# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Fishing >  yo-yo reels

## henderson616

should I use them? I heard that if you rig them correctly you can catch a bird.

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## flandersander

I don't know. i was wondering the exact thing.

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## henderson616

search for them on cabelas

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## Sam

You don't need the reel, just anchor a line with a baited hook on a branch. The animal can not spit the hook out. I use a braided steel leader. That way if I get a squirrel it can not chew the line.  I keep a few wood screws in my pocket kit.

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## dilligaf2u2

For small rodents like squirrels, I have used a large rat trap. Drill a hole in it and screw it low to a tree. I have also anchored it with steel wire and set it on the ground at the base of a tree. 

Don

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## flandersander

is a rat trap powerful enough? i would think the squrrel would get away injured.

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## nell67

Ever get your hand caught in one??,imagine that around a squirrels neck :EEK!:

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## Sam

> is a rat trap powerful enough? i would think the squrrel would get away injured.


 Rats and squirrels are about the same size. I just make sure it's off the ground,
I don't know if it would kill a rabbit.

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## flandersander

yeah good point. so it simply breaks the squirrels neck like a rats? or does it just pin him/her down until you get there? or both?

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## hillbilly1987

well wat happens is it bracks its neck or if it didnt have enough power it will chok it and thats why you have it off the ground

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## flandersander

oh ic. so what happens when the squrrel stands on the bar and gets flipped off the trap? Or does that happen much?

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## Rick

So, does the yo-yo reel gets it name because of the way it works, from who sets it up or because it isn't fake?

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## flandersander

not sure rick. I wonder if you could set a noose of line over the entrance of a gofur hole. then when the gofur comes up the noose tightens around the gofur's neck and when he fights to get free the reel starts cracking him in and presto you got gofur meat. personally it doesn't sound too apetizing but in a live or die situation you do what you gotta do.

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## nell67

A snare, flander?

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## Rick

Gesundheit.

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## nell67

Thank you Rick!

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## trax

> A snare flander?


Not to be confused with a flander snare

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## Rick

Or even a snander flare.

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## trax

> Or even a snander flare.


I don't think I could go fur some of that

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## Rick

If I keep it up are you gonna pelt me?

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## nell67

If he doesn't,I will :Big Grin:

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## Rick

You have until next week to stop!

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## trax

No one will pelt you until you make us fur-ious. Could you gofur that?

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## nell67

> You have until next week to stop!


What?? You LIKE it???

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## Rick

I would hate to get trapped into some deal that would get me skinned.

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## Sourdough

The natives use rat traps to catch Sic'Sic'Puck, a ground squirrel, used to make fine parka's, said squirrel is called a Parka squirrel. They do not bait the trap. Just set them on the runs.

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## Rick

It's pretty easy to parka squirrel unless you try to parallel parka squirrel. That's a little tougher.

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## flandersander

well sorta... it would be like an automatic gofur killer. we used to do that with fishing rods all the time.

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## trax

Rick? Hey Riii--ickkk....you're not going to go fur the cheap shot here?

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## Rick

(tap, tap, tap) Is this thing on?

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## flandersander

haha you're a bunch

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## Sam

> well wat happens is it bracks its neck or if it didnt have enough power it will chok it and thats why you have it off the ground


 I don't know for sure it will kill a rabbit or something bigger. don't wanna wound an animal and have it crawl off and die. That feels like a sin to me. Never killed anyone or any thing I did not have to.

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## flandersander

thats a good point sam. A rabbit i think may be a bit much but what could you bait these animals with? I know rabbits like carrots but what are the chances you have a carrot in your survival pack.

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## warman87

do rabbits like squirrel?

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## crashdive123

> do rabbits like squirrel?


As in .......... dating?

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## Rick

Warman - I'm scratching my head on that one, too.

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## Ole WV Coot

A REDNECK TRAP: Build a trap but leave the door off. Trap needs to be twice as tall as wide. Little steps up to a platform. Suspend a tiny noose from the top. It works thisaway. The critter enters the open door, looks around and sees he's in a trap. He will panic, scared of being skinned alive. Will climb the little steps, put his head in the noose and kill himself. No fuss, and you get a hide without extra holes in it. Just think, people think we ain't inventive.

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## Chicago Dan

Here we call em' all rats.
Some with hairy tails that live in trees and attics and the hairless tails who live in sewers and basements.
By the way as a kid I saw a river rat stumbling along with a "rat trap" firmly affixed around his head. He was wounded but far from dead. At the size of a small dog I wouldnt want to be the one who attempts to approach for the coup de grace. Might just piss it off more. Already having a bad day.

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## Durtyoleman

*I picked up a cheap fishing yo-yo the other day simply out of curiosity. It is small and would store easily in a BOB or similar set but I suspect in a real survival situation I'd just make up a trot line with multiple hooks. I'll post my opinion of it if I ever get time to go fishin' again.
><((((º>`·.¸¸´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸>(((º> 
.·´¯`·.><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·><((((º> 
.·´¯`·.><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> 

D.O.M.*

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## crashdive123

> *I picked up a cheap fishing yo-yo the other day simply out of curiosity. It is small and would store easily in a BOB or similar set but I suspect in a real survival situation I'd just make up a trot line with multiple hooks. I'll post my opinion of it if I ever get time to go fishin' again.
> ><((((º>`·.¸¸´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸>(((º> 
> .·´¯`·.><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·><((((º> 
> .·´¯`·.><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> 
> 
> D.O.M.*


Now that's a pretty cool school.

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## Batch

We had rats and pigeons bad at my old job. The pigeons learned not to roost in the shop when the owners step son started coming in at night and dispatching them with a bb gun.

The rats would stay up on the spray booth or other hard to get to spots. They would put strings on rat traps and push them back aways with a stick. The traps worked in catching rats. But, not always at killing them. The rats head would get pinched in the trap. My boss would grab the traps with the live rats and throw them into the yard for them to die in the heat or what ever. 

He has a second home up north and he would leave Thursday afternoon and come back Sunday night. He threw to rats caught in the traps out in the yard just a wiggling away. So, I used a shovel to decapitate the rats and told everybody to leave the rats where they were for my boss. 

When he asked who killed the rats and just threw them in the yard. I asked didn't you kill the rats? LOL

He knew and had the rats dispatched properly from that point on.

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## Alaskan Survivalist

This thing looks like an unnecessary gizmo. Commercial long liners use circle hooks attached lines a mile long for Halibut. I have a Subsistence level long line. 30 hooks set about 6 feet apart, attached to a leaded line, anchored at both ends and marked with bouy. The hooks set themselves when fish turns to leave and holds better than straight J hooks. Maybe you guys can rig a miniature version for your needs. 

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## flandersander

I personally don't trust just the hook to set itself. I know if you're out fishing for something with a boney mouth, you gotta set the hook HARD, or the fish will escape. If that thing that attatches the leader to the leaded line was spring loaded, I would be happy with it. Is it spring loaded? lol

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## Alaskan Survivalist

> I personally don't trust just the hook to set itself. I know if you're out fishing for something with a boney mouth, you gotta set the hook HARD, or the fish will escape. If that thing that attatches the leader to the leaded line was spring loaded, I would be happy with it. Is it spring loaded? lol


You need to know more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_hook

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## briarmorrow

if i am on the same page as you i use yo yos consantly down in the south manly to catch crappie but have caught everything on them the best way to use them is hang your bait about 6 inches under water or where you can barely see the bait Also a limber limb is good a stiff one if not better the limber one acts like a fishing pole

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## BENESSE

Does anyone have any experience with this particular thing?
Is it useful, or more trouble than it's worth?

Here's a write up from Cheaper than Dirt: (*Manufacturer:* Military ZWN272)
Great  survival gear. Add a hook and some bait and the Yo-Yo sets the hook and  reels in the fish while you're away. Stainless steel coiled springs  retract the 60# test line when the bait is taken. 12-pack of reels with  nylon line. Made by Mechanical Fisher.

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## Rick

That is a YoYo reel. Little high on the price, though.

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## BENESSE

That's for 12 reels actually.

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## Rick

As I said, a little high on the price, though.

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## oldtrap59

IMO If your after fish AS's longline setup or my trotline or setline (all three pretty much the same thing) have it hands down over this yo yo thing. If your after critters with fur use a trap or a snare. Nuff said.

Oldtrap

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## kyratshooter

> oh ic. so what happens when the squrrel stands on the bar and gets flipped off the trap? Or does that happen much?


It happens all the time.  If he flips off the bar and goes high enough we buy him drinks. :Creepy:

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## Rick

If you have the ability to set long lines or even trot lines then that's the better method. What do you do if you don't have a boat to set those lines or check them and what do you use in the winter? YoYos can be used along the bank where folks don't have access to be able to set trot lines and a few holes in the ice will let YoYos fish while you gather wood. Nuff said.

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## Alaskan Survivalist

> If you have the ability to set long lines or even trot lines then that's the better method. What do you do if you don't have a boat to set those lines or check them and what do you use in the winter? YoYos can be used along the bank where folks don't have access to be able to set trot lines and a few holes in the ice will let YoYos fish while you gather wood. Nuff said.


Not quite. Kites can be used to to drag long lines off shore. They can also be floated out with the tide or use electric Kontiki's. As for hard mouth species I sharpen my hooks. Even new hooks benifit from this. My photography is not the best but notice this new hook. It is only pointed on the end and round below the tip. 

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I first sharpen inside edge on two sides.

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Then dress up the bottom edges. This increases catch rates on hard mouth species.

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## Rick

While the kite idea is interesting, I doubt I have the desire to run fast enough to get it airborne. Even if I did it would probably fly the wrong way. Sadly, our lake doesn't have tides. The last Kontiki I had looked like this. 

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but then, I'm a product of the '60s so what do I know?

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