Fishing
Magnet fishing on floating islands. The rod pulls resources and salvage out of the water - what you catch depends on the lake.
Fishing Rod
ManualA magnet on a line. The rod retrieves resources from the water, and sometimes non-magnetic items get stuck on it too. Cast, watch the swimmer, pull when it dips.
- Recipe: 5 Sticks + 2 Stone + 4 Iron at the Crafting Table
- Unlocked by the Magnet Fishing Rod research (1 Cloth, 1 Iron, 1 Stick)
- Cast near any body of water with the primary action
- The swimmer drifts side to side - pull the moment it dips
- Every lake rolls its own loot table
Algae Drone
AutomatedRequires PowerThe automated option. A powered drone that patrols a lake and produces Algae - about one every two minutes - then docks itself. Collect the harvest from its internal inventory.
- Recipe: 10 Iron + 10 Silicon + 10 Copper + 10 Cobalt
- Unlocked by the Algae Drone research (1 Electrical Component)
- Needs a connection to your energy grid
- Patrols the water on its own and docks itself
- Main source of Algae for crafting Circuitboards
Each catch pulls one item from the lake's weighted loot table. The tables below are per island, extracted from the release game files. The bite chance starts at 30% and rises by 10% with each retry, so a catch never takes long.
Two lakes on this island fish from different tables.
Two lakes on this island fish from different tables.
Timing matters
Watch the swimmer carefully. Pulling too early or too late loses the catch.
Automate early
The Algae Drone works the lake while you build elsewhere - one Electrical Component unlocks the research.
Fish every island
Loot tables differ per lake. A catch that never appears at home may be common one island over.
How do I fish in Solarpunk?▼
Craft a Fishing Rod from 5 Sticks, 2 Stone and 4 Iron at the Crafting Table, then cast it into any lake. A swimmer drifts on the surface - pull the moment it dips to land the catch.
What do you catch when fishing in Solarpunk?▼
The rod is magnetic, so it mostly retrieves resources and salvage, plus Algae - and sometimes non-magnetic items get stuck on it too. Every lake has its own loot table, so catches vary between islands. Fishing is not a food source.
How do I automate fishing in Solarpunk?▼
Research the Algae Drone (1 Electrical Component) and build it from 10 Iron, 10 Silicon, 10 Copper and 10 Cobalt. Connected to power, it patrols the lake and produces about one Algae every two minutes into its inventory. Manual rod fishing needs no power.
What is Algae used for in Solarpunk?▼
Circuitboards. 10 Algae + 5 Copper + 5 Cobalt craft 1 Circuitboard, so fishing feeds your tech progression. Algae is a material, not food.
Where do I find the Magnet Fishing Rod blueprint?▼
It is guaranteed loot in the Unique chest - exactly 1 of the 30 loot chests each world spawns (15 Trash, 9 Normal, 5 Rare, 1 Unique). Chest locations are random per world, so craft a Lootchest Detector to track it down.