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
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. 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 tends 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.
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.