On this page8 sections
- Why Fishing Is Worth Your Time
- Getting Started: The Fishing Rod and Basic Bait
- All 12 Fish Species
- Bait Crafting: Every Recipe and Where to Get Trophies
- How Fishing Works: Mechanics and Stamina Management
- Raw Fish Yields and Quality Levels
- The Fishing Hat: Catching All 12 Species
- Advanced Tips and Alternative Methods
- Buy a
Fishing Rod (350 
Coins) and 
Fishing Bait (10 Coins for 20) from Haldor to catch 
Perch and 
Pike. - Every other fish needs a crafted bait: 20 Fishing Bait plus one creature trophy at the
Food Preparation Table. - Stop reeling while the fish struggles and reel while it idles; cast short and eat Stamina food.
- Catch all 12 species to craft the
Fishing Hat (+20 Fishing and Swimming). - For plain
Raw Fish, Perch in the Meadows is the easiest catch.
Why Fishing Is Worth Your Time
Fishing is one of Valheim's most underrated activities. The Mistlands update expanded it from 3 generic fish to a 12-species progression across every biome, each with its own bait and bonus resources.
Unique potion ingredients
Fish unlock Bog Witch potions you cannot get any other way:
- Perch:
Mead Base: Vananidir, which extends swimming endurance. 
Trollfish: 
Mead Base: Troll Endurance, for hauling heavy loads without being encumbered.
Grouper: 
Mead Base: Anti-Sting, which negates Deathsquito damage in the Plains.
Anglerfish: 
Uncooked Fish 'n' Bread, one of the best Stamina foods in the game.
The Fishing Hat
Catching all 12 species lets you craft the Fishing Hat, which adds +20 to both Fishing and Swimming. For the big catches of the Ashlands and Deep North, it is close to essential.
Getting Started: The Fishing Rod and Basic Bait
Buying a rod
The Fishing Rod costs 350 Coins from Haldor, the Black Forest merchant. Each world has 10 possible Haldor spawn points, and the first one you come within roughly 400 meters of becomes his permanent home. A bag icon appears on your map when you get close.
Finding a rod
Much more rarely, a Frost Cave in the Mountains holds a large frozen lake with a rod and 2-4 Fishing Bait beside a dead angler. There may be only one or two per world, so don't count on it.
Basic bait
Haldor sells Fishing Bait at 10 Coins for 20. It catches Perch and Pike in the Meadows and Black Forest. Each cast uses one bait, but reeling in without a hooked fish returns it.
Fishing RodTwo-handed weaponYour first purchase from Haldor; the only tool that catches fish
- Blunt damage
- 5
- Block armor
- 5
- Knockback
- 5
- Backstab
- 1x
Cast your line as short as possible, just 1-2 meters from your position. Fish nearby will still investigate and bite, and the shorter cast means dramatically less stamina drain when reeling in. Even better, you can grab the fish directly off the hook with the Use key (E) without fully reeling it in, and the same bobber stays in the water for another catch without using extra bait.
All 12 Fish Species
Each species needs specific bait, spawns in certain waters, and drains a different amount of Stamina. Fish have quality levels 1 to 5; higher levels are bigger, heavier and much harder to reel in.
Quality and bonus loot
- In most biomes, each fish has a 20% chance to level up as it spawns.
- In the Ashlands and Deep North that falls to 15%, so high-level
Magmafish and 
Northern Salmon are rarer. - Every catch also drops bonus resources, from ores to seeds and Coins (listed below).
Fish Species: Stamina Drain & Bonus Resources
| Perch (Meadows/Black Forest) | 10/3 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Stone, 1  Amber |
| Pike (Meadows/Black Forest) | 15/5 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Flint, 1  Amber Pearl |
| Trollfish (Black Forest) | 25/9 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Troll Hide, 1  Copper Ore |
| Giant Herring (Swamp) | 30/10 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Iron Ore, 1-2  Chain |
| Tuna (Ocean) | 20/7 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Tin Ore, 1-2  Ruby |
| Coral Cod (Ocean) | 34/12 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Chitin, 1-2  Onion Seeds |
| Tetra (Frost Caves) | 28/11 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Obsidian, 1-15 Coins |
| Grouper (Plains) | 32/12 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Black Metal Scrap, 1-2  Barley |
| Anglerfish (Mistlands) | 38/14 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Soft Tissue, 1-2  Blue Jute |
| Pufferfish (Ocean/Mistlands) | 40/14 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Sap, 1-2  Ooze |
| Magmafish (Ashlands) | 50/18 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Flametal Ore, 1  Surtling Core, 1  Grausten |
| Northern Salmon (Deep North) | 60/20 stamina | Bonus: 1-2  Carrot Seeds, 1  Silver |
“The Northern Salmon drains 60 stamina per second while struggling. That is six times more than a Perch. If you go into the Deep North without high-stamina food and a leveled Fishing skill, you will lose every single fish.
Bait Crafting: Every Recipe and Where to Get Trophies
Every advanced bait is made at the Food Preparation Table: 20 Fishing Bait plus one creature trophy gives 20 of the new bait. The trophy is the real bottleneck, and some are hard to farm.
Which bait catches which fish
- Fishing Bait (Haldor): Perch and Pike, Meadows and Black Forest.
Mossy Fishing Bait (
Troll Trophy, 50% drop): Trollfish on Black Forest shores.
Sticky Fishing Bait (
Abomination Trophy, 50%): 
Giant Herring in the Swamp.
Stingy Fishing Bait (
Fuling Trophy, 10%): Grouper on Plains shorelines.
Heavy Fishing Bait (
Serpent Trophy, 33%): 
Tuna and 
Coral Cod in the Ocean.
Cold Fishing Bait (
Fenring Trophy, 10%): Pike and 
Tetra.
Misty Fishing Bait (
Lox Trophy, 10%): Anglerfish and 
Pufferfish in the Mistlands.
Hot Fishing Bait (
Warrior Trophy, 5% from Charred Warriors): Magmafish in the Ashlands.
Frosty Fishing Bait (
Drake Trophy, 10%): Northern Salmon on Deep North shores.
The two hardest trophies and fish
The Serpent Trophy's challenge is the kill itself: fight the Serpent in shallow water so you can loot the body before it sinks. Tetra live only in rare unfrozen lakes inside Frost Caves, making them the hardest fish to locate.
All Bait Recipes (Food Preparation Table)
Many players waste hours trying to find Tetra by exploring random Frost Caves. Tetra only spawn in a very specific, rare room type inside Frost Caves that has an unfrozen lake at the bottom of a deep cavern. This is a different room from the frozen lake where you can find the Fishing Rod. Most world seeds only have one or two of these caves total, so be prepared for a long search. The good news: once you find one, Tetra will keep spawning there reliably.
How Fishing Works: Mechanics and Stamina Management
- Equip the Fishing Rod and your bait.
- Hold attack to cast: the longer you hold, the farther it goes, up to about 30 meters.
- When a fish bites, press block to hook it.
- Hold block to reel, then press E to grab the fish once it is close.
The Stamina system
A hooked fish cycles between struggling and idling. While struggling it shakes on the line and drains Stamina hard; while idling the drain falls to about a third. The table figures are per second at quality 1 and multiply by quality, so a quality 3 Northern Salmon drains 180 Stamina per second while struggling.
The most important tip: stop reeling while the fish struggles, then reel hard when it goes idle. Add short casts and high-Stamina food, and fish you thought impossible become catchable.
Fishing skill
At level 0 you reel at 2 m/s and pay the full Stamina drain. Each level adds 2% reel speed and cuts Stamina use by 0.8%, reaching 6 m/s and 20% Stamina at level 100. The Fishing Hat's +20 alone means 40% faster reeling and 16% less drain.
How to Catch Any Fish: Step-by-Step
- 1
Prepare Your Food
Eat three Stamina-focused foods before fishing; late species like Magmafish and Northern Salmon demand top-tier Stamina food. Carry a Stamina Mead for emergencies (2-minute cooldown) and get the Rested buff at a campfire for faster regeneration between catches.
- 2
Find Visible Fish
You can only catch fish you can physically see in the water. If you do not see any, move to a different stretch of shoreline. Fish spawn in schools at specific locations, so scan the coast until you spot them. Fishing from a stationary boat is often the best approach, as it lets you get close to schools offshore without fighting terrain.
- 3
Cast Short and Hook
Cast as close to yourself as possible, just a few meters. Fish within 50 meters will check for your bobber every 5-15 seconds with a 10% chance to investigate. When you see a splash or hear the bite, immediately press the block button to hook the fish. You have about 0.5 seconds to react.
- 4
Reel Smart, Not Hard
Hold block to reel. When the fish struggles (it will shake and rotate visibly), stop reeling and wait. Resume reeling during idle phases. When the fish is within 1-2 meters, aim your crosshair at it and press E to grab it directly. You can also walk backward while the fish is hooked to drag it toward shore with minimal stamina cost.
Raw Fish Yields and Quality Levels
Any fish can be broken down into Raw Fish at the Food Preparation Table, then cooked into 
Cooked Fish or used in recipes like 
Fish Wraps. The yield depends on quality level and species group:
- Perch, Pike, Tetra, Trollfish: 1 Raw Fish at quality 1, up to 13 at quality 5.
- Tuna, Coral Cod, Giant Herring, Grouper: +1, so 2 up to 14.
- Pufferfish, Anglerfish, Magmafish, Northern Salmon: +2, so 3 up to 15.
A quality 5 Northern Salmon is worth 15 Raw Fish, but with a 0.05% spawn chance you probably won't see one. For plain food, fish Perch in the Meadows: they are by far the easiest, and quantity matters more than species. Save rarer catches for potions, the Fishing Hat or wall mounts.
The Fishing Hat: Catching All 12 Species
The Fishing Hat takes one of each of the 12 species at a Workbench. It adds +20 Fishing and +20 Swimming and starts at 8 armor, rising to 20 at quality 4. Reaching quality 4 takes 7 of each species in total (1 + 1 + 2 + 3).
The Fishing bonus stacks on your natural skill, so if late-game fish keep escaping, craft the hat first. The Swimming bonus is a nice extra for crossing rivers and coastlines without the 
Fins of Destiny trinket.
Fishing HatHelmetCollection reward: +20 Fishing makes late-game fish manageable
- Armor
- 8 (+4 per level)
- Durability
- 1000 (+200 per level)
- Max quality
- 4
- Weight
- 3
Workbench: 1 Perch, 1 Pike, 1 Tuna, 1 Tetra, 1 Trollfish, 1 Giant Herring, 1 Grouper, 1 Coral Cod, 1 Anglerfish, 1 Northern Salmon, 1 Magmafish, 1 Pufferfish
Fishing Hat Recipe
Do not sleep on the bonus resources from fishing. Giant Herring drops Iron Ore and Chain, Magmafish drops Flametal Ore and Surtling Cores, and Grouper drops Black Metal Scrap and Barley. While these are not efficient farming methods compared to mining, they add up over a long fishing session and can give you a meaningful material boost, especially the rarer drops like Chain and Blue Jute.
Advanced Tips and Alternative Methods
Fish are immune to all player damage: arrows, spears and everything else pass harmlessly. The only ways to catch them are the Fishing Rod or picking them up by hand when they are above water.
Catching fish without a rod
- Raise earth into a 3x3 box, half a wall high, in shallow water and wait for fish to jump in.
- Park a boat near a school and return later; fish sometimes leap aboard, especially Tuna in the Ocean at any quality.
Fishing XP farm
- Find a small Meadows inlet and raise earth on both sides to make a 4-meter-wide corridor into the water.
- Drop Perch into the enclosure.
- Build a shelter with a fire nearby for Rested.
Hook and release: you earn 0.25 XP per second reeling an empty line and 0.5 with a fish on, and landing the fish gives no bonus.
Fish never spoil
Fish tossed into water from your inventory come back to life. They never spoil in your inventory, in chests or on walls, so you can stockpile them for Raw Fish or the Fishing Hat as long as you like.
Fish Bait Progression Path
Recent Updates
- Updated for Valheim 1.0: verified every bait recipe and the Fishing Hat, added trophy drop rates, fixed item names, and reorganised the guide for easier reading.