Fishing is one of those side activities in Windrose that becomes much more useful once your crafting and cooking start opening up. It is not just there for collection value. Once you unlock the rod, fishing gives you a steady way to gather cooking materials and adds another progression layer that fits naturally into exploration.
1. How To Get the Fishing Rod
Simple Fishing Rod
You need a Level 2 Workbench before you can craft the first fishing rod. Collect the rod materials and then upgrade the Workbench via the Sawhorse. The Sawhorse takes 20 Wood and 10 Copper Ingot to craft.
Craft the Fishing Rod:
- Open the Building Menu.
- Go to Crafting & Utilities > Workbench.
- Build the Sawhorse upgrade to turn your Workbench into Level 2.
- Open the upgraded Workbench.
- Craft the Simple Fishing Rod.
2. Where to Get Fishing Rod Materials
Crafting Fishing Rod
For crafting a Fishing Rod, you need: 5 Hardwood, 3 Rope, and 2 Foothills Iron Ingots. You will mainly find these resources after progressing in the Foothills biome.
| Material | Amount | How To Get It |
|---|---|---|
| Hardwood | 5 | Harvested from Divi-Divi trees and stumps in the Foothills. |
| Rope | 3 | Crafted from Plant Fiber, chop down bushes to farm it. |
| Foothills Iron Ingots | 2 | Made from Foothills Iron Ore, which is mined from Iron Deposit landmarks in the Foothills. |
3. How To Fish
Fishing
Fishing itself is very simple once you have the rod equipped. You can fish from the shore or from your ship, and the main thing to watch is not the first small bob of the float, but the larger splash that signals the actual catch window.
- Put the Fishing Rod on a hotkey.
- Equip it near any body of water.
- Left-click to cast the line.
- Wait for the bobber to move.
- Ignore the smaller bobbing motions.
- Watch for the big splash and Left-click again when you see the splash to reel the fish in.
4. All Fish in Windrose
There are currently 10 fish in Windrose: 6 uncommon, 2 rare, and 2 epic. They are divided into shallow-water and deep-water fish.
| Fish | Rarity | Water Type |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Tang | Uncommon | Shallows |
| Moon Angelfish | Uncommon | Shallows |
| Queen Angelfish | Uncommon | Shallows |
| Pink Wrasse | Uncommon | Shallows |
| Sapphire Wrasse | Uncommon | Shallows |
| Reef Snapper | Uncommon | Shallows |
| Emerald Bluefish | Rare | Deep Waters |
| Red Snapper | Rare | Deep Waters |
| Giant Mackerel | Epic | Deep Waters |
| Large Barracuda | Epic | Deep Waters |
5. All Fishing Recipes
Seafood platter
All fish currently serve one main purpose: they are processed into Fish Fillets by right-clicking them in your inventory. Smaller fish give fewer fillets, while larger, rarer, and epic fish give more. Those fillets are then used in several food recipes.
| Recipe | Rarity | Effect | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seafood Skewer | Uncommon | +5 Strength | 1 Fish Fillet, 1 Crab Meat |
| Chowder | Rare | 10 Agility | +3 Fish Fillet, 3 Sweet Potato, 2 Salt |
| Fish and Tostones | Rare | +10 Vitality | 3 Fish Fillet, 3 Bananas, 2 Nuts |
| Seafood Platter | Epic | +20 Vitality | 7 Fish Fillet, 4 Lime, 3 Crab Meat, 4 Salt |
How to Get Salt for Fishing Recipes
Salt is used in some fishing recipes, and you can obtain it from naval combat by boarding ships, or buy it from the Brethren of the Coast Provisioner for 2 Piastre each in Tortuga market.
6. Best Fishing Spots
Fishing spots in Windrose are easier to understand once you stop looking for one perfect location and start matching the water depth to the kind of fish you want.
- Use shoreline shallows when you want the common shallow-water fish pool.
- Use deeper open water when you want the rare and epic fish pool.
- Fish from a boat when you want easier access to deep-water areas without wasting time searching from the coast.
7. Rewards for Catching Fish
Fisherman’s Ring
Fishing has two main rewards: food progression through Fish Fillets and a collection reward for catching all 10 fish in the game, which gives you a Fisherman’s Ring.
| Reward | How To Get It | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Fillets | Catch fish and process them | Used in several strong cooking recipes. |
| Fisherman’s Ring | Catch all 10 fish | Grants a 15% chance to catch an extra fish while fishing. |
| Major Fisherman’s Ring | Upgrade the Fisherman’s Ring to Epic with Workbench | Increases the extra-fish chance to 30%. |
