Can you find fishing bait during the winter months out in the wilderness?

[Gary Devine]

During the TV show Alone, all the contestants living in the wild of Mongolia were near a fast moving river. They each had a stick fishing pole, string and hooks. They found grasshoppers and caught fish before the winter snow. None of them, were able to find any fishing bait or catch an animal in their dead-fall traps.
Any suggestions how to find live bait during the winter months or is it impossible?

[jhjimbo]

They might find a slow pool and use their pole to spear something.

[Treestand]

THINK...... ALONE? Who's working the camera...Camera Men who eat three meals a day!! You could do this in your back yard!!

[FirstBubba]

Depends on the water source.
I've found that where there is moving water and a rocky bottom you can almost always find crawfish, hellgrammites and maybe even a salamander, all of which bigger fish love and can be used as bait.
In slower, sluggish waters of East Texas, you can always build a fish trap to catch small bait fish to either eat or catch larger fish.

[PigHunter]

THINK...... ALONE? Who's working the camera...Camera Men who eat three meals a day!! You could do this in your back yard!!

With the exception of medical check-ins, the participants are isolated from each other and all other humans.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_(TV_series)

[Treestand]

THINK...... ALONE? Who's working the camera...Camera Men who eat three meals a day!! You could do this in your back yard!!

Ahhhh BS, The Homeless in Orlando are truly ALONE. because they like it, most are Vets!!

[bowhunter75richard]

THINK...... ALONE? Who's working the camera...Camera Men who eat three meals a day!! You could do this in your back yard!!

Tree is right. Do we all think that the participants are taking “selfies” in this show. It is a sham like all the TV productions such as Naked and Afraid, Big Brother, Survivor, all only watched by goofies who haven’t figured things out yet !

[6phunter]

Depends on the water source.
I've found that where there is moving water and a rocky bottom you can almost always find crawfish, hellgrammites and maybe even a salamander, all of which bigger fish love and can be used as bait.
In slower, sluggish waters of East Texas, you can always build a fish trap to catch small bait fish to either eat or catch larger fish.

That was my first reaction to this question, in a survival situation ,all rules and regulations no longer apply. Fish traps , provide ,where hook and line maybe luck

[Gary Devine]

THINK...... ALONE? Who's working the camera...Camera Men who eat three meals a day!! You could do this in your back yard!!

They each have a video camera with a tripod. I guess with a few video charged batteries also, that are replaced by the medical team that checks on their health. Also they had a few encounters with venomous snakes. Nobody was tagged by a snake, but you can bet a medical team is camping close by in case of a life threatening accident.

Rich, why are contestants losing, so much weight if it is staged? A few contestants were ordered by the medical team to tap out from the competition in Vancouver Island because their condition from starving was so bad.
I like those shows like Alone, Mountain Men, Alaska shows and Naked and Afraid that puts you out in the Wild.
???

[Gary Devine]

Depends on the water source.
I've found that where there is moving water and a rocky bottom you can almost always find crawfish, hellgrammites and maybe even a salamander, all of which bigger fish love and can be used as bait.
In slower, sluggish waters of East Texas, you can always build a fish trap to catch small bait fish to either eat or catch larger fish.

Good point guys. Find a small stream that leads to the river.
When we were kids we filled minnow buckets with crawdads. Lift a rock and when the clouding mud clears a crawdad is there.
Bubba, would the crawdads be there under rocks, during the snowy winter months? Do they hibernate down low like frogs and snapper turtles do??

[rockhound]

I would think making Jig bait would better use of my time. I'm sure that was one of the fishing items include in military survival kits. If I were in a situation and needed food I would look at minnows as sardines.

[pineywoods]

Down here in SW AL I know I can find bait by rolling over rotten logs or raking up the leaves on hardwood slopes for salamanders. Unless we are having an extended period of unusually cold weather, there are always maggots in dead things. Me, I eats dem crawdads out de creek.

[MattM37]

THINK...... ALONE? Who's working the camera...Camera Men who eat three meals a day!! You could do this in your back yard!!

I'm pretty skeptical about most of those shows, too, but I think ALONE is actually one in which there really isn't any staging or scripting. Most of the others are produced to some degree. I think pretty much every one has that very brief notice in the credits "Some scenes have been re-enacted" for whatever reason.

[MattM37]

I would think making Jig bait would better use of my time. I'm sure that was one of the fishing items include in military survival kits. If I were in a situation and needed food I would look at minnows as sardines.

One of the guys on ALONE this season made a hair jig out of the inner strands of paracord. He hooked a fish on it but then fish and lure both broke off.

[MattM37]

I thought that was funny: The one guy who doesn't catch a fish or have any luck hunting or trapping is the guy who wins -- because he came in about fifty pounds overweight! Actually that Dave guy had a great shot at it; he was getting a grouse just about every day. I was glad to see him go, though. All his teary-eyed whining ("Oh, it breaks my heart to keep killing! I wish I didn't have to kill these beautiful animals!") got pretty sickening.