Fishing was added in the Aquarius update (version 5.10, September 2024), and it’s better than it has any right to be. There are over 200 fish spread across seven biomes and four rarity tiers, and water depth decides how big a fish you catch.
Getting the Fishing Rig
The Fishing Rig is a Multi-Tool attachment. To get it:
- Go to the Space Anomaly and find Iteration Eos in the research area behind Polo and Nada
- Buy the Fishing Rig blueprint for 1 Nanite
- Craft it with 3x Carbon Nanotubes + 1x Di-hydrogen Jelly + 60x Chromatic Metal
- Install it in your Multi-Tool inventory
Once installed, select it from your Multi-Tool the same way you’d switch any attachment. You’ll also unlock six bait recipes automatically when you install it for the first time.
There’s also the Lost Angler’s Rig, a reward from the Aquarius Expedition. It works exactly the same.
How to cast and catch
Find a planet with water, stand near the edge (or on top of your Starship), and select the Fishing Rig. Cast your line into the water.
After casting, three translucent fish appear near your lure. They show you exactly what you’re about to catch. Then watch the line. A yellow flash means a fish is interested, so keep waiting. When the line turns green, hold your primary attack button to reel it in.
If you reel in too early, you lose the fish and any bait you used. If you hold and keep reeling until it’s done, you get the catch every time.
I’d fish from the roof of your Starship rather than the Exo-Skiff. The Exo-Skiff is a floating platform with Cold Storage for your catches, but it’s awkward to position and doesn’t get you into deep water easily. With the Aqua-Jets upgrade you can land your ship on the water and fish from the top, which gets you deeper water and more control over where you cast.
Controlling fish size with water depth
This is the most useful thing to know, and the game barely explains it.
- Shallow water (20–30u deep) only gives small or medium fish
- Deep water (50u+) only gives large or colossal fish
The depth of the water beneath your lure shows in the bottom-left of your HUD once your line is cast. If you want a colossal fish, get to deep water. If you’re hunting a specific small legendary, stay in the shallows.
The three ghost fish that appear when you cast show you the size before you commit. If the wrong size appears, reel in and recast in a different spot.
Bait
Six bait recipes unlock when you install your first Fishing Rig. You can also use cooked food and other edible items as bait. Put them in the Bait Box via the Multi-Tool inventory screen.
| Bait | Recipe | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Mealworms | 120x Condensed Carbon → 20 | Improves size and rarity of catch |
| Spicy Chum | 80x Mordite + 25x Phosphorous + 90x Di-hydrogen → 20 | Further improves size and rarity |
| Bionic Lure | 2x Amino Chamber + 3x Ionic Battery + 3x Lubricant → 20 | Greatly improves rarity, especially for legendary fish |
| Dangling Orb | 1x Solar Mirror + 1x Metal Plating + 65x Sodium Nitrate → 20 | Attracts diurnal (daytime) fish |
| Shadow Lure | 2x Antimatter + 1x Metal Plating + 40x Cyto-Phosphate → 20 | Attracts nocturnal fish |
| Magpulse Lure | 1x Magnetic Resonator + 1x Metal Plating + 90x Tritium → 20 | Attracts storm fish |
One piece of bait equals one guaranteed catch, as long as you don’t reel in too early. I’d skip the diurnal, nocturnal, and storm lures. You’ll catch those fish anyway when the conditions are right, so they’re only worth crafting when you’re chasing the last one or two for your catalogue.
Bionic Lure is worth it eventually, just not right away. It’s expensive to craft, and Amino Chambers take some effort to get. You’ll catch legendary fish with standard Mealworms and Spicy Chum. Save Bionic Lures for when you only need one or two remaining legendaries from a specific biome.
Fish biomes and rarities
There are 8 fish categories in total: 7 biome-specific groups plus a Universal group that appears everywhere.
| Biome | Where to fish |
|---|---|
| Universal | Any planet with water |
| Lush / Humid | Green, lush planets |
| Hot | Scorched or volcanic planets |
| Cold | Frozen or icy planets |
| Toxic | Toxic atmosphere planets |
| Radiation | Radioactive planets |
| Barren | Dry, barren planets |
| Mega-Exotic | Exotic or Mega Exotic planets |
Each biome has 21 fish across four rarities (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Legendary), split across small, medium, large, and colossal sizes. The Universal fish can be caught anywhere, so you don’t have to hunt down specific planet types for them.
Some fish only appear under specific conditions. The Thunderfin, for example, only spawns during storms. The Whispering Bonefish only appears at night. You don’t need to use special bait to find them. Just fish during the right conditions and they’ll show up.
What fish are worth targeting
Some sell prices from the catalogue, from common up to legendary:
| Fish | Rarity | Size | Biome | Sell price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stonescale Shark | Common | Colossal | Universal | 5,000 units |
| Giant Ray | Uncommon | Colossal | Universal | 20,000 units |
| Thunderfin | Rare | Colossal | Storm / Universal | 50,000 units |
| Singing Sea-Snail | Legendary | Small | Universal | 50,000 units |
| Golden Jellyfish | Legendary | Medium | Universal | 100,000 units |
| Dragonfish | Legendary | Large | Universal | 150,000 units |
| The Lunker | Legendary | Colossal | Universal | 200,000 units |
| Blind Titancore | Legendary | Colossal | Lush | 200,000 units |
Legendary colossal fish are the top earners at 200,000 units each. For regular selling, rare and legendary Universal fish are the most efficient, since you can catch them anywhere.
Automated traps
If you’d rather not fish manually, Automated Traps are a passive alternative. Place them in water and they catch fish over time, up to four at once, based on whatever the local water conditions allow.
Get the blueprint from the Construction Research Station at the Space Anomaly for 1 Salvaged Data, or earn it through the Tales of the Waves expedition milestone. They’re good for steady passive income from a water base, but they won’t get you legendaries anywhere near as fast as fishing by hand with Bionic Lures.
What to do with your fish
You can cook them. The Nutrient Processor takes fish as ingredients and turns out seafood dishes (the full list is on the cooking recipes page). Cooked fish gives better stat bonuses than raw fish and is worth more for the time you put in.
You can use them as bait. Any fish can go in the Bait Box, and higher-rarity fish attract better catches. It’s a good use for duplicates.
You can release them for Nanites. Stand near water, open the fish in your inventory, and release it. It’s not much per fish, but it’s a nice bonus after a session.
Or you can sell them. Rare and legendary fish sell well, and a few legendary colossal fish per session adds up fast, especially on biome-specific planets where the rare locals are worth more.
A few other things
If fish suddenly stop biting mid-session, fly to a different star system. Leaving the system seems to reset fish spawns when something’s gone wrong with the local water.
Fishing difficulty can be adjusted in custom difficulty settings. At the easiest setting, fish are automatically reeled in after casting.
The Wonders Catalogue tracks your catch history under the Fishing Records tab, including the largest weight recorded for each species. It’s the game’s built-in checklist if you want to complete a full biome. You can also browse the full fish catalogue and collected flotsam on the site.
Sources
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
Buy the Fishing Rig blueprint from Iteration Eos at the Space Anomaly for 1 Nanite, then craft it using 3 Carbon Nanotubes, 1 Di-hydrogen Jelly, and 60 Chromatic Metal. Install it in your Multi-Tool, find a body of water, and cast your line.
Fish in deeper water. Shallow water (around 20-30u) only produces small and medium fish. Deep water (50u or more) produces large and colossal fish. The depth is shown in the bottom-left of your HUD when your line is in the water.
Bionic Lure gives the best chance at legendary fish, roughly one legendary per 25 lures used. For general rarity improvement, Spicy Chum is easier to craft and works well for most catches.
Cook them in the Nutrient Processor for stat-boosting food, use them as bait in the Bait Box, release them into water for Nanites, or sell them for units. Legendary fish sell for up to 200,000 units each.