Necesse Fishing Guide | Fishing Rods, Where Each Fish Spawns, and Buff Potions

Fishing in Necesse isn’t just an idle side activity. Each biome has its own special fish, and those fish are the ingredients for buff potions that boost your combat build. Melee, ranged, magic, summoning — every build has a fish it should be chasing.

Honestly, I figured fishing could wait. But the moment I got stuck on a magic build and realized a Wisdom Potion comes from a single Furfish (caught in the Forest), I started spending a lot more time with a rod in hand.

This guide walks through it in the order you’ll actually use it: crafting your first rod, raising fishing power, which fish spawn where, and what you can make from your catch.

Getting started with fishing (craft your first rod)

All you need to fish is a rod and some water. You can fish without bait, but bait changes your efficiency (more on that below).

Your first rod: craft a Wood Fishing Rod

The earliest rod you can get is the Wood Fishing Rod. Craft it at a Workstation from the following materials.

Material	Amount
Log (any type)	10
Iron Bar	1
Sapling (any type)	1

Since it needs one Iron Bar, the right time to make it is once you can mine and smelt iron. Logs and saplings pile up just walking through the forest, so craft one while you’re setting up your early gear and you’ll be covered.

How to fish

Hold the rod and use it toward water, and the line flies out with a bobber landing on the surface. After a moment, a fish shadow approaches and the bobber sinks. Left-click the instant it goes under to reel it in. Once you get the timing, you’ll be pulling in a fish every few seconds.

For now, just remember that fresh water (inland ponds and rivers) and salt water (the coast) hold different fish. The biome tables later cover the details.

Three things that raise fishing power

What determines your fishing results is fishing power. It’s the total of “rod + bait + potion,” and it caps at 100%. The higher your fishing power, the faster fish bite — in other words, your wait time gets shorter. At 100%, the wait is nearly zero and bites are almost constant.

Here’s the key thing to understand: fishing power does not change which fish or how rare a fish you catch. What you catch is decided purely by the biome and the random roll; fishing power only affects the speed of getting a bite. If you’re coming from other games, you might assume higher fishing power yields rarer fish — but in Necesse it doesn’t. If you want a rare fish, raise your fishing power to get more attempts and just keep fishing in that biome.

The other important factor is the number of fishing lines. More lines means you can cast multiple lines at once — you can hook several fish simultaneously. Late game, this line count matters more than raw fishing power.

1. Fishing rods (upgrade as you progress)

Rods get stronger in stages as you advance. Here’s the fishing power and where to get each one.

Rod	Fishing power	Lines	How to get	When
Wood Fishing Rod	+5%	1	Craft at a Workstation (10 Log, 1 Iron Bar, 1 Sapling)	Early, as soon as you can mine iron
Iron Fishing Rod	+15%	1	Buy from the Blacksmith (200–400 coins)	Once you have a Blacksmith in your settlement
Overgrown Fishing Rod	+25%	1	From swamp cave chests / overgrown shipwrecks	While exploring the Swamp
Gold Fishing Rod	+30%	1	Buy from the Broken Pirate	When the Broken Pirate visits your settlement
Depths Catcher	+40%	2	From deep cave chests, or craft with 20 Shadow Essence	Late game; the 2 lines are strong

The Blacksmith’s prices change with happiness (higher happiness, cheaper). If you plan to fish seriously, just buying the Iron Fishing Rod is the quickest jump.

The Depths Catcher is only +40% fishing power, but having 2 lines is the big deal. You can target two fish at once, which makes gathering potion ingredients far faster. Go for the deep cave chest, or craft it if you have Shadow Essence to spare.

2. Bait (used automatically while fishing)

Bait is a consumable that works just by being in your inventory while you fish. No special equipping needed — if you’re carrying it, the effect applies on its own. It’s only consumed when you actually reel in a fish; if you pull up an empty line, none is spent. Bait boosts your fishing power.

Bait	Fishing power	How to get
Worm Bait	+10%	Rarely drops from cutting grass; also sold by the Angler
Anglers Bait	+25%	Bought from the Angler

Worm Bait builds up on its own as you cut grass, so it’s plenty for the early game. Once you start mass-producing potions, buy Anglers Bait in bulk from the Angler.

One more thing: even with a 2-line rod like the Depths Catcher, a single cast still uses only one bait. The more lines you have, the better your bait value — so pair bait with a high-line rod for the best return.

3. Fishing potions (a temporary boost)

Buff potions you can brew at an Alchemy Table. While the buff is active, your fishing power and line count go up.

Potion	Effect	Duration	Materials
Fishing Potion	+20% fishing power, +1 line	5 min	Alchemy Table (2 Worm Bait, 2 Gobfish, 1 Glass Bottle)
Greater Fishing Potion	+30% fishing power, +2 lines	5 min	Fallen Alchemy Table (1 Fishing Potion, 10 Alchemy Shard)

The Fishing Potion is a chicken-and-egg deal: you need a fish (Gobfish) to make the potion that helps you fish. Catch a few Gobfish with a bare rod first to brew a batch, then keep the potions rolling and mass-produce from there.

Where each fish spawns (biome tables)

Now the main event. Which fish you catch is decided by the type of water (fresh or salt) and the biome. If you’re not in the right place, you can fish forever and it won’t show up.

Common fish (food; spawn almost anywhere)

First, the edible fish you can catch regardless of biome. These go into cooking and settlement food.

Fish	Water
Carp	Fresh water (inland ponds and rivers)
Salmon	Both fresh and salt water
Trout	Fresh water in Forest / Plains / Snow
Herring	Salt water in Forest / Plains
Mackerel	Salt water in Forest / Plains / Swamp / Desert
Cod	Salt water in Snow
Tuna	Salt water in Desert / Swamp

Special fish (buff potion ingredients; biome-locked)

This is the heart of fishing. Special fish are locked to specific biomes, and each is an ingredient for a particular buff potion.

Fish	Where to catch	Notes
Gobfish	Surface water (any biome)	Fishing Potion ingredient
Halffish	Surface water (any biome)	Bites fairly often
Furfish	Surface water in the Forest	Forest only
Icefish	Surface water in the Snow	Snow only
Swampfish	Surface water in the Swamp	Despite the name, caught on the Swamp surface
Rockfish	Cave (underground) water	Fish down in the caves
Terrorfish	Cave (underground) water	Rarer than Rockfish

Unlike the common fish, special fish can be caught in either fresh or salt water. Don’t worry about water type — all that matters is the “biome” and “surface vs. underground.” A Furfish, for example, can be caught in the Forest whether it’s an inland pond or the coast.

The Swampfish’s name makes it easy to assume it’s caught in caves, but it’s actually caught on the Swamp surface. The ones found underground are the Rockfish and Terrorfish. This one trips people up, so keep it straight.

In surface water you can also rarely catch the Fins, an accessory. Equipping it doubles your swim speed — a handy little item, so grab it if it shows up.

What you can do with your catch

Buff potions (the biggest reason to fish)

Most special fish are ingredients for combat buff potions. The efficient way to think about fishing is to target the fish that matches your build.

Here’s which fish to chase by build.

Build	Target fish	Where	Potion you can make
Melee	Rockfish	Cave (underground)	Strength Potion
Ranged	Swampfish	Swamp surface	Ranger Potion
Magic	Furfish	Forest surface	Wisdom Potion
Summon	Icefish	Snow surface	Minion Potion

On top of those, fish also make broadly useful potions.

Potion	Effect	Main fish used
Battle Potion	More damage	Terrorfish, Swampfish
Resistance Potion	More defense	Rockfish
Rapid Potion	More movement speed	Swampfish, Gobfish
Fire Resistance Potion	Reduce fire damage	Icefish, Halffish
Invisibility Potion	Temporary invisibility	Terrorfish, Icefish
Tracker Potion	Detect ores and resources	Terrorfish
Knockback Potion	Reduce knockback	Rockfish

Just brewing your build’s boost potion before a boss fight makes a noticeable difference. Magic and summon builds in particular feel a visible damage gap with or without the boost. Treat fishing as part of your battle prep, and the payoff outweighs the hassle.

Cooking (food and settlement meals)

Common fish are cooking ingredients. At a Roasting Station you can make Roasted Fish, and at a Cooking Pot you can make Sushi Rolls, Fish and Chips, Fish Taco, Smoked Fillet, and more.

It’s a solid early food source, and it makes fancy meals for your settlers too. Any common fish left over from fishing can go straight into cooking, so nothing’s wasted.

Hiring the Angler makes fishing easier

Bringing an Angler settler into your settlement makes everything about fishing smoother. They fill three roles — selling, buying, and expeditions. Here’s what each one covers.

What they sell

Prices shift with happiness (higher happiness, cheaper). If gathering bait yourself is a pain, buying in bulk here is faster. The three Rain pieces are cosmetic rather than functional, so they’re for anyone who wants to dress the part of an angler.

They buy your leftover fish

Special fish you’ve over-caught can be sold to the Angler for coins. Gobfish, Halffish, Furfish, Icefish, Swampfish, and Rockfish all sell for about the same, but Terrorfish alone fetches a high price. Buy prices also improve with higher happiness. Anything you’re not turning into potions can be cashed in — handy for funding your fishing expeditions.

Fishing expeditions (pay coins to outsource the catch)

While the Angler is inside your settlement, you can pay coins to request a fishing expedition. It’s a way to obtain a target fish in bulk without touring biomes yourself. One trip brings back roughly 400–500 worth of fish.

Expeditions cost coins, but they save you from touring biomes yourself. Note, though, that you’re not guaranteed the fish you want. The main catch is just weighted to show up more often; other fish from the same biome (the “also catches” column) get mixed in. It’s less a precise pick and more “bring back a haul centered on that fish.” Early on, when coins are tight, fish yourself; once your settlement is running and coins are flowing, hand it off to expeditions. It’s a shortcut for those “I want Icefish but don’t feel like trekking to the Snow” moments.

Summary: fishing is part of your battle prep

At its core, Necesse fishing is about gathering materials to strengthen your build. Here’s the flow:

1. Craft a Wood Fishing Rod (10 Log, 1 Iron Bar, 1 Sapling), as soon as you can mine iron.
2. Raise your fishing power. Buy the Iron Fishing Rod and carry Worm Bait or Anglers Bait.
3. Target your build’s fish. Rockfish underground for melee, Furfish in the Forest for magic.
4. Brew your boost potion at an Alchemy Table and drink it before boss fights.
5. Once you have room, mass-produce with the Depths Catcher (2 lines) and Angler expeditions.

The first wall is not knowing which fish spawns where and what it’s good for. Once you’ve got the biomes and uses down, fishing becomes a quiet but reliable way to back up your build.

If you’re hitting a wall in combat, try your build’s boost potion once. A few minutes with a rod often saves you tens of seconds in a boss fight.

Test environment: Necesse 1.2.0 build 22728942