Fishing

**Fishing** is an activity and player skill in *Valheim* unlocked by obtaining some fishing bait and a fishing rod, which allows a source of food and decoration items. Different types of fish and bait were introduced in the Mistlands update.

The basic bait can only be obtained from the merchant, but the rod can either be bought or found in a Frost Cave.
It is possible to simply pick up fish without a rod, as they can sometimes be found stranded in shores.

## How to fish

To begin fishing, a player must first acquire a Fishing rod and some Bait.

* Fishing bait is sold by Haldor for 10 coins per 20 pieces of bait. Other types of bait can be crafted from fishing bait and trophies to catch fishes in other biomes.
* The fishing rod costs 350 coins when bought from Haldor, but can also be found near a rare runestone in the depths of some frost caves.

Fishing requires stamina to both cast the fishing rod, and reel the fish in. Holding the Attack Button will charge up a cast and releasing the button will send out the line. After a fish approaches the bobber and bites on it pulling it under, pressing the **Block** button will hook the fish allowing you to reel it in by holding the block button. Once the fish is reeled in within approximately 1-2 meters, you will be able to pick up the fish by looking at it and pressing the Use Button.

Having a fish on the line costs a minor amount of stamina, while reeling in a fish costs slightly more. If the fish struggles on the bobber, reeling in will cost substantially more. Running out of stamina will cause the fish to escape. Additionally, moving farther than approximately 30 meters from the bobber will also cause the line to break, losing the fish.

## Strategies

Catching fish can be difficult to get the hang of. One strategy is to look along the shore line for large groups of fish, then casting the fishing line short by not charging it up all the way.

Larger fish have a higher rate of stamina drain when being reeled in. The player can consume stamina meads (on a two minute cooldown) to replenish the stamina bar to continue reeling.

With a fish on the hook, reeling is not strictly necessary because the length of the line stays locked. The player can walk backwards towards the shoreline with minimal stamina drain and the fish may get stuck on the shore to be collected by hand.

The player can build a fishing weir near a natural bay and waiting for fish to collect in there during high-wave periods and collecting them by hand.

The fishing hat provides a +20 **fishing** skill bonus which helps tremendously for catching higher tier fishes.

## Mechanics

Fish are afraid of the player noise and will flee if they can hear any player.

Each fish checks for bobbers every 5-15 seconds (randomly selected). Each bobber within 50 meters has a 10% chance to attract the fish.

Attracted fish will swim towards the bobber for 5-15 seconds (randomly selected). The fish will bite the bobber if it manages to reach it. After bite, reeling in within 0.5 seconds will catch the fish.

The following activities will contribute to leveling-up the fishing skill:

* Actively reeling in the line with bait equipped
* Actively reeling in a fish (double exp of empty line)

## Notes

* The fish in the water are the actual entities you catch so once the area appears to be empty, look elsewhere while the fish repopulate.
* Fish can wash ashore during high waves and be stranded for collection. Fish can also be stranded on a boat.
* Fish are immune to damage so bows or spears can't be used to catch them.
* Fish can only be picked up when they are above the water level so catching them from the water by hand is unlikely.