I didn't Expect THIS! 3 Day Solo SURVIVAL CHALLENGE

Every now and then it's good to just take off on a solo camping trip and see what happens! That's what I did on my most recent outing, a solo survival challenge, where I canoed about 30 miles over 3 days with no food or shelter, and only one bottle of water. I only brought that because I wanted to try to make a solar fire from the water bottle. Spring/Summer in Florida can be unforgiving and although I did have a little trouble with mosquitoes and deer flies, they were pleasantly absent for the most part. This was supposed to be a survival challenge so I brought no shelter or food, no way to start a fire or filter water. I'd planned on bringing along some bait but spaced that and had to search high and low for anything that might entice a fish to bite. I brought a hammock but, without a blanket, got chilled and ended up sleeping next to the fire on a bed made of conifer boughs and my life jacket. To boil water i made friction fire from materials scrounged up from the woods. Fishing was tougher than expected but I was able to forage some wild blueberries. But for the most part it was a reminder of how difficult life in the bush can be.
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[@redfishsurvival1413]

If a nice fish is close to the surface you can smack the water above it with the flat of your paddle and stun it. Growing up poor as kids in the 70s, fishing was all we cared about. We found or dug our bait everyday. Pulling grass clumps and shaking out the worms and grubs, knocking down exposed wasp nests under overhangs for larva, but usually turning over dead logs on the ground did the trick for worms, crickets and grubs. For those that dont know, you can feed one entire nightcrawler or worm onto a hook from nose to tail and just keep feeding it up your line until the hook is sticking out of the tail and the line is running inside the worm. It will catch fish for hours and stay on the hook/line. A whole nightcrawler will cast without weight and slowly sink naturally without a loud weight splash. Big fish like a big meal and not being spooked first. Also, frogs will bite just about any lure you bounce around or on its nose, even a bare hook. I guess they see it as a bug flying. Caught dozens that way over the years just to let them go. Thanks for another real video Clay. All the best to the family.

[@beatcat1265]

Oh cool thanks! Good information!!

[@redfishsurvival1413]

@@beatcat1265 Thank you bearcat

[@animeaunty]

Just curious cuz I know NOTHING about catching fish n Florida 🤷 But could he have fashioned a net out of his skeeter mesh & got more food from the water? 🤔🤷

[@redfishsurvival1413]

@@animeaunty Hi, you wouldn't want to compromise that mesh because keeping the bugs from eating you up is one of those things so bad that survival shows often had people quit fast just from the bug bites. Mesh also has tiny holes so it acts more like a piece of cloth in the water than a net, especially if there is moss or other things in the water to clog up the mesh. Any real use would end up with endless snags putting holes in the thin mesh and then you are surviving on little or no sleep because of bugs... when you cant afford mistakes. If you can create a dry, safe comfortable night's sleep, you have won a big part of the survival battle. Besides water, it might be number two. Having rest, clear head to think, energy, mood, patience, being careful etc. are all rewards of good sleep (as I write this in bed at 2am of course lol). In other words, protect that mesh because there are tons of simple primitive ways to catch and trap fish and all the other critters in and around the water, but a bug net is a modern treasure in the woods. A quick example of primitive fishing is like how Cherokee used to dump a large amount of crushed black Walnuts in a stream above a dammed up pool. The fish would become stunned from the poison and float to the top. They would pick the fish they wanted ro eat and then the rest of the fish would recover and swim away until needed next time. Sorry for writing a book, I used to write a lot and guess I still enjoy it a bit when I get going.

[@monsierlemaire8282]

I'm glad even you get skunked once in a while. When an outdoor pro struggles a bit on a trip, makes the everyday man like me feel a little better with all my outdoor struggles too.

[@AlphaQHard]

I have never not caught a fish, mostly because if I dont catch my target species ill setup a sunfish rig just to make myself feel better 😢

[@clayhayeshunter]

Right on

[@ramblinman884]

Humidity may have been part of what made it so hard to start that fire.

[@jamescooper2618]

I was gunna say the sane thing 8282.

[@WilliamFluery]

I was in a remote mountain village in Northern Thailand in primitive living conditions. I was trying to start a fire with a ferro rod my boys gave me for Christmas. A little hilltribe boy was watching me from his family’s bamboo hut and I was going to impress him. After a number of attempts, he suddenly realized what I was trying to do. He got a big smile on his face and ran outside to join me. He reached his hand out to my starter bundle and with his Bic lighter we had fire. HOW HUMILIATING!!!

[@clayhayeshunter]

haha! Practical!

[@Amanda-yf7vj]

Haha forget that silly thing!!

[@tylerbate284]

I would have laughed so hard if a fish came and gulped up that minnow you set free 🤣

[@Fog1k]

Let's go. Watching you win Alone introduced an inner city kid to the outdoors! Been obsessed ever since.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Awesome!

[@glennwilliamson7911]

Thank you, Clay for being down to earth and very relatable. I look forward to each one of your videos. I pray God’s blessing upon you and your entire family.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Many thanks

[@entrepreneursfinest]

Excellent video Clay! I thought you must be southern from some of your mannerisms - I'm a Louisianian. People get the idea that if they learn a lot of survival skills that those skills will always bear fruit and it's just not the case. Sometimes the woods are so dry that the grape vines have no water, all of the streams for miles are dried up and there's not a single log with a grub because it's all dried out. Sometimes animals just aren't moving and no matter how many traps you set, nothing catches. If it's been raining off and on for a month, good luck with friction fire. I like to say that there are many many faces of the same environment depending on time of year and weather.

[@jaymelang9610]

I watched an interview with Paul Rosolie. He spent a lot of time in the Amazon. He wasn't having any luck catching fish in one of the rivers. One of his chaperones kicked off a shoe and sliced a piece of calloused skin off his heel. He put that onto the hook for bait and caught a little fish quickly. He used the little fish to catch a bigger fish, sliced that fish in half, used that as bait and so on. Within a couple hours he had a fish big enough to feed a large family. Don't know if it's true, but it's a cool story.

[@gud2go50]

Cedar is a good dog! Great companion!😊

[@clayhayeshunter]

You got that right!

[@lyndaspangler9654]

Okay, 5/2024, how to filter water brought you to my screen. I keep watching your excellent videos, unable to stop no matter how much my hungry dog is fussing 😘. I arrive to this video? Enthralled as with the rest yet I'm laughing out loud at the glorious addition of your dog. I'm hooked forever now, dog, no grub or minnow catching me. He's wonderful. You are okay Clay yea yea BUT OH! YOUR DOG! 🥰😅😂😅👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼✌🏼🙏🏼🖖🏼🇺🇲😘 Thank you for these shares of realtime information. You, have a dream come true life, in my tallies. Listen to these folks about the contest entry! And thanks. I needed these outdoors time shares by you. BRAVO! MORE! MORE! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼💐

[@lyndaspangler9654]

PS. My dog Sundance sniffs Cedar in a hardy hello. 🐾✌🏼🐾

[@antlerman8833]

My son and I have started a fire with a clear plastic baggie filled with water , for tinder we used dry bark or dead tree sawdust we just crushed it up with our hands took a little bit it worked, we saw another KZbinr Greg Ovens do it pretty neat !!

[@WilliamFluery]

Be careful…a BEAR may have left that dollar as bait for a human.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Didn't think of that!

[@DanAdair-ot9ge]

Skunk Ape most likely.

[@WilliamFluery]

@@DanAdair-ot9ge I am 62 y/o and have never heard of a skunk ape but looked it up….next time I am in the Florida swamp, I will be on the lookout for $1 bills laying on the ground.

[@DanAdair-ot9ge]

I live in Oregon, and we have the much larger version of the Skunk Ape: Sasquatch or Big Foot. I've been lucky enough to take pictures and video of Sasquatch near Crater Lake National Park. The largest male being between 9ft and 10ft tall, and he was being very aggressive. Sasquatches tend to avoid contact with humans but encounters do happen.

[@michaelstrauss6587]

@@DanAdair-ot9ge Yeah, i'm in Oregon too and have had a few encounters....

[@sillybears4673]

Brooo, the survival plus getting all that footage, and angles.. really top notch content bro. Just found your channel btw .. but yeah man I can tell you’re more real then bear grylls

[@clayhayeshunter]

Glad you like it!

[@sillybears4673]

@PrepperNation_H grew up thinking he was legit because he’d eat so many crazy things. But I decided to search if he’s ever faked it and it’s so bs

[@ramblinman884]

I saw a Grylls episode where he was in Alaska and was hacking through some rough growth and pointed out some plant that he said " has genseng in it". I turned it off and havent watched him since. I grew up digging genseng. It is a plant species unto itself. It can not and will not ever be found in any other plants. Thats like saying a fish has some bicycle in it. Not gonna happen.

[@flintstriker6944]

Cedar is so cute, what a good dog!

[@jessiewatson5215]

Looks like the Chipola River. I live near the Choctawhatchee. GREAT fishing!

[@elenabreck8958]

Thanks for the video. I can't imagine being in that situation, but I enjoy the ride.

[@InventorGadget]

Love it! Soo many good ideas.. great camera work and the dog is aaaadorable 💕

[@monsierlemaire8282]

Excellent cinematography! The production value of your videos is asounnding, makes for great viewing.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks so much

[@therulesaredifferent8280]

Awesome vid. Great content. Thanks Clay!

[@stnaes-tf4ow]

For finding bait, have you tried *'worm grunting'?* Worm charming, also known as worm grunting or worm fiddling, is a technique that uses sticks to attract earthworms from the ground. Here's one method: Find an area with loose soil, such as under a log Push a 12-inch stick about three inches into the ground. But before doing so carve ridges on the one side of the stick you stick into the ground. Grab a second stick(smooth). Rub one stick up and down against the ridges of the other stick that's stuck in the ground, as if playing the cello, for about two minutes Worms should rise to the surface

[@clayhayeshunter]

I’ve tried it a time or two but haven’t had any success yet.

[@tylerpogue6037]

Great video Clay! Always enjoy your content. Thanks for sharing.

[@jefflink4671]

Great video Clay....love Cedar.

[@daviddrysdale8866]

Wonderful video Clay

[@skeetermalcolm1655]

Always a pleasure brother watching your challenges, hope to see more

[@ericbrabham3640]

Great video. I need to do this.

[@stevejohnson810]

Nothing ever goes according to plan...I enjoyed the vid thx Clay.

[@timothylongmore7325]

Cool adventure. Reminded me of Les.

[@KeithFoster-re5xj]

Great video and thanks for showing us the rough trips too. It's a great reminder to not get too over confident

[@clayhayeshunter]

Absolutely!

[@donaldbuckner2935]

Finding that dollar was cool. You should have looked up for the the dollar tree. They are popping up everywhere around here! lol. It was nice to hear the whippoorwill and the flicker in the background. Great seeing you use your knowledge and skills for the fire and the fly tie.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thank ya

[@CJPDusty]

Awesome clay! Love the survival challenge videos!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks so much

[@hr82787]

Back to his roots, milton boy, back at it again, I rooted for him on his season of alone, and his videos up here, me living in crestview, helps me see what materials I too can use to possibly get same results

[@richierich4810]

I loved this vid. Good man.

[@user-jq3lw2zm3r]

Thanks for sharing your experience even when things are tough really enjoy your videos. Look forward to ever one of them. You have an awesome friend in Cedar

[@clayhayeshunter]

I appreciate that!

[@AffectiveApe]

Great stuff clay. I appreciate the time you take to explain the logic behind your explore-exploit choices. And thanks a bunch for sharing even when things are challenging! We learn the most from times of scarcity. Hope the light blend coffee was still to your liking!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks

[@Fairplayer43]

Excellent work!!! Thanks for the video!!!😊 That side of Florida is beautiful!!! Good camara angles. Experimenting and not afraid to try new things is appreciated. "Plan B" Hey we have 26 letters in our alphabet!!! Bring it on!!! This was a lot of work!!! Thanks!! MVP; your puppy 🐕 dog and woodpecker 😊 PD hehehe maybe you should have consulted with 'Prometheus' before making fire. 😊 That was a lot of work man! Thank you!

[@christianzuniga1702]

4:32. I couldn’t help but picture the comercial of the guy with the fishing pole and the dollar bill lol. “Almost had it gotta be quicker than that”

[@ipsc2alpha]

Great video. Thank you for sharing.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks for watching!

[@francdejong]

Thx for making this content, really admire people like you.🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@clayhayeshunter]

I appreciate that!

[@PaulKelly-ke8od]

Very inspirational.

[@jasonplant5432]

The grapevine water filter., Now that is VERY USEFUL Information. Water,food shelter, I've been very carefully obtaining filterd water through a very old and well used method. It works! No tools. Just the sespool. And fresh water within about an hour.

[@beatcat1265]

I just watched a video about the grapevine method!

[@rogersleep]

Brilliant video thanks for sharing

[@joshuabomar6974]

Best survival excursion video I've seen lately. That experience will certainly make you appreciate a good dinner. Thanks for sharing the moment brother.

[@jessejohnson_tx]

Appreciate you keeping it real! Failure is frequent in the nature. She’ll humble you.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Definitely

[@SpiderCents]

You’re videos are such great quality. It’s been a long time since I have been out alone in the wilderness and your videos bring me back to my solo adventures. Looking forward to getting back out there and curious how it will be mentally now that I have a 5yr at home.

[@viking0116]

True words of wisdoms on perspective! Thanks for the reminder.

[@Etred02]

Nice video as always!

[@Dirk_Mcgurk]

i am glad you showed someone picking you up because i was wondering how you were going to get back home.

[@Thellosallowarse]

For those that don't know. Fatwood is generally an old dry stump with a lot of pitch or resin left in it. Love the videos also. Encouraging me to go do my own hunting videos here in La.

[@brisay1844]

So much fun!!

[@EddieNugget]

Excellent thought on looking locally for excellent outdoor activities, big believer in that concept. Also, with starting the fire with the water-bottle sunlight combo, setting up a rig for the water bottle to stay fully still would be key - any micro movement from your hands or legs while holding the bottle spreads the light's energy over too large of an area on the tinder. Some rocks and sticks, and time to find the right angle, we'd have fire from water.

[@balirelated1510]

Another great video Clay and im glad you showed the outdoors reality . Sometimes its just tough to find or catch food. Im certain if you stayed a little longer you surely would have caught fish. Thanks for taking us on this adventure and im already looking forward to the next video

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks 👍

[@GronnocGames]

hahah cedar swimming in your fishing hole, comes out, shakes off, and goes right back

[@MAJJJJJJ]

That has to be the most tear jerking science with you feeding your dog. Your a good man clay

[@farstrider79]

You're right about what you said about leaving an area and realizing what you missed! I left the Appalachian mountains when inwas 23 having barely ever hiked, and never hunted.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Yep, it’s easy to do!

[@gud2go50]

I really miss that area of Florida but not the humidity and mosquitoes! Thanks for sharing your trip with us. It is nice to see someone who does bushcraft and survival for real! The beaches along the Gulf coast are the best!😊

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks for watching!

[@kriyashivajiva]

you always real boss! great adventure. life aint easy

[@clayhayeshunter]

I appreciate that

[@BeachMongoose]

I enjoyed this as much, if not more than as an episode of Alone. Great cinematography! And I too awake my pets with food smells.

[@chrisgolden1770]

Enjoy the time you have with your dog. Mine passed way on May 6th. We had him 17.5 years. Was a tough day but we made a lot of great memories together getting out of the house together everyday

[@clayhayeshunter]

Sorry to hear that

[@to8860]

Good stuff as always!!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@dougg1075]

Love the dog.

[@WilliamFluery]

33:19 - Beautiful profile shot of Cedar. Labs are beautiful dogs.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thank ya

[@user-jq8xc4ln1i]

Exelente hermano.. saludos desde Argentina

[@lads1963]

Great vid Clay, shows the reality of food accumulation not always going to plan! I have stunned minnows using a paddle by hitting the water above them hard with the flat side, works well! Looking forward to the next one.👍😎

[@clayhayeshunter]

Good stuff!

[@BushcraftExplorer]

I lived in Fort Walton and Crestview when I around 12 years old. Great memories of my time there as a kid. It's changed allot since then. 😄

[@jrempp7729]

Another great video Clay! I think you should write another book on dog training!!! I would buy several for myself and some folks I know!!!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks Jim

[@zebulunturner2974]

ya know, when you're watching, and something just explodes and makes sense. The life vest, bug net, hammock set up for the second night. I gotta try that now. Just never thought of that

[@jasonplant5432]

Don't hold the bottle. Prop it up. More control over focused light and you can leave it . A glass bottle works better.the polish and scratches on plastics can be a challenge. But you can obviously utilize the wild and that's tough.

[@PGF_consulting_LLC]

everytime were on that river we have coolers(fun times)....... great time in the blackwater forest

[@xUnaDePiratasx]

adventure with my dog! its the most thing i love!! amazing work on this video Clay, and even in your whole chanel! Love it!!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@CinemaSasquatch-pk2or]

Tenkara Fishing Rods are a blast to fish with. I took one on a flight to Iowa in 2019 secured to my walking cane so it didn't count as a carry on. On my drive back to TX, I stopped off at the Lake of the Ozarks and caught a rainbow trout. It was this ( ) big. I enjoyed your video.

[@donwaldroopoutdoors3665]

Man what a treat i started watching on my phone @ the farm started over when i git home realized this is a movie , man how honest all your videos are and well produced, if i had x $$ id def be a patreon member, id love to see you , ryan gill and xander , and me lol , do one these ,

[@keithmosley1859]

Reminds me of the yellow river in the pan handle.beautiful land too

[@clayhayeshunter]

This was the Blackwater. Not far from the Yellow.

[@JuliaJulia007]

Florida folk appreciate this beautiful video.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@stevenstordal251]

Great content and filming! Enjoyed watching from Norway!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@carlstrand927]

Instead of trying to splash the minnows up onto the shore, swing the paddle and slap the water above them with the flat of it. It'll stun them momentarily and then you can pick them up at your leisure

[@johnmadrigal7217]

Love the vids

[@joshmontgomery4040]

Enjoy all your videos

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks Josh

[@DakotaLacey-qi5ms]

Love your vids man ❤

[@buttercupp272]

Most people don’t realize this, but when you don’t eat, you actually get more energy the human bodies amazing it releases adrenaline so you can catch food the longer I go without food the better I feel

[@3passa]

Great team, you and Cedar! Nice to see some drone footage, and the place is so calm and peaceful. I´ll try surviving without food the Clay Hayes way sometime this summer. Maybe I´ll lose some pounds too!

[@michpatriot9097]

Middle of the second day your aim at 30yds would have been supernatural.. When I heard that woodpecker I thought selfbow, but that would have been a energy soak at that point..I've heard that our internal compass when wandering from places where we've eaten can get us back to camp..

[@paulaherron7712]

Cedar's grown into a great dog...this was ASMR,.one man and his dog on the river I enjoyed this upload v much ❤

[@clayhayeshunter]

😊 thank you

[@aaronnoffsinger5922]

Only the finest type of man shares his only food with his dog :)

[@MrGaza74]

You’re so dpot on about checking out local places you may ignore. Due to cost of petrol I don’t travel as far and have been exploring local area more and have found many gems. That dollar, I wonder if there was more stashed. Weird. Love your work.

[@downeastprimitiveskills7688]

I'm working on canoeing all my local rivers and steams, lived here my whole life and coming up on 60 in a few years. still a few to go. You could stand and pole a log of that stream.

[@HughJazzDong]

That’s a good pup right there

[@marcoplumari5356]

You have the coolest dog ever.

[@shannondavis1106]

Clay, my new favorite video on KZbin. Have wanted to canoe the entire lenghth of blackwater since i was a kid, still haven't done it. Always said i would takes several Beetle Spins and 5 prong gig head because fish can be very hard to catch on it. Was very surprised at the lack of water moccasins and crawfish. Great job on an outstanding video

[@clayhayeshunter]

I’m not sure it’s possible, not without a lot of portaging. The lower river disperses into a huge marsh/wetland that isn’t navigable by boat. Pull it up on google earth and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

[@mgiebus1869]

Dope video dude! Way better than anything on TV. Sorry about your fishing luck but it was incredibly relaxing to watch, almost meditative. Could watch a whole season of this for sure.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Swamp-Fox]

Cedar is the hardest working survival dog I know! Great content!

[@GabrielHomeService]

Pretty neat! Would like to do this myself sometime soon

[@clayhayeshunter]

Make it happen!

[@jimbrock8571]

Frogs on Lilly pads, I have had good success using large hooks like your limb line hooks, tied to the end of a slim pole. Resembling a treble hook. Putting the hooks past the frog, then bringing the pole/hooks down and back toward me with a jerk. 70-75% catch rate ..

[@davo8802]

Poke tiny holes in bottle and set in water will let minnows have oxygen in water to stay alive

[@justincooper5530]

If you do another trip on the river take one of those bottles you find cut the top funnel off flip it into the bottom section and throw some bait in it quick minnow trap and it works every time I've done it for years

[@IncognitoMan22]

I see what you did there. Taking the dog.. 😉Just in case I don't know you get hurt or lost out there. I mean I wouldn't eat my dog but hey, I gotta give it to you. You're hard core!😁

[@nevadafitch5647]

Good video. On those frogs, I remember as a kid, a fairly effective method was to spot a frog at night, we were in a flatbottom boat, and we would sneak up and hit them with a boat paddle. That worked pretty well. I ordered one of those Montana Marshal knives, just like yours, recently, and will see how well it works for me.

[@clayhayeshunter]

You’ll love it

[@HeartlandMakesAndOutdoors]

Amen to that, I so agree, there is plenty pf places where I grew up at that I find myself saying, I wish I had tried that or that, or kept putting it off. Either way, like you mentioned take advantage of those places while you can, life is interesting and you may well find yourself in an area far from what you have always called home. HA, yes sir, I get it, I love coffee too, drinking a cup and watching this video before we head off to church, looks like a great way to get the morning started. I have my shop door open, enjoying the morning air, listening to the same wood peckers and blue jays and what not in the background here as well, hahaha, Yes sir, I can see that fasting, this is a quick option, Love the idea of what you are saying,. I can't tell you the number of times I have thought, oh man, this is going to be a great day of fishing and bam, nothing happens, so yes sir. I so agree, great way to get a jump start on a good diet. Thanks for sharing and have a blessed week Dale

[@Dirk_Mcgurk]

what a good dog

[@ILiquefied]

I think for the fire trick with the bottle you need a mouth full of water inside the water, so that there's more concentration at one point.

[@Dirk_Mcgurk]

i love your content