Fishing is a mechanic in Minecraft where you can catch fish, treasure and junk items. In this guide, we’re going to talk you through fishing, as well as give a run-down on each type of item that you can catch.
We’ve covered more content like that at PwrDown, where you can check out our Minecraft Guides. We created this guide during Minecraft 1.16, so some things could be different if you’re playing on newer or previous versions of Minecraft.
How to Fish
Catching fish in Minecraft is a simple task. All the player needs to do is use a Fishing Rod in a body of water. This body of water can be as big as an ocean, or as small as a pond. It doesn’t have to be naturally generated either, as catches can happen in man-made water.
A Fishing Rod can be crafted using 3 Sticks and 2 String. Place the Sticks in a diagonal line, with the 2 String in the far right slots, use the image above as reference.
Once the fishing rod is cast out, a ‘bobber’ will float on the surface of the water. It takes up to 30 seconds for a catch to happen. When that happens, some particles will head towards the bobber, and it will be dragged below the surface a little bit.
When that happens, you need to use the interact button (right click on PC) to reel the rod back in instantly. If you’re too slow, no catch will happen.
Fishing Catches
There are three different categories of items that you can collect when fishing in Minecraft. These are Fish, Treasure and Junk. On the first roll, there’s an 85% chance of catching a fish, 10% chance of catching junk and just 5% of catching treasure.
Players can use the ‘Luck of the Sea’ Enchantment, which will increase their chances of catching treasure items. For each level of Luck of the Sea, your chances of catching treasure is increased, with the chances of catching fish or junk decreased.
Use the tables below to see your overall chance of catching an item.
Fish
| Fish | Catch Chance |
| Raw Cod | 51% |
| Raw Salmon | 21.3% |
| Tropical Fish | 1.7% |
| Pufferfish | 11.1% |
Treasure
| Treasure | Catch Chance |
| Bow | 0.8% |
| Enchanted Book | 0.8% |
| Fishing Book | 0.8% |
| Name Tag | 0.8% |
| Nautilus Shell | 0.8% |
| Saddle | 0.8% |
Junk
| Junk | Catch Chance |
| Lily Pad | 1.7% |
| Bowl | 1.0% |
| Fishing Rod | 0.2% |
| Leather | 0.8% |
| Leather Boots | 0.8% |
| Rotten Flesh | 0.8% |
| Stick | 0.4% |
| String | 0.4% |
| Water Bottle | 0.8% |
| Bone | 0.8% |
| Ink Sac | 0.1% |
| Tripwire Hook | 0.8% |
