Fishing system

[Pyroxene]

How does the "new" fishing system work? (As opposed to pre-2022)

[hozz1235]

https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/Ice_Fishing

[Veskaida]

I'd highly recommend the YouTuber Bashrobe's video on Fishing. In it he breaks down the new mechanics, and gives some tips/advice on how to best use the current system.

But here's a quick rundown of the new system:

Spoiler

It's possible to fish in 'most' regions now, even those without Fishing Huts by cutting hole(s) in the ice (Radial Menu > Campcraft > Ice Fishing Hole). You can only do this on certain types of ice, so not all can be cut into (not all bodies of water, but most of them in most regions).

• Manual Fishing: (like the old way) break a hole in the ice with a tool, and stand by the hole with fishing tackle. Grants and benefits from Ice Fishing skill.
• Tip-Up Fishing: (new) craft fishing Tip-Ups, and break hole(s) in the ice and deploy your Tip-Ups in them. Then come back later when they're "tipped up" and a fish will be caught (usually). Tip-Ups do not grant or benefit from Ice Fishing skill.

You can supplement your fishing with Bait and/or Lures:

• Bait: made from harvesting a raw fish. It increases the weight of fish you catch. Be careful, it's smelly and decays fast. I'd recommend using Bait as much as possible when fishing, it really helps catch bigger fish.
• Lures (3 types): increase the chances of catching rare fish, but in general decrease bite-rate. I wouldn't recommend using lures, unless you're specifically trying to catch one of these rare fish types).

There are also 2 categories of fish, and 3 types of fish for each category:

• Saltwater: Trout (common), Coho (uncommon), Red Irish Lord (rare), Rockfish (rare)
• Freshwater: Whitefish (common), Bass (uncommon), Goldeye (rare), Burbot (rare)

• Also the TALES expansion changed the cooking system: so you can craft a number of unique cooking recipes from the fish you catch, including some with special effects!
• Scurvy was also added, and helps to encourage players to fish/eat fish periodically to balance their diet.

In general, I'd recommend Tip-Ups if you're just trying to survive in the short term, and manual fishing with tackle in the long term, especially at high skill. You probably want to fish every 25-50 days depending on Game Mode to help mitigate Scurvy. Dockworker's Pie recipe is also quite strong, but be careful: since it has meat as ingredients it has some Scent.

I'd also highly recommend using Bait as much as possible, and for fishing for the longest period of time you can afford, then stopping the fishing session when you catch something and starting the session. If you fish repeatedly with very short sessions (e.g. 1-2 hours) you'll likely never catch anything.

 

Edited July 2 by Veskaida

[Pyroxene]

3 hours ago, Veskaida said:

I'd highly recommend the YouTuber Bashrobe's video on Fishing. In it he breaks down the new mechanics, and gives some tips/advice on how to best use the current system.

But here's a quick rundown of the new system:

  Hide contents

It's possible to fish in 'most' regions now, even those without Fishing Huts by cutting hole(s) in the ice (Radial Menu > Campcraft > Ice Fishing Hole). You can only do this on certain types of ice, so not all can be cut into (not all bodies of water, but most of them in most regions).

• Manual Fishing: (like the old way) break a hole in the ice with a tool, and stand by the hole with fishing tackle. Grants and benefits from Ice Fishing skill.
• Tip-Up Fishing: (new) craft fishing Tip-Ups, and break hole(s) in the ice and deploy your Tip-Ups in them. Then come back later when they're "tipped up" and a fish will be caught (usually). Tip-Ups do not grant or benefit from Ice Fishing skill.

You can supplement your fishing with Bait and/or Lures:

• Bait: made from harvesting a raw fish. It increases the weight of fish you catch. Be careful, it's smelly and decays fast. I'd recommend using Bait as much as possible when fishing, it really helps catch bigger fish.
• Lures (3 types): increase the chances of catching rare fish, but in general decrease bite-rate. I wouldn't recommend using lures, unless you're specifically trying to catch one of these rare fish types).

There are also 2 categories of fish, and 3 types of fish for each category:

• Saltwater: Trout (common), Coho (uncommon), Red Irish Lord (rare), Rockfish (rare)
• Freshwater: Whitefish (common), Bass (uncommon), Goldeye (rare), Burbot (rare)

• Also the TALES expansion changed the cooking system: so you can craft a number of unique cooking recipes from the fish you catch, including some with special effects!
• Scurvy was also added, and helps to encourage players to fish/eat fish periodically to balance their diet.

In general, I'd recommend Tip-Ups if you're just trying to survive in the short term, and manual fishing with tackle in the long term, especially at high skill. You probably want to fish every 25-50 days depending on Game Mode to help mitigate Scurvy. Dockworker's Pie recipe is also quite strong, but be careful: since it has meat as ingredients it has some Scent.

I'd also highly recommend using Bait as much as possible, and for fishing for the longest period of time you can afford, then stopping the fishing session when you catch something and starting the session. If you fish repeatedly with very short sessions (e.g. 1-2 hours) you'll likely never catch anything.

 

Thank you! 👍