I want a Reap What You Sow update, but for fishing - Trawl What You Haul

[loopuleasa]

We have a cool and complex farming system, with cool crop crockpot dishes to reward those that want to become a full time farmer.

In comparison, becoming a full time fisherman is not possible in the same aspect, because of lack of depth of the fishing system.

Fishing (baiting and catching) is boring and obfuscated, and the fish themselves are bland (each fish does not have special uses).

Please klei, I like being fisherman fantasy. I will buy all your fisherman skins.

 

[hyoton123]

I wouldnt mind better ways of guaranteeing fish to spawn, but I’m not sure what else they should add. Hot/cold fish are valuable, fish can be traded for teleports, their recipes are okay and they can be turned to generic meat quickly.

[GimplyGoose]

I mean isn't ocean fishing compared with pond fishing like this already? How much more complicated do you think fishing should be? 

[RubLog6]

What's with the sudden spam? Haha. Yea it'll be nice to have some stuff to mess around with when you're not fighting...

I can only think of fish farms like sw in dst or some really good ocean fish specific crockpot foods...

[Kyno]

I want something like this but for animals, ranching. Instead of killing them for loots and all, you keep them around for long term rewards.

[crushcircuit]

6 minutes ago, RubLog6 said:

I can only think of fish farms like sw in dst[...]

this is ocean trawlers, isn't it? i have very limited experience with SW but i'm pretty sure ocean trawlers are the fish farms of DST

[RubLog6]

1 hour ago, crushcircuit said:

this is ocean trawlers, isn't it? i have very limited experience with SW but i'm pretty sure ocean trawlers are the fish farms of DST

nah theyre very different, but yea trawlers are a dst thing. the trawl net and fish farm is a dst thing

 

Edited September 18, 2025 by RubLog6

[Hungry French]

On 18.09.2025 at 14:33, loopuleasa said:

У нас крутая и сложная система фермерства, а также крутые блюда из овощей, приготовленные в мультиварке, в качестве награды для тех, кто хочет стать фермером на полную ставку.

Для сравнения: стать профессиональным рыбаком в том же аспекте невозможно из-за недостаточной глубины рыболовной системы.

Рыбалка (наживка и ловля) — занятие скучное и запутанное, а сама рыба невкусная (у каждой рыбы своё предназначение).

Пожалуйста, клей, мне нравится быть рыбаком в фантазиях. Я куплю все твои рыбацкие скины.

 

The fishing is perfect. The garden update has made it too strong... 

 

Edited September 23, 2025 by Hungry French

[lowercase skye]

On 9/18/2025 at 7:33 AM, loopuleasa said:

We have a cool and complex farming system, with cool crop crockpot dishes to reward those that want to become a full time farmer.

In comparison, becoming a full time fisherman is not possible in the same aspect, because of lack of depth of the fishing system.

With ocean trawlers, fish food from Pearl, stupefying lures, and a good way to kill gnarwails/rockjaws, it's very possible to match or surpass the yields that farming can give. Even more so if you use barnacles to supplement fish value in the crock pot, or to make stuffed fish heads.

[loopuleasa]

36 minutes ago, Hungry French said:

The fishing is perfect. The garden update has made it too strong... 

 

 

24 minutes ago, lowercase skye said:

With ocean trawlers, fish food from Pearl, stupefying lures, and a good way to kill gnarwails/rockjaws, it's very possible to match or surpass the yields that farming can give. Even more so if you use barnacles to supplement fish value in the crock pot, or to make stuffed fish heads.

To clarify, what I mean is not raw caloric power of the fishing mechanic.

What I mean is interestingness of mechanics

- All fish are the same to one another basically (unlike crops having different uses and powers)

- Fishing and baiting is a boring mechanic (if you compare it to nutrient system in farming)

More stuff like Sunfish and Ice bream for instance, and having a more complex bait system that is discoverable similar to the gardening hat UI.

[Hungry French]

3 hours ago, loopuleasa said:

 

Чтобы было понятнее, я имею в виду не сырую калорийность рыболовной механики.

Я имею в виду увлекательность механики

— По сути, все рыбы одинаковы (в отличие от культур, которые имеют разное назначение и свойства)

— Рыбалка и наживка — скучная механика (если сравнивать её с системой питательных веществ в сельском хозяйстве)

Например, больше таких видов, как солнечник и ледяной лещ, а также более сложная система приманок, которую можно найти с помощью пользовательского интерфейса «Садоводческая шляпа».

Fishing is rather confusing. Yes, the directory should be for convenience. But all fish have different places of appearance, they have different behavior during fishing, they need different baits, but they are not so useful and they do not make a bunch of different dishes with incredible characteristics. 
I like fishing more. 
Garden... Well I do not know... It feels somehow different... He's too predictable and manageable. You can grow any plants, and forget the rest altogether.

The classical system did  provide one thing - it was inefficient, difficult and costly to propagate a certain type of products. Seeds of certain plants should be a real rarity, like in DS...
isn't that interesting? Waiting for the harvest, there could be anything. From the unloved Durian, Carrots, etc. to the legendary dragon pie. But you get something anyway, and you're already thinking about how good it is to get a certain type of vegetable...

My vision is more set up as adding a pleasant thing to survival, rather than creativity. I'm not playing Minecraft or even Terraria.

 

How can a game be Don't Starve if you can effortlessly create a huge vegetable garden full of the best vegetables. And there's a lot of that in the game. When you feel affluent. Which, with a little experience, comes very quickly and with little money...

And DST players are so used to it...

Edited September 23, 2025 by Hungry French

[Echsrick]

i think fish is fine as is

[loopuleasa]

13 hours ago, Echsrick said:

i think fish is fine as is

Not if you are a fisherman main in games like Stardew Valley.

When I play an entire pub as fisherman I get bored in one season.

You can't really be a full time fisherman in this game, but you definitely can be a full time farmer.

Edited September 24, 2025 by loopuleasa

[Echsrick]

8 hours ago, loopuleasa said:

Not if you are a fisherman main in games like Stardew Valley.

When I play an entire pub as fisherman I get bored in one season.

You can't really be a full time fisherman in this game, but you definitely can be a full time farmer.

fish are boring in general, what you even want out of it? timed buton presses? rng catching? we got those fishing nets in the game to get them passivly

 

[Jorvalt]

It would be really nice to get new boat types, the current one feels pretty cramped once you've got a fair bit of stuff on it (campfire/endothermic fire, mast, steering wheel, tin fishin' bin)

Makes it really hard to deal with certain enemies like cookie cutters and rockjaws.

[GetNerfedOn]

we have much documentation and prior discussion to prove the current, relatively deep depth of the fishing system

 

Spoiler

 

 

it is also noted in those discussions that fishing doesn't reward a player as much when weighed against time and effort investment. farming's boon is that for the fair amount of time, effort and resources you invest you get multiple rewards; fishing has instant gratification but ultimately pits a player against a complex mechanic to get one fish at a time

Edited September 28, 2025 by GetNerfedOn

[Hungry French]

15 hours ago, GetNerfedOn said:

у нас есть множество документов и предварительных обсуждений, подтверждающих текущую, относительно большую глубину рыболовной системы

 

  Раскрыть скрытое содержимое

 

 

В этих обсуждениях также отмечается, что рыбалка не приносит игроку такого же вознаграждения, как в случае с затратами времени и сил. Преимущество фермерства в том, что за вложенные время, силы и ресурсы вы получаете множество наград. Рыбалка приносит мгновенное удовлетворение, но в конечном счёте игроку приходится сталкиваться со сложной механикой, чтобы поймать одну рыбу за раз

Is that a bad thing ? Complex mechanics are a good thing.
And the reward is meaningless because any other needs can be met by more profitable sources of food.

[Echsrick]

21 hours ago, Hungry French said:

Is that a bad thing ? Complex mechanics are a good thing.

no? complext things for the sake of being complex is not a good thing

[Hungry French]

55 minutes ago, Echsrick said:

no? complext things for the sake of being complex is not a good thing

They are complex because DST is an uncompromising survival game. You may have forgotten about this in the midst of the legendary broken items that have made their way from DS and even more new ones from DST

Fishing should actually be a very important mechanic for surviving in the ocean, which is well depicted in the trailer and splash art, but unfortunately, you can take an ice box into the ocean, 3 stacks of ice, and 1 stack of monster meat, and forget about fishing.

 

[Echsrick]

15 minutes ago, Hungry French said:

They are complex because DST is an uncompromising survival game. You may have forgotten about this in the midst of the legendary broken items that have made their way from DS and even more new ones from DST

Fishing should actually be a very important mechanic for surviving in the ocean, which is well depicted in the trailer and splash art, but unfortunately, you can take an ice box into the ocean, 3 stacks of ice, and 1 stack of monster meat, and forget about fishing.

 

ok, its called an option, you can play the game without bringing along an ice box and frood from the base, its called vararity, and its fishing, how you want to make it complex? its not like you can put fertilizer and stuff into the ocean to make fish grow, speakin of that, farming realy is not as complex, bare minimum you just make a field and put seeds into it

[Mike23Ua]

22 minutes ago, Hungry French said:

They are complex because DST is an uncompromising survival game. You may have forgotten about this in the midst of the legendary broken items that have made their way from DS and even more new ones from DST

Fishing should actually be a very important mechanic for surviving in the ocean, which is well depicted in the trailer and splash art, but unfortunately, you can take an ice box into the ocean, 3 stacks of ice, and 1 stack of monster meat, and forget about fishing.

 

The mechanics are complex because complex often leads to more in-depth, more player involved & overall: More Fun.

In fact: Tonight TMNT Splintered Fate will get a massive update that adds the Buffs & Boons gameplay mechanic it was missing that I went on their discord and complained about the game not having for months on end. Now obviously: I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I recognized what I wanted, expected and felt would bring me more entertainment out of the product I was playing, and it appears the Devs Agree with that Alignment.

More In-Depth, More Complex, More Player Involved = More Fun.

The OP of this thread wants to do the same for fishing in DST & I for one actually agree with them, we should have different areas we have higher chances to find a specific fish (Fortnite does this) we should have a variety of Rods, Baits & Lures for varying results, and perhaps most importantly (to me anyway) we should make fishing in DST more player involved (with fish tugging and needing to wiggle the controller the opposite of its pull to exhaust it etc..)

Lastly make the experience rewarding beyond just being what you consider “Mediocre sea food” maybe we can perhaps for example: Catch the fish, trade them to a fish trader for different rewards?? Or Maybe the fish itself could be put into a Scale-o-Matic and then kept as a pet that if you treat it well enough: Will be able to spit up a specific resource for the player? (Like Catcoons do when you give them twigs & flowers & stuff) 

Maybe Fishing can be effected by Area Region, Season & even specific Times of Day..?

[Hungry French]

4 minutes ago, Echsrick said:

ok, its called an option, you can play the game without bringing along an ice box and frood from the base, its called vararity, and its fishing, how you want to make it complex? its not like you can put fertilizer and stuff into the ocean to make fish grow, speakin of that, farming realy is not as complex, bare minimum you just make a field and put seeds into it

Yes you can‚ but your desire is not an effective tactic‚ but only your desire... Everyone has the option to kill AFW only with spears or survive in winter only with Rabbit Earmuffs and lighting bonfires instead of lighting trees. But I don't see people willing to do this. Almost everyone is looking for effective tactics and strategies for comfort.

I like the current state of fishing, it feels really UNcompromising.

Perhaps that's why I miss the old farms... Not only could they not feed the entire team, but the lack of the ability to produce only the strongest vegetables provided variety and a desire to use all vegetables effectively.

Did anyone enjoy carrots? In the classic DS, where there were few vegetables, obtaining carrots for Perogies was a pleasant experience, even though they were not unique or had specific recipes.

19 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

The mechanics are complex because complex often leads to more in-depth, more player involved & overall: More Fun.

In fact: Tonight TMNT Splintered Fate will get a massive update that adds the Buffs & Boons gameplay mechanic it was missing that I went on their discord and complained about the game not having for months on end. Now obviously: I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I recognized what I wanted, expected and felt would bring me more entertainment out of the product I was playing, and it appears the Devs Agree with that Alignment.

More In-Depth, More Complex, More Player Involved = More Fun.

The OP of this thread wants to do the same for fishing in DST & I for one actually agree with them, we should have different areas we have higher chances to find a specific fish (Fortnite does this) we should have a variety of Rods, Baits & Lures for varying results, and perhaps most importantly (to me anyway) we should make fishing in DST more player involved (with fish tugging and needing to wiggle the controller the opposite of its pull to exhaust it etc..)

Lastly make the experience rewarding beyond just being what you consider “Mediocre sea food” maybe we can perhaps for example: Catch the fish, trade them to a fish trader for different rewards?? Or Maybe the fish itself could be put into a Scale-o-Matic and then kept as a pet that if you treat it well enough: Will be able to spit up a specific resource for the player? (Like Catcoons do when you give them twigs & flowers & stuff) 

Maybe Fishing can be effected by Area Region, Season & even specific Times of Day..?

We already have enough variety of lures. Different fish bite on different bait, and the bait can be more effective in different weather conditions.
Floats ? They just have different levels of coolness, and they're mostly useful because they're cheap and don't last forever.
Is it possible to catch a specific fish ? No. Randomness is an incredible charm that brings different emotions. It's not a good thing that now you can only grow dragon fruits in your gardens, and you'll have to forget about other vegetables and any sources of nourishment and healing...

29 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

Lastly make the experience rewarding beyond just being what you consider “Mediocre sea food” maybe we can perhaps for example: Catch the fish, trade them to a fish trader for different rewards?? Or Maybe the fish itself could be put into a Scale-o-Matic and then kept as a pet that if you treat it well enough: Will be able to spit up a specific resource for the player? (Like Catcoons do when you give them twigs & flowers & stuff) 

The reward isn't really that bad. With a CrockPot and sticks, you can cook Fish Sticks in the ocean. Or even Surf n Turf.
You can also give the fish to Frost Jaw for a cool item. Or to Pearl for rewards.

33 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

Maybe Fishing can be effected by Area Region, Season & even specific Times of Day..?

It already does. Different ocean biomes have different fish. Different seasons have different seasonal fish.
Different times of day have different bait effectiveness. There's even rain and snow bait...
The fishing system is better and more interesting than boss fights XD. Although most people give their love to bosses.

[lowercase skye]

49 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

we should have different areas we have higher chances to find a specific fish

this is already how it works

49 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

we should have a variety of Rods, Baits & Lures for varying results

this is already how it works

49 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

we should make fishing in DST more player involved (with fish tugging and needing to wiggle the controller the opposite of its pull to exhaust it etc..)

this is already how it works

49 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

Lastly make the experience rewarding beyond just being what you consider “Mediocre sea food” maybe we can perhaps for example: Catch the fish, trade them to a fish trader for different rewards?? 

this is already how it works

49 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

Maybe Fishing can be effected by Area Region, Season & even specific Times of Day..?

this is already how it works

Edited September 29, 2025 by lowercase skye

[GetNerfedOn]

On 9/29/2025 at 7:18 AM, Hungry French said:

Is that a bad thing ? Complex mechanics are a good thing.
And the reward is meaningless because any other needs can be met by more profitable sources of food.

Not at all; my only issue is that it was stated that fishing lacks depth in complexity

[loopuleasa]

10 hours ago, Echsrick said:

no? complext things for the sake of being complex is not a good thing

It's not even complexity that I am on about.

It's the variety of the end fish.

Why would you catch a mudfish instead of a catfish?
There is no reason, they are virtually the same. 
Both mudfish and catfish just give 1 large fish (or more).

Meanwhile in farming even a tomato is different than a potato in uses.

There is no reason to chase catfish IN PARTICULAR

Edited September 30, 2025 by loopuleasa