Last Updated: Wed Apr 05 2023 Reading Time: 20 min

New World Fishing Guide

Introduction

Fishing in New World is a fun and fruitful way to spend your time in Aeterum! For everything you need to know, continue reading our New World Fishing Guide!

Getting Started

Fishing is a gathering Trade Skill in New World that allows players to gather fish from Fishing nodes that will be used in crafting trade skill, Cooking.

When first starting out you will need a wooden fishing pole to start gathering nodes. This requires engineering level 0 along with 1fiber and 1 green wood to craft it. Fiber will need a flint sickle and a hemp plant. Once all are obtained a tier 1 camp fire or workshop is required to craft the wooden fishing pole. Once crafted you will need to equip it and you can start gathering.

Higher character levels are able to use better tiers of Fishing Fishing Poles:

It is advised to use the highest gear score possible to increase your casting distance. 

Different Types of Fishing Locations and Bait

Fishing locations are broken down into two categories Standard Locations and Hotspots. As you fish in these locations you will get fish appropriate to their real life locations. So for example Trout will come from freshwater and not from saltwater, or squids would be saltwater not freshwater.

Standard Fishing Locations and Bait

  • Freshwater – Rivers and Lakes (Can loot buckets of water from it)
    • Bread Bait – small boost to chance to catch rare fish in freshwater
      • Found in provision containers
    • Meat Bait –  small boost to chance to catch bigger fish in freshwater
      • Crafted with cooking
    • Woodlouse Bait – medium boost to chance to catch rare fish in freshwater
      • Obtained by harvesting bushes
    • Clam Bait – medium boost to chance to catch bigger fish in freshwater
      • Obtained by salvaging clams
    • Firefly Bait – large boost to chance to catch rare fish in freshwater
      • Obtained by harvesting bulrush
    • Oyster Bait – large boost to chance to catch bigger fish in freshwater
      • Obtained by salvaging oysters
  • Saltwater – Oceans and Swamps
    • Cheese Bait – small boost to chance to catch rare fish in saltwater
      • Found in provision containers
    • Fish Bait – small boost to chance to catch larger fish in saltwater
      • Crafted with cooking
    • Nightcrawler Bait – medium boost to chance to catch rare fish in saltwater
      • Obtained by picking up flints during the day
    • Snail Bait – medium boost to chance to catch larger fish in saltwater
      • Obtained by salvaging aquatic snails
    • Glowworm Bait – large boost to chance to catch rare fish in saltwater
      • Obtained by picking up flints at night
    • Electric Eel Bait – large boost to chance to catch larger fish in saltwater
      • Obtained by salvaging electric eels

Hotspots

  • Broad Hotspots 30 fish, 20-30 minute respawn
    • Common Fish 45% chance
    • Uncommon Fish 40% chance
    • Rare Fish 10% chance
    • Legendary Fish less than 5% chance
  • Rare Hotspots  20 fish, 30-45 minute respawn
    • Common Fish 0% chance
    • Uncommon Fish 65% chance
    • Rare Fish 30% chance
    • Legendary Fish about 5% chance
  • Secret Hotspots 10 fish, 45-90 minute respawn
    • Common Fish  0% chance
    • Uncommon Fish  20% chance
    • Rare Fish 70% chance
    • Legendary Fish about 10% chance

TIP: There are over 75+ hotspot pools and each one has fixed locations in the designated hotspots. Hotspots are tracked with higher levels of fishing and are confined to the shaded areas on the map. You must meet the required Fishing Level to discover each hot spot. You can locate all fishing hotspots by using our interactive map.

In those designated areas you will find circles of fish in which you will need to land your line in to get the hotspot bonus. If successful you will get a “Landed in Hotspot!” text on the screen indicating you are getting said bonuses.

How to level Fishing

The information contained in this section will assist you in leveling your Fishing Trade Skill. We will cover the basics first and then some suggestions.

In order to reach level 200 you will need a total of 134,566 experience. Starting out after either crafting your T1 Pole or doing the first quest in “Fishing with Shields” you will need to gather or buy some bait. In conjunction with doing the fishing quest line we are looking to use bait that will increase the rarity of our fish. 

Let’s break down the basic action of fishing into parts to better understand the best way to gain experience. 

Fishing Action

  • Equipping Bait
  • Casting
  • Hooking
  • Reeling In

Equipping Bait

To equip the bait, hit F3 to pull out your fishing pole then hit R to bring up the bait menu. 

new world fishing bait

Now you will want to select the type of bait for the type of water we are fishing in as well as if we want bigger or rarer fish. Refer to the Standard Fishing Locations and Bait section of this guide for more information.

Casting

After you equip your bait it’s time to cast your line. To cast, hold left click and this will start the casting mini-game. A gauge will pop up on screen. 

Here we are trying to get to max so when the diamond gets to the top let go of left click. If you manage to stop at the top you will see it say MAX and a chime will sound. 

Note: The further you cast, the easier it will be to reel in the fish during the reel-in mini-game. 

fishing new world

Hooking

This is where we hold our breath for the bite mini-game. The factor to the time delay between casting and fish biting is depth of the water. 

Time Delay

  • Freshwater
    • Deep Water 5-15 seconds
    • Shallow Water 10-25 seconds
    • Very Shallow Water 20-30 seconds
  • Saltwater
    • Deep Water 5-15 seconds
    • Shallow Water 10-20 seconds
    • Very Shallow Water 15-25 seconds

Fishing in deeper water and getting a longer cast will cut down on the fishing time and help you level up faster. 

After your line is in the water we are waiting for the bite mini-game. The bobber will start shaking and it will say “Get ready!” don’t let this throw you off. 

Wait for the icon of a fish and hook with a timer. This is when you should click to hook your fish. If you don’t click before the timer runs out you will miss your fish and have to recast your line.

Reeling In

Next up is the tension mini-game. Let’s also break this up into smaller bits. First is understanding the icon(s).

This icon shows the tension meter in the center and is color-coded. 

  • Green – Low Tension
  • Orange – Medium Tension
  • Red – High Tension (About to break)

The outer circle indicates how close the fish is to being reeled in. The more complete the circle is, the closer the fish is.

when the fish bites you want to hold left click to reel in the fish, as you do so the tension will go up. If the fish is fighting back the tension will go up faster. As the tension gets to the orange level you will want to stop holding left click to stop reeling in and let the tension drop back down to a lower level. 

Once the tension has dropped back down you can left-click again to start reeling in again. If the tension gets into the red and touches the two curved lines the line will break and you will lose the fish. 

The level of your fishing, size, and rarity of the fish as well as your cast distance will all determine how difficult it will be to reel in the fish.

Experience

Experience is gained off two factors one being fish size and the other fish rarity.   

Rarity

  • Common Fish 100-120 experience
  • Uncommon Fish 150-163 experience
  • Rare Fish 175-200 experience
  • Legendary Fish 550 experience

Note: The range for each quality is influenced by the size of the fish.

Now that we know how to fish, where do we actually fish? The short answer is any hotspot with the two star Rare Hotspots while using the appropriate bait based upon the fresh/salt water location.  To maximize your experience gain when fishing you will want to be using bait that increases the rarity chance and fish in a hotspot as often as possible. Specifically the pools of jumping fish. You will want to have perks for your preferred fishing spot such as the Lucky Waters perk to boost the chance of catching rare fish or Freshwater Colossus for catching bigger fish in freshwater if that is where you are fishing. We will break down the perks in the Perks section of this guide.

TIP: Use the interactive map to find your perfect hotspot!

Focus at 250 points is ideal while leveling. Having 250 points will give you 20% fishing line tension, a 10% weight reduction to fish, and 10% increase to caught fish size. The 100 point bonus doesn’t help leveling directly but can get you some extra bait from the salvaged fish, while the 300 point bonus can be helpful if you are fishing in the same area as your set Inn.

Types of Fish and Where to Find Them

There are several different types of fish you can catch in Aeternum. They are separated by rarity, common, uncommon, Rare, and Legendary.

Common Fish

common fish in new world
Image from Official Newworld.com Website
  • Bass (Freshwater) – Cutlass Keys, First Light, Monarch’s Bluff, Windsward
  • Bluefish (Saltwater) – Ebonscale Reach, Everfall, First Light, Monarch’s Bluff, Mourningdale, Reekwater, Restless Shore, Weaver’s Fen
  • Flounder (Saltwater) – Cutlass Keys, Ebonscale Reach, Everfall, First Light, Mourningdale, Reekwater, Restless Shore, Weaver’s Fen, Windsward
  • Hake (Saltwater) – Mourningdale, Restless Shore, Windsward
  • Mackerel (Saltwater) – Cutlass Keys, Monarch’s Bluffs, Windsward
  • Pike (Freshwater) – Found all over Aeternum
  • Salmon (Freshwater and Saltwater) – Found all over Aeternum
  • Snapper (Saltwater) – Cutlass Keys, Ebonscale Reach, Everfall, First Light, Monarch’s Bluffs, Reekwater, Weaver’s Fen
  • Sunfish (Freshwater) – Edengrove, Great Cleave, Mourningdale, Restless Shore, Shattered Mountain
  • Trout (Freshwater) – Brightwood, Ebonscale Reach, Edengrove, Everfall, Great Cleave, Mourningdale, Reekwater, Restless Shore, Shattered Mountain, Weaver’s Fen

Uncommon Fish

Image from Official Newworld.com Website
  • Aquatic Snail (Freshwater) – Found in Brightwood, Edengrove, Everfall, First Light, Monarch’s Bluffs, Restless Shore
  • Catfish (Freshwater) – Found in Cutlass Keys, Ebonscale Reach, Edengrove, Reekwater, Restless Shore, Shattered Mountain, Windsward
  • Clam (Saltwater) – Found in Ebonscale Reach, First Light, Monarch’s Bluff, Mourningdale, Weaver’s Fen
  • Cod (Saltwater) – Found in Cutlass Keys, Ebonscale Reach, Mourningdale, Weaver’s Fen, Windsward
  • Halibut (Saltwater) – Found in First Light, Reekwater, Restless Shore, Windsward
  • Squid (Saltwater) – Found in Cutlass Keys, Reekwater, Restless Shore, Monarch’s Bluffs
  • Sturgeon (Freshwater) – Found in Brightwood, First Light, Great Cleave, Monarch’s Bluffs, Mourningdale, Reekwater
  • Tadpole (Freshwater) – Found in Cutlass Keys, Ebonscale Reach, Everfall, Great Cleave, Mourningdale, Shattered Mountain, Weaver’s Fen, Windsward

Rare Fish

Image from Official Newworld.com Website
  • Dragon Fish (Freshwater and Saltwater) – Found in Edengrove, Everfall, Shattered Mountain, Weaver’s Fen, Windsward
  • Electric Eel (Freshwater) – Found in Brightwood, Everfall, First Light, Restless Shore, Shattered Mountain
  • Frogfish (Freshwater and Saltwater) – Found in Brightwood, First Light, Great Cleave, Mourningdale, Reekwater
  • Madtom (Freshwater) – Found in Ebonscale Reach, Edengrove, Monarch’s Bluffs, Weaver’s Fen
  • Oyster (Saltwater) – Found in First Light, Reekwater, Restless Shore
  • Paddlefish (Freshwater) – Found in Cutlass Keys, Ebonscale Reach, Great Cleave, Monarch’s Bluffs, Restless Shore
  • Piranha (Freshwater) – Found in Edengrove, Great Cleave, Reekwater, Restless shore, Windsward
  • Sculpin (Saltwater) – Found in Ebonscale Reach, Reekwater, Restless shore, Windsward
  • Speartooth Shark (Freshwater) – Found in Cutlass Keys, Ebonscale Reach, Mourningdale, Reekwater, Shattered Mountain
  • Starfish (Saltwater) – Found in Ebonscale Reach, Monarch’s Bluffs, Restless Shore, Weaver’s Fen
  • Stingray (Saltwater) – Found in Cutlass Keys, Ebonscale Reach, Monarch’s Bluffs, Mourningdale
  • Swordfish (Saltwater) – Found in Cutlass Keys, Mourningdale, Weaver’s Fen

Legendary Fish

Image from Official Newworld.com Website
  • Abaia Serpe – Found in Windsward
  • Albenaja – Found in First Light
  • Aquanaja – Found in Mourningdale
  • Blue-blooded Barb – Found in Reekwater
  • Blue-Winged Serpe – Found in Reekwater
  • Daemonaja – Found in Ebonscale Reach
  • Egede Serpe – Found in Brightwood
  • Glowing Gnufish – Found in Cutlass Keys
  • Glowing Guardfish – Found in Restless Shore
  • Horned-Tooth Mandje – Found in Edengrove
  • Lava Barb – Found in Shattered Mountain
  • Mandje Mandje – Found in Everfall
  • Ray-Finned Barb – Found in Monarch’s Bluffs
  • Varanus Mandje – Found in Weaver’s Fan

Fishing Quest Chain

There is a 15 quest chain for fishing that starts with talking to Michael Shields just west of Windsward. The quests will give you fishing experience and the final quest gives you a Legendary Pole Reward Box which will reward you with one of the four unique Fishing Poles; Ancient Fishing PoleAngry Earth Fishing Pole, Corrupted Fishing Pole, or Lost Fishing Pole.

Below is the quest in order:

Enhancing your Fishing

Buffs and perks are the 2 main ways to enhance your Fishing.

Fishing Perks are unique and can only be applied to Fishing Poles as we can’t craft fishing gear. The rarity of the pole determines how many perks it can have just like any other tool. Fishing Poles are special as well as they are the only Trade Skill Tool that can be legendary. 

Buffs can stack if they come from different sources. For example, I can stack yield increase buff from a Proficiency potion and territory control. If you attempt to stack buffs from the same source it will just refresh your buff timer. 

There is a Fisherman’s armor set that is ideal for players to use while Fishing as it should always come with Fishing Perks. These are obtained from the fishing quest line and from the T5 Supply Chests in the high level Elite zones. 

Each Perk has a related Crafting Mod that can be used in crafting to guarantee the perk in crafting and has been listed within the Perks section in the chance that you may want a crafted Fishing Pole with the given perk. 

New World Fishing World Perks

Brawn

  • Freshwater Brawn I 10% Line Strength in freshwater
  • Freshwater Brawn II 15% Line Strength in freshwater
  • Freshwater Brawn III 20% Line Strength in freshwater
  • Saltwater Brawn I 10% Line Strength in saltwater
  • Saltwater Brawn II 15% Line Strength in saltwater
  • Saltwater Brawn III 20% Line Strength in saltwater

Colossus

  • Daytime Colossus I Small boost to chance of catching larger fish during daytime
  • Daytime Colossus II Medium boost to chance of catching larger fish during daytime
  • Daytime Colossus III Large boost to chance of catching larger fish during daytime
  • Freshwater Colossus I Small boost to chance of catching larger fish in freshwater
  • Freshwater Colossus II Medium boost to chance of catching larger fish in freshwater
  • Freshwater Colossus III Large boost to chance of catching larger fish in freshwater
  • Nighttime Colossus I Small boost to chance of catching larger fish during nighttime
  • Nighttime Colossus II Medium boost to chance of catching larger fish during nighttime
  • Nighttime Colossus III Large boost to chance of catching larger fish during nighttime
  • Saltwater Colossus I Small boost to chance of catching larger fish in saltwater
  • Saltwater Colossus II Medium boost to chance of catching larger fish in saltwater
  • Saltwater Colossus III Large boost to chance of catching larger fish in saltwater

Lucky

  • Lucky Day I Small boost to chance of catching better fish during daytime
  • Lucky Day II Medium boost to chance of catching better fish during daytime
  • Lucky Day III Large boost to chance of catching better fish during daytime
  • Lucky Night I Small boost to chance of catching better fish during nighttime
  • Lucky Night II Medium boost to chance of catching better fish during nighttime
  • Lucky Night III Large boost to chance of catching better fish during nighttime
  • Lucky Waters I Small boost to chance of catching bigger fish
  • Lucky Waters II Medium boost to chance of catching bigger fish
  • Lucky Waters III Large boost to chance of catching bigger fish

Reach

  • Moons Reach I 5% Cast Distance during nighttime
  • Moons Reach II 15% Cast Distance during nighttime
  • Moons Reach III 20% Cast Distance during nighttime
  • Suns Reach I 5% Cast Distance during daytime
  • Suns Reach II 10% Cast Distance during daytime
  • Suns Reach III 15% Cast Distance during daytime

Sturdy

  • Sturdy I 10% Durability
  • Sturdy II 20% Durability
  • Sturdy III 50% Durability

Trophies

Focus Bonus

  • 50 Points +10% fishing line tension
  • 100 Points +10% yield increase when salvaging
  • 150 Points -10% decrease in weight of fish
  • 200 Points +10% fishing line tension
  • 250 Points +10% increase to caught fish size
  • 300 Points -10% cooldown reduction for Inn fast travel

Music Buffs

You can check our Music guide for a full breakdown of the music trade skill.

  • Decidedly Dexterous: Gathering speed increases by 75% for 30-90min.
  • Fortune’s Favor: Gathering yield increases by 3%-10% for 30-90min.
  • Luck’s Labor: Gathering luck increases by 2% – 5% for 30-90min.

Fishing Experience Table

A basic breakdown of the Fishing Experience table. Aptitude experience values can be found in this guide.

LevelExpExp (total)Character Exp
1505025
26011028
37018030
48026033
59035035
610045038
711056040
812068043
913081045
1014095048
111501,10050
121601,26053
131701,43055
141801,61058
151901,80060
162002,00065
172102,21070
182202,43075
192302,66080
202402,90085
212503,15090
222603,41095
232703,680100
242803,960105
252904,250110
263004,550115
275105,060120
285115,571125
295126,083130
305136,596135
315147,110140
325157,625145
335168,141150
345178,658155
355189,176160
365199,695165
3752010,215170
3852110,736175
3952211,258180
4052311,781185
4152412,305193
4252512,830200
4352613,356208
4452713,883215
4552814,411223
4652914,940230
4753015,470238
4853116,001245
4953216,533253
5053317,066260
5153417,600270
5253618,136280
5353718,673290
5453919,212300
5554019,752310
5654220,294320
5754320,837330
5854521,382340
5954621,928350
6054822,476360
6154923,025370
6255123,576380
6355224,128390
6455424,682400
6555525,237410
6655725,794420
6755826,352430
6856026,912440
6956127,473450
7056328,036460
7156428,600470
7256629,166480
7356729,733490
7456930,302500
7557030,872510
7657231,444523
7757432,018535
7857632,594548
7957833,172560
8058033,752573
8158234,334585
8258434,918598
8358635,504610
8458836,092623
8559036,682635
8659237,274648
8759437,868660
8859638,464673
8959839,062685
9060039,662698
9160240,264710
9260440,868723
9360641,474735
9460842,082748
9561042,692760
9661243,304773
9761443,918785
9861644,534798
9961845,152810
10062045,772823
10162446,396838
10262747,023853
10363147,654868
10463448,288883
10563848,926898
10664149,567913
10764550,212928
10864850,860943
10965251,512958
11065552,167973
11165952,826988
11266253,4881,003
11366654,1541,018
11466954,8231,033
11567355,4961,048
11667656,1721,063
11768056,8521,078
11868357,5351,093
11968758,2221,108
12069058,9121,123
12169459,6061,138
12269760,3031,153
12370161,0041,168
12470461,7081,183
12570862,4161,198
12671363,1291,215
12771863,8471,233
12872364,5701,250
12972865,2981,268
13073366,0311,285
13173866,7691,303
13274367,5121,320
13374868,2601,338
13475369,0131,355
13575869,7711,373
13676370,5341,390
13776871,3021,408
13877372,0751,425
13977872,8531,443
14078373,6361,460
14178874,4241,478
14279375,2171,495
14379876,0151,513
14480376,8181,530
14580877,6261,548
14681378,4391,565
14781879,2571,583
14882380,0801,600
14982880,9081,618
15083381,7411,635
15184082,5811,653
15284883,4291,670
15385584,2841,688
15486385,1471,705
15587086,0171,723
15687886,8951,740
15788587,7801,758
15889388,6731,775
15990089,5731,793
16090890,4811,810
16191591,3961,830
16292392,3191,850
16393093,2491,870
16493894,1871,890
16594595,1321,910
16695396,0851,930
16796097,0451,950
16896898,0131,970
16997598,9881,990
17098399,9712,010
171990100,9612,030
172998101,9592,050
1731,005102,9642,070
1741,013103,9772,090
1751,020104,9972,110
1761,033106,0302,133
1771,045107,0752,155
1781,058108,1332,178
1791,070109,2032,200
1801,083110,2862,223
1811,095111,3812,245
1821,108112,4892,268
1831,120113,6092,290
1841,133114,7422,313
1851,145115,8872,335
1861,158117,0452,358
1871,170118,2152,380
1881,183119,3982,403
1891,195120,5932,425
1901,208121,8012,448
1911,220123,0212,473
1921,233124,2542,498
1931,245125,4992,523
1941,258126,7572,548
1951,270128,0272,573
1961,283129,3102,598
1971,295130,6052,623
1981,308131,9132,648
1991,320133,2332,673
2001,333134,5662,698

New World Fishing Guide Conclusion

This completes our New World Fishing Guide! For a detailed map of all the hotspot locations, check out our interactive map!

About the Author

Redbyrd
Redbyrd is one of the founders of StudioLoot and has been writing guides on NewWorldFans since the game's earliest beta tests. You can catch him on Twitch most days of the week.

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