I wanted to refine my travel fishing kit a bit so I decided to try and make a stick out of poplar to hold 30 ft of fishing line with a snap for accepting the pre-weighted snells I already carry.  Really all I wanted is something that I can attach the fishing line to and wrap it around as I try to reel in the fish.



Am I, as a non fisherman, totally clueless and fooling myself to think that I could catch anything with this rig? It isn't fancy but it will allow me to wrap the line by hand. Assume proper technique with the correct bobber height and bait.

Of course you can, before man decided to use a stick and attach a line he was catching fish.


https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=hand+line+fishing




 

In the right spot you can. 30 feet isn't much.

Old School way of doing this was to use a Coke soda bottle.
Tie the line off on the narrow waist of the bottle then wrap the line around the neck of the bottle. When casting point the neck out in the direction of the cast.
Swing the line out and it will spool off the neck quite well.
Use the entire bottle as a spool if you hook something large.Brake the spool with your hands as needed to play the fish.

Your set up should delete the snap. That type is weak and will pull out on a decent fish. It's too large for panfish. Delete it.
The key(IMO) is to go minimal size as possible on your terminal tackle. For panfish that means a teeny #10 hook.
For larger fish a #1 or 2 octopus hook will handle anything you're likely catch with a handline.

+1 on loose the snap.



I use a section of pvc pipe so that I can store stuff inside, and it readily floats.

I had to watch a video to learn how to tie the line. I had a hell of a time doing it in my living room with my huge fingers. It would be nearly impossible for me to pull it off cold and wet. Any other options?  Maybe a big loop I could feed through my lures and slip around my rig so I don't have to tie knots?

Lightweight line will cast better off a bottle or can.

6-8lb test. Unlikely you will hook something heavier than that.

The technique I've seen used the most is a sinker about 2' above the hook, then about 30'  of line wrapped around a soda can. Twirl the line in one hand and on the outward twirl release and point the can in the direction you are throwing. I've seen some guys get most of the 30' out on a cast. Then either let sit with bait or tug and rewind the line back around the can for the next cast.

Me i prefer a 12' switch (green sapling). This allows me to pendulum cast about 20' out. And around here that will get me into any creek or pond area I need to fish.

I just watched a video on a non slip loop knot so I dumped the snap. I made the loop long enough that I can feed the loop through any of my lures or snells and then put the unti through the loop. This way I will not need to tie any knots unless my line breaks.

Constructive criticism here....

That is a narrow, small diameter rod you are wrapping around.  Which means a LOT of wrapping to spool up your line.If instead you used a larger, perhaps 3-4" diameter spool to wrap around, its less wrapping.  Small diameter often tends to promote a kinky, coiled line that seems to tangle easily.

Wrapping line around something like a water bottle will be MUCH faster.  You'll likely loose some fish as you wrap up all 30 feet of that...

I carry line on a larger spool for the above reasons.  But I don't fish from that same spool.  I remove from the spool, and tie to the end of any available pole.  We don't have bamboo here, but a 6-8 foot sapling or branch works fine.  It doesn't need to be pretty.  It just needs to be long.  It works to increase leverage, meaning two feet of hand movement equals 5 or 6 feet of improvised rod tip movement, meaning I can land small fish quicker, faster, with less loss.  It also means I can drop bait in 'from above' and then pull it out, again from above, rather than 'casting" and then retrieving by dragging over bottom.  This is less snagging, and less lost tackle.

That big line is fine.  Lots of uses beside fishing.  But best carry a few feet of small diameter mono to end with.  Big line scares some fish. Snells are fine, but hopefully not all 20# hard stiff mono on big hooks.
Bobber float, a split shot and then a hook works well.  But my best rig is something different.  Big sinker on the bottom, with the shelled hook attached to the line so the hook is 6" off bottom.  Fish with the pole, and the line taut. You'll feel taptaptap or a pulling pickup really fast, faster than with many bottom rigs.  Less loss tackle too.  It kills panfish

Remember, Big hooks catch big fish, but usually don't catch small fish.  Small hooks catch small fish AND big fish.  If you have a limited selection of hooks, its usually better to be a bit too small than a bit too big.

You can absolutely catch fish with that as a base to a set up. Sport fish? No. Catch some bluegill to eat? Yes.
Take it out and try it, you'll see.

Cheers!
-JC

+1

Question:  What kind of line is that?  It looks like "spider wire" which doesn't stretch at all.  Monofilament has some "give" to it and you're less likely to lose fish if they make a run for it.

It's also a good set-up for catfish.  Living in Ohio, getting a line in the water at night you could have good luck with catfish.

Use a Trout Magnet with some floats and you will catch fish. I believe they are the best artifical to use with a setup like that. I've tested a similar setup with the Trout Magnets and they caught fish. Basically no wrong way to fish them.

It is spider wire. I can let the rod spin in my hand a bit and use body movement if necessary to work the fish. This is for my get home kit so I don't want much weight or size.

I bought medium sized snells. I think 2/0 and #6 if that makes. sense. The hooks could catch some pretty small fish. Maybe not small enough though.

I'll buy some soon. I think I would use them with a stick to get the tip jerk ing motion to work.

Absolutely you could catch fish on that, has more to do with the bait then anything. On a Florida campout many moons ago, Protus caught this out of one of the ponds in the Ocala Nat Forest, he used a handline and I think a small frog or worm from the pond. Fish was good and we made some fishhead soup as well. lol.

Another idea:  I keep a small amount of Powerbait in a container along with my fishing kit.  It is good in those situations where you can't find any natural bait around.  If you put it in a small, closed container, it will last a long time and not dry out.  There are a bunch of different varieties.

As long as the water has a bit of movment like a small ripple, wave or current the magnet will do all the work. Best part is they are light , small and cheap.

 

That snap won't hurt a thing and is plenty strong. I use them on my heavy rods drifting below Truman dam when they are releasing lots of water and 20-30lb and even larger blues are not uncommon.

dont forget about the crawdads you could be catching.  For bait just about anything, and they are common just about everywhere.

I'll pick some up this week if I can find them.

The loop I just tied will work just as well and reduce the crap I need to carry.

So will waiting to pick up a stick to wind the line on once you get to where you are going to fish if you're going to look at it that way.

Why would I not use a stick with a v in it to cast my line holding the line with my index finger and releasing at the right moment?

Sounds like you've got it all figured out. Go get 'em big boy!

You didn't know to Google handline fishing because you don't fish.  I will go find you a couple examples of good hand line rigs to carry.

The link below is hard to beat and easy to copy.  The other one is Cuban yoyo.
http://www.streamlines.com/order.htm


For me, I prefer to cut a 7-10' sapling and rig up a red neck flipping pole.  You can also scrounge a coke can or water bottle like posted earlier.  If you understand that technique, many things can be used for it.  I have made them from left over spare spinning reel spools for reels that are long gone.

For knots, learn the Palomar.  When I turned 40 I started using it so I would be ready for old age.  At 52, it's still easy, better then most and one of the preferred knots for super lines.  ( FYI I catch fish like 5lb Pike on 4lb test super lines all the time, for survival, best way to go regardless of test you use.)  Or learn to tie a knot using forceps.  Very easy to do.

Place holder for some knot info.

First, knots reduce the line strength because the line cuts in on itself.  Use the wrong knot and your line strength is cut by as much as 50%.  Use more then one knot between you and the fish, you have multiple weak spots for the fish to pop.

Good basic tutorial on 5 fishing knots.  Always wet your line before you tighten any knot.
http://www.berkley-fishing.com/Berkley-ae-top-five-must-know-knots.html