Fishing in Enshrouded needs three things: a rod, bait and open water. You craft the Simple Fishing Rod from your personal crafting menu, equip bait, cast, and then win a short tug of war against the fish. Since the 1.0 release in October 2026, every fish can be caught in every body of water, so the bait you choose decides what bites and the rod decides whether you can actually land it.
We checked this against Keen Games' Wake of the Water notes, the 1.0 changelog, Patches 10 to 12, the official Server Gameplay Settings article and the Enshrouded Wiki's Fishing, Flame Altar and Farmer pages in November 2026.
Getting Started: Your First Rod and Bait
Fishing arrived with the Wake of the Water update on 10 November 2025 as a new activity and a source of cooking and crafting materials. Keen's notes say the first rod is craftable in the personal crafting menu, and the wiki names the Hunter's quest Unknown Waters as the tutorial. Since Patch 11, that introductory quest can be completed with any fishing rod, so you do not need to hold on to the starter rod to finish it.
Bait comes from two places. The wiki lists Simple Fishing Bait as a manual crafting recipe, while insects and small creatures you collect in the world double as bait: Fire Fly, Moth, Grasshopper, Scarab, Pillbug, Frog and Maggots. Better crafted bait in four tiers, Common, Uncommon, Rare and Epic (plus a second Epic version), comes from the fishing survivor, whom Keen describes as a specialist found in the Veilwater Basin who helps with better bait.
- Equip the bait first. The rod will not cast properly without it; Patch 11 added a clearer message for exactly that mistake.
- Use the number keys. Since Forging the Path, the list of baits can be picked with the number keys on keyboard while aiming the rod, and each bait has its own icon.
- Keep bait separate. Auto sorting in 1.0 separates fishing bait from arrows and spell charges, and Patch 10 stopped labeling bait as ammunition.
How the Fishing Minigame Works
The wiki describes the loop step by step: equip bait, approach water, hold the attack button to cast, wait for a bite, then reel. Once a fish is hooked, you pull the rod in the direction opposite to where the fish is swimming (A or D on keyboard) until the fish's red stamina bar empties, and then land it. If your own green bar runs out first, the fish escapes. Items that are not fish, such as old boots or treasure, are landed directly without the fight.
Two rod stats shape the fight. Fishing Strength speeds up how fast you drain the fish, and Fishing Endurance governs how fast your own bar drains. Keen reworked the minigame interface in Patch 12 to show more clearly which pull direction drains the fish and which does not, and added the option to stop fishing with the cancel button. If you struggle with longer fights, two things help:
- Fisherman's Resolve. The Wake of the Water notes describe this skill as increasing Fishing Endurance by 30%, which allows longer battles with hooked fish.
- The fishing difficulty setting. The official Server Gameplay Settings article lists fishingDifficulty with five options, VeryEasy, Easy, Normal, Hard and VeryHard, which change how strong the fish are and therefore how long each fight lasts. Like other individual settings, it is available when the world uses the Custom preset.
On controller, one detail matters: 1.0 changed most trigger actions to respond at a 50% press, but fishing and ranged combat keep a trigger point closer to a full press, so do not expect a light squeeze to cast.
Fishing Rods Compared
There are five rods on the wiki, and the differences go beyond strength and endurance. Each rod also carries hidden multipliers for how often you pull up wet boots and how often you find other loot instead of a fish. The cursed rod is the oddball: it is stronger than the starter rod but fills your catch with junk and treasure far more often.
| Rod | Strength | Endurance | Fish / wet boot / other loot in ordinary water | How to get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Fishing Rod | +1 | +30 | 88% / 8% / 4% | Personal crafting |
| Cursed Fishing Rod | +2 | +40 | 64% / 20% / 16% | Quest reward, A Cursed Catch |
| Improved Fishing Rod | +2 | +45 | 86% / 6% / 8% | Crafted at the Hunter |
| Lucky Fishing Rod | +3 | +50 | 82% / 2% / 16% | Quest Lucky Catch, then craftable at the Fisher |
| Excellent Fishing Rod | +3 | +55 | 86% / 4% / 10% | Quest Nice Day For Fishing, then craftable at the Fisher |
For most players the path is simple: start with the Simple rod, move to the Improved rod as soon as the Hunter can make it, and pick up the Lucky and Excellent rods once you reach the Veilwater Basin and rescue the fisher. Keen's original notes also mention the huntress, Athalan Skree, as a source of better fishing gear. The Lucky rod is the choice when you want loot, since it has the lowest wet boot rate and a high other-loot rate, while the Excellent rod has the best endurance for long fights with high-tier fish.
Bait Decides Which Fish Bite
The biggest change in 1.0 is how fish are distributed. Keen's changelog says all fish can be caught in every body of water, that each bait primarily attracts fish of its own tier, and that the improved fishing bait makes sure that if a fish bites, it is of the same tier as the bait. The chance for rare and epic fish went up at the same time. In practice, that means you no longer need to travel to a specific lake for a specific fish: you need the right bait and a rod good enough to land it.
The wiki's catch tables show how tightly the crafted baits are tuned:
- Common Fishing Bait: Shimmerfin, Lakehopper and Silverback, one third each.
- Uncommon Fishing Bait: Sunscale, Stripetail and Whiskerfin, one third each.
- Rare Fishing Bait: Crimsonback, Emberfin, Shadowtail and Waveleaper, a quarter each.
- Epic Fishing Bait: Shockfin, Thornridge and Yellowfin, one third each.
- Epic Fishing Bait II: Cinderscale and Specklefin, half each.
Collected insects give a wider spread. Fire Flies mostly catch Shimmerfin and Lakehopper, Moths lean toward Sunscale and Stripetail, and Maggots are one of the two ways to reach Cinderscale and Specklefin, next to Epic Fishing Bait II. If you are hunting one particular fish for a recipe, crafted bait is the efficient choice; if you just want variety, insects are free and plentiful.
Fishing Spots, Wet Boots and Treasure
Keen added numerous fishing spots across Embervale's open waters in Wake of the Water and told players to look for disturbed or turbulent water, which marks especially promising places. Patch 11 added two custom map markers, one for fishing spots and one for water in general, so you can mark a good pond and come back later. According to the wiki, fishing spots use the same species and weights as ordinary water, but they change how often wet boots and other loot appear.
That other loot is worth knowing about. 1.0 rebalanced the chance for trash and treasure, particularly at marked spots, and added more interesting items to the treasure pool. The wiki lists potions, rings, gems, bandages, lockpicks and many weapons in that pool. A few examples with notable weights:
- The Fell Curse Cleansing Tonic and the Hemotoxin Antidote at 5% of other-loot draws in every bait group, a handy backup when you are short on cures. Our guide to curing the Fell Curse covers the normal recipe.
- Health and Ancient Health Potions, Ancient Mana Potions and lockpicks at higher weights.
- Rings, weapon gems and dozens of weapons at small individual chances. If a gem turns up, our Enshrouded gems guide explains how to socket and upgrade it.
Keep the odds in perspective: other loot is a small slice of each cast, roughly 4% with the Simple rod in ordinary water before the bait pool is applied, so treasure is a bonus, not a farming method.
What to Do With Your Catch
Fish feed several systems. Since Patch 11, any fish unlocks the recipe for the Seafood Grill, and fish bones and teeth unlock Piscine Ivory Dust. That dust matters more than it sounds: the wiki's Flame Altar page lists 10 Piscine Ivory Dust among the ingredients for Flame level 10. The wiki also lists the Seafood Grill as a Farmer workstation, and 1.0 moved the quest to craft one so it starts only after you reach the Veilwater Basin. 1.0 added more categories for fish recipes, too, so the cooking list stays readable.
- No more raw fish. Patch 12 removed the option to eat raw fish when it added the ability to release fish back into water, for example into a pond in your base.
- Fish count as animals. The same patch said fish in your base count toward the global farm animal limit of 128, so a fish pond competes with your livestock. Our Enshrouded farming guide covers how to balance the two.
- A fixed bug. Patch 1.0.1.0 on 2 November 2026 fixed fish occupying beds that other animals needed for new offspring.
- Decoration. Fish trophy plates can be placed on the floor since 1.0.
If you want to fish without long walks, build near water. Our guide to the best base locations in Enshrouded explains why a lakeside or riverside altar pays off for fishing, gardening and the water simulation all at once.
Spending Your Time on the Water Instead
Fishing is one of the most relaxing loops in the game, and plenty of players would rather spend their evenings at a pond than grinding levels or gathering building materials. If that sounds like you, the Enshrouded services page lists what the store offers for the game, including a level 50 modded save for PS5 and PC, plus legendary weapons, armor sets, building blocks, gems, resources and base builds.
Most of those services are for PC; the modded save is the option that covers PS5 as well. Check each listing for its platform before ordering.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you fish in Enshrouded?
Craft the Simple Fishing Rod from personal crafting, equip bait, hold the attack button near open water to cast, then pull opposite the fish until its stamina bar empties and land it.
Where is the best place to fish in Enshrouded?
Since 1.0, every fish can be caught in any body of water. Marked fishing spots and turbulent water change how often you find treasure and junk, but bait decides the fish.
How do you get better fishing bait?
Collect insects such as moths, scarabs and pillbugs, or rescue the fishing survivor in the Veilwater Basin, who crafts Common to Epic fishing bait.
How do you catch epic fish in Enshrouded?
Use Epic Fishing Bait for Shockfin, Thornridge and Yellowfin, or Epic Fishing Bait II for Cinderscale and Specklefin, with a rod strong enough to win the fight, such as the Excellent Fishing Rod.
Can you put fish in a pond in your base?
Yes. Since Patch 12 you can release fish into water, but they count toward the farm animal limit of 128.
Can you make fishing easier in Enshrouded?
Yes. Learn Fisherman's Resolve for 30% more Fishing Endurance, use a better rod, or lower the fishing difficulty setting in a Custom world.