Fish

*To be a fisherman you need the cool to keep your line taut when you jerk your pole, and the endurance to not get tired of being in one place for a while.*

## How to fish

You can't fish with your bare hands, so buy a fishing rod from a fishing shop. You'll also need bait. Lots of things work, but if in doubt, grab some earthworms. Finally, get a fishbucket to store caught fish.

Examine your fishing rod to see the commands available to you. The main ones you'll use are bait, cast, jerk and reel.

Start by baiting your fishing pole with whatever you have chosen as bait. Then, open your fishbucket.

To cast, you need to stand adjacent to a water tile. Then, cast your pole to the direction of the water and wait. As soon as you feel a bite on your line, jerk pole!

The fish will pull away. As soon as it does, type reel. Repeat this process until the fish is caught. Boom, you're a fisherman.

There are other settings to mess with, such as changing your line distance and reel length, but for the 95% of players who just want fish for the fisherman job, the above instructions are sufficient.

What the hell are you doing here and not fishing!?

## Why fish?

Most people just fish for the Fisherman job, which gives 124 XP, a little cash, and can be completed by almost any build in the game. Many players max this job out and then never touch a (fishing) rod again.

If you are hopelessly broke, fishing can also be a source of inconsistent income. Sometimes, nothing bites.

Some people like going for the fisherman leaderboard. Try fishrec and fishers while holding a pole to learn more. You can also collect many fish inside a fishtank. Besides aesthetics, this is mostly pointless, though there is a one-time journal for tanking any fish.

## Fishing Spots

If there's water somewhere, you can fish there. A few common spots are mentioned below. Fishing traffic used to be a concern, but today's InfernoMOO is much less busy than past eras, and few of those who remain fish often. You'll rarely run into competition.

* **Shoreline** - Closest area to fish in for easy selling to Bait & Switch.

* **Bay of Freedom** - Just north of the Shoreline. Not a bad place to fish still close to the Bait & Switch. Try not to accidentally swim out into the ocean.

* **North Beach** - This beach is north of Gangland. Slightly dangerous - you need to walk through Gangland's cameras to get there, and lobstrosities come out at night to mess up newbies.

* **Botany Bay** - Very long coastline with plenty of fishing opportunities. Unfortunately, the fish shop merchant there will buy fish, but they won't count for the fisherman job. Pirates may aggro you here but they are extremely weak.

* **Stormfront Island** - It's an island in the ocean so there is a ton of fish. The racists will keep you company, too.

* **Necropolis** - The necropolis has an acid lake in it. The water, the terrain, and the rumored existence of a fearsome beast are hazardous, but there are unique fish here that can't be acquired elsewhere. Try not to get blown up by flak on the way here.

This is not a full list. There are other fishing spots in the game, some of them extremely obscure, and a few of them only reachable with Blink. Try buying fishing magazines and reading them to find out more.

## Fishing Poles

* **Bamboo/wood fishing pole** - Basic fishing rods, almost identical; the wood pole can cast slightly farther.

* **Carbon fishing pole** - The best fishing pole. Has the longest casting range, plus a scanner feature that checks adjacent tiles for how many fish are around.

* **Ripper Claws** - Exclusive to people with Ripper. Stand in water, have 17+ water, fish. You don't need to bring bait, but don't expect the fish to survive.

## Current Fish

* anchovy
* silverfish
* black sea drum
* jumping mullet
* bluefish
* croaker
* one-eyed sea weasel
* cobia
* flounder
* boozacuda fish
* lizardfish
* rapefish
* policefish
* candiru fish
* red snapper
* chomoscar
* leech
* piranha
* baby bladefish
* snork
* aristurtle
* nukafish
* moron fish
* zombiefish
* ouananiche
* atlantic mackerel
* goldeneye
* octopoid
* homerfish
* bream
* dwarf giant squid
* unibomb
* haddock
* used condom
* shovelhead sturgeon
* flathead catfish
* goatfish
* redeye bass
* electric eel
* mask replica trout
* black crappie
* junkiefish
* bulletfish
* red-eared slider turtle
* nazi turtle
* toxic slug
* baby acid gar
* ghostfish
* toxic hagfish
* gravelash jellyfish
* miniature ross seal
* notothenioidei
* blobfish
* olm
* grinner
* rockback
* dimfish
* chudfish
* silverfin
* thornscale
* mudcrawler
* viperfish
* attacker fish
* defender fish