Windrose Fishing Guide: How to Catch and Fillet Fish
Surviving entirely on scavenged coconuts and raw bananas is a fantastic way to ensure your stamina bottoms out right when a pirate decides to put you six feet under.
If you want access to the absolute best Vitality-boosting meals in the game, you have to conquer the ocean. You can fish from the shoreline of your base or directly off the deck of your ship while sailing in deep water.
Now before you waste hours swinging your sword at the water or trying to buy a rod from a vendor, you need to understand that fishing is entirely locked behind mid-game base building progression. The game forces you to manufacture your own equipment from scratch. Here is exactly how to build your rod, guarantee a catch, and process the meat.
Crafting the Simple Fishing Rod
You cannot fish in the Coastal Jungle early game. The materials required to build the baseline Simple Fishing Rod do not exist on the starter islands.
First, you have to follow the main questline until you defeat the first major boss. If you are struggling with his attack patterns, read my Thomas Richards boss guide to get him out of the way. Defeating him triggers the Needle in a Haystack quest, which officially grants you access to the Foothills biome.
Upgrading Your Infrastructure
You also cannot craft the rod at a basic, dirt-level Workbench. You must upgrade your primary Workbench to Level 2. You do this by constructing either a Sawhorse or a Toolbox and placing it within the glowing radius of your Bonfire. If you are confused by how station proximity and upgrades work, keep my base building and infrastructure guide handy.
The Material Cost
Once your Level 2 Workbench is secured, you need to feed it the following materials to forge the rod:
5 Hardwood: Chopped from the twisting Divi-Divi trees located exclusively in the Foothills.
2 Iron Ingots: Smelted from Iron Ore, which is mined from the caves scattered across Foothills islands.
3 Rope: Crafted easily at your Workbench using standard Plant Fibers.
If you are having trouble spotting those specific trees or caves, reference my complete resources discovery guide to track them down efficiently.
How to Guarantee a Catch (The Audio Exploit)
Once the rod is in your hotbar, walk up to any body of water and press your primary attack button (Left Mouse Button) to cast your line.
Windrose does not feature a complex, stamina-draining fishing minigame. You cast your line, wait for the bobber to dip, and press your attack button again to reel it in. However, there is a massive catch: a dipping bobber does not guarantee a fish. It will frequently dip just to fake you out, resulting in an empty hook.
Do not rely on your eyes; rely on your ears. There is a specific trick to ensure a 100 percent catch rate. Listen very closely to the game audio while your bobber is sitting in the water. When you hear a distinct "chomp" or biting sound effect, you have successfully hooked a fish. The absolute second you hear that specific audio cue, click to reel your line back in. A random fish will instantly drop into your inventory.
Processing Your Catch
You cannot just throw a whole, raw fish onto your Cooking Fire. It is completely useless in its base form.
To actually cook your catch, you have to process it. Open your inventory screen, hover over the raw fish you just caught, and press the Right Mouse Button to interact with it. This action fillets the fish, converting it into a usable Fish Fillet crafting ingredient. If you happen to pull up a rare species of fish, filleting it will yield a significantly higher stack of meat.
With your pockets full of fresh fillets, you can finally start cooking high-tier meals. Seven Fish Fillets, combined with Crab Meat, Limes, and Salt, allows you to cook the Epic-tier Seafood Platter, which grants a massive +20 Vitality buff for a full 30 minutes. If you want to know what other endgame meals you can prepare, check out my complete cooking and recipes guide.
