Fish types, baits, and locations - Sea of Thieves

Learn the location of all the fish types as well as the bait you will need to catch them in Sea of Thieves.

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There are numerous fish types to catch in Sea of Thieves, and all these fish are found in different locations. If you want to become a master angler and rank up through the Hunter’s Call, you’re going to need to know where to find each fish type and what bait to use.


Fish locations and bait

fish locations sea of thieves
Knowing the fish locations, and the bait needed to catch them, is important if you want to unlock special fishing rods.

There are 10 different species of fish to catch in Sea of Thieves. Each of these species requires you use a specific bait to catch them. Keep in mind that a fish that requires no bait can still be caught using bait. What this means is that the Splashtail, while requiring no bait to catch, will still be just as interested in your line whether it’s got a grub, earthworm, leech or nothing on it at all.

  • Splashtail – No bait required
  • Plentifin – Earthworms
  • Ancientscale – Leeches
  • Wildsplash – Earthworms
  • Devilfish – Grubs
  • Islehopper – No bait required
  • Pondie – No bait required
  • Battlegill – Grubs
  • Stormfish – Leeches
  • Wrecker – Earthworms

Reddit user SirNilsOlavl has also put together this helpful Sea of Thieves fishing chart:

Sea of Thieves fish locations and types

Where to find each fish type

There are also sub-species of fish in Sea of Thieves. The main ten are just the surface level. Each species of fish has five variants and a trophy version of each of these. This means that, ignoring trophy versions, there are 50 types of fish to catch.

The trick is that each of the different variants can potentially have a specific area which they can be caught. So while an Islehopper is always found around islands, you can only catch the Moss variant in the Ancient Isles and the Honey variant in the Shores of Plenty.

If you want to unlock all the fishing rods, you need to make sure you’re using the correct bait and casting your line off in the right area.


Splashtail – No bait required

The Splashtail is the most common fish in Sea of Thieves. It does not require bait to be caught (it will even eat any bait), can be found across all the main regions, and will even appear in ponds. There’s a good chance you’ll wind up frustrated, as the Splashtail always seems to find its way onto your hook when you don’t want it. The only variant of the Splashtail that requires timing is the Seafoam, as it’s only available at night:

  • Ruby Splashtail
  • Sunny Splashtail
  • Indigo Splashtail
  • Umber Splashtail
  • Seafoam Splashtail – Night

Plentifin – Earthworms

Plentifin Sea of Thieves
The Plentifin is found in the Shores of Plenty and is caught with earthworms.

The Plentifin is native to the Shores of Plenty. This humble little fish is squat in appearance and loves eating earthworms. Of all the variants, only the Watery Plentifin requires special timing, as it’s only found at night.

  • Olive Plentifin
  • Amber Plentifin
  • Cloudy Plentifin
  • Bonedust Plentifin
  • Watery Plentifin – Night

Ancientscale – Leeches

The Ancientscale, as the name suggests, is only found in the Ancient Isles. This long and flat fish (easily confused with Splashtails), can be caught using leeches. Out of the five variants, the Starshine is the one that can only be caught at night.

  • Almond Ancientscale
  • Sapphire Ancientscale
  • Smoke Ancientscale
  • Bone Ancientscale
  • Starshine Ancientscale – Night

Wildsplash – Earthworms

The Wildsplash are native to The Wilds, a murky and dark area with a fish to match it. The Wildsplash fish has a sort of moustache-like top lip and can be caught using earthworms. Much like the previous fish types, the Coral Wildsplash is the special night variant.

  • Russet Wildsplash
  • Sandy Wildsplash
  • Ocean Wildsplash
  • Muddy Wildsplash
  • Coral Wildsplash – Night

Devilfish – Grubs

The Devilfish, found in the Devil’s Roar, is an angry little fish that loves eating grubs. You can find this one all over the fiery place, just be careful of those eruptions. For the Devilfish, the Firelight version is the one you’ll be catching at night.

  • Ashen Devilfish
  • Seashell Devilfish
  • Lava Devilfish
  • Forsaken Devilfish
  • Firelight Devilfish – Night

Islehopper – No bait required

The Iselhopper doesn’t require any bait to be caught, but that doesn’t make it easy to catch. As the name suggests, the Islehopper can only be caught around islands, unfortunately this means you could wind up catching Splashtails. The trick to this one is to use no bait, and if the fish is long and flat, quickly bring the line in. Four of the five variants of the Islehopper require you to fish in a specific location or time with the Raven type being the one found anywhere.

  • Stone Islehopper – The Wilds
  • Moss Islehopper – Ancient Isles
  • Raven Islehopper
  • Honey Islehopper – Shores of Plenty
  • Amethyst Islehopper – Night

Pondie – No bait required

The Pondie is probably the easiest species of fish to catch in Sea of Thieves. A Pondie needs no bait and can be caught in the safety and comfort of a pond. The Moonsky Pondie can only be caught at night. The best place to catch Pondies is on Devil’s Ridge or Mermaid’s Hideaway. Both of these locations have a little pond with a nice rock up high away from skeletons, as well as a frypan nearby.

  • Charcoal Pondies
  • Orchid Pondies
  • Bronze Pondies
  • Bright Pondies
  • Moonsky Pondies – Night

Battlegill – Grubs

The Battlegill loves eating grubs and can be found around active Skeleton Forts and Skeleton Ships. This means you will need to get close to the action and then start fishing. For the best results, find an active Skeleton Fort and anchor in a spot where the towers can’t get you, then just cast off. The Bittersweet Battlegill is your night-time variant.

  • Jade Battlegill
  • Sky Battlegill
  • Rum Battlegill
  • Sand Battlegill
  • Bittersweet Battlegill – Night

Stormfish – Leeches

stormfish sea of thieves
The Stormfish is found in storms and eats leeches.

The Stormfish is going to be the most troublesome to catch, as you will need to become a storm chaser. To make matters worse, seeing what type of fish is circling your line is almost impossible during a full storm and murky water. The matter is further complicated thanks to the fact that four of the five variants are found in specific areas. You will need to find a storm near these areas, and then start fishing and hope the storm doesn’t move away. Make sure you are using leeches to catch the Stormfish.

  • Ancient Stormfish – Ancient Isles
  • Shores Stormfish – Shores of Plenty
  • Wild Stormfish – The Wilds
  • Shadow Stormfish
  • Twilight Stormfish – Night

Wrecker – Earthworms

The last of the fish types is the Wrecker. As the name suggests, the Wrecker is found around shipwrecks and loves nothing more than earthworms. Sail around the Sea of Thieves and when you spot a shipwreck, drop anchor and start fishing. All the variants are randomly caught, except for the Moon Wrecker, which is only found at night.

  • Rose Wrecker
  • Blackcloud Wrecker
  • Snow Wrecker
  • Sun Wrecker
  • Moon Wrecker – Night

Fishing rods

fishing rods sea of thieves
To purchase a fishing rod, you must first unlock the title listed. To do this, catch all five variants of a fish type.

With the release of the Anniversary Update to Sea of Thieves came fishing, which meant players could purchase fishing rods. However, the fishing rods are not available for purchase right away.

To unlock a fishing rod, you must unlock the required commendation and title in the Hunter’s Call. For example, the Parrot fishing rod requires the Hunter of Pondies title. To earn this title, deliver all five variants of the Pondie to the Hunter’s Call.

  • Parrot fishing rod – Hunter of Pondies
  • Admiral fishing rod – Hunter of Plentifins
  • Ceremonial Admiral fishing rod – Hunter of Plentifins
  • Grand Admiral fishing rod – Hunter of Plentifins
  • Bilge Rat fishing rod – Hunter of Splashtails
  • Castaway Bilge Rat fishing rod – Hunter of Splashtails
  • Scurvy Bilge Rat fishing rod – Hunter of Splashtails
  • Forsaken Ashes fishing rod – Hunter of Devilfishes
  • Hunter fishing rod – Hunter of Islehoppers
  • Kraken fishing rod – Hunter of Stormfishes
  • Ocean Crawler fishing rod – Hunter of Wreckers
  • Sea Dog fishing rod – Hunter of Wildsplashes
  • Ruffian Sea Dog fishing rod – Hunter of Wildsplashes
  • Rogue Sea Dog fishing rod – Hunter of Wildsplashes
  • Bone Crusher fishing rod – Hunter of Battlegirlls
  • Royal Sovereign fishing rod – Hunter of Ancientscales
  • Imperial Sovereign fishing rod – Hunter of Ancientscales
  • Sovereign fishing rod – Hunter of Ancientscales

As you can see, some of the titles unlock multiple fishing rods. Find the fishing rod design you like and then start hunting down those fish!


Fishing feels right at home in Sea of Thieves. There’s nothing quite like setting sail, finding a nice fishing spot, and casting off. If you want to become a master angler, you’ll need to start finding all the fish locations and deliver each type to the Hunter’s Call. Check out the Shacknews Sea of Thieves guide and walkthrough for more helpful guides, such as our complete Shores of Gold guide!

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Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler 

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