Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 7-33. Knife cuts for skinning and gutting larger animals.
Fishing
You will find that fish generally bite most frequently early in the morning around sunrise, just
before sunset, and just before the onset of a storm. On sunny, hot days, the fish generally head
toward deeper water or seek shelter in the shade of fallen trees or riverbanks. On cold days,
they often warm themselves in shallow pools. You can catch fish with your bare hands, nets,
traps, baskets, baited hooks, spears, and arrows. Take your time to observe the fish and what
they are eating. Bait that is the same as what the fish are eating, or closely resembles it, often
works well.
For bait, try grasshoppers, flies, meat, berries, fish eggs, worms, minnows, and grubs. If the
bait is still alive and wriggling, it is usually more effective. You can tie bits of feathers and tufts
of fur onto hooks to make your own fishing “flies.” Artificial lures can be carved from wood to
simulate minnows, or you can make your own “spinners” by attaching a shiny bit of foil or
metal above the hook in such a way that it moves and reflects light, simulating light flashing
off a minnow as it swims. Attach a weight and a float to the line to position live bait at the de-
sired depth, where the fish are hanging out. Lines can have multiple hooks and bait at different
depths to improve your chances by fishing several levels at once. Crude floats could be made
from some wood or a piece of animal intestine inflated with air.
