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One of the least labor-intensive ways to catch fish in the wild is to build a river bank corral made from sticks or stones. Since the Mesolithic era, hunter-gatherers have built structures in streams and rivers or at the edge of tidal lagoons to trap fish. This method has the advantage that you don’t have to sit around with a rod or spear waiting for your meal to arrive. You can go away and enjoy a leisurely nap before returning to claim your prize.

1. Collect a pile of about sixty sticks, ¾-1½ in (2–4 cm) thick and about 20 in (50 cm) long, which you will use to construct a small, rectangular enclosure at the water’s edge. If there are no sticks, use stones.

2. First make the two long sides of your enclosure with one end facing upstream by driving two parallel lines of sticks/stones into the river bed to form a corridor about 20 in (50 cm) wide and jutting out about 30 in (75 cm) into the water, or until you reach a depth of water that a fish can swim in.

3. Seal off the far end of the enclosure by making a funnel of sticks/rocks pointing into the shore with a 4 in (10 cm) gap—wide enough to allow a fish to swim through.

4. Skewer some bait on a stick and then drive the stick into the river bed so that the bait is exposed underwater inside the enclosure about 8 in (20 cm) from the funnel entrance.

5. Any fish entering the funnel to take the bait will then either swim in a circle or wedge itself nose first into the space on either side of the entrance, where it will stay alive and fresh, ready for you to eat.