Fishing Rod

Fishing Rods were added in the 1st Seecret Saturday update on September 18th, 2010. They are put together using three sticks and two string (see formation below). The Minecraft Halloween Update added the ability to catch fish using a Fishing Rod.

They are crafted in this formation:



= Fishing = Casting is done by right-clicking with the fishing rod in hand. This will cast a hook in front of you connected to the tip of the rod by a thin black line. Right-clicking again will reel the line in. If you cast into the water and wait patiently, eventually the bobber on the end of the line will sink briefly before bobbing back up to the surface. This is your cue to reel the line back in. If successful, a raw fish will fly out of the water and land roughly near where you're standing. If too late, the fish will escape and you'll reel in an empty line. A line may bob multiple times so long as you don't reel it in.

Note: The bobber has to be free-floating in water to succeed. When fishing in shallow/small waters, make sure your bobber isn't attached to the block at the walls or base of the pool instead.

Fishing rods can hook mobs and drag them toward you. However, though the hurt animation plays, it deals no damage to the mob. This makes it an excellent tool for shearing sheep without hurting them, similarly to the snowball.

If aimed correctly, the tip can also be used to activate pressure plates from a distance.

When the bobber is out, the fishing pole itself turns from the fishing rod into a stick until reeled in, item change, or otherwise.

The fishing rod can also be used to grab onto a boat and pull it towards you. It does not hurt if the boat travels really fast and hits you, although the boat can break easily during this process.



Fishing can be done in a body of water created by the player. This includes water created pre-update.

= Tactics =
 * The fishing rod not only reels in fish. If you hit a mob with it, they will get thrown towards you. This can be useful to pull cows, sheep, or pigs closer if you are hunting, or maybe pull a hostile mob into lava or a deep cactus pit.
 * If you stack a used fishing rod onto an unused one, then all uses will be reset for that rod. Therefore, it is good strategy to keep 2 fishing rods on you to have infinite uses.
 * Ghast Fireballs can be hooked with the fishing pole.
 * Skeletons can be pulled into their own arrows.
 * Single hostile mobs can be picked out of a group of hostile mobs to keep them from all attacking you at once.