Fishing
Turn flax String into a Fishing Rod and catch food from a proper pond, river or sea.
At a Workbench, combine three Sticks and two String to make one Fishing Rod. The recipe uses a diagonal line of sticks with string down the right edge; the mirrored layout also works.
Place the ingredients in the Workbench grid, then take the rod from the result slot.
The rod is reusable. You do not need bait, electricity or a separate fish farm machine.
Aim at a patch containing 7×7 water source blocks, at least two source blocks deep. That is 98 source blocks with an open surface. Flowing water, waterfalls, shallow puddles and lava do not qualify. A player-built pond of the same size works too.
Cast at the centre of the open patch from within eight blocks. A single water block on the ground is not enough.
Hold the rod and press Use—right-click with the default controls—to cast. A float and line mark your fishing spot.
Wait 8–16 seconds. When the float dips and “Bite! Use now to reel in” appears, press Use again within three seconds. Holding the button does not reel automatically.
A successful reel catches one Raw Fish. If your backpack is full, it drops nearby for pickup. Reeling too early or missing the bite gives no catch.
Opening a menu, switching slots, walking more than twelve blocks away, obstructing the line or changing the pond cancels your cast. Saving retains your rod and fish, but does not retain an active cast or award catches while the game is closed.
Raw Fish restores 2 food points. A fuel-burning or electric Cooker turns one raw fish into Cooked Fish, restoring 6 food points plus 2 saturation. Raw Fish grants no saturation.
For Fish Stew, combine one raw or cooked fish and two vegetables in either Cooker. Potatoes, carrots or one of each work. Stew restores 12 food points plus 4 saturation. Food and hunger explains the reserve and current meal cadence. Both fish recipes take ten seconds at full heat/power; use the ordinary cooker fuel, power and pipe setup described in Farming and cooking.
Food does not spoil. Images show actual September 19, 2026 review-player gameplay; long-session fishing/food balance remains under review.