Fishing, step by step.

What you need

• A Fishing Rod. Made from a hook, a rod and a line in the Craft tab.
• Water: a lake, a river or the sea. Fish only bite where they live.

Step 1: Make a Fishing Rod

1. Press Tab, then open the Craft tab.
2. Find Fishing Rod. It needs a hook, a rod and a line.
3. Click it to make it. It goes in your bag.

If it is greyed out, check which of the three parts you are missing and make that first.

Step 2: Put the rod in your hand

1. Press Tab to open your bag and drag the Fishing Rod onto a belt slot, or put it in a slot that is already on the belt.
2. Close the bag with Tab.
3. Press the number key (1 to 8) for that belt slot. Check you are holding the rod before you go on.

Step 3: Cast the line

1. Stand on the shore, facing the water.
2. Right-click (controller: LT) once. The line flies out over the water.
3. A small float bobs on the surface. This is your bobber.

Step 4: Wait for the bite

1. Do nothing and watch the float.
2. The float bobs gently at first.
3. When a fish bites, the float starts making more ripples and then dips. This is your moment.

Important: if you wait too long after a bite, the fish gets away. Watch the float closely.

Step 5: Hook the fish

1. As soon as the float dips, right-click again quickly (controller: LT).
2. This sets the hook. A fish is now on your line and the fight begins.

Sometimes a bite gives you treasure instead of a fish. Treasure comes straight up and you do not need to fight anything.

Step 6: Win the fight

The fish pulls on the line. You have to wind it in without letting the line go slack or snap.

1. Hold right-click (controller: hold LT) to wind the reel in. Holding it raises the line's tension.
2. Let go to lower the tension. Letting go slackens the line.
3. Look at the tension bar. The green band is the safe zone. Keep the tension inside it.
4. While the tension is in the green, the fish gets pulled in. If it is out of the green, the progress slows or stops.
5. Keep going until the fish is fully in. You catch it.

What goes wrong

• The line snaps: you held the reel too long and the tension stayed too high (at the top) for about a second. The fish gets away and you lose the bait.
• The fish slips away: you let go for too long and the tension dropped to the bottom and stayed there for about two and a half seconds. The fish swims off.

How to avoid both: do short bursts. Hold the reel for a moment, release for a moment, and keep watching the bar. Do not hold the button down without looking.

Fish pull on their own: a strong fish pulls and the tension jumps. Let go a little to bring it back into the green.

Step 7: Check your catch

1. When you catch a fish it goes in your bag.
2. Open the Codex (press K) to see the fish you have caught and learn about it.

Tips for better fishing

• Fish in different places. Each lake, river and sea holds different fish.
• Some fish are rare and pull harder. The game tells you when a fish is rare.
• Cook your fish on a Campfire or in a furnace to fill your hunger. See Cooking.
• A better rod helps you in tougher fights.

Common questions

• My line won't cast: make sure the rod is in your hand (use the number key), and you are facing water.
• I never get a bite: try a different spot. Fish only come where they live.
• I keep losing the fish: practise short bursts on the reel and keep your eyes on the green band.

Back to animals and fishing or the start here guide.

← Back to the wiki · Last updated 25 October 2026. Mantlenaut is in alpha, so things change.