Avast, ye scurvy sea dogs! Drop the anchor and toss me a cold one because it’s time to learn all about fishing in Sea of Thieves. Added in the recent Anniversary Update, fishing offers new mechanics, new food , and even an entirely new faction to curry favor with on the high seas — the Hunter’s Guild. This Sea of Thieves guide will cover the basics of fishing mechanics, different types of fish and what do with them once you’ve landed your catch.
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How to Fish in Sea of Thieves: The Basics
The fishing rod is automatically available to all players and can be found on the radial item wheel. Depending on the type of fish you’re hunting, you might also need some bait. Certain species are attracted to a specific bait, while some incredibly trusting fish don’t need any bait at all — apparently their favorite meal is a small, barbed piece of metal attached to a string.
There are three types of bait in Sea of Thieves: Earthworms, Grubs, and Leeches. All of these can be found in barrels strewn across Sea of Thieves, much like food, planks, etc. Bringing up the item wheel a second time while holding the fishing rod will give you the option to attach bait onto your hook. With your rod and bait, you’re ready to start fishing in Sea of Thieves!
Find a body of water (this is Sea of Thieves; you won’t have to look for long). Stand at the water’s edge, cast your line out (right trigger on Xbox, left mouse click for PC) and wait… Eventually you’ll get a bite.
Don’t start reeling in straight away, though. You need to tire the fish out first, otherwise you’ll break the line and lose your prize. The fish will swim aggressively in one direction, either to your left, right, or straight away from you. Your job is to angle your fishing rod in the opposite direction. If the fish swims left, pull hard right on the rod. Eventually, the fish will tire itself out and you’ll be able to reel it in closer (again, right trigger or left mouse). Repeat this process until you land the fish.
Sea of Thieves Fishing Tips
If you’re playing on Xbox (or PC with a gamepad), you have a slight advantage here as the controller vibrates if you’re doing it wrong. As Obi-Wan Kenobi once said, “Your eyes can deceive you, don’t trust them.” Sometimes the fish will appear to be moving one way, but in reality it has only temporarily doubled back and is still “officially” pulling in the other direction. Trust the vibration feature over your eyes and you’ll never lose a fish!
You also need to be mindful of the space you’re working with. If the fish crashes into an object, the line will instantly break and you’ll lose your catch. Make sure you leave yourself enough space when casting out your line, giving the fish enough room to move left and right as it thrashes about.
Finally, fish in a group if possible. Four people fishing means four times the fish for the same amount of time invested. Teamwork really does make the dream work, in this case.
Types of Fish in Sea of Thieves
There are 10 species of fish in Sea of Thieves, each of which has five different color variations that represent different rarities — that’s a whopping 50 fish in total. Generally, the four different colors are related to rarity, while the fifth is a nighttime version of the fish that can, you guessed it, only be caught at night.
- Splashtails: Location = Everywhere, Bait = No bait (the Rattata of Sea of Thieves).
- Plentifins: Location = Shores of Plenty, Bait = Earthworms.
- Ancientscales: Location = Ancient Isles, Bait = Leeches.
- Wildsplashes: Location = The Wilds, Bait = Earthworms.
- Devilfishes: Location = Devil’s Roar, Bait = Grubs.
- Islehoppers: Location = Islands*, Bait = No bait.
- Pondies: Location = Fresh water, Bait = No bait.
- Battlegills: Location = Near active skeleton forts and fleets, Bait = Grubs.
- Stormfishes: Location = During storms*, Bait = Leeches.
- Wreckers: Location = Shipwrecks, Bait = Earthworms.
*Unlike other fish, where color is just a measure of rarity, Islehopper and Stormfish color variants are specific to certain locations.
Islehopper Location in Sea of Thieves
- Stone Islehopper: Locations = Cannon Cove, Crook’s Hollow, Shark Bait Cove, Shipwreck Bay, and Sailor’s Bounty.
- Moss Islehopper: Locations = Ashen Reaches, Thieves’ Haven, Marauder’s Arch, Lone Cove, and Wanderers Refuge.
- Honey Islehopper: Locations = Discovery Ridge, Plunder Valley, Kraken’s Fall, The Sunken Grove, and Crescent Isle.
- Raven Islehopper: Locations = Any large island, but it’s a rare catch.
- Amethyst Islehopper: Locations = Devil’s Ridge, Smuggler’s Bay, The Crooked Masts, Old Faithful Isle, Mermaid’s Hideaway, and Snake Island (night only).
Stormfish Location in Sea of Thieves
- Ancient Stormfish: Locations = Ancient Isles.
- Shores Stormfish: Locations = Shores of Plenty.
- Wild Stormfish: Locations = Wilds.
- Shadow Stormfish: Locations = Officially anywhere, but the best odds are in the center of the map, near The Glorious Sea Dog.
- Twilight Stormfish: Locations = Any region, but only at night.
Trophy Fish & Luminescent Fish in Sea of Thieves
Occasionally, you might come across a Trophy Fish in Sea of Thieves. These are what certain zones of social media would describe as “chunky bois.” They are bigger versions of the normal Sea of Thieves fish that sell for a lot more than their regular-sized cousins. Trophy Fish will fight a bit harder than normal, too. There is a commendation related to catching Trophy Fish, but beyond that they count as whatever species and color they are.
Luminescent fish are glow-in-the-dark variants of the various species of fish in Sea of Thieves. They can only be caught at night and, apart from the striking visuals, are no different from regular fish!
Selling Fish in Sea of Thieves
Now you’ve caught all these fish, what are you supposed to do with them? Well you could eat them, but it seems a bit wasteful given the effort you went to. The other option is to sell them to the Hunter’s Guild for in exchange for gold and reputation. The Hunter’s Guild can be found at Seaposts throughout the Sea of Thieves. Different fish have different values depending on rarity, with some species bringing in thousands of gold if cooked properly.
And there we have it! That’s just about everything there is to say about fishing in Sea of Thieves. The pirate’s life isn’t always about booty and swashbuckling — sometimes it’s nice to just grab a tankard of grog and catch some fish with your fellow scallywags.
