Outside of the main adventure that comprises the story of Persona 4 Golden, there are a ton of side activities for you to enjoy in your free time. And if you’re returning to the series for P4G, then it might not surprise you to find a fishing mechanic. Revamped from vanilla P4, it’s easier than ever to reel one in.
With multiple bait types, fishing locations, and a bit of a search to find the River Rod, there’s more to fishing than meets the eye. For everything you need to know about fishing in Persona 4 Golden, we’ve got you covered below.
How To Get A Fishing Rod
When you go to the Samegawa Flood Plain on or after 5/1, you’ll find an old man looking out over the riverbed. Speak to him and learn that he’ll give you a fishing rod in exchange for a fish hook.
In order to get the hook, go to a vending machine around Inaba and grab a drink called The Natural, then head over to Tatsuhime Shrine. There, you’ll find a boy looking for a drink.
When you offer him The Natural, he rewards you with a Tatsuhime Ladybug. Once you’ve got it, go to the Shiroku Pub at night and speak to the hostess.
She tells you that he pet fish isn’t eating and asks to trade you the Tatsuhime Ladybug for the fish hook.
Return to the old man at the Samegawa Flood Plain and give him the hook. In exchange, he’ll give you the River Rod, your ticket to fishing.
How To Fish
Bait
Now that you have your rod, you’ll need some bait as well, which can be one of a handful of items. The bait used will determine which kinds of fish are available to you.
You can get bait in a couple different ways:
- Cooking meals at the Dojima Residence (other than boxed lunches)
- The housewife outside the Dojima Residence
- Bread Crumbs from the Shiroku Pub Hostess, in exchange for bugs
- The bugs you can catch around Inaba
Finding A Fishing Spot
Once you have bait and the rod, you’re ready to go! Fishing can be done at either the Samegawa Flood Plain or Shichiri Beach.
In order to unlock Shichiri Beach, there are a few preliminary requirements. First, you must have ridden your scooter three times and enabled the ability to take a long ride.
However, your rod won’t be good enough for the sea yet. You’ll need to first catch the River Guardian at the Samegawa Flood Plain and show it to the old man who gave you your first rod.
After he’s seen the Guardian, he’ll give you the Deep-Sea Rod, which is capable of fishing at Shichiri Beach.
Getting the Deep-Sea Rod is the majority of one of your Requests.
Going Fishing
When you arrive at either location, select your bait before casting your line into the water. You can cast up to five times per fishing session, and the number of casts is determined by your Diligence stat. The more diligent you are, the more you can fish.
No matter how many times you cast, fishing consumes a time slot, so plan accordingly.
Once you’ve cast, you’ll see ripples on the surface when you’ve got something on the line. The more prominent the ripples, the larger the fish.
When it’s time to reel in, your goal is to keep the marker over the blue section of the gauge. Yellow and orange simply reset your reeling gauge, while red allows the fish to get away.
All Fish Locations And Required Bait
|
Name |
Bait |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Samegawa Flood Plain |
||
|
Red Goldfish |
|
Restores 10 SP to one ally |
|
Genji Ayu |
|
Restores 25 HP to one ally |
|
Amber Seema |
|
Restores 50 HP to one ally |
|
Inaba Trout |
|
Restores 100 HP to one ally |
|
Huge Fish |
|
Restores all HP to one ally |
|
Guardian * |
|
|
|
Shichiri Beach |
||
|
Hachiro Octopus |
|
Restores 10 SP to one ally |
|
Meguro Tuna |
|
Restores all HP of one ally |
|
Sea Guardian * |
|
|
The fish you catch can be used in battle to restore HP/SP, or you can trade it to the Lady In White at Tatsuhime Shrine.
The Lady will give you jewels for your fish, which you can then trade with the Shiroku Pub Hostess in exchange for new weaponry for your team.