VALHEIM.MAP

Valheim fishing guide: every fish, its depth and its bait

Fishing in Valheim comes down to matching a bait to a fish. Each fish swims at a set depth and takes specific baits. This guide lists the tackle, then every fish in one table, then the fish that can drop extra items, and ends with comparisons the table makes visible.

Tackle

The Fishing Rod is a two-handed weapon. Every bait is ammo, so you load it into the rod.

ItemType
Fishing RodTwo-handed weapon
Fishing BaitAmmo
Cold Fishing BaitAmmo
Frosty Fishing BaitAmmo
Heavy Fishing BaitAmmo
Hot Fishing BaitAmmo
Misty Fishing BaitAmmo
Mossy Fishing BaitAmmo
Sticky Fishing BaitAmmo
Stingy Fishing BaitAmmo

Every fish

The bait column shows the bait the fish takes, with the bait's chance in brackets. Each fish has a single bait listed, and every one has a chance of (1). Depth is the range the fish swims at.

FishDepthBait (chance)Base hook chanceStamina use
Tetra0.5 to 1Cold Fishing Bait (1)0.111
Perch1.5 to 3Fishing Bait (1)0.13
Northern Salmon1.5 to 3Frosty Fishing Bait (1)0.120
Magmafish1.5 to 3Hot Fishing Bait (1)0.118
Pufferfish1.5 to 3Misty Fishing Bait (1)0.114
Trollfish1.5 to 3Mossy Fishing Bait (1)0.19
Giant Herring1.5 to 3Sticky Fishing Bait (1)0.110
Grouper1.5 to 3Stingy Fishing Bait (1)0.112
Coral Cod1.5 to 3Heavy Fishing Bait (1)0.112
Anglerfish1.5 to 3Misty Fishing Bait (1)0.114
Pike2 to 4Fishing Bait (1)0.15
Tuna4 to 999Heavy Fishing Bait (1)0.17

Which bait for which fish

Most baits are tied to a single fish. Three baits are shared between two fish, so what you catch depends on the depth you fish at, or on what is biting:

The remaining baits each match one fish:

Extra drops

Every fish in the list sometimes drops extra items. The extra drop chance is 0.2 for all of them.

FishSometimes drops
PerchStone, Amber
Northern SalmonCarrot Seeds, Silver
MagmafishFlametal Ore, Surtling Core, Grausten
PufferfishSap, Ooze
PikeFlint, Amber Pearl
TunaTin Ore, Ruby
TetraObsidian, Coins
TrollfishTroll Hide, Copper Ore
Giant HerringIron Ore, Chain
GrouperBlack Metal Scrap, Barley
Coral CodChitin, Onion Seeds
AnglerfishSoft Tissue, Blue Jute

Magmafish has the longest drop list, with three items. Every other fish lists two.

What the table shows

Deepest fish: Tuna swims at 4 to 999, the deepest range by far. Pike is next at 2 to 4, and Tuna starts exactly where Pike's range ends.

Shallowest fish: Tetra swims at 0.5 to 1, the only fish above the 1.5 to 3 band. Most of the list shares that 1.5 to 3 band.

Easiest to hook: No fish has an edge here. Every fish has a base hook chance of 0.1, so the base hook chance does not separate one fish from another. What does differ is stamina use and speed.

Strongest fish: Northern Salmon uses the most stamina at 20, followed by Magmafish at 18. Pufferfish and Anglerfish both use 14.

Lightest on stamina: Perch uses 3, then Pike at 5 and Tuna at 7. These are the three lowest values.

Fastest fish: Tuna has a speed of 10, well ahead of Pike at 5. Tetra and Anglerfish are the slowest at 2 each.

Tuna against Northern Salmon: Tuna is the fastest and deepest fish but uses only 7 stamina. Northern Salmon has a speed of 4 yet uses 20. Speed and stamina use do not track each other in this list, so check both numbers for any fish you target.

Written from the game data of Valheim 1.0.17, last updated October 9, 2026.

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