If you’ve spent hours running around the Palpagos Islands chasing land pals and mining ore, you’re missing out on one of the game’s most underrated activities. Learning how to fish in Palworld doesn’t just give you a break from constant base raids and resource grinding—it opens up access to exclusive pals, high-tier crafting materials, and food that gives you massive stat buffs. I spent my first 20 hours of playthrough ignoring the fishing mechanic entirely, and once I finally tried it, I kicked myself for waiting so long. This guide breaks down everything you need to know to start reeling in big catches, no fancy late-game gear required.
How to Fish in Palworld: Required Tools & First Setup
Before you can cast a line, you’ll need to craft your first fishing rod, which unlocks in the Technology tab once you hit level 14. The basic version only requires 20 wood, 5 stone, 10 fiber, and 3 ingots, so you don’t need to grind for rare materials to get started. You don’t need a specific pal to help you craft the rod, but having a Lamball with Handiwork skill will cut the crafting time in half. Once you have the rod, equip it to your hotbar, and find any body of deep water—shallow puddles on the beach won’t work, so stick to rivers, lakes, or the open ocean.
When you stand next to valid water, you’ll see a small cast prompt pop up at the bottom of your screen. I made the mistake of trying to cast off cliffs my first time, so make sure you’re standing on solid ground right at the water’s edge to avoid the prompt not appearing. If you want to catch even rarer catches, you can unlock the improved metal fishing rod at level 27. It requires 15 ingots, 5 cord, and 2 nails to craft, and it’s far more durable than the basic wood version, so you won’t have to repair it every three casts. I switched to the metal rod as soon as I unlocked it, and it cut down my minigame time by almost 30% because the marker moves slower, making it easier to keep in the zone. You can also add bait to your rod to target specific types of catches, which unlocks at level 22. Bait can be crafted from spare fish parts you get from cleaning catches, or bought from wandering merchants for 50 gold a stack. Fruit bait attracts common pals, insect bait attracts rare ocean pals, and mushroom bait attracts the legendary icy pals in the northern lake.
Best Fishing Locations for Different Rewards
Not all fishing spots are created equal, and the location you pick directly impacts what you’ll pull out of the water. I’ve tested every major water body on the map, and these spots are the most consistent for high-value catches:
- Starting Plateau rivers: The small river that runs through the first spawn area is perfect for new fishers. You’ll catch common fish for food, low-tier crafting materials, and occasional common aquatic pals like Finfin.
- Eastern Seaboard coastline: The deep ocean off the east side of the map is where you’ll find rare ocean pals like Surfent and rare crafting materials like pearls, which are used for late-game armor and base decorations.
- Mountain Lake (northwest of the map): The frozen lake in the snowy northwest region has exclusive cold-water pals and ice-type materials you can’t find anywhere else, including frost organs used for cold resistance potions.
If you see a group of bubbles popping on the surface of the water, that’s a hot spot. Casting your line directly into the bubble patch will double your chance of catching a rare pal or high-tier material, so always prioritize these spots when you see them. I’ve pulled three legendary aquatic pals out of bubble spots in the last month of playing, so they’re absolutely worth going out of your way for. Time of day also impacts what you’ll catch. Most rare aquatic pals only spawn between 6 PM and 6 AM in-game, so if you’re hunting for a specific pal, wait until nightfall to head out. I usually set up a small portable base near my favorite fishing spots with a bed, so I can fast travel there, sleep until night, and fish for a few hours before heading back to my main base. You don’t have to worry about most hostile pals bothering you while you fish at night, either—most land-based pals sleep after dark, so you can fish in peace without getting attacked by a random Grizzbolt mid-minigame.
Pro Tips to Catch Rare Aquatic Pals While Fishing
Fishing in Palworld uses a simple timing minigame, but small tweaks to your approach will drastically increase your chance of catching rare pals instead of common fish or junk. When you cast your line, wait for the bobber to dip completely under the water before you click to reel in—clicking too early will make the catch escape, and you’ll have to recast. If you’re specifically targeting pals, equip a pal with the Watering skill to your party before you start fishing. Pals like Fuack or Penking give you a 20% higher chance of reeling in a pal instead of a regular fish, which cuts down on grind time a ton.
The minigame itself is pretty straightforward: you’ll see a bar pop up on your screen, and you need to click to keep the marker inside the colored zone until the bar fills up. If the marker turns red, stop clicking for a second to let it cool down, otherwise you’ll snap the line and lose your catch. Don’t panic if the marker moves fast—slow, steady clicks work way better than spamming. I used to spam click every time I saw a rare pal on the line, and I lost more than I caught until I slowed down. If you reel in a pal you already have multiple copies of, don’t just release it. You can assign it to your palbox for breeding, or send it to the pal essence condenser to get essence points that you can use to power up your main party pals. I’ve caught so many extra Finfins that I’ve been able to level up my main combat pal to level 50 twice as fast as I would have grinding dungeons. You can also sell excess pals to wandering merchants for a nice chunk of gold, if you don’t need the essence points.
What to Do With Your Fishing Catches
Once you start hauling in catches, you might be tempted to sell all of them for gold, but that’s usually a waste of their full value. Fish can be cooked into high-tier food that gives you buffs like increased stamina, faster run speed, or even temporary damage resistance, which are game-changing for boss fights or long exploration trips. Aquatic pals you catch can be added to your party for water-based combat, or assigned to base tasks like watering crops or putting out fires. Rare materials like pearls and frost organs sell for far more if you use them to craft finished items first, instead of selling them raw. For example, a single pearl sells for 100 gold, but a pearl necklace you craft with it sells for 450 gold, so you’ll make way more profit if you take the extra step to craft first.
Junk items you catch like old boots or tin cans aren’t useless either—you can melt them down for scrap metal, or use them as decoration for your base if you’re going for a rustic vibe. I keep a shelf of weird junk I’ve caught in my main base just for fun, and it’s become a running joke with my friends who play co-op with me. For food, the grilled fatty fish recipe gives you a 30% stamina boost for 30 minutes, which is perfect for when you’re climbing mountains or exploring the desert biome. It only takes two large fish to make, so I usually keep a stack of 20 in my inventory at all times for long trips. If you have a ranch at your base, you can assign aquatic pals to it to produce fish eggs passively, so you don’t even have to fish to get a steady supply of cooking ingredients. I have three Surfents assigned to my ranch, and they produce enough eggs to feed my entire base of 20 pals without me ever having to go hunting for food.
Fishing is one of those low-effort, high-reward activities that makes Palworld feel so much more dynamic than other survival games. You don’t need to grind for hours to get started, and even 10 minutes of fishing every time you take a break from base building can give you resources that would take twice as long to farm elsewhere. Next time you’re stuck waiting for your pals to finish crafting a new structure, grab your rod and head to the nearest river—you might be surprised what you pull out. Now that you know how to fish in Palworld, you’re ready to start tracking down all the rare aquatic pals and hidden resources the game has to offer.