When traveling between islands with your ship in Spiritfarer, you have the option to kick back and throw out your yellow fishing rod to try catching any fish that pass by your vessel. It’s a relaxing activity and helps kill time while roaming around the game. There are various fish you can capture doing this activity, and you have the chance to also reel in some junk items that catch on your line. You won’t find every fish in the same location, though.

When traveling, the basic idea of fishing in Spiritfarer is to go to the lawn chair to the left of the captain’s cabin and throw out your line. You have to watch the golden bobber rest on the water. When it dips underneath the waves, you want to reel in using the “interact” button, which is X for many using a controller of the E button if you use a mouse and keyboard. Once the bobber reaches the ship, your pull in your catch, be it a healthy fish or trash caught on your line.

When you encounter more difficult fish to capture, your fishing rod will become red instead of gold. While red, you need to consistently hit the button you use to reel in until it becomes gold again. After it becomes normal, you can hold down the button as you traditionally would.

Suppose you’re looking for a particular type of fish. In that case, you may have to explore the ocean through various locations and specific times of the day. For example, haddock is a type of fish you can only catch in a foggy region. You want to keep exploring the map as you travel around the game. Spend as much time fishing as you can to complete your fishing collection book and create recipes for the various visitors on your ship.

Eventually, the wandering merchant, Francis, will ask you to do an errand for them. If you complete this errand, you can discover a hidden shine that will give you access to a better fishing rod. Although, you can capture all of the fish using the basic one, according to other players on Steam and Reddit.