In another survival situation, here are two ideas.
   
    If you can, get horsechestnuts, and smash them up. Put them in pools where you know there are fish. They contain opiates, and simply put the fish to sleep. After that, they float to the surface.
    In running water, make a weir. This is a series of sticks put in the water to guide the fish. What you want to do is make it in a long keyhole, with a very narrow entrance that leads to a small open area. The fish go down the entrance, and can't get out of the open area. Then you can take them out at your leisure

Plenty.
Any natural fibre that does not disintergrate in water can be used. This includes strips of shin, entrails and other ineddible parts of animals. Many plants, which is depending on the climate, look for strong climbling plants, they often have the strong fibres. But also palm leaves, the bark or inner bark of many trees. If the plant is being harvested of the fibres, like flax for linnen, nettles or hemp, you can use the whole plant for a crude net. Saplings for a crude but big net or to give a structure strength. Branches, willow will be exelent. You can also split many branches or even saplings into narrow strips which in turn can be used as cords.
Fibres that are easily coming apart have to be made into a kind of string first but if the lengths are useable, many fibres can be used as they are. Horses tail hairs can be used in smal bundles or even singly for a smal scale net.

Depending on the materials you need to tie the net or just weave the parts of the plants together. I am sure you have seen the open weave baskets made out of bamboo or palm leaves. Make one as big as you can get it, and you have a 'net'.

If you need to use branches or saplings whole and can not weave them, make a criss cross patern, tie them at crossing point and add more thinner braches or strings to reduce the size of the openings. This will become a heavy structure, maybe more a permanent blocking of a stream, leave one opening big enough for the fish to pass through and use a 'normal' net in that opening when you need fish. (But in most streams it will be more effective to place sticks into the ground rather than tying a big structure.

Knots used in improvised net making have always been: overhand knot, sheetbend or even the reefknot (not recommended) to tie two or more strands together.
Clove hitch and constrictor knot to tie branches together as well as tying string or supple plants to branches and for the rest, if it does stick together, it works.

Willeke

PS, excuses for the length of this post, I could not resist giving a lecture.

You are right that rawhide does become slippery, but there are many knots that do hold in rawhide, esp. when tied in wet hide. And the mazes have to be made smaller but it does work.

I remember reading about an open structured crate being used as fishing net. It was placed at the bottom of a waterfall, in the water. The sides where high enough that the fish could not escape over the sides and they would stay alive for some time in the water. Basicly it was a trap rather than a net.

Willeke

Clever people, simple tools

If you could get you a back issue of the wilderness way magazine. They have a article on making primative fishing nets. If interested i would look up what issue it is.

Quote:


I hope I didn't make it sound like I support him in any way; he was a real nutjob. And I agree, even if you do know wild animals' limits, it doesn't change the fact that the animal is indeed wild and unpredictable.

[and I'm sorry for taking this thread off track]

I have been hospitalised the last few days for having a piece of fish bone stuck in my throat.........

I was X-rayed and had doctors sticking clamps in my month.  I was constantly spliting and swallowing my own blood over the weekend.......

Never having fish again........

At least don't eat boney fish agin. I would hate to see the bill for that.