How to Build a Fire: And Other Handy Things Your Grandfather Knew (4 page)

Stay Warm
•  •  •

“We used to go camping when I was a boy. We’d put a lean-to in our packs and head out and live off the country for three or four days. If you spend a night in the woods and you don’t know how to build a fire, you’re going to be cold.”

—B
ILL
H
OLLOMAN

H
OW TO
B
UILD A
F
IRE

Step 1:
Find a good spot. Look for a clearing, one that’s far away from houses, trees, roots, and overhanging branches and also sheltered from the wind. Then clear a circle about three feet across, brush or dig out the center so it’s slightly concave, and place big, dry rocks around the edge.

Step 2:
Gather your supplies: matches, tinder (twigs, dried grasses and leaves, newspaper, and so on), kindling (sticks smaller than your wrist), two or three dry, split, seasoned logs about twelve to eighteen inches long, and a pail of water (or sand or dirt) for safety.

Step 3:
Build a tepee-shaped blaze. Just toss your tinder into the center, leaving space for oxygen to circulate around it. Stand your smallest pieces of kindling on end to form a pyramid over your tinder. Repeat with three or four larger pieces of kindling. Then, without knocking the whole thing over, hold your breath and very gently lean a couple of logs on top. Exhale.

Step 4:
Strike a match, light your tinder, and watch it all go up in flames, just as you’d hoped. Once the fire really gets roaring, the logs will topple over the hot coals to keep burning. Add more logs as needed, being careful you don’t smother the flames.

Step 5:
Get out your s’more fixin’s and let the ghost stories begin. Did you hear the one about the guy with a hook for a hand? What about the girl with the ribbon around her neck? Come to think of it, who is that standing behind that tree?

More Handy Tips

• If there’s not a lot of tinder around, you might have to get creative. Try dried pine needles, pieces of papery birch bark, a fallen bird’s nest (pulled apart), or even the fluff from a cattail (ahem, the kind that grows in wetlands, not the kind that is connected to your neighbor’s kitty). Pine pitch (or sap) will always light, even on wet days. So will a cotton ball swabbed with Vaseline.
  
• To identify good fire logs, knock two together. If you hear a clunk, they’re ready to burn. If you hear a thud, they’re probably still too wet to do anything but smoke you out.
  
• Never build your fire on top of rocks, and never toss rocks into it, either. Hot rocks can explode, possibly causing harm to anyone nearby.
  
• Never leave an unattended fire burning. Always,
  always
  put it out, using water, sand, or dirt.
  
• To prevent your matches from getting wet, dip their tips in wax and store them in an empty film canister.
  
• No matches? Build a fire plow. Find a piece of soft wood about a foot or two long and a very hard, pointy stick, about a foot long. Rub the point of your stick along the grain of the soft wood until you form a groove. When you see saw dust collecting, rub faster; you’ll eventually get a tiny burning ember. Touch it to your tinder, and ignite your blaze. It may not be the quickest way to start a fire, but it sure beats freezing your you-know-what off.
  

Stay Afloat
•  •  •

“We had tin boat races in the basin, and they were thrilling. You’d fold up a piece of corrugated iron, about three feet wide and eight feet long, and fasten it together on the ends with screws and tar. I had one that I called the
Orchid,
which I painted lavender. I was doing real well in the race, but then I got too exuberant and I capsized it and it sank. Of course, I swam down and brought it back up again!”

—B
UCK
B
UCHANAN

H
OW TO
P
ADDLE A
C
ANOE

Step 1:
Climb aboard. This is the hardest thing you’ll do all day, but if you can get in a canoe without tipping it, then you’ll be golden on the pond. Just stay low in a crouched position, step as close to the centerline as possible, and slide both hands along the sides to steady yourself as you walk toward your seat. If you’re alone, sit in the back of the boat.

Step 2:
Grab your paddle. If you’re right-handed, grip the paddle with your left hand on top of the handle and your right hand on the shaft, closer to the blade. To check your grip, hold the paddle in front of you, parallel to the water. Your arms should be just slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.

Step 3:
Use the simple J-stroke, so you don’t have to be bothered switching sides with every paddle. While keeping your chin up and back straight, reach high with your paddle and then dive it into the water just ahead of your knees. The blade should be perpendicular to the boat and fully submerged. Then draw your paddle alongside the boat, and when your left hand is extended across your body and your right hand is even with your hips, turn the blade parallel to the boat and use it as a rudder; push it gently away from you to scoop out a gentle J-shaped hook. (On the right side of the boat, it’s actually a backward J.) Repeat the stroke from the start.

Step 4:
Check your course. If you’re paddling properly, you should be going in a straight line.

More Handy Tips

• Always wear a life preserver and sunscreen when boating. Both can save your life.
  
• When your arm gets tired, switch sides (and grips), and use the J-stroke on the other side. Remember, your J should always hook away from the boat.
  
• Keep your boat straight in rapids and waves. If you approach either sideways, you’ll swamp your boat, and it’ll sink.
  
• If you plan on paddling for a long time, bring water with you. A snack couldn’t hurt, either. And toss a change of clothes in a dry bag, in case you happen to get wet.
  

Get Hooked
•  •  •

“When I was two and a half years old, my grandfather got an alder limb, a piece of twine, and a fishhook. He put an angleworm on the hook and set me loose at the creek behind our house. I caught a trout about four inches long! I came back and showed my mother. She didn’t know I was fishin’! She looked at my grandfather and said, ‘You left him all alone?’ My grandfather said, ‘He’s old enough to go fishin’. See? He caught one!’ ”

—P
HILIP
S
POONER

H
OW TO
C
ATCH A
F
RESHWATER
F
ISH

Step 1:
Gather your equipment: a spinning rod and reel (with hook, line, and sinker attached); some bait; an ice-filled cooler for your catch; a sandwich, drink, and chips (for you, not the fish); and your fishing license. (Get one at your local bait shop before you go, or you may be hit with a very large fine. What’s worse, you won’t get to keep your catch or possibly even your equipment.)

Step 2:
Time your trip. Fish don’t typically bite all day long, so you’ve got to know when to work your pole. Ask a local for advice, or follow these general rules: Cast in the afternoon in spring and fall. You’ve got to give the fish enough time to literally warm up before they get hungry. In summer, get out there in the wee hours of the morning, before breakfast. Missed your alarm? Try again at dusk.

Step 3:
Find your spot. If you don’t know the area, hit the local bait shop and start asking questions. If there’s no one around, remember this: Fish, much like people, like food and shelter. In a lake or pond, that means they’re likely to hang around rocks, weeds, holes, inlets, piers, and underwater shelves. In a river or stream, you’ll likely find them in deep pools or eddies, at the bottom of waterfalls, under drooping tree branches, beneath waves, or near rocks. Basically, you know, anywhere.

Step 4:
Bait your hook. Thankfully, most freshwater fish will eat worms, which industrious fisherman can score for free. (Just venture into your backyard at night after a good rain with a shovel and flashlight, and you’ll be set. Once you dig some up, keep your worms in a dirt-filled box, punched with airholes, so they can live and breathe until they’re ready to swim.) Open your box, select your worm, and size it up. If it’s giant, break it into two pieces and return one half to the box. Then press your hook through the tip of your worm; repeat once more so your worm is doubly pierced and the end of your wriggler dangles from the hook.

Step 5:
Cast your line. Holding your rod in, say, your right hand, allow your lure to hang about ten inches below the tip and then hook the line with your right index finger just in front of the reel. Use your left hand to flip open the bail—the metal guard that sits atop the line on your reel. Then, keeping your elbow close to your side, draw the tip of your rod back either over your shoulder or, if there are trees overhead or people behind you, out to your right side. With a snap of your wrist, propel your rod forward as you release your index finger from the line. When your worm takes a dunk or gets to your desired depth (you can tell by how much line you’ve let out), turn the handle on your reel to close the bail.

Step 6:
Work your pole. Don’t just sit there and daydream, or you’ll never be able to feel when you’ve got a fish on the line. Slowly pull the tip of your pole against the current and reel in your line by a crank or two, and then repeat, until you’ve brought your lure all the way in. Then cast again.

Step 7:
Set your hook. When you see the tip of your pole bounce or you feel weight on the end of it, chances are an unlucky fish has taken your bait. Jerk the tip of your pole upward to sink the hook in his lip. If you missed it, open your bail right away and let your line out a bit, so you can try to catch one of his friends in the same area. If you don’t feel another hit soon, reel in to make sure the fish didn’t steal your worm.

Step 8:
Reel him in. Once you’ve got a fish on the line, bring him in slowly and steadily. If it’s a monster, however, you may want to let him run a bit to tire him out, before you bring him in. Keep your rod tip up and tension on the line the entire time, or you risk losing your catch.

Step 9:
Net your fish, especially if he’s a big one. Once your swimmer is within reach, dunk your net into the water (or better yet, have a friend do it) and lead your fish into the net headfirst. Then scoop him up. Never pull a big fish out of the water, or he may free himself by either jumping off your hook or breaking your line.

Step 10:
Grab your fish. Once you’ve got your fish on shore or in your boat, take a moment to give thanks to him for giving you his life. Then get a good hold of him. If he doesn’t have sharp teeth or spiked fins, you can most likely grab him around the belly or by his bottom jaw. If he’s got a good set of chompers, you can pick him up by sliding your fingers under his gills.

Step 11:
Remove the hook. Grab the hook at its base and gently back it out, taking care that the barbed tip doesn’t harm the fish. Use needle-nose pliers if the hook is deep or dangerously close to sharp teeth.

Step 12:
See if he measures up. Hold your fish to a ruler (there’s usually one built into your tackle box) to see if he meets the minimum size limits. If he does, hooray for you. Toss him into your cooler, and then call home to let everyone know what’s for dinner. If he’s too small, toss him back into the water and let him grow. Maybe you can catch him again next year.

More Handy Tips

• Every fisherman has an opinion on what it takes to be successful, but there is only one tried-and-true method. The secret to catching a lot of fish? You’ve got to fish a lot. That’s it.
  
• When casting, remember that it’s more of a flick than a throw. Finesse will get your line much farther than muscle.
  
• If you have a hard time gripping your fish once you land him, try wrapping an old towel around him and then picking him up. It’ll protect your hands from any spikes, and make the fish less slippery.
  
• For more fishing tips and tricks, visit
  takemefishing.org
  .