Core Keeper: Complete Fishing Guide

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Fishing Basics

Fishing Rods

Bait

Fishing Talents

Fishing Locations

Once you've found or crafted a Fishing Rod in Core Keeper, you can catch nutritious fish and unique items from the underground lakes you find during your adventures. Fishing can produce some of the best food in the game, and taking the time to level up your Fishing Talents can have lots of benefits down the road.

With this guide, you'll be able to choose the best fishing locations and know what rewards to seek. Always have a Fishing Rod with you while exploring - you never know when you might stumble upon a good spot to cast a line!

Core Keeper is in early access at the time of this writing. The information in this guide is subject to change as the game develops.

Updated on June 25, 2022 by Matt Arnold: The Sunken Sea update has brought several new fish to Core Keeper, as well as Bait items that can enhance your angling! We've added these new game mechanics to the guide. We've also updated our fishing charts to reflect the new probabilities of catching loot and fish - the days of endlessly pulling up kelp are over!

Fishing Basics

When you have a Fishing Rod equipped, you can cast the line by holding and releasing the secondary action button. The primary action button will swing the Fishing Rod like a weapon. The longer you hold the secondary action button, the further the line will go, up to a limit of three tiles.

If the line doesn't land in water, your Explorer will simply reel it back in. Otherwise, they'll wait for you to reel in the line manually by pressing the secondary action button again. If you move or unequip the Fishing Rod, the Explorer will stop fishing.

While fishing, listen for the "bloop" sound of a bite on your line. You can also watch the bobber to see if it gets pulled under the water. When these things happen, press the secondary action button once more to reel in your catch.

If the line is in a tile with visible fish, you'll start reeling in a live catch. Hold the secondary action button to pull the fish in, but let go when the fish indicator turns red. Trying to reel the fish in while the icon is red will cause your tension meter at the bottom of the screen to increase - if it fills completely, the line will snap and the fish will escape. A higher Fishing Skill causes the tension meter to fill more slowly.

Each fish has a unique rhythm of when to reel and when to ease up. With practice, you'll be able to guess what kind of fish you've hooked by its behavior alone.

If your fishing line is in a tile without fish, you are likely to pull up an item instead. In this case, there will be reel-in minigame. Instead, you'll simply pull up a random item based on the area in which you are fishing.

Fishing Rods

Basic Fishing Rods can be found throughout the Underground World inside of crates. Once you've made your first Tin Workbench you can begin crafting your own Fishing Rods.

Generally, you'll only need one Fishing Rod so use the highest-tier version that you have. Your equipped Fishing Rod provides a flat bonus to your Fishing Skill, and loses Durability with each cast.

In advanced regions, your Explorer may note that they need a better Fishing Rod to fish effectively. This means that your effective Fishing Skill isn't high enough to catch anything in the current area. Return with a better Fishing Rod to have a chance at catching the fish in those locations.

In earlier versions of the game, Fishing Rods could break like any other tool. As of this writing, however, they no longer have a Durability Score and can be used as many times as you want without requiring repairs.

All Fishing Rods

Tool	Workbench	Materials	Skill Bonus
Wooden Fishing Rod	N/A	N/A	38
Tin Fishing Rod	Tin Workbench	5x Wood 4x Tin Bar	74
Iron Fishing Rod	Iron Workbench	5x Wood 5x Iron Bar 1x Gold Bar	126
Scarlet Fishing Rod	Scarlet Workbench	5x Wood 7x Scarlet Bar	169
Octarine Fishing Rod	Octarine Workbench	8x Coral Wood 9x Octarine Bar	238

Bait

Bait can be equipped in the Off-Hand slot to provide bonuses while fishing. Bait can be produced from the Bait Workbench or purchased from the Fishing Merchant, who becomes available after defeating Azeos The Sky Titan.

Bait is easy to produce in large quantities, and one piece of your equipped Bait is used whenever you pull up a fish or an item. Bait doesn't guarantee a specific catch, but can help push the odds in your favor while grinding. If you stop fishing before getting a bite, or if the fish gets away, your Bait is not used up.

All Bait Types

Bait	Effect	How To Get
Glowing Bait	Increases the chance that you'll hook an item rather than a fish. Has no effect on tiles with guaranteed fish.	Craft at the Bait Workbench. One Glow Tulip yields five Glowing Bait.
Spicy Bait	Reduces the time it takes to get a fish on the hook.	Craft at the Bait Workbench. One Bomb Pepper yields five Spicy Bait.
Sticky Bait	Fish start closer to being reeled in.	Craft at the Bait Workbench. One Larva Meat yields five Sticky Bait.
Sweet Bait	Increases the chance that you'll hook a fish rather than an item. Has no effect on tiles with guaranteed fish.	Craft at the Bait Workbench. One Heart Berry yields five Sweet Bait.
Green Bait	Reduces the time it takes to get a fish on the hook. Increases the chance that you'll hook a fish rather than an item (unless fishing on a tile with guaranteed fish).	Purchase from the Fishing Merchant. Costs 5 Coins each.
Red Bait	Reduces the time it takes to get a fish on the hook. Fish start closer to being reeled in.	Purchase from the Fishing Merchant. Costs 5 Coins each.
Purple Bait	Adds 21 to the roll to determine what type of fish is caught, significantly increasing the chance of getting a rare fish. Note that this also reduces the chance of catching common fish. Can be used to craft the Expert Lure.	Purchase from the Fishing Merchant. Costs 10 Coins each.

Fishing Talents

As will all Skills, every five ranks in Fishing unlocks a Talent Point. Fishing has particularly useful Talents available, so it's worthwhile to level up for these potent bonuses.

Most Talents have Prerequisites. To unlock a Talent, at least one of its Prerequisite Talents must be at the maximum level (five).

Each Talent provides an increasing bonus with each Talent Point (TP) assigned to it. The more TP assigned, the higher the total bonus will be.

Talent	Prerequisite	Bonus Per TP
Angler's Advantage	N/A	Fish start three percent closer to being reeled in when hooked.
Fisherman's Luck	Angler's Advantage	Your character is four percent more likely to hook a fish instead of an item.
Improved Bait	Angler's Advantage	Fish bite five percent faster.
Studied Patterns	Fisherman's Luck	Your character's dodge chance increases by two percent.
Throwing Expert	Improved Bait	Your fishing line can be cast ten percent farther.
Steady Feet	Fisherman's Luck OR Improved Bait	Slippery terrain affects your character ten percent less.
Well-Trained Aim	Studied Patterns OR Steady Feet	Two percent of your total Fishing Skill is added to the damage done by your ranged attacks.
Power Of Omega-3!	Throwing Expert OR Steady Feet	After eating fish (raw or cooked), your character gains a temporary three-percent damage bonus against bosses.

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Fishing Locations

Each region has a unique group of available fish and items in its waters. Once the game decides whether you've hooked a fish or an item, it randomly determines what exactly is on the line, using the rarities below. Getting rare catches requires dedication and patience, but knowing where to fish is a great start!

The Larva Hive is considered part of the Clay Caves, and as such uses the same loot table.

The Underground (Starting Region)

Fish	Cooked Effect Effect	Percentage Chance
Orange Cave Guppy	Increased mining damage.	37
Blue Cave Guppy	Increased dodge chance.	29
Rock Jaw	Increased melee damage.	21
Gem Crab	Increased armor.	13

Item	Effect	Percentage Chance
Green Kelp	Can be sold for 1 Coin.	23.55
Scrap Parts	Used to repair damaged equipment.	15.7
Copper Ore	Can be smelted into Copper Bars.	18.84
Fiber	Common crafting material.	10.99
Wood	Common crafting material.	7.85
Rusty Spoon	Can be sold for 3 Coins.	15.7
Amber Fish Egg	Can be sold for 31 Coins.	1.57
Cave Guppy Necklace	Equip to Necklace slot. +6 Dodge.	3.14
Scuba Fins	Equipped to the Pants Slot. +12 Maximum HP. +7 Armor. +8 percent chance to catch a fish. Part of the five-piece Scuba Set, which significantly increases your fishing capabilities when completed.	1.88
Golden Starfish	Can be sold for 47 Coins.	0.78

The Clay Caves

Fish	Cooked Effect	Percentage Chance
Yellow Blister Head	Ignore slime tiles' slow effect.	37
Green Blister Head	Immunity to acid damage.	29
Devil Worm	Increased ranged damage.	21
Vampire Eel	Gain HP whenever you hit an enemy with a melee attack.	13

Item	Effect	Percentage Chance
Yellow Kelp	Can be sold for 1 Coin.	23.49
Tin Ore	Can be smelted into Tin Bars.	18.79
Scrap Parts	Used to repair damaged equipment.	15.66
Fiber	Common crafting material.	10.96
Wood	Common crafting material.	7.83
Mucus Amoeba	Can be sold for 19 Coins.	15.66
Parasite Fossil	Can be sold for 22 Coins.	1.57
Rusted Ring	Equip to Ring slot. +7 Armor	2.98
Neptune Necklace	Equip to Necklace slot. +53 Fishing Skill. Part of the Scuba Set, which significantly enhances your Fishing ability when completed.	1.88
Golden Cocoon	Can be sold for 66 Coins.	0.78
Grub Pearl	Can be sold for 75 Coins.	0.39

The Forgotten Ruins

Fish	Cooked Effect	Percentage Chance
Dagger Fin	Deal thorns damage when attacked in melee.	55
Pink Palace Fish	Increased melee attack speed.	20
Teal Palace Fish	Increased ranged attack speed.	20
Crown Squid	Increased knockback chance.	5

Item	Effect	Percentage Chance
Grey Kelp	Can be sold for 1 Coin.	23.38
Iron Ore	Can be smelted into Iron Bars.	20.27
Scrap Parts	Used to repair damaged equipment.	15.59
Soft Sponge	Can be sold for 19 Coins.	15.59
Fiber	Common Crafting Material.	10.91
Gold Ore	Can be smelted into Gold Bars.	7.79
Bubble Pearl Necklace	Equip to Necklace slot. +12 HP +7 Armor +6 Dodge	1.87
Goldfish Ring	Equip To Ring Slot Fishes bite faster when equipped while fishing. Part of the Scuba Set, which significantly enhances your Fishing abilities when completed.	1.87
Adder Stone	Can be sold for 17 Coins.	1.56
Caveling Perfume	Can be sold for 58 Coins.	0.78
Enhydro Crystal	Can be sold for 99 Coins.	0.39

Azeos' Wilderness

Fish	Cooked Effect	Percentage Chance
Azure Feather Fish	Increased HP regeneration.	37
Emerald Feather Fish	Increased critical hit chance.	29
Spirit Veil	Increased movement speed.	21
Astral Jelly	Increased Fishing Skill.	13

Item	Effect	Percentage Chance
Red Kelp	Can be sold for 1 Coin.	23.83
Scarlet Ore	Can be smelted into Scarlet Bars.	20.65
Scrap Parts	Used to repair damaged equipment.	15.89
Lost Paddle	Can be sold for 14 Coins.	15.89
Fiber	Common crafting material.	11.12
Gold Ore	Can be smelted into Gold Bars.	7.94
Sea Foam Ring	Equip to Ring slot. +51 Fishing Skill.	1.91
Feather Fish Scale	Can be sold for 28 Coins.	1.59
Caveling Medal	Can be sold for 77 Coins.	0.79
Rainbow Kelp	Can be placed as a decoration. Can be sold for 63 Coins.	0.4

Mold Dungeon

Fish	Cooked Effect	Percentage Chance
Mold Shark	Cooked Effect: Increased melee damage.	50
Rot Fish	Cooked Effect: Immunity to mold infection.	37
Black Steel Urchin	Cooked Effect: Deal thorns damage when attacked in melee.	13

The Rot Fish will deal a large amount of damage over time to your Explorer if eaten raw - a total of 440 over twenty seconds. Be sure not to accidentally eat this icky ichthyoid!

Item	Effect	Percentage Chance
Pale Kelp	Can be sold for 1 Coin.	23.83
Scarlet Ore	Can be smelted into Scarlet Bars.	20.65
Scrap Parts	Used to repair damaged equipment.	15.89
Giant Germ	Can be sold for 16 Coins.	15.89
Fiber	Common crafting material.	11.12
Gold Ore	Can be smelted into Gold Bars.	7.94
Kelp Mantle	Equip to Chest slot. +32 Maximum HP. +16 Armor. Fish start closer to you when being reeled in. Part of the Scuba Set, which significantly enhances your Fishing abilities when completed.	1.91
Mold Shell	Can be sold for 23 Coins.	1.59
Ceremonial Flute	Can be sold for 46 Coins.	0.4
Data Slate	Can be sold for 85 Coins.	0.4

The Sunken Sea

Fish	Cooked Effect	Percentage Chance
Bottom Tracer	Significantly increases mining damage.	32
Silver Dart	Increases your critical hit chance.	22
Golden Dart	Increases your dodge chance.	22
Pink Coralotl	Significantly increases ranged damage.	12
White Coralotl	Slighly increases mining speed.	12

Try cooking a dish that combines Pewpaya and Pink Coralotl for a massive increase to your damage output with ranged weapons!

Item	Effect	Percentage Chance
Blue Kelp	Can be sold for 1 Coin.	27.35
Octarine Ore	Can be smelted into Octarine Bars.	23.7
Scrap Parts	Used to repair damaged equipment.	18.23
Fiber	Common crafting material.	12.76
Gold Ore	Can be smelted into Gold Bars.	9.12
Golden Jellyfish	Equipped to the Off-Hand slot. Regenerates 1.9 HP per second.	2.73
Giant Squid Eye	Can be sold for 97 Coins.	1.82
Golden Needle	Can be sold for 127 Coins.	1.82
Diving Helm	Equipped to the Head slot. +30 maximum HP. +17 Armor. Adds 7 to the roll when determining what type of fish is caught, effectively making rarer fish appear more often. +40 Fishing Skill while equipped. Part of the Scuba Set, which significantly enhances your Fishing abilities when completed.	1.09
Polished Shell	Can be sold for 101 Coins.	0.91
Opabinia Fossil	Can be sold for 157 Coins.	0.46