Food & Cooking — Fish

Overview

Fishing is the most sustainable long-term food source in DayZ, providing high-calorie nutrition that can be harvested indefinitely with minimal gear. Mastering this skill eliminates the need to rely on high-risk looting or hunting for food.

How It Works

Fishing requires a rod (improvised or telescopic), a hook, and bait. Once your line is in the water, you wait for a bite, then perform a heavy attack to hook the fish. You must then manually reel the fish in before it escapes.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Craft a fishing rod by combining a long wooden stick with a rope.
2. Combine a hook with a worm or other bait to create a baited hook.
3. Attach the baited hook to the fishing rod.
4. Equip the rod, approach a body of water, and hold the left mouse button (or RT/R2) to cast your line.
5. Wait for the rod to jerk or the line to splash, indicating a fish has taken the bait.
6. Press the heavy attack button (Left Shift + Left Mouse Click) to hook the fish.
7. Hold the interact button (F or X/Square) to reel the fish in, keeping your rod aimed at the fish.

Tips

• Always keep a knife on you to skin the fish immediately after catching it.
• Use bones found from other animals to craft additional hooks using a knife.
• Improvised rods work exactly as well as telescopic rods; save your inventory space if you are mobile.
• Fishing during rain can sometimes feel faster, though game mechanics treat all water sources as viable.
• If your line snaps, it means you let the fish pull too hard without reeling in; always maintain tension.

Common Mistakes

• Not checking for "bloody hands" after skinning; always wash your hands in water before eating or you will contract salmonella.
• Using the wrong bait; worms are the universal bait, but they are often difficult to find without a shovel or pickaxe.
• Cooking the fish until it is only "baked"; ensure the status reaches "boiled" or "baked" fully to avoid illness.
• Standing too far back from the water; your character must be close enough to the bank for the "fish" prompt to appear.

Related Items

• Worm
• Woodenhook
• Walleyepollockfilletmeat
• Waterproofbag Green
• Waterproofbag Orange
• Waterpouch Natural

Related Guides

• Skinning
• Cooking
• Firecrafting