Fishing Guide: Every Spot, Bait and Fish, and What Each One Is Worth

Fishing in Graveyard Keeper 2 needs a rod on your hotbar, the right bait and a steady thumb. Five spots hold 22 catches: four bite on no bait, the rest want Breadcrumb, Insect or Live Bait. Whole fish sell at the Fish Stand; fillets feed you and the Fisherman.

Casting a line costs no energy and involves nobody dead, at least until you start making Live Bait. Below: every spot with its real odds, every bait and where its ingredients come from, every fish with its price, and the quests that turn a stick and some string into a Pro Rod.

How fishing works

1. Put a rod on your hotbar. A rod in the backpack does not count. You also need Farming mastery 1 or more, which any rod gives you on its own.
2. Choose a bait at the spot. One bait is spent per cast, whether anything bites or not. Unbaited casts are free.
3. Wait for the bite. It comes 1 to 8 seconds after the cast; pressing early scares the fish off. Once it bites you have 0.7 to 2 seconds to react.
4. Reel while the fish rests, let go while it fights. Holding through a fight snaps the line in about a second.

Casting and reeling cost no energy. Cutting the catch into fillets afterwards does.

What decides which fish bites

Each cast rolls among the fish of that spot that accept your bait, weighted by the fish, the bait, the time of day and how many of that fish are left. Three things follow from that:

• Day and night matter. 11 of the 22 catches prefer one or the other and bite at half weight the rest of the time. The spot tables below give both odds.
• Spots run dry. A spot holds 1 to 5 of each fish, every catch lowers that fish’s odds, and the spot restocks one fish at a time. How fast is not settled: estimates run from under a day to 3 to 6 in-game days for ordinary fish, and legendary fish take many times longer.
• Farming mastery is what you fight with. Rods add +1, +2, +4 or +6. A Muffin adds +2 for 7 min 30 s and Third Eye Salt +2 to every mastery for 7.5 minutes. The Fisherman talent makes every fish fight about a third less (the Elder Catfish drops from 20 to 14), and it leads to Fish Filleter, which doubles your fillets. Both cost 1 point in the Farming tree; see talents and inspirations.

Rods: where to get each one

Every rod is crafted at a Woodworking Workbench once its Fishing technology is researched, and three of them can be bought at the Fish Stand, which always charges their full price.

A Master Rod (+8) and a Fishing Line sit in the game’s item list, but nothing in 1.008 gives them. Rods also count toward Farming when you plant, so the rod you fish with doubles as a gardening tool; see farming.

Bait: what each one catches and how to make it

All three baits are cooked at the Kitchen Table, four per batch.

Worms Bait and Shrimp Bait also exist in the item list; neither can be obtained in 1.008.

Breadcrumb Bait

The cheap one. A Bread costs 9 bronze at the Baker, so a cast costs a little over 2 bronze, and the chest at home starts the game with 8 Bread: 32 casts, if you have not eaten them by the time you research Fishing II. Your own oven makes 4 Bread from 4 Dough and 10 Fuel.

Breadcrumb Bait is also the Fish Stand’s Likes engine. Fish earn no Likes there, but bait does: at level 1 the stand pays 10 Likes a week for 30 Breadcrumb Bait sold, 15 for 45 from level 2. That is 10 Likes a week for about 8 Bread. How Likes turn into money is in town orders and trading.

Where to get Fireflies for Insect Bait

• Gunter sells Fireflies at the Astrologer’s Tower at every shop level, 10 bronze each at a full shelf, and buys spare ones back for a little less. Four Fireflies, so four casts, cost about 40 bronze.
• Night flower: each of the 13 in the world gives 2 to 3 Night flowers and 1 Firefly when picked.
• Wild Rhododendron bushes: the 11 in the world sometimes drop a Firefly, about 4 times in 10.

Fireflies also carry alchemy runes (1 red, 2 blue), but whether the laboratory accepts them is not settled. Insect Bait is the reliable use. Selling the bait back is a poor trade: the Fish Stand pays about 9 bronze, less than the Fireflies cost at Gunter. Bees have nothing to do with it; Honey and Beeswax are covered in the beekeeping guide.

Live Bait: Lacquer and Flesh

• Lacquer is a two-blue-rune brew at Laboratory I: a single Night flower matches it, and so do Zombie goo or Minced Meat alone, or two Blood. Each ingredient must be studied once at the Study Table, and each brew uses one Alchemy Flask (the alchemy guide has every rune value). The Lacquer technology only reveals the formula; a matching mix brews before that. The Alchemist sells Lacquer from its first level, 2 silver on a full shelf; the Trademaster stocks it too, but marks it up to 5 silver.
• Flesh comes out of corpses during an autopsy (34 of 54 corpse types carry it), or from the Baker at level 2 for 35 bronze. It counts as a white skull in the body, so take it only from bodies you do not mean to bury well; see corpse quality.

A Night flower plant therefore feeds both baits in one pick: a Firefly toward Insect Bait, and 2 to 3 flowers that each brew one Lacquer for Live Bait. Bought from the Alchemist and the Baker instead, Lacquer and Flesh cost about 235 bronze for 4 casts.

Every fishing spot and what bites there

Odds are per bite with that bait at a fully stocked spot; stock is how many of that fish the spot holds.

Home (Inquisition Base)

The Home fishing spot is west of the Garden, by your house, and open from the start.

Every Breadcrumb cast here is a Pike, but the spot only holds one. For more Pike, use the Forest.

Village

The Village fishing spot is on the west side of the Village, north-west of the Royal Services mailbox. The Village opens after Certificate, Please; its milestone costs 2 Faith.

Crucian bites a little more often here than at home, especially at night.

Port Area

The Port fishing spot sits at the south-east tip of the Port Area, which opens once you win Break Through to the Port and finish Docked and Found. Milestone: 3 Faith. The Fisherman stands at the south end of the same district.

No unbaited fish here: bring Breadcrumb Bait at least.

Forest

The Forest fishing spot is south-east of the Bandit Camp, by the wooden bridge from the Forest to the Swamp. You need the Forest Pass from Into the Forest to get in.

Every fish here needs bait. The spot holds two Pike to the home spot’s one, and more Salmon and Goldfish than the Port, with better odds. The Celestial Salmon keeps you waiting longest for a bite, 4 to 8 seconds.

Swamp

The Swamp fishing spot lies south-east of the Heart of the Swamp. The bandits open the way after Go Wild in the Wild Lands; the milestone costs 8 Faith.

The richest water in the game: fully stocked, it holds about 11 silver of sellable catch, the two best-paying fish included. The Frogs are a hidden bonus: unbaited casts here only ever hook Frogs, and a Frog sells for 112 bronze at a level 2 Fish Stand, as much as a Pike, for no bait at all. Clear the five Frogs with free casts first. Once they are out they stop competing for your Breadcrumb and Insect Bait, so every baited bite goes to the fish you actually came for.

Sewers (unconfirmed)

A Sewers fishing spot appears in the game’s fishing table with a single species, Eel, at 100% on Insect Bait and a stock of 2. Whether you can actually reach it in play is not confirmed. Plan your Eels around the Swamp.

Every fish and what it is worth

Prices are in bronze (100 bronze make 1 silver). Fish are fixed-price goods: the Fish Stand pays the full price however many you bring. “Stand” is the Fish Stand level that starts buying the fish. Fight is how hard the fish pulls on the line; use it as a difficulty ranking.

Selling: the Fish Stand and its catches

The Fish Stand is the only buyer of whole fish, which means nothing buys your fish until you build it. It is a Town shop unlocked by Market Stalls II (130 red, 30 green) and built from 6 Building Kit I, 4 Wooden Kit I and 2 Iron Kit I. Level 1 buys 10 species, level 2 all 18 sellable ones.

• The purse is tiny. The stand opens with 1 silver and adds 20 bronze a day (50 at level 2, 1 silver at level 3). A single Eel is worth more than its opening purse. Sell a few fish per visit. Only the difference of each trade window is checked, but the stand’s own goods are rods and a bag that nobody buys back, so taking goods as part payment only makes sense when you want that rod.
• Its upgrades eat rods. Fish Stand II costs an Advanced Rod and Fish Stand III a Pro Rod, alongside the kits. The stand only sells those rods after the upgrade, so you craft the first one or give up your own.
• It competes for a plot. The Town has 7 Merchant Stalls plots for 8 stall shops, so one stall shop never gets built, and plenty of players leave out this one. Read town restoration before you decide.

Before the stand exists, Herm is your fish buyer of sorts: he buys River fish fillets at 8 bronze each. Legendary fish, Sea fish fillets and Mysterious fish fillets have no buyer at all.

Fillets and fish dishes

Fillets are cut at the Kitchen Table, one fish per batch, at 2 energy a tick: River fish fillets need Farming 3 and 5 ticks, Sea fish fillets Farming 5 and 6 ticks, Mysterious fish fillets Farming 6 and 7 ticks. Fish Filleter doubles every yield. The dishes are baked in the Kitchen Oven (every recipe is in the cooking guide), which runs on Fuel from a Firewood shed and finishes batches on its own.

None of these dishes adds Insanity, unlike Baked meat, and none of them can be sold. The Heat Saver talent cuts their Fuel to 5 or 10 per batch.

Sell or cook?

• Small fish: cook. A Roach sells for 10 bronze; as one fillet plus a Seed oil it becomes 3 Fish nuggets, 75 energy.
• Big river fish: your call. A Pike sells for 112 bronze, or becomes 4 fillets, 2 batches of Baked fish and 240 energy (400 with Cook II).
• Sea fish: Baked salmon. An Eel sells for 192 bronze, or becomes 3 Sea fish fillets and 9 Baked salmon, 360 energy for 3 Salt. Per fillet, Baked salmon beats Fish soup by a wide margin.
• Mysterious fish: they do sell (a Swamp Ghost fetches 154 bronze), but their fillets are your only way to the Fisherman’s Pro Rod and to Fisherman’s pie; see below.
• Legendary fish: there is no sale to weigh, nobody buys them.

Energy and its ceiling are covered in energy and insanity; the bigger money picture is in money making.

Mysterious fish: Goldfish, Silverfin and Swamp Ghost

Three species count as Mysterious fish, and their fillets make up the Fisherman’s last challenge.

• Goldfish: Port and Forest, Insect Bait, 72 bronze, 1 fillet. It is also the only ordinary fish with alchemy runes (2 green, 1 blue), and studying one at the Study Table pays 50 red, 50 green and 50 blue points for 3 Science and 3 Faith.
• Silverfin: Swamp, Breadcrumb Bait, 112 bronze, 2 fillets. The only Mysterious fish you can hook before Insect Bait, but the Swamp holds just one at a time.
• Swamp Ghost: Swamp, Insect Bait, a night fish (36% at night, 18% by day), 154 bronze, 3 fillets. The richest fillet fish of the three.

Mysterious fish fillets are cut at the Kitchen Table at Farming 6, and only after the Mysterious fish dishes technology, which the Fisherman hands over at his second delivery. They do exactly two things: the 5 fillets of his final challenge, and Fisherman’s pie. Nobody buys them.

Fisherman’s pie shows 20 energy and 10 points of each colour on its tooltip. Higher figures, 80 energy and 30 points of each colour, have been reported but are not confirmed in play.

Legendary fish and Live Bait

Four legendary fish exist, one at each spot except Home, and each bites only on Live Bait, at 100% when it is there. Each spot holds one and restocks it very slowly, so once you land it, stop casting Live Bait at that spot.

• Nobody buys them. Their listed values (30 to 36 silver) are for show. Cook them: Fried golden carp, Kraken steak, Heavenly salmon and Elder’s meal are among the best tech-point foods in the game, and Cook II makes 2 dishes per fish, doubling the points.
• Energy: the tooltips say 30. Higher figures have been reported (60 energy for the three single-colour dishes, 120 energy and 90 points of each colour for Elder’s meal), but they are not confirmed in play.
• Point values: the +50 points in the table are reported, not yet confirmed in play.
• The study option: studying a legendary fish at the Study Table pays 100 points spread over the three colours, for 10 Science.
• Gear up before the fight. Fight 17 to 20 tops every other fish (Trout and Eel, the next hardest, sit at 15). Bring the Pro Rod, eat a Muffin, and take the Fisherman talent if you can (20 becomes 14 on the Elder Catfish).

The fishing quests: from Basic Rod to Pro Rod

Ten Town Gratitude across the line is worth more than it looks: each one is 5 Likes, and Januarius charges 10 silver for one.

The Fisherman checks fillets, not whole fish, so cut your catch before you visit. The cheapest way through each stage:

1. 5 River fish fillets: one Pike (4) and one Roach (1), or five Roaches if you have no Breadcrumb Bait yet (the Home and Village spots hold two each, so expect a restock). Unlocks Sea fish dishes.
2. 5 Sea fish fillets: five Anchovy or Mackerel on Breadcrumb Bait at the Port (it holds two of each, so one restock); with Insect Bait, an Eel or Trout plus a Tuna or Salmon. Unlocks Mysterious fish dishes.
3. 5 Mysterious fish fillets: one Silverfin and one Swamp Ghost. Pays the Pro Rod.

Fishing IV is hidden until Plenty of Fish in the Sea, which opens after Jack in a Boat or First… Sludge?, whichever you finish first. Whether the quest hands you the technology outright or only reveals it, leaving its 150 green points and its place behind Vineyard Improvement, is not settled. Check your tree after the hand-in.

Fishing also counts toward Fish Magnet: land 50 fish. Unbaited casts at the Home and Village spots count, but each holds only five unbaited fish when full, so rotate spots and add baited catches to get there sooner.

A fishing route that works

1. First days: the Basic Rod. Do Two Peas in a Pod, or research Fishing I (15 green) and craft one. Fish unbaited at home for The Quiet Art, which unlocks River fish dishes. Fillet your Roaches into Fish nuggets or sell the fillets to Herm.
2. Fishing II (40 green, after Garden Improvement I; 85 green from scratch). Breadcrumb Bait from Bread: one Pike per restock at home, Herring and Bream in the Village.
3. Port open. Start Fish for the Fisher: a Pike and a Roach for stage one, Anchovy and Mackerel for stage two.
4. Plenty of Fish in the Sea. Three Flax Thread for the twins, then check whether Fishing IV is free on your tree.
5. Swamp open. Free Frogs whenever the spot has restocked, a Silverfin toward stage three, a Catfish on the side.
6. Fishing III (120 green, after Zombie Vineyard; 450 green and 60 blue from scratch). Insect Bait opens Eel, Swamp Ghost, Trout, Salmon, Tuna and Goldfish. Finish the Fisherman and collect the Pro Rod.
7. Fishing IV and Live Bait. Night flowers into Lacquer, Flesh from autopsies, and one tour of the four spots for the legendary fish.

Build the Fish Stand whenever Market Stalls II fits your plans, and keep an Advanced Rod and a spare Pro Rod in mind for its upgrades. Where Fishing sits among the other trees is in tech priorities.

Common mistakes

• Rod in the backpack. It only counts on the hotbar.
• Trusting the Attracts tooltip. Use the spot tables; the tooltip lists the wrong fish.
• Casting bait at an emptied spot. Each cast eats a bait, catch or not. Live Bait at a spot whose legendary fish you already caught is wasted until it restocks, which takes far longer than for any other fish.
• Holding the reel through a fight. Let go while the fish struggles, reel while it rests.
• Bringing whole fish to the Fisherman. He wants fillets.
• Fishing for Gudgeon at night. Its odds halve. Fish by day.
• Paying for Frogs’ bait. Frogs bite unbaited at the Swamp and sell for 112 bronze.
• Dumping a sack of Eels on the Fish Stand. It only buys them from level 2, and its purse refills by 50 bronze a day at that level; sell a few at a time.
• Putting your only Pro Rod into Fish Stand III before you have finished with legendary fish. No trader buys rods back, and the stand only sells Pro Rods once that upgrade is built.
• Pulling Flesh out of a body you meant to bury well. It costs you a white skull.
• Training zombies to fish. No spot accepts them; Novice Fisherman and Veteran Fisherman are wasted points. Better perks are in the zombies guide.