Genshin Impact fishing guide

Learn how to fish and which bait to use in Genshin Impact with our fishing guide!

The 2.1 update for Genshin Impact introduced fishing to the game, allowing you to catch different species of fish from water pools. It’s been long-anticipated, and in this guide we’ll explain how to go fishing in Genshin Impact, as well as break down which bait to use for each fish type. Ready to cast your line? Just follow our lead.

How to get a fishing rod in Genshin Impact

how to get a fishing rod in genshin impact
No, you can't just jump in and grab them.

To get a fishing rod in Genshin Impact, you first need to have unlocked the Serenitea Pot and completed the Exploding Population quest. So long as you’ve unlocked the Serenitea Pot, the Exploding Population quest will appear automatically in your quest list. Head to Mondstadt and speak with Kathryne at the Adventurers’ Guild to get started. She’ll send you off to meet someone called Nantuck at Springdale who will send you fishing in Cider Lake and the Stormbearer Mountains. Wrap up this quest line to unlock fishing and gain a fishing rod in Genshin Impact.

How to fish in Genshin Impact

How to fish genshin impact
 
© miHoYo

Once you’ve got your hands on a rod, you’ll be ready to cast your line at any fishing location across the world. Fishing locations can be spotted as circular ripples in a pool of water. If you approach one, you can interact to begin fishing. 

Each fishing location offers a different selection of fish depending on the region, water body, and whether it is day or night. You’ll see the available fish at the top of the menu as you choose your fishing rod and bait. Every fishing location is refreshed every three days. A new fishing pin has been added to allow marking of any fishing locations you find.

To fish in Genshin Impact, you need to hold the cast rod button to enter an aiming mode. You want to aim near, but not too near any fish you see. Land too close and you’ll scare the fish away, land too far and they won’t be attracted. When a fish latches onto the hook, press the Raise Hook button.

How to fish in Genshin Impact
 
© miHoYo

With a fish on the line, you need to hold and release the Fish button to keep the line tension in the yellow sweet spot zone. Fishing progress – shown by a yellow ring around a hook icon under the tension bar – will only increase while inside the zone, dropping if you ever fall out. Fill the circle and you’ll catch the fish.

Fish will occasionally struggle intensely, causing the sweet spot zone to shift left and right. If your progress drops to zero, the bar will turn red and the fish will attempt to escape. Keep the bar in the zone to resist this.

You’ll also want to look out for rarer Ornamental Fish while exploring Teyvat. These fish are far more lively than the regular ones, and will make more obvious ripple effects. These can be traded for valuable items at Fishing Associations.

Before you head out to fish, however, you’ll want to craft the bait you need to catch the fish you’re after.

Genshin Impact fishing guide - which bait to use

Genshin Impact fishing guide which bait to use
 
© miHoYo

At the time of writing there are four bait types in Genshin Impact. Below, you’ll find a bait guide that lists which fish are attracted to each bait type.

  • Fruit Paste Bait
      • Medakas
      • Dawncatchers
      • Crystalfish
  • Redrot Bait
      • Sticklebacks
      • Bettas
      • Venomspine Fish
      • Akai Maou
      • Snowstriders
  • False Worm Bait
      • Shirakodai
      • Angelfish
  • Fake Fly Bait
    • Koi
    • Pufferfish

Fish respawn time

Fishing is a leisurely business, and Genshin Impact knows it. The fish respawn time is three full days. That's not in-game days, either. Once you've exhausted a spot of fish, you'll need to wait three real-life days before the fish begin populating it again. As such, it pays to catch the best fish around when you can. It's also worth noting that you can score extra fish by joining someone else's world in co-op to catch their fish as well (just make sure they're okay with it first).

How to use fish in Genshin Impact

How to use fish in Genshin Impact
 
© miHoYo

The fish you catch can be exchanged at Fishing Associations to unlock new fishing rod types. There are three Fishing Associations in the current version of the game, located in Mondstadt, Liyue Harbor, and Inazuma.

You can also exchange Ornamental Fish for rare items like the Furnishing Blueprint “Pool of Sapphire Grace”, available at the Liyue Fishing Association. This allows you to keep the Ornamental Fish within your Serenitea Pot home.

How to use fish in genshin impact ornamental fish
 
© miHoYo

Finally, you can process caught fish to craft meat for use in cooking recipes. It’s not a very exciting option, but it’s there.

That’s everything there is to know about how to fish in Genshin Impact. Feel free to hop back to our fishing guide any time you forget which bait works best for each fish type. If you’re after more guides relating to the 2.1 update, we have breakdowns of the Amakumo Fruit locations, Sango Pearl locations, and Unagi Meat locations for you to scan through! Otherwise, head to our hub page for all our most recent Genshin Impact content.

Associate Editor

Henry Stenhouse serves an eternal punishment as the Associate Editor of AllGamers. He spent his younger life studying the laws of physics, even going so far as to complete a PhD in the subject before video games stole his soul. Confess your love of Super Smash Bros. via email at henry@moonrock.biz, or catch him on Twitter.

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