Fishing
Fishing arrived in June 2025 and has grown with every update since: seasonal fish, monthly axolotls, Local Legends and a fishing Mini Season. Here's how it works.
Getting started: Casting Off
Go to Fisherman's Rest in the Mire and start the Casting Off questline with Captain Raymond Clark, a mysterious figure called The Fisherman, and Linda-Lee, his pet hermit crab. The quest gives you a working fishing rod.
The rod isn't a weapon and doesn't appear in your Pip-Boy. Walk up to water and look at it, and a Fish option appears. Bethesda's rule of thumb: if you can swim in it, you can fish in it.
Rod upgrades
Modify the rod at a Tinker's Workbench. Rod styles, bobbers and reels come from fishing challenges and daily fishing quests. Some fish are close to impossible to land until you've upgraded, so work through the challenges early.
Bait
| Bait | Catches | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Common | Generic fish, junk, common regional fish | Sold by The Fisherman and Captain Raymond; daily quest reward |
| Improved | Better odds of uncommon fish | Not sold. Daily quests, public events, world containers, trades |
| Superb | Best odds of very rare fish | Was a Season 21 reward |
Testing A World Pets cat finds Improved Bait for you.
Weather
- Clear
- Common fish found in any region.
- Rain
- Better odds of region-specific fish and axolotls.
- Radstorm or nuke weather
- Better odds of glowing fish.
A Weather Control Station at your C.A.M.P. changes the weather there, and that counts for fishing. Bethesda leaves the best bait-and-weather combinations for players to work out.
What you can catch
Regional & glowing fish
Common fish live everywhere, but each region has its own species, and most have glowing variants. Burning Springs added its own fish in December 2025.
Axolotls
There are 12 axolotls, and one can be caught each month. Bethesda posts hints on its social channels, and rain helps. Show them off in an aquarium display case.
Local Legends
Rare trophy fish to show off in a fish display at your camp. Burning Springs added its own. The Kingfisher unique gets +10% damage for every Local Legend challenge you've completed.
Seasonal fish
Since Jun 2026
Each season of the year brings its own fish, changing around the equinoxes and solstices. Summer fish arrived on June 23, 2026, the first Tuesday after the solstice, and fall fish arrived on September 22, 2026. Winter and spring fish follow.
Seasonal fish can't be turned into Fish Bits. They go into new seasonal food recipes instead. Bethesda deliberately hasn't published the recipes or locations; the only official hint is a note from Captain Raymond at Fisherman's Rest.
Using your catch
- Eat it for hunger and health; bigger fish restore more.
- Fish Bits: catching or trading for a fish teaches you to turn it into Fish Bits at a Cooking Station. Recipes from daily quests, like Fish and Tatos and Fish Chowder, use them.
- Linda-Lee the hermit crab gives you a random legendary item for Fish Bits.
- Seasonal recipes use the seasonal fish.
Fishing events
Bethesda has run fishing Mini Seasons, like Marshal Mallow's Marvelous Fishing Excursion in August 2025, and seasonal fish hunt weekends on the community calendar. Check the event calendar.