📖 GK1 mechanic — applies to Graveyard Keeper (2018), not confirmed for GK2

Fishing

Branch: fishing

Fishing is a green-tech side system in Graveyard Keeper that produces fish used as food inputs, alchemy ingredients, and trade goods. It is entirely optional in terms of main quest progression but intersects with cooking (fish-based recipes), quest completion, and the green technology point economy — time spent fishing yields green points that contribute to garden and nature-side tech unlocks. The Fandom Fishing page documents five distinct fishing spots across the game world. Each spot has its own species pool, and the composition of species available at each location differs substantially: - **Village Pond** (north-eastern part of the village, has a fishing pier): yields Frog, Gudgeon (×3 sub-areas), Tilapia, Perch, and Silver Crucian. The Simple Fishing Rod is listed as an unnecessary item here, implying the base rod is overkill for this beginner location. - **Swamp** (west of the graveyard, across the stone bridge, south-west of the witch's hut): yields Frog, Tilapia, and Eel (×2 sub-areas). The Steel Lure and Lure with a Gem are listed as useless items here, meaning premium lures provide no benefit at this spot. - Three additional named locations exist in the game beyond these two beginner spots, each with progressively rarer species. The fishing mechanic has two main equipment variables: rod type and bait (lure). According to the wiki, "while a particular fishing rod may provide the potential to catch certain fish, the choice in bait is often the greatest determining factor in regards to the chance in catching a particular fish." Fish have individual bait preferences, and using a non-preferred bait at a competitive spot where multiple species share the same sub-area will result in the wrong fish taking the hook. Bait can be swapped on the casting screen using the left and right arrows at the bottom of the interface. The lure categories documented in the wiki include: Lure with a Gem (obtained from the Lighthouse Keeper), Steel Lure (obtained from the Lighthouse Keeper), and fish-based baits. The Lighthouse Keeper is the primary vendor for fishing equipment, creating a progression dependency on that NPC relationship. Fish serve as inputs downstream in several systems. Certain fish (Anchovy, Gudgeon) appear in the bait table themselves, acting as live bait for catching larger species — creating an internal fishing economy where small fish are bait for rarer fish. In cooking, fish species are inputs to food recipes that restore energy. The alchemy system can also use certain fish or fish-derived materials as decomposition inputs. Finally, the Trade Office accepts packed fish for sale when the player has sufficient trading infrastructure. Fishing is one of the few activities that cannot be automated by zombies in the base game, making it a persistent player-action sink at higher progression levels. The Stranger Sins DLC introduces fishing-capable zombie variants, which can be assigned to fishing spots to automate catch collection.

Key data

Sources

• Fandom – Fishing
• Steam GK1 announcements