Overview[ | ]
Fishing is one way to get 
Fish Meat and 
Prime Fish Meat. You can obtain fish 3 different ways, using the fishing rod, fishing net, or a weapon, like a spear.
Using a Fishing Rod[ | ]
For this you need a Fishing Rod and Sugar or Earthworms as a bait.
1. Drag the bait onto the rod before you put it in your hotbar.
2. Sit in a chair next to water where fishes swim.
3. Left click to start fishing.
When a fish bites you have about 30 seconds to quickly press qweasdzxc keys to reel the fish in. If you receive a message about no ammo, press r to "reload" the fishing pole.
Using A Fishing Net[ | ]
To use the fishing net the player must sit down in a Chair on a ship and equip the fishing net. It requires the same bait as the fishing rod (above), the bait has to be applied to the item in your inventory, before placing it in your hotbar. The ship must then be moving at a set speed.
Cast your net over the side of the ship like a rod, and when you catch fish the mini-game (described above) will start, requiring you to press a rcorresponding key that pops up on the screen.
Completing the mini-game will yield more Fish Meat than with a 
Fishing Rod and a smaller amount of 
Gold Coin
Using A Spear or Other Weapon[ | ]
Spear fishing is another good option. Craft a handful of spears and go for a dive. You can throw your spears while underwater if you like, or just use a melee attack if the fish is in melee range. If you do kill it with a melee attack, your pathfinder will automatically grasp the fish so you can swim to the surface or to shore before you drop it and harvest it.
If your pathfinder has access to a Bow and Stone Arrows, bow fishing is also a feasible option. While arrows don't hit as hard as thrown spears do, and while the bow is much less effective as a melee weapon, they do offer a somewhat longer range and less drop-off once fired and in a pinch you can press the melee/pistol whip button (default cmb) for a melee attack with the bow.
Patch Updates[ | ]
v315.4 - Increased fish-catching speed by 15%