There comes a time in every outdoorsman’s life when s/he find themselves near a body of water wishing they had their fishing kit with them. There have been vacations I’ve taken when I knew I was going to be near water and intentionally left my gear at home simply because I didn’t want to carry it, only to regret it later on. While this isn’t a life threatening experience, it sure sucked. In an effort to ensure this doesn’t happen again, I decided to put together a kit that I could carry without it becoming a burden. After some tinkering, I came up with the Finger Fisher, a DIY compact survival fishing kit.
Full disclosure: I got the idea for the container on a Youtube channel called the King of Random. Here’s the link to their video so you can see how to make this waterproof container.
Making the container
- Cut the capped end of a plastic bottle just before it starts to flare out. You will need two of these. It should look something like this.
Plastic bottle top cut down to make the body of the Finger Fisher - Use a piece of 100 grit sandpaper to flatten out the cut ends to ensure the two caps fit nicely.
Sand the cut ends to ensure a flat gluing surface. - Glue the two cut ends of the caps together to form a cylinder. This will be your spool so make sure it’s nice and smooth. If needed, use a strip of sandpaper to make the spool smooth.
- You’re done. Now just wind some line onto the spool and fill the inside with tackle that best fits your needs.
Pointers on using the Finger Fisher
- When your all tied up and ready to cast, slid your pointing finger into the emptied container. Pinch the line between the spool and your thumb. Cast, releasing thumb pressure at the appropriate time to maximize casting distance.
- Once you’ve hooked into a fish simply rewind the line back onto the spool to bring the fish in.
- If the fish begins to take line, slightly bend your pointing finger to apply pressure to the line (drag). Need more drag? Place your thumb over the spool and apply enough pressure so tire the fish out.
