Dredge Fishing Guide: How to Catch Fish

Understanding how to catch fish in Dredge is an essential part of the game loop. You’ll need to pay off your debt and explore waters steeped in mystery and full of psychological horror. And to succeed, there are some tips to keep in mind.

Below, we’ll cover how the fishing mini-game works, explain why Rods are important, and unravel the secrets of Carb Pots and Trawl Nets.

Dredge Fishing Basics

Dredge will run you through a very basic tutorial when you embark on your first fishing trip. While you drive your boat through the murky waters, be on the lookout for bubbling areas of water — called Disturbed Water — where fish are teeming.

Start the fishing mini-game by pressing the interact button (F on PC, X on PlayStation, A on Xbox). This will bring up the fishing screen. Hit the interact button again to drop your line.

Related: How to Unlock the Camera for Photo Mode

Screenshot by GameSkinny

Once you catch a fish, a meter will appear. Hit the interact button when the meter is in the green sections. This causes the line meter to jump, allowing you to reel the fishing more quickly.

Reeling in a fish quickly is especially important when night fishing, as you don’t want to spend more time away from the dock than necessary.

Once you catch a fish, put it in your cargo hold. Each fish takes up a different number of squares in a different shape. Mackerel is a straight, two-square fish. Eels is a straight, three-square fish. And Cod is L-shaped.

As you play, fitting fish into cargo becomes a bit of a puzzle. You can rotate items going into your cargo by clicking the right mouse button (RMB) on PC, LB/RB on PlayStation, and LT/RT on Xbox.

Related: How to Get Rich Quick in Dredge

Rods and Water Types Explained

There will be some fishing spots you come across, especially in the beginning of the game, that you can’t fish from. This is because you don’t have the correct Fishing Rod for the water type yet.

There are various Dredge water types, from the coastal waters you start in to the volcanic and mangrove areas. To catch fish in these waters, buy the corresponding Rod from the shipwright. For the more complex areas, you’ll need to research the correct Rod before it’s available for purchase.

Screenshot by GameSkinny

Crab Pots and Trawl Nets Explained

As you progress in Dredge, you’ll gain access to Crab Pots and Trawl Nets, increasing the ways you can catch fish.

• Crab Pots are droppable items you can leave in the water to check on later. They only function for so long, so its best to remember when you placed them.
• Trawl Nets are added to your ship at the Shipyard and catch fish as you navigate the waters.

Those are the basics of fishing in Dredge. There is a large variety of fish to discover, as well as strange occurrences to investigate, so keep setting sail to catch fish and explore. Good luck, and here’s to full hauls! For more Dredge tips, check out our guides page.

Featured image by GameSkinny.