Fishing with Nadjia - A Guide for the Amateur Angler

This book is written for the novice and for those who are curious about how fishing
works and want to know more

Included are chapters on equipment, bait, where to fish, and how to fish
effectively

Chapter 1: So you want to try fishing

If you're reading this book, you've either bought a copy, are borrowing one from a
friend, or you have been given/stolen a copy

In any case, congratulations! You're about to learn about the wonderful world of
fishing.

If you don't want to learn about fishing, I admit I'm unsure as to why you'd be
reading this book... perhaps you are struggling to sleep and thought it would be
boring?

Regardless, let's assume you are indeed interested in learning about the ABCs of
fishing, or in this case, the EBWH of fishing.

- Equipment; what rod and hook do I want, do I need other equipment and if so,
what do I need, why, and how do I use it?
- Bait; which bait do I use and what can it get me? How do I get other kinds of
bait?
- Where; where do I go to fish, and why does that matter?
- How; how do I fish effectively, because losing my hooks and bait aren't much fun

Also included is a chapter listing all the things one can make that are related to
fishing, because sometimes it helps to have it all written in one spot

So let's begin!

Chapter 2: Equipment - Basics

The basic equipment that you need to begin fishing is something to catch fish with,
something to get bait with, and something to gut fish with

There are three different kinds of fishing rod, and five different kinds of hook,
but you definitely need a rod and a hook to catch fish!

You'll need to put something on the hook to entice the fish to swallow the hook so
that you can catch them; this is called bait, and you can get basic bait with a
shovel (can you dig it?) or a bug jar. Other types of bait exist, but they need to
be made by a herbalist, and require fish guts, meaning that to make them you'll
need to do some fishing first!

Once you've caught a fish, you need to gut it in order to do something useful with
it (unless you just want to let it go, and why would you do that?). To do this you
either need a gutting knife, or a butcher's cleaver, either will do
So if you have a rod with a hook, a shovel or bug jar, and a gutting knife or
butcher's cleaver, congratulations! You are now ready to begin fishing

Surely though, you ask, there must be something more to it all?

Why yes, and I'm glad you asked

Onto the next chapter!

Chapter 3: Equipment - Advanced

So you've got the basic equipment handled, and want to know a bit more about it
all...

This is where we get into the nitty gritty of fishing equipment

~Rods~
There are three different kinds of rods
- Simple Fishing Rod; as the name says, it's pretty simple to make, but it's also
not very robust or quick at its job
- Sturdy Fishing Rod; the middle of the range, it takes more components and time
to make, and does a moderate job
- Reinforced Fishing Rod; the best fishing rod, and in my opinion, the only rod
you should use. Maybe give your kids or some orphans the other ones

~Hooks~
There are five different kinds of hooks
- Copper Hook; easy to make, but easily bent or lost
- Iron Hook; bit tougher to make, more robust, but really, why are you bothering
with it?
- Damask Hook; the best hook you can make, and definitely the go to for beginners
(and as a backup, for when a pesky crab steals your hook)
- Runic Hook; these hooks are most likely to catch on the first nibble, and so are
the pick for fisherman with speed in mind
- Lucky Hook; these hooks are blessed by Tymora, and seem to give you the best of
two fishing outcomes whenever you use it. Highly recommended!

~Gutting Tools~
- Gutting Knife; usable by anyone who's not a giant, works fine
- Butcher's Cleaver; Usable by anyone INCLUDING giants, so if you're a firbolg,
minotaur, ogre, or suchlike, this is the gutting tool for you

~Other Equipment~
There are a few other pieces of fishing gear that you want to consider getting
- Fisherman's Waders; where are the fisherwoman's waders, the writer asks? But in
any case, these most useful boots help you reel in your catch faster, and as a
bonus, they don't impact dweomercrafting at all, meaning that if you want to use
them as the base for a custom dweomercrafted pair of boots, they'll do double duty
for you
- Sharktooth Necklace; you'll most likely need some help to get one of these made,
as the teeth they use come from sharks, and they're not easy to catch. Wearing one
of these wards off bad luck when fishing, making it less likely nasty creatures
will come to take your fish (and/or life) from you when fishing
 - Tacklebox; there's three different types of these; the basic wooden tacklebox,
the amber tacklebox, and the fabled magical tacklebox. Highly recommend the amber
tacklebox, as it stores your hooks and baits for you neatly, and makes carrying
them all a breeze

Chapter 4: Bait

Now that you have the rest of your equipment sorted, it's time to actually catch
some fish. Everyone begins with either a shovel or a bug jar, but where to from
there?

Read on, and I'll help you become a master baiter

~Bugs~
Small fish will happily eat bugs, and all fisherfolk should begin with bugs and
small fish because it helps you get into the groove of it all, and learn how it
works

There's no need to invest big coin in fancy gear until and unless you know you're
going to want to pursue this hobby, so don't stress about it, after all, fishing is
meant to be fun

~Custom Bait~
There is custom bait that can be made by a herbalist; they can cook up a storm in
the kitchen for a hungry fisherperson, and they can prepare a meal for a hungry
fish that will help it end up coming to the chef, whether they want to or not

Each bait type is named for the size of fish it is made for, with the odd really
hungry fish that is a little bigger or smaller going for it from time to time

Fish range in size from tiny to gargantuan, and the bait sizes are small, medium,
large, and huge

You can see where this is going, I trust

Sometimes you'll throw out a small bait, and get a tetra, too tiny to be of any use

Sometimes you'll throw out a huge bait, and get a megalodon, a creature 30 to 60ft
in length, able to swallow sailor's (and their kit) whole

The bigger the bait, the better the potential reward for fishing with it, but also
the more challenging it is to make

Also worth noting here; any budding herbalist can make berley, because it's
basically just stinky fish bits that entice other fish to come and feed. Drop some
of that in the water, and you'll find you get a bite sooner... the average lot of
berley used will last about an hour

If your goal is to catch 'em all, you'll need to try all the different baits, and
travel to different locations, which leads us to the next chapter

Chapter 5: Where to fish, and why it matters

You've got your equipment, you've got your bait, so where do you fish?
Arelith is a massively diverse place, with environments ranging from frozen to
tropical and even the desert, from the Sunlands to the Underdark, and from
freshwater to open ocean

Each of these different environments has its own ecosystem, meaning different bugs
and plants and fish, and therefore what you can expect to catch will therefore vary
by the "biome" of each location

As an example, Crimson Crawlers love freshwater and harbours, and whilst they can
be a menace because they'll steal your hooks, if you can catch one you may get a
hook from it, including the lucky or runic hook!

The aforementioned megalodons only live in deep saltwater, so you'll need to go

sailing to find them (and take a change of pants with you, just in case. They can
be scary!)

Experienced fisherfolk love to share information about what is biting where, what
bait to use, and so on, so get out there and find your fellow enthusiasts

Chapter 6: How do I fish effectively?

In truth, this chapter is going to be fairly short, as there's not a lot more to
tell you about the basics of fishing
A summary would be:
- Get a Reinforced Rod, preferably with a Lucky Hook on it
- Get Fisherman's Waders, and put them on (optional, but it will speed up the
process)
- Get a Sharktooth Necklace, and put it on (optional, but do you like fighting
dagonians? If not, it's suggested)
- Get an Amber Tacklebox, to store your spare hooks (you'll want at least 5 Damask
Hooks as backup) and custom bait
- Get a Bug Jar, to easily gather and store bugs to use to catch your beginner
fish (or for when you run out of custom bait)
- Get a Gutting Knife, or Butcher's Cleaver, to gut your fish
- Go somewhere that there's a fishing spot
- Put some bait on your hook
- Use some berley to bring the fish to the surface (optional, but it will speed up
the process)
- And drop a line!

Chapter 7: Fishing Equipment and Bait Crafting Instructions

There are many different things one can make to help with fishing, so for ease of
reference they're included here

Please note that there are many foods and potions that can be made with the
components fished up, and if you want to know about those, consult a cookbook

~Fishing Rods~

Simple Fishing Rod

Carpentry DC: 4
Craft Points: 3
ID: 1676
Inputs
- Softwood (1)
- Cotton (3)
- Copper Fish Hook (1)

Sturdy Fishing Rod

Carpentry DC: 19
Craft Points: 9
ID: 1677
Inputs
- Spider Silk (3)
- Ingot (Bronze) (1)
- Hardwood (1)
- Iron Fish Hook (1)

Reinforced Fishing Rod

Carpentry DC: 34
Craft Points: 27
ID: 1678
Inputs
- Brass Gears (2)
- Animal Sinew (3)
- Ingot (Steel) (1)
- Rare Hardwood (1)
- Damask Fish Hook (1)

~Hooks~

Copper Fish Hook (x5)

Smithing DC: 3
Craft Points: 1
ID: 1683
Inputs
- Coal (1)
- Ingot (Copper) (1)

Iron Fish Hook (x5)

Smithing DC: 9
Craft Points: 5
ID: 1682
Inputs
- Flask of Oil (1)
- Coal (1)
- Ingot (Iron) (1)

Damask Fish Hook (x5)

Smithing DC: 27
Craft Points: 10
ID: 1681
Inputs
- Flask of Oil (1)
- Coal (1)
- Ingot (Steel) (1)

~Gutting Tools~
Gutting Knife
Smithing DC: 8
Craft Points: 15
ID: 1679
Inputs
- Ingot (Iron) (1)

Butcher's Cleaver
Smithing DC: 5
Craft Points: 3
ID: 1724
Inputs
- Ingot (Iron) (2)

~Tackleboxes~

Wooden Tackle Box

Carpentry DC: 9
Craft Points: 8
ID: 1758
Inputs
- Alchemistic Catalyst (Lesser) (1)
- Ingot (Brass) (1)
- Softwood (1)

Amber Tackle Box

Carpentry DC: 20
Craft Points: 24
ID: 1759
Inputs
- Alchemistic Catalyst (Standard) (1)
- Ingot (Brass) (1)
- Softwood (Ancient Yew) (1)
- Amber (5)

~Bug Jar~

Bug Jar
Art-crafting DC: 5
Craft Points: 3
ID: 1691
Inputs
- Glass (1)
- Coal (2)
- Softwood (1)

~Fisherman's Waders~

Fisherman's Waders
Art-crafting DC: 30
Craft Points: 175
ID: 1680
Inputs
- Flask of Oil (1)
- Leather (Small) (4)
- Damask Fish Hook (1)
 - Lucky Fish Hook (1)
- Runic Fish Hook (1)

~Bait and Berley~

Berley (x2)
Check DC: 13
Craft Points: 5
ID: 1684
Inputs
- Flask of Oil (1)
- Animal Meat (Small) (1)
- Animal Blood (1)
- Fish Guts (1)

Small Bait (x5)

Check DC: 8
Craft Points: 3
ID: 1685
Inputs
- Animal Meat (Small) (1)
- Animal Blood (3)
- Fish Guts (3)

Medium Bait (x5)

Check DC: 15
Craft Points: 6
ID: 1686
Inputs
- Animal Meat (Medium) (1)
- Animal Blood (6)
- Fish Guts (6)

Large Bait (x5)

Check DC: 22
Craft Points: 9
ID: 1687
Inputs
- Animal Meat (Big) (1)
- Animal Blood (9)
- Fish Guts (9)

Huge Bait (x5)

Check DC: 29
Craft Points: 12
ID: 1688
Inputs
- Animal Meat (Big) (1)
- Animal Blood (12)
- Fish Guts (12)