Let's find out how to use that old fishing rod.

Much like other games in the Rune Factory series, as well as other games in the farming genre, Rune Factory 5 features a relaxing fishing mechanic. This is incredibly easy to learn and not too difficult to master. It can also yield some useful resources such as fish for cooking recipes, in addition to the money that can be gained from selling the fish themselves.

Related: Rune Factory 5: Every Skill And How To Improve Them

Fishing in Rune Factory 5 also increases the fishing skill, which in turn increases your attributes, slightly increasing your maximum RP and maximum VIT, and reducing the amount of RP consumed by fishing. In short, fishing lots makes you better at fishing, which makes it easier to catch lots of fish! If you're stuck on how to get started or how to get the most out of fishing, follow our guide below to maximize your achievements in angling.

The basics of fishing in Rune Factory 5 are fairly easy to grasp. An early request available on the notice board will ask you to try out fishing, providing you with the Cheap Pole fishing rod. As you might expect, you’ll need to take this to a body of water where you can see fish, then press the B button to cast your line.

The game's map has a few obvious bodies of water where you can check for fish to begin with. Fish can spawn in the ocean along any section of the coastline, so walking along the beach is a good place to start. There’s also Rigbarth's main river that leads into the ocean, which has a designated fishing platform, near which various fish will frolic.

Plus, you can visit the Pond of Hope, which can be found to the left of The Blue Moon Inn as well as the much larger Lake Melody towards the top of the map. All of these locations are great spots to start your fishing adventure. As you level up and explore the further reaches of the map, you can also find a multitude of smaller fishing spots. Different fish will appear in different locations, but all of them can be found between the four locations above.

Some fish are also exclusive to specific seasons.

After you’ve spotted a fish in a body of water, you can press the B button to cast your line: try to angle it in front of the fish. If your bait is within a fish’s line of sight, they’ll approach and begin nibbling at the hook, making a vibration on the Joy-Con. Most fish will bite a few times before latching on fully, allowing you to pull it out by quickly pressing the use tool button again.

The window of time you have to press the button to confirm your catch varies depending on the size of the fish, with larger, rarer fish offering a shorter window.

Once you’ve caught a fish, you’ll receive info about what fish it is, how big it is, and it’ll be placed in your hands. From here, you can place them in the shipping box to sell, give them as a gift, or stash them away to use in cooking recipes.

At the fishing spot next to Rigbarth’s river, you’ll find a sign that will teach you about Tag Team Fishing. Once you reach a high friendship level (it seems to trigger at level 4) with any of the characters, you’ll be able to invite them to come fishing with you. Simply use the sign in this fishing area during the day and someone from your available options will join you in your fishing escapades.

Tag Team Fishing offers a slightly different version of the fishing mechanic. Instead of pressing to pull the fish out at the right moment, you’ll get a rapid set of quick-time events where you have to press the button in the center of a yellow gauge. This version of fishing happens in short bursts of about 30 seconds.

As well as being a fun activity to do with your favorite characters, there are certain types of larger fish that can only be caught this way. In our table of all the different types of fish below, we’ve listed if they can be caught via solo fishing or tag team fishing.

As you get better at fishing, you’ll soon need to replace your rod. There are few possible fishing rod options, all of which can be obtained through the game’s forge mechanics, using the Blacksmith skill.

This can only be done once you have enough SEED points to obtain the forge license. After obtaining the license, you can buy your own forge from Studio Palmo. Then you’ll be able to craft new fishing poles, once you’ve obtained the appropriate recipes by eating farming bread.

You can find out more information on the steps needed to craft a new fishing pole from our Farming Tool Recipes Guide.

Next: Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting Rune Factory 5

Adam is a Guides Writer for TheGamer. They are also a marketing professional and freelance writer in the UK. They are a huge fan of JRPGs, cooking and cute dogs.