Fishing and bait

Where to fish

Stand at the edge of any water: a pond, a stream, a river, the sea. You need a fishing pole in your hand. Use the pole and wait; when the line goes you are told, and you pull the fish in.

Bait, and why it matters

Bare hook catches least. Every bait raises your chances, and the right bait for the fish you are after raises them twice over.

Worms: dig them out of soft ground with a shovel, or buy them.

Dough bait: flour and water.

Meat bait: any scrap of raw meat.

Prepared bait: made on the bait board and the best of the lot.

Lure: a metal spinner. It is NOT used up when you cast; it stays in your bag for good, but it does not count as bait for the two times bonus.

The bait board

The bait board is a tool, not an ingredient: it is never used up. Use it and it takes ONE piece of any raw meat OR any raw fish out of your bag, or two plain worms, and gives you two lots of prepared bait.

Watch what it takes: raw fish counts as meat here. If your bag is full of fish you caught, the board will quietly work through them. Put the fish you want to keep in a safe, a fridge or your home before you sit down with the board.

What you catch

Fish differ by water and by season, and a few are rare. Every fish can be eaten raw, cooked over a fire, or sold. Some, like the carp and the trout, are worth keeping for the fisherman's mastery.

The fishing net

A net is set down in shallow water and left. It catches on its own, on a timer, and you empty it when you pass. Only one net per person.