Fishing

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PlushSpiffo.pngThis article is about the Fishing skill. For category of items, see Tools.

Fishing is a survivalist skill, and an activity that allows characters to use a fishing rod combined with bait to catch various types of fish. Increasing the fishing level increases the quality of fish, chance to catch something, and reduces the chance to break the line, lose bait, and lose baited fish.

This ability is a great way to feed a player living near a body of water, as a single fish could satiate the player for a whole day. Fishing is a useful skill to choose in West Point or Riverside, as West Point and Riverside are much closer to a body of water than Muldraugh.

Usage

To begin fishing, a fishing rod and some bait are required in the main inventory (i.e. not bags). Right-click on a body of water and select the Fishing contextual option. While fishing, the rod will occupy the primary hand, and the bait will occupy the secondary, therefore it may be ideal to leave any bags back at home (if not equipped on the back). It is also suggested to ensure the fishing area is free from zombies.

The animation and accompanying splash generates noise that can attract zombies within 20 tile radius. Therefore, for long-term fishing it's suggested to construct a large enclosure around the fishing spot, ensuring it's large enough so zombies cannot hear, otherwise they will thump on any walls in their path.

Significant experience is only gained when something is caught. The experience gained is based on the weight of the prize – 7 for big, 5 for medium, 3 for small, affected by XP modifiers such as the fishing skill books. On a failed fishing attempt, or if a trash item such as shoes or socks is fished up, the player will be granted 1 XP.

While fishing, the rate of fishing attempts will be generated based on the fishing equipment. A Crafted Spear is the fastest, making an attempt once every 5-10 in-game minutes. Live bait on a fishing rod makes an attempt roughly every 8-11 in-game minutes (500-800 seconds). Fishing tackle makes an attempt roughly every 12-15 in-game minutes (700-1000 seconds). These times are reduced by 5 in-game seconds per fishing level, so a player with level 10 fishing will typically catch fish just shy of one minute faster than a player with level 0 fishing skill.

The default chance of catching fish on normal abundance is 20% for fishing with a rod and live bait (Little Bait Fish, Worm, Cricket, Grasshopper, Cockroach, Maggots), and increases by 1.5% per fishing level. This is 10% and 2.5% respectively for fishing rods with Fishing Tackle, and 10% and 1.5% for fishing with a Crafted Spear.

The success rate of catching fish at dawn and dusk (04:00-06:59 and 18:00-20:59) is increased by 10%.

Seasonal Changes

The last month of Autumn and all of Winter, so from November to February, the success rate of catching fish is reduced by 20%. Verified as of version 41.78.16

Example 1: Fishing with a Crafted Spear in November to February during times that are NOT dawn or dusk will have a 0% success rate through Fishing levels 0-6, and have a 0.5% chance to succeed at Fishing level 7.

Example 2: Fishing with a Fishing Rod during dusk (18:00-20:00), with live bait, during March-October, at skill level 10, will have a 45% chance to succeed.

Fishing Chance Modifiers

Additionally, the Nature's Abundance settings increase/reduce fishing chance by modifying the above ratios by differing percentages. Very Abundant gives a 66% increase, Abundant gives a 25% increase, Poor gives a 16% decrease, and Very Poor gives a 28.5% decrease. so in the Above Example 1 Very Abundant does not increase the chance of success for Fishing Levels 0-6. While Very Abundant would give Example 2 a 75% Chance to succeed, and Very Poor would give a 32% chance to succeed.

Upon a successful fishing attempt, there is a chance of catching a trash item instead of a fish, such as Shoes and Socks. At Fishing level 0, the chance is 40%. At Fishing level 10, the chance is 15.86%. The trash rate goes down in a non-linear fashion, i.e. Fishing 1 reduces the trash rate by 7.5%, and Fishing 2 reduces the trash rate by 5.25%.

Live bait is always lost when something is caught. Plastic fishing tackle is only lost when the fishing line breaks, which only occurs on successful fishing attempts. When the spear or fishing line breaks, the fish will be lost. The base chance for losing a fishing line is based on the size of the catch: Small (8%), Medium (12%), Large (22%). Each level of fishing skill reduces this chance by 1%. Fishing Line, as opposed to Twine, has a 2% reduced chance to break the line. A Fishing Rod (crafted) has a 3% increased chance to break. A Crafted Spear has a 5% increased chance to break.

Example 1: Catching a Medium Trout (12%) with a Fishing Rod, using Fishing Line (-2%) and a fishing level of 10 (-10%). There is a 0% chance for the line to break and lose the fish.

Example 2: Catching a Small Trout (8%) with a Crafted Fishing Rod (+3%), using Fishing Line (-2%) and a fishing level of 4 (-4%). There is a 5% chance for the line to break and to lose the fish.

Example 3: Catching a Large Pike (22%) with a Crafted Spear (+5%) and a fishing level of 7 (-7%). There is a 20% chance for the spear to break and lose the fish.

Spearfishing

Level 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Catch Chance Modifier +10% +11.5% +13% +14.5% +16% +17.5% +19% +20.5% +22% +23.5% +25%
Break Chance Modifier +5% +4% +3% +2% +1% +0% -1% -2% -3% -4% -5%

Fishing Rod

Level 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Catch Chance Modifier w/ Bait +20% +21.5% +23% +24.5% +26% +27.5% +29% +30.5% +32% +33.5% +35%
Catch Chance modifier w/ Lure +10% +12.5% +15% +17.5% +20% +22.5% +25% +27.5% +30% +32.5% +35%
Break Chance Modifier -2% -3% -4% -5% -6% -7% -8% -9% -10% -11% -12%
Break Chance Modifier w/ Twine -0% -1% -2% -3% -4% -5% -6% -7% -8% -9% -10%

Crafted Fishing Rod

Level 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Catch Chance Modifier w/ Bait +20% +21.5% +23% +24.5% +26% +27.5% +29% +30.5% +32% +33.5% +35%
Catch Chance Modifier w/ Lure +10% +12.5% +15% +17.5% +20% +22.5% +25% +27.5% +30% +32.5% +35%
Break Chance Modifier +1% +0% -1% -2% -3% -4% -5% -6% -7% -8% -9%
Break Chance Modifier w/ Twine +3% +2% +1% +0% -1% -2% -3% -4% -5% -6% -7%

Repairs

Quite often, a rod will lose its line while fishing. Relining a rod requires an item from each of the following categories:

  1. Nail or Paperclip
  2. Twine or Fishing Line

When used in the repair, a Nail or Paperclip is consumed, while the Twine or Fishing line consumes some of its contents (units). A fishing rod doesn't lose durability when used for fishing.

Occupations & Traits

Occupations

Name Starting Points Major Skills Description
Profession fisher2.png Fisherman -2 +3 Fishing
+1 Foraging
N/A

Traits

Name Cost Description Notes
Angler
Angler
-4 +1 Fishing Can be taken with Fisherman occupation.

Items

Rods

The main tool in fishing, along with Bait. If the player is in a pinch, they can also craft makeshift fishing rods or a crafted spear to spearfish.

Item Description Encumbrance break the line Classname
Fishing Rod
Fishing Rod
0.4 Fishing Rod without Line Base.FishingRod
Fishing Rod
Fishing Rod
with Twine Line
0.4 Fishing Rod without Line Base.FishingRodTwineLine
Crafted Fishing Rod
Fishing Rod (crafted)
0.4 Sturdy Stick Base.CraftedFishingRod
Crafted Fishing Rod
Crafted Fishing Rod
with Twine Line
0.4 Sturdy Stick Base.CraftedFishingRodTwineLine
Wooden Lance
Crafted Spear
Use to spearfish. 0.4 - Base.WoodenLance

Fishing Net

A net used to catch fishes, and catches bait fish instead.

Item Description Encumbrance Classname
Fishing Net Trap
Fishing Net Trap
0.5 Base.FishingNet
Broken Fishing Net Trap
Broken Fishing Net Trap
0.4 Base.BrokenFishingNet

Materials

The various materials used to craft with fishing.

Item Description Encumbrance Classname
FishingLine.png
Fishing Line
Used to repair and used to craft a crafted fishing rod. 0.1 Base.FishingLine
Fishing Rod without Line
Fishing Rod without Line
0.4 Base.FishingRodBreak
Nails.png
Nails
Used to repair and used to craft a crafted fishing rod. 0.01 Base.Nails
Paperclip.png
Paperclip
Used to repair and used to craft a crafted fishing rod. 0.01 Base.Paperclip
TZ WoodenStick.png
Sturdy Stick
Used to craft a crafted fishing rod. 0.1 Base.WoodenStick
Branch.png
Tree Branch
Used to craft a crafted spear. 0.2 Base.Treebranch
Twine.png
Twine
Used to repair and used to craft a fishing net trap. 0.1 Base.Twine

Bait

AppleRotten.png
This article may be outdated.
Editors are encouraged to update this article with new information.

There are three types of bait that can be used for fishing: Insect (disambiguation), Fishing Tackle, and Little Bait Fish. Insects include worm, cockroach, cricket, and grasshopper.

Worms are the most common bait to find. They can be found uncommonly while scavenging around the town, or frequently while digging with a Trowel or removing grass. So long as it's the selected bait, a worm will be consumed every time the player fishes, even if they catch trash items like socks.

Fishing Tackle is found while scavenging, and has a higher chance of catching fish instead of trash. They have a durability, unlike both insects and bait fish, therefore they can be used more than once, reducing the encumbrance for the bait that needs to be carried. It is recommended to conserve any available fishing tackle, unless the player's fishing skill level is mid range or higher.

Bait fish are fish that have a chance of being obtained while fishing or using a fishing net trap. Bait fish can only catch pike, have a 50% chance to catch more junk, and are consumed when used as bait.

Item Description Encumbrance Classname
Bait Fish
Little Bait Fish
- 0.1 Base.BaitFish
Fishing TackleFishing Tackle
Fishing Tackle
- 0.1 Base.FishingTackle
Worm
Worm
- 0.1 Base.Worm
Cricket
Cricket
- 0.1 Base.Cricket
Grasshopper.png
Grasshopper
- 0.1 Base.Grasshopper
Cockroach.png
Cockroach
- 0.1 Base.Cockroach

Fish

There are 3 types of size per fish: little, medium and big. Each type of fish has a minimum size and a maximum size. A number is chosen at random between the minimum size and the maximum size to get the fish size. Each fish has a weight modifier, for example trout has 60, meaning a trout of 30cm / weight modifier (60) = 0.5 kg. Then the hunger reduction is based on the weight of the fish: weight * 10 (ex: 2kg * 10 = 20 hunger reduction).[1]

With live bait, the distribution of sizes is: 50% small, 30% medium, 20% big. This is 60% small, 25% medium, 15% big for Fishing Tackle.

The various types of fish that can be caught from common Bass, to large Pike.
NOTE: Numbers in green are weight modifiers.

Item Description Little Medium Big Base weight Bait Classname
Bass
Bass
- 25cm - 35cm
30
35cm - 55cm
40
55cm - 75cm
30
1.1 Worm.pngCricket.pngGrasshopper.png
Cockroach.pngFishing TackleFishing Tackle
Base.Bass
Catfish
Catfish
- 15cm - 25cm
50
25cm - 35cm
40
35cm - 55cm
30
0.4 Worm.pngCricket.pngGrasshopper.png
Cockroach.pngFishing TackleFishing Tackle
Base.Catfish
Crappie
Crappie
- 15cm - 20cm
50
20cm - 25cm
40
25cm - 35cm
30
0.4 Worm.pngCricket.pngGrasshopper.png
Cockroach.pngFishing TackleFishing Tackle
Base.Crappie
Perch
Perch
- 20cm - 30cm
20
30cm - 40cm
16
40cm - 60cm
12
0.4 Worm.pngCricket.pngGrasshopper.png
Cockroach.pngFishing TackleFishing Tackle
Base.Perch
Pike
Pike
- 50cm - 65cm
23
65cm - 90cm
18
90cm - 120cm
8
0.4 WormBait Fish Base.Pike
Sunfish
Sunfish
- 15cm - 20cm
40
20cm - 25cm
35
25cm - 35cm
30
0.4 Worm.pngCricket.pngGrasshopper.png
Cockroach.pngFishing TackleFishing Tackle
Base.Panfish
Trout
Trout
- 30cm - 40cm
60
40cm - 50cm
45
50cm - 70cm
30
0.4 Worm.pngCricket.pngGrasshopper.png
Cockroach.pngFishing TackleFishing Tackle
Base.Trout

Trash

Occasionally, the player can catch trash items.

Item Description Encumbrance Bait Classname
Socks
Socks
- 0.01 Worm.png
Cricket.pngGrasshopper.pngCockroach.png
Bait FishFishing TackleFishing Tackle
Base.Socks
Shoes
Shoes (disambiguation)
- 1 Worm.png
Cricket.pngGrasshopper.pngCockroach.png
Bait FishFishing TackleFishing Tackle
Base.Shoes

Recipes

Product XP gained Skill(s) Recipe Ingredient 1 Ingredient 2 Ingredient 3 Ingredient 4
FishingRod.png
Fishing Rod
0 XP none Angler USA Magazine Vol. 1 Fishing Rod without Line
Fishing Rod without Line
(consumed)

(2 units)

(consumed)

(consumed)

Fishing Rod
Fishing Rod
0 XP none Angler USA Magazine Vol. 1
(keep)
TZ WoodenStick.png
Sturdy Stick
(consumed)

(2 units)

(consumed)

(consumed)
FishTrap.png
Fishing Net Trap
0 XP none Angler USA Magazine Vol. 2 Twine.png
Twine
(10 units)

(consumed)
Wire.png
Wire
(5 units)

(consumed)


Wire.png
Wire
0 XP none Angler USA Magazine Vol. 2 FishTrapBroken.png
Fishing Net Trap
(consumed)



SpearStick.png
Crafted Spear
1.25 Carpentry Starting condition scales with player's carpentry.
(consumed)

(keep)


FishFillet.png
Fish Fillet x2
10 Cooking none
(keep)

(consumed)


References

  1. Reference developer comment in file "projectzomboid\media\lua\shared\Fishing\fishing_properties.lua"