DIY Fishing Wallet : Your Survival Fishing Kit

A survival fishing wallet takes something most people already have—a spare wallet—and turns it into a flat, discreet kit that can put food on the table. It’s compact, it’s stealthy, and it carries just enough to catch fish without weighing you down. If you’ve never made one before, don’t worry. This guide will walk you through each step, explaining your choices, showing DIY alternatives, and pointing out recommended gear to make your wallet as efficient as possible.

Why It Works

A survival fishing wallet is discreet, flat, and always with you. It doesn’t replace a rod and tackle box, but it ensures you’re never without a way to catch food. Whether tucked into a back pocket, stashed in a bag, or hidden in your EDC, it’s a lightweight safety net that can turn water into dinner.

 

Lets Make Your Own Survival Fishing Wallet!

We'll guide you through the simple yet rewarding process of creating your very own DIY survival fishing wallet. Get ready to turn your ordinary wallet into a powerful lifesaver, packed with fishing essentials for your next outdoor escapade.

Step 1: Pick the Wallet

The first decision is the wallet itself. You don’t need anything fancy, just something flat, sturdy, and with enough pockets to organize your gear. Your wallet is the container that makes this whole kit possible. It needs to be flat, sturdy, and able to hold tiny gear without falling apart. The kind of wallet you pick will shape how much you can carry and how organized it feels.

Bi-folds and tri-folds are roomy but get thick quickly. Minimalist wallets are great if you pair them with credit-card-sized tools or resealable baggies. Velcro or zip wallets work well if you tend to overpack. No matter the style, you can add a wide rubber band or wallet band around the outside to hold extras securely.

• Bi-Fold or Tri-Fold Wallets – Classic choice. Plenty of slots and pockets, though they can get bulky if you stuff too much in.

• Velcro or Zipper Wallets – Great for overstuffers. A closure keeps your gear from spilling out.

• Minimalist Wallets – Deceptively good. Use resealable pouches or credit card–sized tools to keep things from slipping out.

• Leather Front Pocket Wallets – Limited space, but a wide band or gear organizer can hold extras on the outside.

👉 Tip: Wrap the outside with a heavy rubber band or wallet band. It not only holds everything in but also lets you strap extra gear flat against the wallet.

Step 2: Clear and Prep

Empty everything from the wallet—old cards, receipts, coins. You’re starting fresh. Add a few small resealable bags or card sleeves now. They’ll help you keep tiny tackle like hooks and swivels from disappearing into the folds of the wallet.

Step 3: Add Fishing Line

Fishing line is the lifeline of your kit. Without it, hooks are useless. You want enough to cast, set a bank line, and replace what you lose to snags. Since this is a wallet kit, the challenge is keeping it flat and tangle-free.

Wind 25–50 feet (absolutely minimum) of monofilament (8–12 lb) around a notched plastic card for easy storage. Grim's Spool Card gives you ample room to wrap different types of monofilament, braided line, wire, and more, as well as accompanying gear. Dental floss or sewing thread can serve as DIY backups, but proper fishing line is worth the space and be sure to take up any extra room you have in your wallet kit with additional line whenever possible.

• Recommended: 25–50 feet minimum, 100 feet is better. Carry both monofilament (8–12 lb) and braided line for versatility.

• Compact Storage: Wind line around an old gift card, sewing bobbin, or Grims Spool Micro Tool—it stores 50+ feet and doubles as a hand caster.

• DIY Backup: An old credit card, or even a business card can work as an improvised spool for additional fishing line keeping it tangle free, and compact for your wallet fishing kit. Dental floss or sewing thread can be used if you run out.

👉 Tip: A plastic card with notches cut at the ends makes a free flat spool.

Step 4: Pack Hooks

Hooks are what actually put fish on your plate, so even a few make the wallet worthwhile. Because hooks are sharp and easy to lose, securing them properly is the most important part of this step.

Carry a mix of small hooks small hooks for panfish and a couple of medium hooks for bigger catches. Tape them flat to a card, slide them into a short sealed straw, or use Grim’s Fishing Card, which holds dozens of hooks in a flat sheet. Safety pins or paper clips bent into shape can be improvised, but real hooks are far more reliable.

• Recommended: An assortment of steel hooks in different sizes (tiny for panfish, medium for trout/bass, one larger for bigger fish).

• Storage Options: Tape them flat to a card, slide them into a short drinking straw sealed at the ends, or use a flat hook sheet like Grim’s Fishing Cards.

• DIY Backup: Safety pins or bent paper clips, thick gague wire, or even just thorns can be turned into makeshift hooks.

👉 Tip: Always carry more small hooks than big ones—small fish are easier to catch consistently, and will generally make up most of your meal plans.

Step 5: Add Weights and Floats

Without weights, your bait often floats at the surface where many fish won’t bite. Weights ensure your hook drops into the strike zone. Just a few tiny sinkers can make a huge difference in how successful your kit is.

Split shot sinkers are perfect because they’re small, versatile, and easy to pinch onto your line. Keep them in a micro baggie or straw segment so they don’t rattle around. If you don’t have commercial sinkers, improvise with a small nut, bolt, or even a smooth pebble tied onto the line.

• Weights: Split shot sinkers are best. A few small ones are all you need. If space is tight, improvise with nuts, bolts, or smooth pebbles tied onto the line.

• Floats: A cork slice, a piece of foam, or even a brightly colored earplug can act as a bobber.

👉 Tip: Store sinkers and swivels together in a tiny resealable bag.

Step 6: Include Swivels and Snaps

These little connectors save line and prevent frustration.

• Swivels: Stop line from twisting when bait or lures spin in the water.

• Snaps: Let you swap hooks and lures fast without retying.

Just two or three of each take up almost no space but make fishing far easier.

Step 7: Pack Lures and Bait Substitutes

Sometimes you can dig up worms or grubs, but sometimes you can’t. Having at least one backup option means you can still fish when bait is scarce. Shiny or wiggly items often tempt fish even without live bait.

DIY lures include soda can tabs, foil strips, or strands of paracord tied to a hook. Feathers or shells also work. If you want ready-to-go options, Grim’s Lure Cards punch out flat lures that live invisibly in your wallet until you need them. Carry at least one lure substitute—you’ll be glad you did.

• DIY Lures: Soda can tabs, foil strips, or paracord strands tied to hooks.

• Natural Options: Feathers, shells, carved wood plugs.

• Recommended Gear: Grim Lure Cards—flat sheets of punch-out lures you can carry in your wallet.

Step 8: Add a Hand Caster

Fishing line wrapped around your fingers works, but it can cause serious injury to the skin and tangles fast. A flat hand caster keeps line tidy, lets you throw farther, and makes retrieving smoother. It upgrades your wallet kit from “backup” to “practical.”

• DIY Hand Caster: grab a spare branch and cut a notch into it for a quick improvised hand caster when its time to use your kit. Just wrap your line back up to store it into your wallet kit when your finished.

• Upgrade: Grim’s Spool Micro Tool doubles as a hand caster and stores your line in a rugged flat format.

👉 Tip: If you only add one upgrade to your wallet, make it a hand caster. It multiplies the usefulness of everything else.

Step 9: Cutting Tool & Tiny Extras

Little extras can make your kit more useful and versatile. Since space is tight, only include what adds real value and can stay flat.

A slim micro blade lets you cut line and prep bait. A foil square can wrap a bait chunk, or help improvise a lure.

• Knife/Micro Tool: For cutting line, trimming bait, or cleaning fish.

• Snare Wire – Doubles as trotline rigging.

• Fine Cordage – For improvised gill nets.

• Emergency Bait – Commercial bait pellets or attractants sealed in a straw or capsule.

Step 10: Pack Flat and Secure

How you pack the wallet is as important as what you put in it. If the gear rattles, pokes, or bulks up too much, you’ll stop carrying it. The key is layering flat and securing each piece.

Start with your hand caster card or line spool. Add taped hooks or a Fishing Card next. Tuck swivels, snaps, and sinkers into a micro bag. Slide in a lure card or foil. Tape your micro blade safely. Finally, strap it all with a band if needed. When closed, it should still look like a normal wallet.

1. Line spool or hand caster card goes in first.

2. Hook card or inside a straw go next.

3. Weights, swivels, and snaps in a tiny bag.

4. Lures or lure card slides in last.

5. Knife or micro blade taped safely.

6. Wrap wallet with a ranger band or Bandit  if it won’t stay flat.

Step 11: Practice and Test

The wallet isn’t finished until you’ve used it. Take it to a pond and fish only with this kit. Learn how far you can cast, how fast you can tie knots, and which items you actually use, or still need. Adjust based on real experience—swap in more line if you ran short, or more hooks if you lost a few.

 

Congratulations! You've successfully created your very own survival fishing wallet 

This DIY project not only saves you money but also encourages resourcefulness and sustainability by repurposing an old or used wallet. Whether you're exploring the great outdoors or preparing for unforeseen emergencies, the fishing wallet ensures you're always ready to cast your line and conquer the wild. Embrace the power of this compact fishing kit and enjoy a newfound sense of preparedness and self-reliance on your outdoor journeys!

Different Size Options for Survival Fishing Kits

Fishing kits don’t need to be big or complicated to put food on the line. You can scale them to fit your carry style, from a full pouch with everything you need down to a wallet kit that disappears in your pocket. Here are some popular sizes and why they work:

• Pouch Fishing Kit – A full-sized setup with line, hooks, sinkers, lures, and extras. Great for bugout bags, long trips, or keeping in the truck. ↗
• Altoids Tin Fishing Kit – A time-tested survival hack. Compact, sturdy, and customizable with hooks, line, swivels, and even a few small lures. ↗
  
• Small Fishing Kit – Palm-sized containers that can hold line, hooks, bobbers, and bait. Enough to get you started without weighing you down. ↗
• Micro Fishing Kit – Ultra-compact tools like Grim PAKs or micro hooks and line wrapped tight on a spool card. Disappears into a pocket until you need it. ↗
• Necklace Fishing Kit – Wearable tools like Grim Workshop’s Dog Tag Fishing Card let you carry hooks, line, and small rigs around your neck for instant access. ↗
• Keychain Fishing Kit – A tiny capsule loaded with hooks and line, or a micro hand caster clipped to your keys. Light, simple, and always with you. ↗
• Wallet Fishing Kit – Flatpack gear like Grim Survival Fishing Cards slide into your wallet. Dozens of hooks, lures, and even small saws in the space of a single credit card. ↗
  

 

Grim Tip Cards Waterproof Pocket Guides

Grim Tip Cards go hand-in-hand with fishing. Each waterproof, credit card sized guide is packed with quick, practical info on knots, rig setups, bait choices, and fishing techniques. Slip one into your wallet or kit and you’ll have the knowledge to turn line and hook into dinner. Imagine pulling out a card that not only survives the rain but also teaches you the knot you need to land a fish—it’s like having a pocket-sized fishing buddy.

 

For more information on survival fishing, check out our pocket fishing kit blog post HERE