Fishing is a very useful and relaxing activity in Minecraft. There is nothing quite like standing or sitting by the Water and watching the sun set.
However, Fishing is more than just a pastime in Minecraft. It is a way to get some very useful items, tools, and more. Fishing has a number of benefits that help in your gameplay, but the activity isn’t all that straightforward.
If you wish to fish out more than just regular fish you will need to meet certain prerequisites in order to get what you need.
Because of this it is important to know how to Fish and where to get the most out of this activity.
Minecraft Fishing Rod Recipe
- 3 Sticks
- 2 String
A Fishing Rod is the primary Tool you use in order to Fish. It is crafted using a Crafting Table.
Once crafted, the Fishing Rod can be used by right clicking while it is equipped. This will make you throw the lure ahead of you.
You can use the Fishing Rod to Fish, but you can also use it to hook Mobs and other Players, which does not deal damage.
If the Lure lands in Water it will float and bob on the surface. After a little while you will see Water particles rapidly approach your Lure. When the particles reach it the Lure will dip under the Water and this is when you can reel it back in by pressing right-click.
If you reel-in the Lure correctly it will grant you Loot and Experience. You can expect anything from Rotten Flesh or Fish to an Enchanted Book.
There are ways to increase the chances of getting better Loot, also called Treasure, when fishing. This requires using Enchantments, but luckily those can be acquired by just regular Fishing.
To be able to Fish it doesn’t matter what position you are in. You can Fish standing on shore, swimming in or underwater, or while sitting inside a Boat.
Fishing Rewards
When you successfully complete the Fishing action in Minecraft you will always be rewarded with Experience and an Item or Fish.
The Experience will be a single Experience Orb that is worth anywhere between 1 to 6 experience points.
Fish is usually the most common thing your Rod can fish out. There are no prerequisites that need to be met in order to catch Fish when using a Fishing Rod, other than a single block of still Water.
The types of Fish you can catch with the Fishing Rod are:
- Raw Cod
- Raw Salmon
- Pufferfish
- Tropical Fish
Of these Raw Cod (60%) has the highest drop chance, while Tropical Fish has the smallest (2%)
There is a chance, however, that you can catch something other than Fish and that’s Treasure and Junk.
In order to be able to reel-in Treasure you have to be Fishing in open water, meaning an area that consists primarily of Water that is at least 2 blocks deep and 4 blocks wide and long.
If these conditions aren’t met you can only Fish out Fish or Junk, but not Treasure.
Junk rewards in Minecraft are:
- Lilly Pad
- Bowl
- Fishing Rod
- Leather
- Leather Boots
- Rotten Flesh
- Stick
- String
- Water Bottle
- Bone
- Ink Sac
- Tripwire Hook
Treasure rewards in Minecraft are:
- Bow
- Enchanted Book
- Fishing Rod (Enchanted)
- Name Tag
- Nautilus Shell
- Saddle
The Jungle Biome has different chance percentage for the Junk it provides, as well as different Junk.
In the Jungle Biome you have a chance to Fish out Bamboo or Cocoa Beans (Bedrock Edition only), along with all the other Junk we have listed.
Usually all Treasure has equal percentage of being reeled-in with 16.7% chance. Junk, however, varies.
If you need a lot of good Enchantments and other Treasure, consider building an AFK fishing farm to get you through the process faster. It is particularly useful if you are looking to build a Conduit, for which you need quite a few Nautilus Shells.
Fishing Related Enchantments
Like all other Tools and Weapons, Fishing Rods can be enchanted either by using an Anvil or an Enchanting Table. A total of 4 different Enchantments can be applied to a Fishing Rod.
The first two are Unbreaking and Mending which help increase the Tools durability and prevent it from breaking as fast.
The other 2 Enchantments are exclusive to the Fishing Rod and help to increase the rate of Fish bites (how fast the lure dips down underwater) while the other increases the chance of getting better Items.
Those are the Lure and Luck of The Sea Enchantments.
These Enchantments can also be Fished out as Enchanting Books or you may fish out Fishing Rods that already have these Enchantments applied to them.
Luck of The Sea is the best Enchantment to have on a Fishing Rod and is the one you should always aim for.
Curse of Vanishing can also be applied to Fishing Rods. This Enchantment will make the Item permanently disappear if you die.
