Sea of Thieves Fishing Guide

The Sea of Thieves fishing guide is here! With the latest and greatest Anniversary Update, one of the community's most requested features has been added to Sea of Thieves!

Here we hope to give you everything you need to know to start your new favorite hobby. We'll begin by covering the basics of fishing. Along the way, we'll also share a few enticing tricks of the trade.

Sea of Thieves Fishing Guide 2023

The Basics

By now you'll find a fishing rod available in your inventory almost everywhere. To use the rod, go to your Item Radial, press "more" to reach the second inventory group, then select the rod from the bottom.

If you want to use bait, first pull out your rod. Then, with the rod equipped, hold the Left Bumper, or however you pull up your item radial menu, but this time a prompt will appear to access your bait radial (B on Xbox).

Where Can You Find Bait?

Bait can be found in resource barrels all over Sea of Thieves. This includes barrels found in shipwrecks. Can't find the bait you want in barrels? You can dig for bait! Even better, you can look for a specific type of bait depending on where you're digging.

Leeches seem to be drawn to water. They're best found by digging as close to the waterline as possible.

Grubs seem to enjoy warm sand. Make sure you're at least a bit further away from where you'd find leeches.

Worms tend to place themselves under grass.

How Much Bait Can You Hold?

Bait can be found in resource barrels all over Sea of Thieves. Keep in mind that while gathering, you can hold up to 10 pieces of bait at a time in your item radial menu. You can also "hold" an extra piece of bait by attaching it to your rod. Two features of fishing make this possible.

First, when you put a piece of bait on your rod, it's removed from your inventory. That means you have an open slot to pick up another piece of bait from your stock.

Second, if you've put a piece of bait on your rod but haven't used it, the bait stays on the rod when you put the rod away. This means you can safely stow your rod to pick up another piece of bait.

That means you can practically head out to fish with 11 pieces of bait. Those 11 pieces of bait will be made up of three types: worms, grubs and leeches.

What Type of Bait Should You Use?

That depends on the fish you're after and the region you're in. As you can see in the images above, if you find your bait in the radial menu, you'll see a short description under each type of bait. That description will tell you which fish that bait is more likely to attract.

That said, whether or not you should use a particular bait depends not only on the fish you're hoping to catch, but also on where you are in the Sea of Thieves. To find a bit more information on what to use when (or rather, where), press start and go to your reputation tab. There you should see a new trading company: The Hunter's Call. If you tap on this new trading company, you'll see a page full of fish!

Each fish has a short description. That description doesn't only tell you which bait the fish likes to eat, but also lets you know where the fish can be found.

How to Fish in Sea of Thieves 2023

Hold the Right Trigger to cast your line. The longer you hold the trigger, the farther your cast will go. Once your rod is in the water, it's time to wait for a fish to bite! That said, it won't take long before you see an interested fish circling your rod. If you can identify the fish that's interested — and it's not the fish you're trying to catch — you can quickly reel in your rod to avoid losing any bait you may have attached. If this fish is one you'll want to catch, let it bite!

Once you've hooked a fish on the bite, you might want to reel it in right away! However, as we mentioned earlier, it's best not to reel when you see a lot of splashing; you risk losing the fish. Instead, fight the small fish until you force it to submit (loosen up). Then, reel it in! To fight the fish, pull the rod in the opposite direction from the way the fish is trying to take the rod. If the fish is pulling left, pull the rod right. If the fish is pulling right, pull the rod left.

If the fish is pulling the rod straight, pull the rod straight back. You can reel in a bit while still fighting, but — again — if you do this too much you risk snapping the line. When the fish tires, it will stop splashing and you'll see your rod loosen up. That's your chance! Reel it in! Hold the Right Trigger to reel in your fish. We'll need to test this a bit more formally, but it seems like fish also reel in a bit faster if you reel in the rod while it's shaking. If the fish starts shaking again, stop reeling and fight the fish by pulling the rod in the opposite direction. Do this a few times and the fish is yours!