Have you tried fishing with a gill net or if you really want to win, explosives. Another trick is right at sunset, put your hand in the water and shake it as if a fish is fighting with something right at the shoreline. Then toss your floating bait out 10 feet. Get ready for an instant strike.
One more trick is to catch a frog. Bend him and slip the hook under his backbone being careful not to touch the lungs. Break one ankle so he’ll only be able to swim in circles and toss him out as far as you can. In the morning you should have a fish that corresponds to the size of the frog.
The hand fighting commotion idea is good, maybe I’ll try it.
I’m an old steelheader. And Puget Sound salmon fisher.
Got probably 15 poles and reels and bait and tackle up the wazoo!
I figure if SHTF, one of my fishing poles will go for at least 20 gallons of gas.
I have a bit of a personal hatred of gill nets. A river near me (The Puyallup) in late summer is absolutely BOILING with fish!
You stand on the side and watch these long, like 20 yard long wakes of these fish as they swim just subsurface.
Silvers and monster Kings, mostly.
Then, about two days after the fish show, the Indian gill nets go in. You go down to the river and you know what you see?
It looks like glass. Not a fish or evidence that there ever even were any fish in sight. Totally dead.
Absolutely true experiences.