How to Fish in Travellers Rest: Fishing Rod, Bait and Tips

Fishing is one of the easiest ways to expand the variety of ingredients available in Travellers Rest. The player only needs a fishing rod, some bait, and to finish talking to Hikari to start fishing. Once the player sets up the staff, fishing becomes a convenient activity to both relax and gather resources. Here’s how to fish in Travellers Rest and tips to fully enjoy this game design!

How to Get a Fishing Rod and Start Fishing in Travellers Rest

You may start to wonder how to fish in Travellers Rest, when you’re getting tired of buying fish from the market! Hikari, the fisherwoman found at the end of the dock at the Beach, southwest of the tavern, will give the player the first fishing rod.

When the player first speaks to Hikari, she initially tells the player to leave. After taking a few steps away, however, Hikari calls the player back and gives the first Battered Fishing Rod.

(Note that if the player has started the mission of training with Kyroh, Hikari will only ask the player to look for her father, Kujaku, for the precision training. The player then needs to finish talking to Kujaku and may need to run errands between Kujaku and Zuzzu as well, before finding and talking to Hikari again at the beach for the fishing rod.)

After collecting the rod, speak to Hikari again. She introduces the basic fishing mechanics and provides five of each existing bait type, allowing the fishing tutorial to begin without requiring the player to prepare bait first.

The Battered Fishing Rod is enough to start fishing immediately. Later, Hikari can provide access to improved fishing rods as the fishing collection progresses. The game encyclopedia suggests that improved fishing rods can catch better fish, but that could just mean catching fish of bigger size. Seasons, locations, and baits, on the other hand, decide the types of fish that the player can reel in.

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How the Fishing Minigame Works

1. Fishing starts by equipping the fishing rod and casting it into a suitable body of water. A left click casts the line, after which the bobber may move several times before a fish actually bites and the bobber completely sinks into the water.
2. The important part is knowing when to reel in. The bobber needs to become fully submerged before clicking to start the minigame. Clicking too early simply pulls the bait out of the water and wastes it.
3. Once the player hooks a fish, the fishing minigame begins. A sliding bar moves across the fishing area while the fish moves back and forth. The player needs to keep the fishing zone aligned with the fish. Holding the cursor over the fish gradually fills the progress meter. Successfully following the fish causes the meter to fill, while losing track of the fish causes the meter to move in the opposite direction. If the meter becomes completely red, the fish escapes.

Different fish also require different bait and can appear in different bodies of water or seasons. The beach produces saltwater fish, while rivers and lakes have freshwater fish.

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How to Make Fishing Bait

Once the initial supply of bait runs out, the player can make more baits at the Tackle Table.

Hikari sells the Tackle Table, which is specifically for producing fishing bait and Fish Traps. Each crafting operation produces five pieces of bait.

• Meat Bait requires one type of meat.
• Seafood Bait requires shellfish.
• Cutting down trees spawns Larvae.
• Digging spots have Worms.
• Lures can be purchased from Hikari.

This makes bait relatively easy to maintain. Meat Bait can be particularly convenient because inexpensive meat resources such as Frog Legs and Mouse Meat that the player can obtain from the mine can be turned into fishing bait.

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Why Fishing Is Worth Doing

Fishing is highly recommended for players looking to expand the tavern’s ingredient variety. Fish are ingredients rather than simply collectibles, meaning the catches can be incorporated into cooking recipes and used to broaden the dishes available to customers.

It is also a relatively low-effort resource-gathering activity compared with building up barns and coops and farming that require more extensive preparation.

Moreover, once the player has reached Reputation level 6 and starts hiring staff, there will be more time for the player to fish and collect ingredients on the way to the fishing spots.

🍻Whether the tavern is just getting started or already becoming a thriving business, our Travellers Rest Guide Hub is your home for construction tips, guest room guides, farming advice, brewing tutorials, crafting guides, and much more. We add new guides regularly, so be sure to check back as the tavern continues to grow!