginners fish during the hot of the day during the summer and complain about not catching fish. Fish are like you and I they have certain times they feed. Mostly in the morning and evening and at night. So, if you fish during the day you will catch mostly a little one. But, ahh the magical time is that ½ hour of dusk just before dark. It is the best time to fish. Before you flood my e-mail box with, "Your wrong". I have gotten plenty of fish in the middle of day, let me explain. Fish are different in the spring and summer and after spawning, there are many variables that make fish bite.

Last summer I drove down to the Northern Lower Michigan for a family reunion. Never been to this area before. So, I grabbed a county map and found the lakes with public access. I looked at several lakes and the one I decide on was a floodwater with a stream flowing in a dam with a overflow, covered with cattails and lily pads. The name is Sweetwater lake. Yup, I hit it the first morning out and we caught 5 bass, keeping 1 for dinner. Over the next 3 days we caught and released over 25 bass. My brother-in-law caught bluegills. Yes there were frogs, turtles and crayfish. Also, around the lake was the best wild blueberry patch I have ever seen in my life. We were picking them by the handfuls.

I remember the feeling of taking my grandson out fishing. The fog was slowly lifting off the water as we launched the canoe in the early morning hours. We worked the edge of the weed beds and always on the look out for fish jumping or baitfish running and skipping on the water. Skipping is a last ditch effort to escape, that sometimes you see when a predator fish is chasing minnows, shads and once I saw a trout do it that had an otter hot on his tail.  The prey fish in this case was minnows and you will see them jump out of water and skip across like the water like a person tossing a stone to skip across. When you see this you know the bass are feeding.

Seeing this I told my grandson Matt to cast past the disturbance and bring his lead head jig tip with rubber minnow body. When Matt  was about halfway back with his bait he turned to look at me and said it didn't work. All of sudden his line shot out to one side. He set the hook and the battle was on. The bass was not going to come in easy, the drag was screaming and his fishing pole was doubled over. The bass jumped out of the water and danced on his tail then dove deep. Heck, I had just as much fun watching as Matt did catching the bass. Slowly the fish gave up and I netted him. A nice 15 inch largemouth. Memories like this can not be found anywhere else in the world.

You see there was the summer foods I covered in I believe my second Wilderness Survivor video. But, what else did this area offer? I could go down there in the fall, catch fish and hunt squirrels. Later in the fall I could go down and trap muskrats, raccoon, mink, fox, coyotes and beaver and hunt deer with a bow.  Plus, in the fall you can dig the cattail roots for a great potato substitute as covered in my first survivor video. You have to practice and one myth people believe is you can stock pile game by not hunting and trapping. If you are worried about that then only practice a little. Meaning trap a couple of each kind of animals. Because if don't you are not going to learn from your own experience. This is vital in the world of survival. Your own experience in catching, cleaning and cooking your catch is what is going to give you confidence in your own abilities and skills. Plus, what little you are going to trap, fish, hunt will actually help to keep nature in balance and a healthier animal population for when you really do need them.

I have read or been told many times that people put out snares for practice but, then pull them in. Why bother? If trapping and snaring is legal buy a license read the rules then get out there in the cold fall and actually make some catches. The catches will teach you so much more then you can imagine. Just like fishing you will learn what works and what doesn't work. You will have confidence in your own ability.

The dead of winter in January on until spring you could ice fish on the lake, trap under the ice muskrats and beaver. Hunt rabbits. This is all great training. But, the only way you can understand the full cycle of the year is go out and practice. My DVDs will give you the confidence to get started. Now, the rest is up to you.

Buckshot