How To Fish In Crimson Desert (Fishing Guide)

Equip your fishing rod from the dedicated Tool Slot in the quickslot menu (added in Patch 1.08)
Cast the line into deep enough water — no bait needed
Wait for splashing sounds, then press the Hook button
Pull the rod opposite to the fish’s direction to tire it out
Reel in only after bubbles stop or the controller stops vibrating
Fish are used for cooking, feeding cats, and completing quests — legendary fish can no longer be sold
You can also catch small fish with bare hands in shallow water
Build a camp pond at Howling Hill or Pailune Camp to store and breed your catches

Fishing in Crimson Desert is one of those things the game never really explains to you. No pop-up tutorial. No hand-holding. You either figure it out yourself or you miss it entirely. But once you get the hang of it, fishing becomes one of the most useful skills in Pywel — great for cooking, earning money, and even making friends with cats.

This guide covers everything: how to learn fishing, where to get a rod, the full step-by-step catching process, and what to actually do with the fish you catch. It has been updated to reflect all major post-launch patches including the Patch 1.08.00 tool slot and pond system changes.

Whether you’re trying to complete Annabella’s Request or just stocking up on food before a tough fight, this is the guide you need.

Table of Contents

How To Learn Fishing In Crimson Desert

Before you can fish, you need to unlock the skill. Crimson Desert hides this behind its observation mechanic — you have to watch an NPC fisherman to learn how it’s done.

The first chance comes right after Kliff exits the Abyss for the first time. When Sebastian asks you to follow him, stop and look to your right. You’ll see a few NPCs fishing by the water. Walk up to them and hold the Observe button. A blue screen and a progress bar will appear. Keep watching until the bar fills up. Once it does, you’ll unlock fishing and receive a basic fishing rod.

If you miss that moment, don’t worry. You can also unlock it in Hernand by visiting the Provisioner’s shop and hovering your cursor over the fishing rod on display. That triggers the same observation progress bar.

How To Get A Fishing Rod In Crimson Desert

Once the skill is unlocked, you need a rod. Here are all the ways to get one:

Free Rod (Annabella’s Request): Visit Annabella at the Hernand Saddlery. She’ll give you a fishing rod and ask you to catch a Tench fish. This is a great early-game option.

Buy From Alden (Hernand): Head to the Provisioner’s shop east of Oakenshield Manor in Hernand. Alden sells a basic fishing rod for 15 copper coins.

Buy From Hailard (Rodbel Fishing Dock): Located on the south side of Rocca’s Hill, east of Hernand. Also sells rods for 15 copper. Note: bandits may be occupying this dock early on — clear them out first.

Buy From the Nas River Fishing Shop: There’s a fishing shop and dock right on the Nas River. It’s also the closest fishing spot to your camp at Howling Hill.

Fine Fishing Rod (Upgrade): You can get a Fine Fishing Rod blueprint from the Back Alley Shop by talking to Grimrak NPC for 10 Silver. Take the blueprint to the Blacksmith with 10x Fine Timber, 10x Iron Ore, 3x Thick Hide, and 10x Feather to craft it.

Pororin Fishing Rod: One of the best rods in the game. Obtained through research quests at Pororin, southeast of Hernand Highlands. This rod makes catching legendary fish significantly easier and is the go-to choice for hunting all five legendaries.

How To Fish In Crimson Desert — Step By Step

There are four steps to catching a fish. Follow these in order and you won’t snap your line.

Step 1 — Equip The Fishing Rod

equip fishing rod in crimson desert

Since Patch 1.08.00, the fishing rod has its own dedicated Tool Slot in the quickslot menu. Open the quickslot menu by holding F2 on PC or the Left D-Pad on controller, then navigate to the tool slot. You’ll no longer find the fishing rod sharing space with your bow or secondary weapon — it and all other gathering tools (pickaxe, logging axe, etc.) now have their own slot. Equip the rod and you’ll see it on Kliff’s back.

Step 2 — Cast The Line

Find a body of water that’s at least knee-deep. Avoid shallow water full of rocks or debris — your line can snag and snap.

PC: Press Q, then hold left mouse button, aim at the water, and release to cast
Controller: Hold LT/L2 to aim, then release to cast

When you aim at the water, the cursor turns blue if you can fish there. If it turns red, find a better spot. You can gently move the lure with the left stick or mouse to attract fish.

Good starting spots:

Nas River (closest to Howling Hill camp)
The pool near Three Saints’ Fall, north of Hernand (great for Tench)
Rodbel Fishing Dock

Step 3 — Hook The Fish

Once a fish is nearby, you’ll hear three water splashing sounds. This is your signal. When the fish bites the lure, quickly press the Hook button (RT on controller / Right Mouse Button on PC) to trap it. If you miss the window, the fish swims away and you wait again.

Step 4 — Tire Out The Fish

This is the trickiest step. The fish will fight and try to swim away. Do not reel in yet — that will snap your line.

Watch the direction the fish swims and pull the rod in the opposite direction:

Fish goes left → pull right
Fish goes right → pull left

On PC, use WASD to pull. On controller, use the left stick.

Cues to watch for:

Visual: Bubbles in the water mean the fish is still fighting
Audio: Splashing sounds confirm the fish is active
Controller vibration: When the vibration stops, the fish is tired. If you feel strong vibration, you’re pulling the wrong way

Keep opposing the fish’s movement until it slows down and the bubbles stop.

Step 5 — Reel In The Fish

Once the bubbles stop and the fish is tired, reel it in quickly:

PC: Hold left mouse button and roll the mouse wheel toward you
Controller: Rotate the right stick

Pull the tired fish toward you to land it. If it starts fighting again mid-reel, stop reeling and go back to Step 4.

How To Catch Fish With Bare Hands

Here’s a trick the game doesn’t tell you. If you wade into shallow water and can see fish swimming around your legs, you can catch them without a rod at all.

Just walk up to a fish and press the Interact button (E on PC / face button on controller). Kliff reaches down and grabs it. No mini-game, no line snapping, no stress.

This method is faster for stocking up on basic cooking fish — small species like Gudgeon and Pond Loach can be grabbed this way. However, you won’t catch rare or legendary fish with bare hands — those require the rod.

Where To Buy Fish (Skip The Mini-Game)

If you need fish for a recipe fast and don’t want to fish, you can buy fresh fish directly from fishing shops.

Hailard at Rodbel Fishing Dock — sells fish directly (clear bandits first)
Nas River Fishing Shop — earliest shop, conveniently near Hernand
Hernand Fishing Shop — in the city, near the Blacksmith

Types Of Fish In Crimson Desert

There are 56 fish and aquatic creatures in Crimson Desert, split across freshwater and saltwater categories, including 5 legendary fish. Hovering over fish species in vendor shops grants you knowledge of where each type lives, which helps you track them on the map. Collecting knowledge of all 56 is required for the Natural Collector achievement.

Some notable fish include:

Tench / Golden Tench — southwest of the Mountain of Frozen Souls, in the stream near Hernand
Coelacanth / Golden Coelacanth — west of Cliff of Despair in Deleysia; near the waterfall south of Forebearer’s Barrens in Pailune
Golden Carp — small lake east of Argent Peaks in Pailune
Clockwork Fish — small lake southeast of Tashkalp (one of the rarest catches in the game)
Catfish / Electric Eel — Red River at Bursada Temple Ruins in the southeast Crimson Desert region
Anglerfish — off the southeast coast of the Crimson Desert region (saltwater)

The five legendary fish are the Golden Tench, Golden Carp, Coelacanth, Golden Coelacanth, and Clockwork Fish. The Pororin fishing rod is the best tool for hunting these. Important: since Patch 1.08.00, legendary fish cannot be sold, used, or discarded — once caught, they are permanent collectibles. Any legendary fish you may have accidentally sold before the patch were automatically restored to your inventory.

What To Do With Fish In Crimson Desert

Once you’ve caught your fish, you have a few options:

Eat Raw: Go into your inventory, hold the Use button on the fish, and select Eat to restore some HP. Not the most efficient use, but handy in a pinch.

Clean for Fish Fillet: Select Clean from the inventory to get Fish Fillet, a better cooking ingredient.

Cook It: Take fish to a bonfire or cooking pot to prepare meals. Cooked fish restores far more health and stamina than raw fish. It’s one of the best early-game healing items you can make. This feeds directly into how to use contribution points in Crimson Desert once you start managing resources more actively.

Sell It: Cooked common fish sells well to vendors and is a reliable way to earn money early in the game. Note that legendary fish cannot be sold — hold onto them for your camp pond or quest requirements.

Befriend Cats: Approach any stray cat, pet it, then offer raw fish. Each feeding builds Trust. Reach 100 Trust and you can adopt the cat as a companion. One of the best low-effort ways to pick up an auto-looter for your journey.

Stock Your Camp Pond: Since Patch 1.08.00, you can build a fish pond at your Howling Hill or Pailune Camp. Release fish into it to breed more of the same species over time. One legendary fish can be permanently housed in the pond — see the section below for details.

Camp Fish Pond — How It Works (Patch 1.08)

Patch 1.08.00 added a buildable fish pond to both the Howling Hill and Pailune Camps. To unlock it, complete the pond construction mission at your camp — speak to the relevant NPC to get started.

Once built, here’s how the pond works:

Release fish directly from your inventory or through the pond management mode
Having multiple fish of the same species will gradually breed more of that species over time
Fish may die if you exceed the pond’s capacity — keep an eye on numbers
Legendary fish are special: a legendary fish placed in the pond stays there permanently, regardless of capacity, and will never die. However, only one legendary fish can be registered to a pond at a time
Use Zoom In/Out while in pond management mode to observe your fish swimming around

It’s a great way to show off a legendary catch at your home base without losing it.

Fishing Tips

No bait required. Just find water and cast.
Check the cursor color. Blue means you can fish there. Red means move on.
Don’t reel while the fish fights. Wait for the bubbles to stop first.
Controller vibration is your best cue. When it stops, reel immediately.
Upgrade your rod when you can. Better rods mean faster reels and better catches.
Stock up before big fights. Cooked fish is cheap healing. Check out how to upgrade weapons and armor in Crimson Desert to round out your preparation.
Use bare hands in a hurry. Wading into shallow water and grabbing small fish is faster for basic cooking needs.
Don’t sell your legendaries. Since Patch 1.08, legendary fish are locked collectibles. Catch them for your camp pond, quests, or the Natural Collector achievement.
Fish traps now actually work. Patch 1.08 fixed fish traps so fish can be caught in them — a handy passive option while you do other things at camp.

Related Guides

Fishing is just one part of life in Pywel. Here are some guides to help you with other mechanics:

Crimson Desert is available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation, and Xbox. The first DLC, Crimson Desert: Charting the Unknown, launched on October 29, 2026, adding underwater exploration, naval gameplay, and more. You can find more information on the official Crimson Desert website.