The waters around Sunset Valley ripple with life. Thousands of fish swim through the blue, hoping for a nice bit of food to drop. What’s that pointy thing sticking out of the snack? Who cares, let’s grab this grub...
The Fishing skill is good for three things: keeping food on the table, earning money, and relaxing. Sims with the Angler trait have a head start on other Sims who pick up a rod-and-reel, but any Sims can take a class to advance the Fishing skill or just plop a bobber in the water and start learning through experience.
Acquire by: Take Fishing Class, Read Fishing Book, Fishing
Development tools: No tools needed
Available ages: Child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Elder
Development Benefits
The Fishing skill begins one of three ways: reading a book, taking a class, or just going out to a body of water and using the Fish interaction. Once the Fishing skill is underway, the skill increases either by continued reading or continued fishing.
Just having a hook under the surface is enough to develop the skill, but this is a slow way to learn. The skill actually gets a bump when you catch a fish. And the bigger the fish, the bigger the skill bump.
When a fish is hoisted out of the water, the Sim holds it up and the weight of the fish is automatically logged in the Skill Journal. If it's a new type of fish, that is also noted.
Once the Sim reaches level 3 with the Fishing skill, they can choose the Bait interaction at the water's edge to use a specific type of bait while fishing. Bait is essential if a Sim hopes to catch more than just the basic fish in the water, such as the Goldfish. Gaining levels also unlocks the ability to catch certain fish. However, just unlocking a type of fish does not guarantee actually catching it.
Using any bait slightly increases the chance of catching all fish. It also drastically increases the chance of catching the fish that loves that specific bait type.
Higher quality bait (nice, perfect, etc.) will tend to catch bigger fish, but only for fish that specifically like that bait. So use perfect bait to catch the biggest fish.
You can also use bait to catch fish that are somewhat higher level than your Sim's Fishing skill. Sims can catch fish up to 3 levels higher than their skill by using the right bait, although it will be harder to catch those fish until the Sim is higher skill.
Each fish has one favorite type of bait, and you should use that bait to catch that fish. Learn what that bait is by experimenting with different types of bait or by reading bait books purchased from the bookstore.
Bait is not enough though. Certain fish exist only in certain locations, so you have to find where a fish lurks before you can catch it. Use the Inspect Water interaction to get an idea of the types of fish in the water. Inspect will show only those fish that your Sim is high enough level to catch.
Fishing
|
Fish |
Skill Level Required |
Commonality |
Locations Found |
Preferred
|
Minimum weight |
Maximum weight |
Value at min weight |
Value at max weight |
Skill Points for Catching |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Minnow |
0 |
Common |
Lakes, Ocean |
Apple |
0.1 |
0.5 |
5 |
11 |
120 |
|
Anchovy |
0 |
Common |
Ocean |
Tomato |
0.1 |
0.5 |
5 |
11 |
120 |
|
Goldfish |
1 |
Common |
Lakes |
Lettuce |
0.1 |
2 |
6 |
16 |
132 |
|
Alley Catfish |
1 |
Uncommon |
Lakes, Ocean |
Cheese |
0.1 |
5 |
6 |
20 |
132 |
|
Jellyfish |
2 |
Common |
Ocean |
Grapes |
0.1 |
10 |
8 |
19 |
140 |
|
Rainbow Trout |
2 |
Common |
Lakes |
Egg |
1 |
10 |
9 |
18 |
140 |
|
Red Herring |
3 |
Common |
Lakes, Ocean |
Hot Dogs |
1 |
10 |
5 |
5 |
160 |
|
Tuna |
3 |
Common |
Ocean |
Onion |
2 |
40 |
11 |
25 |
160 |
|
Piranha |
4 |
Uncommon |
Lakes |
Watermelon |
5 |
15 |
14 |
30 |
185 |
|
Tragic Clownfish |
4 |
Uncommon |
Laes, Ocean |
Bell Pepper |
5 |
40 |
13 |
32 |
185 |
|
Siamese Catfish |
5 |
Common |
Lakes, Ocean |
Minnow |
3 |
25 |
14 |
41 |
220 |
|
Blowfish |
5 |
Uncommon |
Ocean |
Potato |
5 |
40 |
13 |
47 |
220 |
|
Salmon |
6 |
Common |
Ocean |
Lime |
10 |
50 |
14 |
45 |
255 |
|
Black Goldfish |
6 |
Common |
Lakes |
Goldfish |
5 |
25 |
16 |
49 |
255 |
|
Shark |
7 |
Uncommon |
Lakes, Ocean |
Red Herring |
1 |
150 |
7 |
70 |
295 |
|
Swordfish |
7 |
Common |
Ocean |
Anchovy |
20 |
60 |
17 |
60 |
295 |
|
Angelfish |
8 |
Uncommon |
Lakes, Ocean |
AlleyCatfish |
2 |
60 |
21 |
85 |
340 |
|
Vampire Fish |
8 |
Rare |
Graveyard |
Garlic |
25 |
80 |
55 |
225 |
1,000 |
|
Robot Fish |
9 |
Rare |
Science Facility |
Piranha |
250 |
1,000 |
50 |
275 |
1,000 |
|
Lobster |
9 |
Common |
Lakes, Ocean |
Tuna |
5 |
50 |
25 |
120 |
400 |
|
Deathfish |
10 |
Rare |
Graveyard |
Angelfish |
20 |
80 |
200 |
1,000 |
1,500 |
What to Do with Fish
Okay, so you caught some fish. Now what? There are five things you can do with fish: eat, sell, use it as bait, use it as fertilizer for your garden, or keep it as a pet. Eating the fish is the most natural. Just place the fish in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. Fishing Sims can make quite a bit of cash selling “sea kittens” to the EverFresh market. Fish can be used as bait to catch other fish, too.
Place fish around your house for nice environmental boosts.
Fish also make good pets, especially if keeping fish is related to a Lifetime Wish. Buy the Shrinkomatic Bowl from Buy Mode and place them around the house to store caught fish by left-clicking on the bowl and choosing Stock. Pay attention to them—fish in bowls must be fed regularly. A dead fish left unattended starts to stink, which results in the Disgusted moodlet.
Fish have environmental bonuses, too. The rarer and larger the fish, the more it contributes to the room's decor. Keep nice, rare fish in bowls to get the Nicely Decorated moodlet.
Skill Challenges
Amateur Ichthyologist: Amateur Ichthyologists have caught at least one of every fish type. Their deep understanding of marine life helps them catch the bigger fish.
Commercial Fisherman: Commercial Fisherman have caught at least 350 fish. They catch more fish in less time than normal Sims.