If you are anything like me, bringing home a freshly caught dinner is never too far from the front of your mind. Whether it is a last-minute stop at the local pond to catch a mess of bluegill or taking a short hike into the squirrel woods in the late afternoon, a fresh caught dinner just seems to taste better. Many of these last-minute excursions have resulted in me forgetting what I consider essential gear. I finally got tired of being “caught with my pants down” and I decided to develop what I consider to be the ideal grab-and-go setup. My parameters for the grab-and-go kit were that it had to be lightweight, compact, and it had to be equipped to cover the many types of game that are commonly found (in my area specifically). The game I commonly encounter here in Central IL is a large variety of freshwater fish (bluegill and catfish being my preferred species), and rabbits and squirrels. I consider game like deer, turkey, waterfowl and doves to be “specialty” species, and therefore this kit does not apply. After many evolutions, I have settled on a kit that can fit inside of the Medium Traditional EDC Pouch from Colorado Bushcraft. My core, never changing, setup consists of a kui stringer, braided poly stringer, garden shears, bandana, Ziplocs, and a knife. I also have some gear that I consider optional. Having these optional items is not a necessity, but they certainly make life easier.

Kui Stringer

The kui stringer is commonly used by spear-fisherman in Hawaii. It is a small multifunctional tool that is as useful in the ocean as it is in hardwood forests. The kuis I make are made up of a titanium spike that is attached to a long strand of 250-lb test monofilament with a loop and carabiner on the end. Traditionally, this stringer is used by

putting the spike through the fish’s mouth and out through the gills. You can hold multiple speared fish this way. The kui can be used in fresh-water fishing situations in place of the standard poly stringer. The monofilament is far less abrasive to a fish’s gill structure than the poly rope. Outside the water, the kiu is still a functional and worthwhile tool to keep in your kit. This stringer doubles as an excellent small game carrier. When you are out squirrel or rabbit hunting, it quickly becomes difficult to manage game once you shoot one or two. Thread the spike through a slit between the tendon and fibula and you have a handy game carrier.

Braided Poly Stringer

The standard poly stringer is an essential piece of gear in your every day game kit. The obvious reason is that it is a fish stringer. This in itself, is a valuable tool. I rarely use my poly stringer to hold fish. More often than not, I attach the stringer to the carabiner on my kui to extend the length of it. This allows the fish that I have caught to get down deeper in the water and stay out of the muddy shallows. The

standard poly stringer is can also double as cordage in a pinch. These stringers are often made in high-vis colors. This is a benefit because you can see where you left your fish when you inevitably drift around the lakeshore or downstream.

Garden Shears

Many people have a large set of game shears in their kits. While these shears can be useful, they are often clunky and a bit overkill. You don’t need a set of 5-inch shears to snip the ankles off of squirrels or the wings off of doves. A small set of garden shears, or pruners, will do the trick. I really like the 1.75” Titanium Coated Micro Pruner

from Fiskars. These little pruners do everything I need. They are great for snipping the ankles of small game, cutting the wings off of doves, cutting off the dorsal fins of fish, or even separating the legs of a bullfrog. 

Hand Towel/Bandana

This one doesn’t need much explanation. A hand towel has multiple uses, the main use being to wipe your hands before, during, or after cleaning game. I like to rinse my hands in the pond or the creek after I handle fish or game. The hand towel allows me to dry my hands without having to use my pant leg as a towel. The towel

can also double as a food collection sack when you stumble upon some in season mushrooms.

Ziploc Bags

Ziplocs don’t have many uses, but they are super lightweight and packable. If you fillet your fish or skin your squirrel in the field, you need something to keep the dirt and grit away from the meat. A Ziploc bag is essential in this scenario. A Ziploc can also be used to hold water or any number of things you may encounter in the field, especially garbage.

Knife

I always have a knife on my person when I’m in the field, but a little bit of redundancy never hurt. A sharp knife is always important to have around when cleaning game, but we all know that our heavy use knives can lose that razor edge after a day or two in the woods. This is why I like to keep a backup knife in my game kit. This backup blade needs to be sharp and

lightweight. No frills necessary. That is why I keep my Cypress Creek Knives LD-2.5 in my kit. This ultra-light knife is only 1/8” thick and sports a 2.5” blade. It disappears in your kit until you need it most.

OPTIONAL

Dry Bag

A dry bag is a nice piece of kit because it can serve two purposes. It can keep your valuables from getting wet, or it can keep things from getting to your valuables. I have a 13L dry bag in all of my backpacks. The main reason I carry a dry bag is to protect my valuables when I’m

fishing from the kayak or wading a creek. When I’m out frog gigging, I use my dry bag to hold my catch. This keeps my hands free, my frogs contained, and it keeps my backpack from smelling like amphibian. 

Fish Bonker

For obvious reasons, a fish bonker is a useful tool to have in your game kit. It can be used to knock out a fish, squirrel, or rabbit. Bonkers are usually fairly lightweight and unobtrusive to keep stowed away in your pack. I put the bonker in the optional category because you can almost always find a good stick in the woods, or on the bank, that will work equally as well. Heck, my fish bonker is a piece of driftwood that I found while fishing for brook trout in Montana.

Hemostats/Needle Nose Pliers

Depending on where I’m going to be or what I’m going to be doing, I will often have a pair of hemostats or needle nose in my kit. Hemostats are usually my tool of choice because they are more compact and lightweight. Hemostats are great for pulling hooks from bluegill’s mouths, pulling a splinter, crushing a barb on a hook, or they can even be used to skin a fish (if you know a trick or two).

It goes without saying that this is a baseline kit, depending on where you live and what your go to game species are, some items on the above list may not be ideal. You may find that other tools better suit your needs and uses. I myself am a gear guy and I imagine my kit will go through many different variations over time. Each item is subject to change, and I’m sure, over time, the kit will evolve and certain pieces of kit will be replaced with new items. For the time being, this kit suits all my needs, and now, I seldom find myself caught with my pants down.