How to fish in 99 Nights in the Forest: the Old Rod, all rod tiers, every fish species and the four fishing badges.
Cập nhật lần cuối: 5 tháng 8, 2026Fishing Guide — Every Fish, Rod Tier & Badge
Fishing is the calmest way to stay fed in Dino Kid — and one of the most rewarding. Ten fish species across five water types, a Trident hiding in the Bone Ponds, free ammo and medkits, and four badges worth 25 Diamonds. Here is the complete breakdown.
Why fishing is worth your time
Hunting costs ammo and pulls you away from camp. Fishing costs nothing, happens at a pond you can usually see from the fire, and pays out in three currencies at once: food, crafting scrap and rare loot. It is also the only source of Char, Eel, Lava Eel and Lionfish, and the only place the Trident exists.
- ▸Renewable food that never runs out — cooked fish beat most early meat.
- ▸Free Revolver and Rifle ammo, Bandages and Medkits pulled straight from the water.
- ▸Four badges worth 25 Diamonds plus two furniture rewards.
- ▸Mackerel and Salmon feed the taming loop — Alpha Wolves want fish.
- ▸One catch: you are locked in place during the mini-game. Fish in daylight or with a teammate watching your back.
How to fish — step by step
1 · Get an Old Rod
Upgrade your campfire to Level 2 so the Fishing Cabin can appear, then grab the free rods inside. In a hurry? The Fisherman class starts with one.
2 · Find water — look for ripples
Any pond works, but a surface covered in constant ripples is a hotspot: catches come far faster there for a short window. Prioritise those.
3 · Cast and wait for the bite
Equip the rod, click the water to cast, then watch the bobber. Easy fish reel in automatically; harder ones start the mini-game.
4 · Win the timing mini-game
Keep the moving marker inside the green zone until the bar completes. Do not spam-click — steady timing beats panic, and better rods shrink the difficulty.
5 · Cook it, then upgrade
Cooked fish restore far more hunger than raw. Every catch also fills the rod XP bar — when it is full, return to the Cabin and upgrade for free.
All three rod tiers
Old Rod
Free from the Fishing Cabin (≈5 per visit), Fisherman class starter, Pelt Trader, Common/Good ChestsStandard cast speed and standard catches. Every player starts here — higher rods cannot be found directly.
Good Rod
Upgrade an Old Rod at the Fishing Cabin bench once its XP bar is full (free)Faster hook times and access to rarer species. The point where farming taming ingredients gets practical.
Strong Rod
Upgrade a Good Rod the same way — keep fishing until the bar fills againMax tier. Needed to catch sharks consistently and to realistically pull a Trident. Reaching it earns the Baiting badge.
Upgrades are free — the only cost is catches. There is no shortcut: you cannot buy or find a Good Rod or Strong Rod, so every account grinds the same Old Rod path.
The five water types (and what unlocks them)
Pond quality is tied to your campfire level — better fire, better water spawns near you. This is why late-run fishing is dramatically more profitable than Day 1 fishing.
Fresh Pond
Campfire levels 1–4 — the ponds near your starting camp
Mackerel, Salmon, Clownfish, Swordfish
Algal Pond
Campfire levels 4–5 — green, murky water further out
Salmon, Clownfish, Swordfish, Jellyfish, Shark
Bone Pond
Campfire level 6 — dark water littered with skeletons
Clownfish, Swordfish, Jellyfish, Shark + the Trident
Cold Pond
Cold Hut and the Snow Biome only
Char, Eel — nothing else drops these two
Lava Pool
Volcanic area — yes, you can fish in lava
Lava Eel, Lionfish
All 10 fish species
| Fish | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mackerel | Fresh Pond | Low hunger restore — the common early catch, also a taming ingredient |
| Salmon | Fresh, Algal | Moderate hunger restore. Stocked by taming players |
| Clownfish | Fresh, Algal, Bone | Minimal hunger and it chips your health if eaten raw — cook it |
| Swordfish | Fresh, Algal, Bone | High hunger restore — one of the best food fish |
| Jellyfish | Algal, Bone | Poor food, but grants a speed boost when eaten raw |
| Shark | Algal, Bone | Very high hunger restore. 30 of them = the Deep Sea Fishing badge |
| Char | Cold Pond | Cold-water exclusive — needed for the Fish Index |
| Eel | Cold Pond | Cold-water exclusive and rarer than Char |
| Lava Eel | Lava Pool | Volcanic exclusive — you need a trip to the lava to index it |
| Lionfish | Lava Pool | Volcanic exclusive, the other half of the lava pair |
Non-fish catches worth chasing
| Item | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trident | Bone Pond | The rarest catch in the game — a weapon dealing ~37.5–62 damage |
| Medkit | Bone Pond | Full-strength healing item, free from the water |
| Gem of the Forest Fragment | Bone Pond | Progression material — a real reason to fish Bone Ponds |
| Cultist Gem | Algal, Bone, Lava | Normally a stronghold drop; fishing is a safer route |
| Revolver / Rifle Ammo | Fresh, Algal, Bone, Lava | Steady free ammo income if you fish while camping |
| Bandage | Fresh Pond | Basic healing — common early filler catch |
| Frog Boots | Frog Pond | Movement gear pulled out of frog water |
| Scrap — Bolt, Sheet Metal, Broken Fan, Old Radio, Old Car Engine, Tyre, Broken Microwave, Old Boot | Varies by pond | Building and crafting materials — the “junk” that is actually base fuel |
Hunting the Trident
The Trident is the rarest fishing pull in the game and the only one that fights back on your behalf — roughly 37.5 to 62 damage as a melee weapon. It only appears in Bone Ponds, which only spawn once your campfire hits Level 6. Bring a Strong Rod, play Fisherman for the faster hooks, and settle in: this is a long-run objective, not a Day 3 one. While you wait, Bone Ponds also cough up Medkits, Gem of the Forest Fragments and Cultist Gems, so the time is never wasted.
All four fishing badges
| Badge | Requirement | Difficulty | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baiting | Upgrade a fishing rod to max tier (Strong Rod) | 0.5★ | 4 Diamonds |
| Fishing | Catch 100 fish in total | 1★ | 5 Diamonds + Rainbow Fish Lounger furniture |
| Trophy Fishing | Fill every slot on the Fish Index Board at the Fishing Cabin | 2★ | 6 Diamonds |
| Deep Sea Fishing | Catch 30 Sharks (Strong Rod strongly recommended) | 5★ | 10 Diamonds + Fishbowl furniture |
Badge order that wastes the least time: Baiting → Fishing → Trophy Fishing → Deep Sea Fishing. Maxing the rod first speeds up all three that follow, and the 100-catch grind naturally fills most of the Fish Index if you rotate between pond types instead of camping one pond.
The Fisherman class — is it worth 50 Diamonds?
For 50 Diamonds it is one of the cheapest classes in the game, and if you intend to chase the fishing badges it pays for itself quickly.
- ✓Starts with an Old Rod already in your inventory — no Cabin hunt needed.
- ✓Level 1 — rods gain XP and level up noticeably faster.
- ✓Level 2 — instant casts and longer casting distance.
- ✓Level 3 — fish hook faster, so far less waiting per catch.
- ✓Not a combat class. Pair it with a teammate who can handle the night, or fish during the day.
The hidden “yay fishing” code
This one is not entered in the Codes menu. Start a run, equip a rod, begin fishing, then type “yay fishing” into the in-game chat — with the space, no quotes — for 2 Diamonds, once per account. Status is currently disputed: some trackers still list it as working in September 2026 while PCGamesN and AllThings.How have moved it to expired. It costs nothing to try mid-run, so test it and treat the payout as a bonus.
Fishing tips most players learn the hard way
- ▸Always cook your catch. Raw fish restore a fraction of the hunger, and raw Clownfish actively damages you.
- ▸Ripples mean a hotspot — drop everything and cast there before the window closes.
- ▸You cannot fight while reeling. Never start a cast with wolves or cultists nearby.
- ▸Rotate ponds instead of camping one. The Fish Index needs Cold and Lava water too, and those trips need warm clothing.
- ▸Keep spare Mackerel and Salmon in storage — the taming loop eats them, and Alpha Wolves are worth the stock.
- ▸Do not bin the scrap. Bolts, Sheet Metal and Old Car Engines are base-building materials, not junk.
Fish, pond and badge data compiled from gaming-media guides (Pocket Tactics, GameRant, RBLXGuide, GladiatorBoost) and cross-checked between sources. Damage values and reward amounts can shift with balance patches.