Fishing
12 fish across 9 baits. Valheim decides what bites from the bait on your hook, not from where you stand.
Heavy Fishing Bait2
Works in: Ocean
Chitin
Onion Seeds
Tin Ore
Ruby
Fishing Bait2
Works in: Black Forest, Meadows
Stone
Amber
Flint
Amber Pearl
Mossy Fishing Bait1
Works in: Black Forest
| Fish | Depth | Pull | Stamina/s | Also pulls up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Trollfish | 1.5–3 m | 10 | 9 |  Troll Hide 10% Copper Ore 10% |
Sticky Fishing Bait
Iron Ore
Chain
Cold Fishing Bait1
Works in: Mountain
Obsidian
Coins
Stingy Fishing Bait1
Works in: Plains
| Fish | Depth | Pull | Stamina/s | Also pulls up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Grouper | 1.5–3 m | 10 | 12 |  Black Metal Scrap 10% Barley 10% |
Misty Fishing Bait2
Works in: Mistlands
| Fish | Depth | Pull | Stamina/s | Also pulls up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Anglerfish | 1.5–3 m | 10 | 14 |  Soft Tissue 10% Blue Jute 10% |
 Pufferfish | 1.5–3 m | 10 | 14 |
Sap
Ooze
Hot Fishing Bait
Surtling Core
Grausten
Flametal Ore
Frosty Fishing Bait1
Works in: Deep North
| Fish | Depth | Pull | Stamina/s | Also pulls up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Northern Salmon | 1.5–3 m | 10 | 20 |  Carrot Seeds 13.3% Silver 6.7% |
How fishing works
Cast with a fishing rod, wait for the float to dip, then hold the attack button to reel. Reeling drains stamina every second and the fish will bolt if you let it; the Fishing skill lowers that drain as it levels. The bait on the hook is the only thing that decides which of the 12 fish can bite, and all 9 baits are bought from Haldor or crafted from the fish you already have.
Valheim has 12 catchable fish spread across 9 baits, and the bait is the gate — the right water with the wrong bait catches nothing. Tuna sits deepest and Northern Salmon costs the most stamina to land. Every bait also pulls up materials as a side catch, 25 different ones in total, which is what turns fishing into a quiet way to farm ore and gems you would otherwise mine.
Your Valheim Reference, On Your PC
Every item, creature, recipe and boss from the game files, plus crafting, meal, comfort and weapon-matchup planners — in a desktop app beside Valheim. Free on your PC.
- Items, creatures & bosses
- Crafting & meal planners
- Desktop-exclusive tools
Help us maintain accuracy! If you notice incorrect stats, missing data, or any issues, your feedback directly improves the quality of our data for the entire community.
Valheim fishing FAQ
What bait do I need in Valheim?
A different one per biome. The plain fishing bait Haldor sells covers Meadows and Black Forest water; every later biome has its own, crafted from a fish you caught with the previous tier. Across all 9 baits there are 12 fish to catch.
Can you catch anything besides fish?
Yes, and it is the reason to pick bait deliberately. Each fish carries its own side table — flint and amber on the starter bait, iron ore and chains in the swamp, flametal and surtling cores in the Ashlands — 25 different materials in total.
Which fish is hardest to land?
Northern Salmon, which drains the most stamina per second while you reel. Raising the Fishing skill cuts that drain, so the same fish gets noticeably easier once the skill is up.
Which fish lives deepest in Valheim?
Tuna. Depth is a real gate rather than flavour: a fish with a deep minimum cannot be reached from a shoreline at all, so the list doubles as a checklist of which catches need a boat and which do not.
What fish are there in Valheim?
12 in total: Coral Cod, Tuna, Perch, Pike, Trollfish, Giant Herring, Tetra, Grouper, Anglerfish, Pufferfish, Magmafish, Northern Salmon. Each has its own bait, depth band and stamina cost, which is why the fish you can catch changes far more with where you are standing than with how good your rod is.