A fisherman from Westport, Washington set out on a tuna run in October 2023.
He was a crewmate aboard the 43-foot fishing vessel Evening, owned by Mick D., age 63.
They departed Grays Harbor on October 12, 2023, headed for the deep Pacific to catch albacore tuna.
The trip was supposed to last three days.
But, on October 13, the boat got caught in rough swells and capsized.
Mick told his crewmate to reach the raft while he tried to control the vessel.
The crewmate made it, but Mick went down with the boat and was not found.
The Coast Guard searched over 14,000 square miles before suspending the search on October 25.
They issued condolences to the families, believing both men were lost.
A day later, Canadian fishermen were fishing near Vancouver Island.
A crewman spotted something in the distance that looked like a raft and grabbed his binoculars.
The man on the raft sent up his last flare.
The fishermen sailed over and pulled him on board, and he gave his rescuers a big hug.
He had been alone on that raft for 13 days.
His packed food and water had run out after about a week.
To survive, the fisherman caught a salmon using fishing gear he found in the raft and ate it raw.
The Canadian Coast Guard took him to a hospital in Tofino, British Columbia, where he was in stable condition.
This fisherman survived because he was able to pull food from the water when his provisions ran out.
That salmon sustained him long enough for him to be rescued.
Knowing how to catch fish with little or no gear is a handy survival skill to know.
You do not have to be lost at sea to need this skill.
If you are stranded near any body of water, the ability to catch fish could be the difference between eating and starving.
Among the oldest and simplest methods for catching fish without modern gear is the gorge hook.
A gorge hook is a primitive fishing tool: a straight splinter of wood, bone, or horn about an inch long, sharpened at both ends and tied at the middle.
Baited lengthwise so the points are hidden, it rotates when pulled.
When a fish swallows the bait, the gorge hook rotates and lodges in the fish’s throat.
It works on panfish, catfish, trout, and bass.
You can fish it on a fixed set line tied to a branch, or you can fish it actively by hand.
With that in mind, these are the benefits and drawbacks of survival fishing with a gorge hook.
You can make it from almost anything:
What you need is a thin, rigid piece of hardwood, bone, thorn, or cactus spine about an inch long.
You do not need metal hooks, a tackle box, or any store-bought gear.
If you can find a stick and something to sharpen it with, you can make a gorge hook.
For a line, you can use monofilament, dental floss, paracord inner strands, or any string-like material you have on you.
It fishes while you work:
A gorge hook on a fixed set line tied to a branch or stake lets you fish without standing there holding a rod.
Bait the hook, set it in the water, and tie the line to something solid.
Then go build your shelter, start your fire, or gather water.
Come back and inspect your line.
This is among the biggest advantages in a survival situation where you have a dozen tasks competing for your time and energy.
Fish is among the top survival foods:
A single fish can give you enough calories and protein to keep going for a full day.
Fish is easier to catch than most wild game and does not require a firearm, a trap, or a long chase.
In a situation where your body is burning through calories quickly, that protein is critical.
It works in almost any water:
Gorge hooks work in streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes.
Anywhere there are fish feeding on natural bait, a gorge hook can catch them.
You are not restricted to a single type of water or a single species.
Drawbacks to survival fishing with a gorge hook:
You must let the fish swallow the bait completely:
A gorge hook is not like a modern barbed hook that sets on a quick pull.
The fish needs to take the bait deep enough for the hook to rotate and lodge.
If you pull too early, you will lose the fish and the bait.
Feed slack to a fish until the bait has been completely eaten before tightening the line.
You need live bait:
A gorge hook works best with live bait like night crawlers, grasshoppers, grubs, or crawfish.
Without bait, the hook is much less effective.
Before you start fishing, turn over rocks and logs near the water to find worms and insects.
You can also use small scraps of food or even bits of cloth to attract fish in a pinch.
It may not be reusable:
Because the gorge hook lodges deep inside the fish, removing it without breaking the hook can be difficult.
You may need to carve a fresh one for each catch.
The upside is that once you know the method, making another hook takes just a few minutes.
This is how to make a gorge hook in three steps.
Prepare material.
Find a thin, rigid piece of bone, horn, hardwood, or cactus spine and cut it to about an inch.
Shape and attach.
Sharpen both ends to points and carve a shallow groove at the midpoint.
Tie your line firmly into that groove using monofilament, dental floss, or cordage.
Bait and set.
Push the hook fully into your bait so it sits parallel with the line, pointing up and down.
Set the baited hook into the most promising piece of water you can find and secure the other end of the line to a stick, branch, or stake.
Wait for a fish to bite and feed it slack until the bait is fully swallowed before pulling tight.
Remember: push the gorge lengthwise into soft bait so it sits vertical.
Place the baited line, feed slack until swallowed, then pull steady.
The ability to pull food from the water is a skill that can help you survive.
But you also need to have survival food ready if you’re forced to bug-in, or shelter in place.
