Genshin Impact Fishing Guide: Bait, Rods and Fishing Spots

To fish in Genshin Impact you first complete the world quest Exploding Population, which gives you your first rod. After that, every catch is the same three moves: choose the bait that fish likes, cast near it, and keep the tension inside the yellow zone until the gauge fills. This Genshin Impact fishing guide goes through each part, from the quest to the rewards.

How to unlock fishing

Fishing needs two things first: Adventure Rank 30 and an unlocked Serenitea Pot. When you have both, the world quest Exploding Population appears. Talk to Katheryne at the Adventurers' Guild in Mondstadt, and she sends you to Nantuck of the Mondstadt Fishing Association, who waits by the lake outside the city.

Nantuck gives you the Wilderness Rod and shows you how to make your first bait. From then on, fishing spots across the world are open to you.

If your account is still below that rank, the beginner guide shows what to do first.

How to fish in Genshin Impact, step by step

1. Find a fishing spot. You can see the fish swimming near the surface, and once you have come close, the spot stays on your map under a hook icon.
2. Stand on the shore near the fish and use the fishing prompt that appears.
3. Choose your rod and your bait.
4. Hold the cast button to aim, then release. Drop the float close to the fish you want, a little ahead of it and not on top of it.
5. Wait. When a fish takes the bait, the float is pulled under and the game prompts you. Raise the hook right away.
6. Now the tension bar appears. Hold the button to raise the tension and let go to lower it. Keep the marker inside the yellow zone, which slides left and right, until the progress gauge is full.

While the marker is outside the zone, the gauge drains. If it empties, the fish escapes. Short, steady taps hold the marker better than one long press, because a long press sends it past the zone.

Some fish are harder than others, and the zone moves faster for them. The method stays the same, you only have to react sooner.

Bait for each fish

Every species accepts one kind of bait. With the wrong one on the hook, the fish swims around the float and never bites. The four basic baits cover most of what you meet early:

• Fruit Paste Bait: medaka.
• Redrot Bait: sticklebacks.
• False Worm Bait: koi.
• Fake Fly Bait: pufferfish.

Bait is made at a crafting bench from common materials, several pieces at a time. The first formula comes with the quest, and the Fishing Association hands over the others in exchange for fish. Later regions add baits of their own for their local species, and the association of that region has the formula.

Carry all four basic baits on a fishing trip. One spot often holds several species, and each wants a different bait.

Fishing spots and when they refill

Genshin fishing spots sit in rivers, lakes and along the coast of every region. You do not need a list of them: open the map, and every spot you have passed is there under the hook icon.

Three rules explain how a spot behaves:

• Each spot holds a fixed set of species and a limited number of fish. When you have caught them all, it is empty.
• An empty spot refills after a few real days, not sooner. Waiting beside it or changing the game clock does not bring the fish back.
• Some fish come out only by day and others only at night. If a species you need is missing, set the in-game time to the other half of the day and return.

Fish are also easy to scare. If you swim into the spot, they scatter and come back only after a while, so stay on the shore.

What the Fishing Association gives you

Each region has its own Fishing Association, and its representative trades fish for rewards. The stock is limited and each item asks for specific species, so the list tells you which fish are worth keeping.

In general you will find:

• Fishing rods made for that region, which make catching fish there easier.
• Bait formulas.
• One-time rewards. The best known is The Catch, a polearm from the Inazuma association that is paid for entirely in fish, together with the material that refines it.

Some of the fish you pull out are ornamental. These are for display: you keep them in a pond furnishing inside your Serenitea Pot.

So fishing gives your account a few useful items and some decoration, and it costs no resin at all.

Why fish get away: common mistakes

• Casting on top of the fish. The splash scares it. Aim a little ahead of where it is swimming.
• Using one bait for everything.
• Raising the hook late. The moment to react is short.
• Holding the button down on the tension bar, so the marker overshoots the zone.
• Emptying a spot and coming back the next day. Give it a few days and fish somewhere else in the meantime.

Frequent questions

Can you fish in Genshin Impact from the start?

No. Fishing opens at Adventure Rank 30, after you unlock the Serenitea Pot and complete Exploding Population.

Is fishing different on mobile, PC and console?

The steps are identical on every platform. Only the control changes: an on-screen button on a phone, a mouse button or key on PC, a controller button on console.

How do you catch fish faster?

Bring the right bait, cast close so the fish notices the float quickly, and use the rod of the region you are fishing in once you own it. Then move from spot to spot instead of waiting at one.

Where do you get more fish when your spots are empty?

Visit spots in other regions, switch between day and night for the species that only appear then, and return to the emptied spots after a few days.

A calm side activity for any account

Fishing has no timer and no resin cost, so it fits well between your daily tasks. When you want Genesis Crystals for a banner, Mas4Games loads Genesis Crystals for Genshin Impact by UID and server. You give only your UID and server, never your password, and the help center has live support if you have a question about an order.