Complete New World Fishing Guide

Introduction to Our Guides

Welcome to the Complete New World Fishing Guide. In this guide we go over the ultimate break down of fishing in New World. From which fishing bait it best to use, to what are the best fishing spots, what are the fishing perks in New World, and more. Below, you will find the table of contents to quickly navigate to whichever topic you are looking for.

This guide is constantly updated as new patches come out, so be sure to bookmark it for future use. You can also find our other guides in the New World Guides section. Our massive guides like this Complete New World Fishing Guide are located there as well. Here are a few quick links to some of the massive, ultimate New World Guides:

• Complete New World Mining Guide
• Complete New World Harvesting Guide
• Complete New World Logging Guide
• Complete New World Tracking & Skinning Guide

New World Fishing – The Basics

This Guide Last Updated October 26, 2021

Fishing is a gathering skill that allows you to catch fish for cooking and other purposes. In New World, fishing is possible at any body or water in Aeternum. You can fish in freshwater lakes, rivers, ponds, and salt water spots that are part of the surrounding sea. 

Fishers of higher levels can also learn to spot Fishing Hotspots on the map. These are areas that offer a boost in bite speed and rareness of fish caught while fishing. To fish, you will need a Fishing Pole. You can level up your fishing skills by using the skill regularly. Fishing is more complex than other Trade Skills and requires a lot of practice and patience.

Craft Your First Fishing Pole

What kind of Complete New World Fishing Guide would we be if we didn’t teach you how to get started? Before we show you how to fish, you will need to craft a fishing pole. You can craft a fishing pole using the engineering skill. Right from the beginning you can either craft the tier 1 or 2 fishing pole. Tier 1 Wooden Fishing Pole is very easily made with ingredients easily found. You will need to go to a workshop within a settlement to craft fishing poles.

To craft the first tier of fishing pole, as noted below, requires 1 Fiber and 1 Green Wood. You can find green wood around any bushes anywhere. This would be very easy to harvest right away, alternatively you can chop a Young Tree using the Logging skill. To obtain the Fiber, find some Hemp and use the harvesting skill to gather it. Here are the best places to find hemp in New World.

How To Fish in New World

How To Cast

To start fishing, walk to a body of water and press your Cast key.

A range indicator will pop up and you can extend the range of your cast by holding the cast key, releasing it when the indicator reaches your desired range.

When to Hook The Fish

After casting your line, you will see the bobber indicator. When a fish approaches, the indicator will shake and move up and down. Before you attempt to hook, wait for the indicator’s signal to change. Too early hooking can cause the fish’s to swim away.

This icon indicates that it’s time to hook. To hook the fish, press the left mouse button. You have very limited time, as indicated by the circle in the center of the icon. The fish will swim away if it is completely depleted before you press the button.

This icon means a successful hook, leading to finally reel the fish in.

How To Reel

You can reel the fish in once it is hooked by pressing the mouse button. However, be careful to not let tension build up.

This is the reel gauge, which has a small white circle filling up in the area around the icon. The mini-game ends when the reel gauge is full. The tension gauge at the center of each icon is important to be aware of. The tension gauge is located in the center of the icon. It’s green for good tension and orange for too much tension. Your line will snap if tension is too high and you’ll lose the fish. You can usually keep reeling if you are in the orange area, but try not to let the reel get into the red area or your line may snap!

All Fishing Poles Available in New World

To Improve your fishing max cast distance and durability, you will want to craft the higher level tiers as you level up. There are 5 tiers of fishing poles in New World.

All Main Fishing Poles in New World

Fishing Pole	Image	Max Cast Distance	+Chance to Rarer Fish	Tension Recovered Per Second	Ingredients to Craft
Wooden Fishing Pole		12 meters	0	27.5	1x Fibers 1x Green Wood
Treated Wood Fishing Pole		14 meters	0	30	12x Timber 3x Coarse Leather 3x Linen
Aged Wood Fishing Pole		16 meters	75%	32.5	13x Lumber 3x Coarse Leather 2x Linen
Wyrdwood Fishing Pole		18 meters	100%	35	14x Wyrdwood Planks 3x Coarse Leather 2x Linen
Ironwood Fishing Pole		20 meters	125%	37.5	15x Ironwood Planks 3x Coarse Leather 2x Linen

Tier 5 Fishing Poles in New World

There are several other fishing poles available, all tier 5. Their stats are posted below, and they are obtainable from the Fishing Guide line. In the next section, we will explain how to obtain these special fishing poles.

Name	Image	Rarity	Tier	Gear Score
Ancient Fishing Pole		Legendary	V	600
Angry Earth Fishing Pole		Legendary	V	600
Corrupted Fishing Pole		Legendary	V	600
Lost Fishing Pole		Legendary	V	600

How To Get Tier 5 Fishing Poles in New World

The 4 Legendary fishing poles are obtained by completing the Fishing questline. At the end of the quest “To Be a Grand Master”, you will get a Legendary Pole Reward Box which can have these poles in it. This quest is completed upon reaching fishing level 100.

If you want a walk-through of each fishing quest in New World, check out the article below. As it is quite long, we did not want to include it within this guide as it is a guide in its own right.

Legendary Fishing Quest Guide – New World

Other Fishing Quest Rewards

Hardy Fisherman’s Set (Tier 3 Fishing Buff Gear)

This Fishing set is rewarded throughout the main fishing quest line. As you complete quests, you will be awarded these pieces. This T3 set has a 300 Gear Score.

Item Name	Image	Stats	Fishing Buffs
Hardy Fisherman’s Hat		8 Constitution 5 Focus	+40% Chance Bigger Fish +15% Chance Rarer Fish
Hardy Fisherman’s Smock		14 Dexterity	+15% Chance Rarer Fish +2% Cast Distance
Hardy Fisherman’s Gloves		8 Strength 5 Dexterity	+40% Chance Bigger Fish +2% Cast Distance
Hardy Fisherman’s Trousers		14 Constitution	+40% Chance Bigger Fish +15% Chance Rarer Fish
Hardy Fisherman’s Boots		5 Focus 8 Strength	+40% Chance Bigger Fish +2% Cast Distance

Sleek Fisherman’s Set (Tier 4 Fishing Buff Gear)

The Sleek T4 fishing set will also be rewarded during the fishing quest line and has a 400 Gear Score.

Item Name	Image	Stats	Fishing Buffs
Sleek Fisherman’s Hat		17 Dexterity	+50% Chance Bigger Fish +15% Chance Rarer Fish
Sleek Fisherman’s Smock		10 Strength 7 Dexterity	+40% Chance Bigger Fish +3% Cast Distance
Sleek Fisherman’s Gloves		17 Constitution	+20% Chance Rarer Fish +2% Cast Distance
Sleek Fisherman’s Trousers		10 Constitution 7 Focus	+50% Chance Bigger Fish +2% Cast Distance
Sleek Fisherman’s Boots		5 Focus 8 Strength	+40% Chance Bigger Fish +2% Cast Distance

Fierce Fisherman’s Set (Tier 5 Fishing Buff Gear)

The T5 Fierce Fishing Set will be awarded near the end of the quest line before you obtain the Legendary Fishing Rod and has a 500 Gear Score.

Item Name	Image	Stats	Fishing Buffs
Fierce Fisherman’s Hat		12 Strength 8 Dexterity	+50% Chance Bigger Fish +3% Cast Distance
Fierce Fisherman’s Smock		20 Constitution	+50% Chance Bigger Fish +20% Chance Rarer Fish
Fierce Fisherman’s Gloves		12 Constitution 8 Focus	+20% Chance Rarer Fish +3% Cast Distance
Fierce Fisherman’s Trousers		20 Dexterity	+20% Chance Rarer Fish +3% Cast Distance
Fierce Fisherman’s Boots		8 Focus 12 Intelligence	+50% Chance Bigger Fish +20% Chance Rarer Fish

Does Depth of Water Matter While Fishing?

The depth of the water in New World does affect your fishing results. This does not include fishing in hotspots. If you are not at a hotspot and simply fishing in open water, it is always more efficient to cast in deep water. Deep water will allow you to level fishing fast because the fish will bite much quicker.

After heavy testing, it was found that fishing in very shallow water in New World has an average of 15 seconds for a fish to bite, even with bait equipped. Compare that to a mere 4.5 seconds when fishing in deep water with bait, and you know this is the fastest way to level fishing skill.

Does Distance Matter When Casting a Fishing Rod?

Yes, cast distance while fishing in New World matters. The further you cast, the less tension you will have in your fishing line. This means that as you reel in after you have hooked your fish, you will be able to have a much smoother experience. You will be much less likely to break your fishing line when you’ve casted far distances. This is why it is important to upgrade your fishing rods to increase max distance while fishing in New World.

All Fishing Bait in New World

Fishing bait can be used to increase biting speed and catch rare fish. You can get bait from your enemies or gather it using the Harvesting skill. Or you can make it yourself using the Cooking skill. You can use the Bait Key to make bait anytime between castings. 

Using bait while fishing will make your fishing much more efficient. You will get bites much sooner than if you do not use bait. If you are looking to leveling fishing fast in New World, you want to make sure you always have bait.

There are two types of bait available: Fresh Water Bait or Salt Water Bait. There are many types of bait available for each category that can have special effects on fishing, including increasing the chance of catching rare species of fish.

We answer Where to get bait in New World for fishing below where we break out all types of bait and where they are found.

How To Get Bigger Fish in New World

The following list of fishing bait allow you to get bigger fish in New World while fishing. The size of the fish will determine how much you get out of it when it is salvaged, the bigger the better!

Fishing Bait	Image	Water Type	Chance % Increase for Bigger Fish	Found In
Electric Eel Bait		Salt	500%	Salvaged from Electric Eels
Snail Bait		Salt	300%	Salvaged from Snails
Fish Bait		Salt	150%	Crafted with Cooking
Oyster Bait		Fresh	500%	Salvaged from Oysters
Clam Bait		Fresh	300%	Salvaged from Clams
Meat Bait		Fresh	150%	Crafted with Cooking

How to Get Better (More Rare) Fish in New World

The following list of fishing bait allow you to get better fish in New World while fishing. When it says “better” it really means increased chance at getting more rare fish that are likely more valuable.

Fishing Bait	Image	Water Type	Chance % Increase for Rarer / Better Fish	Found In
Firefly Bait		Fresh	85%	Briar Plants & Bulrush Plants
Woodlouse Bait		Fresh	70%	Bushes
Bread Bait		Fresh	47%	Cooking or Provisions
Glowworm Bait		Salt	85%	Collecting Flint During the Night or Dawn
Nightcrawler Bait		Salt	70%	Collecting Flint During the Day or Dusk
Cheese Bait		Salt	47%	Cooking or Provisions

New World Legendary Fish Guide

Dynomega has another excellent video on Legendary Fish in New World. This video has a full breakdown of everything you need to know about fishing for legendaries.

Some key takeaways from the legendary fish guide, although we encourage you to watch the video for the full effect:

• Make sure to maximize your chances of legendary fish by getting fishing gear at level 60, trophies, bait, and being in the right hotspot locations. We cover each of these in this guide.
• You can use legendary fish for cooking +40 stat foods, wall mounts, and fishing trophies.
• He also goes through in the video all the best spots to find these fish!

Fishing Hot Spots

What are Fishing Hot Spots in New World?

Fishing Hotspots are areas in the water in New World that area somewhere in a Hotspot Area. It is a very clear circular area that looks like fish are swimming under. Active hotspots will have fish jumping out of the water within these ripple areas. These hot spots increase your chances to catch both bigger and better (more rare), fish.

What Do The Stars Mean on the Hotspot Icon?

As you level your fishing skill, you will unlock fishing hotspots around Aeternum. These hot spots come in three types: Broad, Rare, and Secret, each with a different star rating (1, 2, or 3, respectively). Be sure to seek these out and try fishing in these areas when you see the ripples. Here is a basic breakdown on what is the difference in hotspot ranks. This table shows the New World hotspot respawn times, how many fish per active hotspot, and what fish chances each give.

Hotspot Type	Rarity	Fish Qty	Respawn Time	Fish Type & Chances
Broad Hotpot	1 Star	30	20-30 mins	45% Common, 40% Uncommon, 10% Rare, 5% Legendary
Rare Hotspot	2 Star	20	30-45 mins	65% Uncommon, 30% Rare, 5% Legendary
Secret Hotspot	3 Star	10	45-90 mins	20% Uncommon, 70% Rare, 10% Legendary

Many of the fishing hotspots are actually hidden as well. Some you will not be able to see any icon on the map, but they do exist. You will need to identify them by eye as you encounter them. As you level up, you will begin seeing more and more hotspots available to you. Upon reaching fishing level 200, you will unlock 3 more as well.

Where Are All The Hotspots in New World?

First Light Fishing Hotspot Locations

First Light has 6 Fishing Hotspots in total, all 6 are Broad Hotspots.

Cutlass Keys Fishing Hotspot Locations

Cutlass Keys has 6 Fishing Hotspots, with one very close to its north, but technically in Monarch’s Bluffs.

• 2 Broad Hotspots
• 2 Rare Hotspots
• 2 Secret Hotspots

Monarch’s Bluffs Fishing Hotspot Locations

Monarch’s Bluffs has 6 hotspots, one of which is Fisherman’s Bend, shared with Windsward.

• 2 Broad Hostposts
• 1 Rare Hotspot
• 3 Secret Hotspots

Windsward Fishing Hotspot Locations

Windsward has only 4 Fishing Hotspots, one of which is the shared Fisherman’s Bend.

• 2 Broad Hotspots
• 1 Rare Hotspot
• 1 Secret Hotspot

Reekwater Fishing Hotspot Locations

Reekwater has a whopping 9 Fishing Hotspots, mostly salt water along the ocean.

• 1 Broad Hotspot
• 3 Rare Hotspots
• 5 Secret Hotspots

Everfall Fishing Hotspot Locations

Everfall has 4 Fishing Hotspot Locations in New World:

• 2 Broad Hotspots
• 2 Rare Hotspots

Ebonscale Reach Fishing Hotspot Locations

Ebonscale Reach has 10 Fishing Hotspot spawn points:

• 2 Broad Hotspots
• 3 Rare Hotspots
• 5 Secret Hotspots

Brightwood Fishing Hotspot Locations

Brightwood has 4 Fishing Hotspot areas in New World:

• 2 Broad Hotspots
• 1 Rare Hotspot
• 1 Secret Hotspot

Weaver’s Fen Fishing Hotspot Locations

Weaver’s Fen has 8 Fishing Hotspots:

• 3 Broad Hotspots
• 3 Rare Hotspots
• 2 Secret Hotspots

Restless Shore Fishing Hotspot Locations

Restless Shore has 6 Fishing Hotspots in New World

• 2 Broad Hotspots
• 2 Rare Hotspots
• 2 Secret Hotspots

Mourningdale Fishing Hotspot Locations

Mourningdale has 6 Fishing Hotspot Locations in New World:

• 1 Broad Hotspot
• 3 Rare Hotspots
• 2 Secret Hotspots

Edengrove Fishing Hotspot Areas

Edengrove has 4 Fishing Hotspot locations:

• 1 Broad Hotspot
• 1 Rare Hotspot
• 2 Secret Hotspots

Great Cleave Fishing Hotspot Locations

Great Cleave only has 2 fishing hotspots:

• 1 Broad Hotspot
• 1 Secret Hotspot

Shattered Mountain Fishing Hotspot Locations

Shattered Mountain only has 1 fishing hotspot, it is a Rare Hotspot.

What are the New World Fishing Perks?

All New World fishing perks are listed in the table below. We keep this table up to date with each patch Amazon Games comes out with for the game, so be sure to bookmark this guide to stay up to date!

Adding a perk to your fishing pole will grant unique boosts to a variety of fishing aspects. There are 11 different fishing perks, each with 3 levels of boost.

There are also 2 more fishing perks you can get on your Chest, Helmet, Gloves, Pants, and Shoes. Those 2 will be covered in the table below the fishing pole perk table.

Here is the list of all fishing perks for your fishing pole in New World:

Fishing Pole Perk	Perk Description	Tier I	Tier II	Tier III
Daytime Colossus	Boost to chance of catching larger fish during the daytime	150%	200%	250%
Freshwater Colossus	Boost to chance of catching larger fish in freshwater	150%	200%	250%
Freshwaters Brawn	Increase Line Strength in freshwater	10%	15%	20%
Lucky Day	Boost to chance of catching better (rarer) fish during the daytime	30%	50%	75%
Lucky Night	Boost to chance of catching better (rarer) fish during the nighttime	30%	50%	75%
Moons Reach	Increased cast distance during nighttime	5%	10%	15%
Nighttime Colossus	Boost to chance of catching larger fish during the nighttime	150%	200%	250%
Saltwater Colossus	Boost to chance of catching larger fish in saltwater	150%	200%	250%
Saltwaters Brawn	Increase Line Strength in saltwater	10%	15%	20%
Sturdy	Increase Durability	10%	20%	50%
Suns Reach	Increase Cast Distance during daytime	5%	10%	15%

These following perks to help fishing are able to be applied on the Chest, Helmet, Gloves, Pants, or Shoes. These all exist on the fisherman’s equipment set we cover later in the Complete New World Fishing Guide.

Armor Fishing Perk	Perk Description	Tier I	Tier II	Tier III
Lucky Waters	Increased Chance to catch better (rarer) fish.	10%	15%	20%
Fishing Colossus	Increased Chance to catch bigger fish.	30%	40%	50%

Earn Fishing Titles and Achievements

Fishing titles can be earned as you progress through your journey to become the ultimate fishing champion in New World! Below is a list that you can work towards of all fishing titles in New World:

Title	Description
Feeling Crappie	When fishing, 10 hooked fish get away.
A Reel Expert	Catch 5,000 fish.
Fishing For Life	Catch 10,000 fish.
Heavy Scale Expert	Total weight of all fish caught reaches 10,000.
Fish Weightlifter	Total weight of all fish caught reaches 20,000.
Fishing Master	Reached 200 Fishing Skill

How To Get Vengeful Fisherman’s Set In New World?

If you are wondering what gear to get for fishing in New World, there is a vengeful fisherman’s gear set you can obtain to give you benefits to fishing. This is BOE so you can buy it off the trading post if you have the coins for it. You will need to be level 60 to equip this one. Equipping this set will give you:

• 60% Increased Chance of Catching Better (Rarer) Fish
• 200% Increased Chance of Catching Bigger Fish
• 9% Increase in Casting Distance
• 100 Focus

If you are looking for the fisherman’s set and where you can get it, see the below table:

Slot	Name	Image	Stat	Perk 1	Perk 2
Head	Vengeful Fisherman’s Hood		20 Focus	+20% Rarer Fish Chance	+50% Larger Fish Chance
Chest	Vengeful Fisherman’s Smock		20 Focus	+3% Cast Distance	+50% Larger Fish Chance
Hands	Vengeful Fisherman’s Gloves		20 Focus	+20% Rarer Fish Chance	+50% Larger Fish Chance
Pants	Vengeful Fisherman’s Pants		20 Focus	+3% Cast Distance	+50% Larger Fish Chance
Boots	Vengeful Fisherman’s Boots		20 Focus	+3% Cast Distance	+20% Rarer Fish Chance

The Vengeful Fisherman’s gear can come from multiple sources. The hood, boots, and gloves, all drop from Elite Ancient Chests / Supply Chests, or Supply Stockpile Chests that are in level 59+ zones. The chest and pants drop from two open world mini bosses.