Fishing is one of the many activities that players can do in Dinkum. Not only is it a good source of Dinks, it’s also a way to grow the town museum’s live collection of marine life.
In this Dinkum fishing guide, we’ll talk about how the fishing activity in Dinkum, how to get the fishing rod, and how to properly cast a line to catch some fish.
How to get a Fishing Rod in Dinkum
First off, you have to get a Fishing License from Fletch for 250 Permit Points, or else you won’t be able to handle a fishing rod. Once you get your license, head over to John’s Goods and purchase a Fishing Rod for around 1,000 Dinks.
As you level up your Fishing Skill, Fletch will allow you upgrade your Fishing License to higher ones which will allow you to also upgrade your Fishing Rod to its copper and iron versions. These tougher versions will make fishing easier, especially for those hard-to-catch fishes.
How to fish in Dinkum
- Aim and Cast your line at a fish
With your Fishing Rod selected in your toolbar, head to any body of water where you can see a fish and press your Right Mouse Button to cast your line. The longer you press, the farther your line will be casted.
Your line will go towards the direction of where your character is facing, so make sure that you aim directly towards a fish. It’s better to over shoot by a bit as you can simply just reel in your line to make it come closer towards you if you need to.
If your aim is just right, you’ll notice that the fishes nearby will start approaching your bobber. If not, you may have casted a bit too far for the fishes to notice it, so press your Left Mouse Button to instantly retrieve your line.
- Wait for a fish to bite
Once a fish has taken interest with your bait, pay close attention to the bobber or that thing that floats at the end of your line. Once the bobber goes down into the water, a fish has taken your bait and it’s ready to be reeled in.
The timing of the bite differs from fish to fish; sometimes it happens after 1-3 nibbles, other times the fishes bite down on it right away. So always be ready to pull on the line once you see the bobber go down, and if possible, use the sound cues to help you know when there is a bite.
- Reel in your catch
Reeling in is the trickiest part of the fishing experience in Dinkum and is the part where most new players take some fair amount of time to learn and master, but in every trade, there’s always a trick. We’re sharing two tricks, actually.
First of all, when reeling in a fish, they’ll naturally swim away from you, causing tension on the line which will be shown as a meter that appears on the right side of the screen. Whenever both you and the fish pull on the line at the same time, the meter goes down and once it depletes, the line will break and the fish will escape.
The first trick is to only do a tap-click once a fish bites down on the bait. If you press and hold on the RMB as soon as a bite happens, you’ll risk snapping the line as the fish will always want to swim away immediately. Let the fish tire out, and once it stops struggling, then you reel in the fish.
The second trick is to pay attention when the fish starts turning. As soon as it turns its body away from you once more, let go of the RMB and let the fish tire out once more. Rinse and repeat this process until you get the fish close to shore and then you can finally grab it with your hands.
Dinkum Fishing Tips
Here are some more pointers to know about to improve your fishing experience in Dinkum:
- You can fish on land and down on the first level of water where the water is just up your feet. Any deeper than that and you’ll start swimming and you won’t be able to cast your line.
- If you have a Jetski, you can head to the deeper seas and catch fish that can only be caught from there.
- You can’t catch the jellyfishes; you can only hunt them down using your weapons and they will drop Jelly which you can brew to make Jelly Brew. Also, hunting jellyfishes do not count towards your fishing level, but rather towards your hunting level.
- You can’t use a fishing rod to catch sharks. Instead, you will have to fight them in the water with your spear just like any other hostile animals on land. Be careful as sharks can swim easily in water, putting you at a disadvantage.
- As you level up your fishing license, to the second level, you’ll be able to pick up critters underwater. These critters blow bubbles which you can use to easily spot them. Similar to caught fishes, they count towards your fishing level and they can also be donated to the museum collection.
- Leveling up your license some more will allow you to craft Crab Pots which is a passive way to catch crabs and some other stuff like Crocodile Teeth in exchange for Meat and other meat-related food. To make a Crab Pot, you’ll need:
- x5 Copper Bars
- x2 Iron Bars
- x4 Palm Wood Plank
- x2 Spinifex Resin
All Dinkum Fish Locations, Times, and Seasons
Listed below are the fishes that you can get based on the time and season:
Fish | Location | Time Found | Season |
Anchovy | Southern oceans | Morning & Night | Autumn & Spring |
Banded Mowrong | Northern oceans & Southern oceans | All | Winter |
Barcoo Grunter | Rivers, Billabongs, & Mangroves | All | All |
Barracuda | Northern oceans | Night | Summer, Autumn, & Spring |
Barramundi | Rivers | All | Autumn, Winter, & Spring |
Blackfish | Billabongs & Rivers | All | Spring |
Black & White Snapper | Norther oceans & Southern oceans | Day | Autumn & Spring |
Blob Fish | Southern oceans | Night | Autumn & Winter |
Blue Spot Flathead | Norther oceans & Southern oceans | Morning & Day | Summer, Autumn, & Spring |
Bluefish | Norther oceans & Southern oceans | All | All |
Bonytongue | Billabongs | All | All |
Boofhead Catfish | Mangroves | Night | Summer, Autumn, & Spring |
Carp | Rivers & Mangroves | All | All |
Eel Tailed Catfish | Mangroves | All | All |
Eyestripe Surgeon Fish | Northern oceans | Day | Summer & Spring |
Galaxias | Rivers | All | Winter |
Garfish | Norther oceans & Southern oceans | All | Winter & Spring |
Goat Fish | Southern oceans | All | Summer & Spring |
Golden Perch | Rivers | Morning | Spring |
Grayling | Billabongs & Rivers | Day | Autumn & Winter |
Jungle Perch | Rivers & Billabongs | All | All |
Luderick | Northern oceans | Day | Winter |
Mangrove Jack | Mangroves | All | All |
Marlin | Southern oceans | Day | Autumn & Winter |
Murray Cod | Rivers | Morning | Winter & Spring |
River Bass | Rivers & Mangroves | All | Summer & Spring |
Saratoga | Billabongs | Night | Summer & Autumn |
Short Finned Eel | Billabongs | Night | All |
Silver Perch | Rivers & Billabongs | All | Autumn & Winter |
Stingray | Northern oceans | Night | Summer & Autumn |
Tarpon | Billabongs | All | All |
Travalla | Northern oceans | All | Autumn & Spring |
Yellowfin Tuna | Northern oceans & Southern oceans | Morning & Night | Autumn & Spring |
Dinkum is available to purchase on Steam.
If you like this guide, be sure to check out our other Dinkum articles:
- How to Bury Fruits and Seeds in Dinkum
- Dinkum Quarry Guide
- How to Get Mangrove Sticks in Dinkum
- Dinkum Thunder Egg Guide
Check out this video by The Ginger Empire showing how to fish in Dinkum: