Crimson Desert Fishing Guide: How to Catch Fish and Get Rich
Standing waist deep in a freezing river trying to catch dinner is easily the most peaceful experience Pywel has to offer.
Fishing in Crimson Desert is not just a relaxing distraction from the constant threat of getting stabbed. It is a highly lucrative survival mechanic that feeds directly into your progression. Fish provide two massive benefits to your playthrough. Cooking and eating them restores your health and stamina, and selling your cooked catch to the local vendors is an incredibly easy way to line your pockets during the early hours of the campaign.
If you are tired of being completely broke, taking an afternoon off to hit the riverbanks is a legitimate strategy. Before you can start frying up your catch, you need to actually learn how the mechanics work. The game refuses to hold your hand, hiding the tutorial behind observation mechanics and physical exploration. Here is everything you need to know about getting your hands on a rod, wrestling aquatic life out of the water, and cheating the system entirely by using your bare hands.
How to Unlock the Fishing Mechanic
Crimson Desert loves hiding core mechanics behind its observation system. You do not just magically know how to cast a line the moment you spawn into the world. You have to watch someone else do it first.
Your first opportunity happens very early in the story. Right after Kliff exits the Abyss for the first time, you get a cutscene where Sebastian asks you to follow him. The moment Kliff stands up from the log, stop walking and look to your right. You will spot a few NPCs actively fishing in the water.
Walk up and stare directly at the fishermen. You will get a prompt telling you to hold your observation button. The screen will turn blue, and a learning progress bar will appear in the top left corner. Keep watching until the bar fills completely. A tutorial prompt will pop up, officially unlocking your fundamental understanding of the sport and dropping a basic fishing rod directly into your inventory.
Do not panic if you missed this specific group of NPCs. You get a backup opportunity in the city of Hernand. When you visit the local Provisioner shop, you can hover your cursor over the fishing rod on display. Staring at the merchandise triggers the exact same learning progression bar and yields the same reward.
Buying Your First (Or Better) Fishing Rod
If you somehow completely missed the free handout, knowing how to fish is entirely useless without the actual hardware. You need to track down a vendor.
The easiest location is right inside Hernand. Look for Alden at the Provisioner shop, located just east of Oakenshield Manor. He sells a basic fishing rod for a meager 15 copper pieces. It is incredibly cheap, so you have absolutely no excuse to skip it.
If you want a change of scenery, you can also head out to the Rodbel Fishing Dock. You will find this location on the south side of Rocca's Hill, sitting directly east of Hernand. Depending on your current progression, this dock might be completely overrun with hostile bandits. You will have to clear the camp and physically retake the dock before you can do any shopping. Once the blood is mopped up, talk to Hailard, the owner of the fishing shop. He also sells basic rods for 15 copper coins.
Later on, if you want to pull high value catches out of the water much faster, you should keep an eye out for a fine fishing rod. Upgrading to a high performance rod significantly increases your reeling efficiency. Once you have a tool you like, open your equipment menu, bring up the tool wheel, and equip the rod to your active slot.
The Reeling Minigame Explained
The actual process of pulling a fish onto dry land requires serious coordination. The best part about this system is that you do not need bait. Just find a deep body of natural water, equip your rod, and prepare to cast.
You use the left trigger (or the Q key on a keyboard) to aim your cast. You must look for a glowing bait icon to appear on the water surface as a blue circle. If you see a red cross instead, your positioning is entirely wrong. Casting on a red cross simply makes Kliff automatically reel an empty hook back in.
Once your line is sitting perfectly in a blue circle, you just wait. Eventually, you will hear a distinct splashing sound indicating a fish is approaching. The moment you feel a vibration on your controller or see the line violently tug, hit the right trigger (or the right mouse button on PC) to hook your prey.
This initiates the physical struggle. You have to tire the fish out before you can bring it home. Pull your rod in the exact opposite direction the fish is swimming using your left stick. If the fish darts to the right, you yank your rod to the left. If the fish suddenly changes directions, let the line go slack for a brief second before pulling in the new opposite direction.
Do not start reeling while the fish is actively thrashing and splashing water. If you get greedy and try to force it, your line snaps immediately. You must wait for the fish to stop splashing. That visual cue means the fish is tired. The moment it rests, rotate your right control stick in a rapid clockwise circle to reel it in. If things go terribly wrong and you are about to lose the battle, you can press the Right direction key on a controller to just cut the line and reset.
The Bare Hands Alternative
If fighting the twin stick controls feels like too much work, you can completely ignore the rod and fish with your bare hands. Ironically, this primitive method is significantly easier and faster.
Instead of standing on the shore like a civilized person, physically wade into the river. You need to look down into the water and spot the actual rendered models of the fish swimming around your legs.
When you track one down, just walk over to it. A button prompt will appear on your screen. Hitting the interact button (the E key on PC or the designated face button on controllers) makes Kliff reach down, grab the fish, and shove it directly into his inventory. There is no reeling minigame, no snapped lines, and no aiming required. It is an absurdly efficient way to stock up on food before a massive boss fight.
Buying Fish from Vendors
Sometimes you need cooking ingredients immediately and you do not have time to wade in the mud. If you want to skip the gathering process entirely, you can just buy raw fish with hard currency.
Head back to the Rodbel Fishing Dock and speak with Hailard. Aside from selling rods, he runs a fully stocked fish market. You can purchase a variety of species to cook back at your camp.
Once your pockets are completely full of raw fish, find a nearby bonfire or cooking pot. Eating raw fish is a terrible idea and yields pitiful health returns. Cooking them drastically multiplies their healing properties. If you want to maximize your regeneration during combat and learn how to craft the most potent survival items in the game, read my healing and cooking guide so you know exactly how to prepare your catch before you head back into hostile territory.
