Casting#
Equip the fishing rod (hotbar key 0 on a new farm) and stand on a clear bank. Click nearby water to aim, or face the pond and press Space to cast ahead.
The cast must land in an actual water footprint, within 120 world pixels, without crossing blocking clutter or structures.
Casting spends 8 stamina only when the bobber lands in valid water, after the 0.55-second flight. Land, out-of-range, obstructed and indoor attempts are free, as are cancellation or travel before landing.
A valid cast requires at least 8 stamina before it starts; landing rechecks the target and available energy before charging once.
Hooking and reeling#
Let the bobber settle. Small lateral movements are nibbles, not a hook opportunity. There is no casting/waiting/bite context panel. Pressing early brings the line back without a fish.
A committed dip, amber ! above the bobber and distinct soft two-note cue mark the 1.15-second hook window. Press Space or left-click before the bite ends. No text prompt or on-screen countdown accompanies the bite.
While the fish is centered, press Space or left-click when the ring is full and says REEL. Each press starts a 0.65-second WAIT interval. Holding a key does not automatically reel.
When the fish pulls, the dial moves left/right/up/down and lights the required opposite arrow. COUNTER LEFT/RIGHT/UP/DOWN and its key label replace the reel prompt. Tap WASD, the corresponding arrow key, or click the lit arrow. A shrinking outer ring shows the counter deadline.
Reach 100% to catch the fish. The species profile allows three to five mistakes before the line snaps; reaching zero progress also loses it. Escape or right-click puts the rod away without a reward; cancelling during flight is free, while a completed landing is not refunded.
Wrong counters, reeling during a pull, missed counter deadlines and excessively fast reeling each lose progress and one line pip. Incorrect input does not satisfy a pending counter. Too-fast presses restart the reel cooldown, so spamming cannot build progress. Direction presses while centered are harmless. Idle progress decays continuously and more quickly while off center.
Perfect catches#
Perfect catches: catching a fish with zero recorded mistakes displays a gold Perfect! heading above its catch result. Junk, escapes and cancellations never qualify. Catches with mistakes use the ordinary quality table.
Perfect catches use improved item-quality odds; the awarded tier determines sale value. Full bags leave the fish on shore and retain its awarded quality and Perfect result.
Stamina and time#
Fishing costs 8 stamina per valid water landing. Once paid, fish or junk, missed bites, snapped lines, escapes and later cancellation/travel keep that cost. Hooking, reeling and counters cost nothing extra, so the player can finish at zero energy. A full 270-energy bar supports 33 paid landings, leaving 6 energy; eating fish can extend the session.
Fishing stops the day clock during the attempt; rain and ambience continue, and the clock resumes when the attempt ends.
River fishing#
Latch river: the painted western river; river catches, 12% junk. Cast from reachable banks, the west bridge or the fishing deck. Low bridge/deck rails permit casting over them; boards and rails are not landing targets. Walls, buildings and other solid scenery block casts.
Latch casts use the same rod, 120-unit reach, stamina cost and minigame.
You can cast over the low bridge/deck rails, while walls, buildings, grilles and other solid scenery still block the line.
Eating fish#
Select a fish in the hotbar and press Space or left-click clear world space to eat one. The selected stack's quality determines recovery, shown in inventory details and catch results. At full stamina no fish is consumed. Recovery clamps at 270, and the notice reports the amount actually restored. No cooking step, health system or fish-specific penalty is added.
Catches and full bags#
A successful catch adds the selected species exactly once. All 25 fish and five junk items stack and ship for their authored values.
Junk is retrieved on hooking without a fish fight.
If inventory is full, the fish remains as a collectible on the bank with explicit feedback. It is not silently discarded.
See fish, seasons and sale values.
During an attempt#
Fishing blocks walking, tool use, interactions, hotbar rearrangement/selection and the scrapbook until the attempt ends.
Focus-loss/explicit pause freezes the round and hides its panel behind the pause screen; resuming continues the same round.