Besmirch Fishing Guide: Rods, Fishmonger, and Aquarium

Besmirch fishing is a real Early Access system, not a roadmap placeholder. Fishing rods, a Fishmonger shop, an aquarium, and a timing minigame arrived in the June 27 update. This guide explains the confirmed loop and separates the documented launch count from later “more fish” wording that does not give a new total.

Quick Answer: how does Besmirch fishing work?

TL;DR: Build the Fishmonger shop from the Carpentry Shop in the town square, then use a fishing rod at a fishing spot and complete the catch minigame. The June update documented seven fish, six common and one rare. It also added a town aquarium with tanks, a deposit machine, and a fishing inventory tab. V0.7 later says more fish were added without publishing a new total.

The practical order is simple, but the system has a few traps. The Fishmonger is a town construction step, the harder fish may need a better rod, and the aquarium is more than decoration because it gives catches a dedicated storage destination. You should also avoid copying a seven-fish list from the June announcement and presenting it as the final v0.7 roster. The official notes do not name the fish or give an updated count.

What the fishing update actually added

The official June 27 Steam announcement gives the most useful mechanical detail currently available. It says fishing rods were added, the Fishmonger shop can be built from the Carpentry Shop in the town square, and the shop unlocks around day 13. The developer qualifies that timing with “I believe,” so treat it as an approximate progression marker rather than a hard day gate.

The same update documents seven catchable fish, split into six common fish and one rare fish. It says the fishing minigame has different difficulty levels and that better rods may be needed. It also describes a large fish that can eat a smaller fish during the minigame. That is enough to prove the system has difficulty variation and a little danger, but not enough to build a verified rod tier list or fish location chart.

V0.7, released on August 25, lists an aquarium upgrade and more fish among its additions. Because the announcement does not give a new total or a full species roster, this guide uses “seven documented fish” for the June baseline and “more fish” for the later expansion. That wording is less tidy than a numbered list, but it is the accurate boundary for a moving Early Access build.

Fishing joins the same daytime economy as crops, cooking, and town errands. Official Steam screenshot.

Step-by-Step: start fishing without wasting the day

1. Reach the town progression point: Keep the normal farm and town loop moving until the Carpentry Shop is available. The official announcement places the Fishmonger construction in the town square and estimates its unlock around day 13. Do not treat that estimate as a universal save-file promise.

2. Build the Fishmonger shop: The update says the Fishmonger is built from the Carpentry Shop. The announcement does not publish the full material bill in its summary, so check the in-game construction prompt rather than relying on a copied recipe from a different build.

3. Equip a fishing rod: Fishing rods are the required tool named by the official update. Keep one available before leaving town, but do not assume every rod has a publicly documented strength tier. The game notes only confirm that better rods can matter for more difficult catches.

4. Play the catch minigame: Fishing uses a minigame with different difficulty levels. Watch the fish and the on-screen timing response, then expect the harder catches to punish rushed inputs. The developer also warns that a large fish can eat a small fish, so a moving target is part of the system rather than a visual effect you can ignore.

5. Check the fishing inventory tab: The June update added a fishing tab that shows caught fish and the largest weight recorded. Use it as your running log. The notes also mention fish height and weight rolls, but they do not provide a verified best-weight threshold for an achievement or quest.

6. Deposit catches at the aquarium: The aquarium sits to the right of the town square. Use its tanks and deposit machine to store catches when you want to keep them out of the normal inventory. The aquarium is an explicit part of the fishing loop, not a separate decorative building.

7. Recheck after v0.7 content: The v0.7 notes list an aquarium upgrade and more fish. If your goal is a complete collection, compare the current in-game tab with the official update notes rather than assuming the original seven-fish baseline is still complete.

Fish count: what is known and what is not

The safest fish count has two dates attached to it:

• The June 27 fishing update documented seven fish: six common and one rare.
• The August 25 v0.7 announcement later said “more fish,” but did not publish a replacement total or names.

That means seven is a confirmed historical baseline, not a claim that the September build has exactly seven total fish. There is no official species list in the sources checked for this guide, and the Steam store page does not provide one either. A page promising the current names, exact locations, or a full common-to-rare tier list needs a newer primary source than the notes currently expose.

The rare catch is worth treating as a collection goal, but the update does not state its name, location, time window, or required rod. Do not waste a season chasing an invented “best pond” route. First unlock the fishing loop, use the inventory tab to see what your build recognizes, and save a rare catch in the aquarium when you want to preserve it.

Rods and the fishing minigame

The official update confirms rods and varying difficulty, not a named progression ladder. Better rods can be necessary for some fish, which suggests equipment matters, but the public announcement does not say how many rods exist, what each one costs, or which catch requires which rod.

Treat the minigame as a short skill check inside the day loop. Start with ordinary catches while you learn the input timing. If a fish repeatedly escapes, improve the rod when the in-game menu offers that option rather than assuming the problem is a hidden bait recipe. Nothing in the official update confirms bait, weather bonuses, fishing perks, or a separate fishing skill tree.

The large-fish behavior is the one unusual warning worth remembering. The update says a giant fish eats the small fish. Read that as a risk during the minigame, not as proof that every rare fish requires a special encounter. The source does not publish the trigger frequency or a way to prevent it.

Fishing still competes with night preparation, so bring catches home before the horror part of the day takes over.

Fishmonger and aquarium: the town-side loop

The Fishmonger belongs to the town's construction economy. The official update says it is built from the Carpentry Shop in the town square and becomes available around day 13. This connects fishing to the existing repair and building route instead of making the rod an unexplained item that simply appears in the farm chest.

The aquarium is to the right of the town square. Its tanks let you store fish, while the deposit machine gives that storage a clear interaction point. The fishing inventory tab records catches and the largest weight, so the game supports both practical storage and a small collection chase.

V0.7 added an aquarium upgrade, but the official notes do not give its exact capacity, cost, or unlock condition. The Besmirch complete guide covers the broader construction context until that upgrade is documented in its own primary note. If you are planning a fishing-focused run, leave room in your day for the town visit and keep food for the journey back.

How fishing fits the wider Besmirch economy

Fishing is not a replacement for farming. Crops still feed the hunger loop, support cooking, and interact with the Baron's tithe. Fishing gives you another daytime activity with its own storage and collection layer. That makes it useful when the farm is waiting on growth, but it does not remove the need to plan food and town errands.

The Besmirch complete guide explains the farm, town, and horror schedule. The Besmirch Baron trust guide covers the social pressure that makes every spare daytime action matter. The Besmirch tips guide is the better starting point if you are still learning when to go home before night.

Fishing also gives the achievement route another possible activity. The official 28-entry Besmirch achievements guide does not assign an achievement to a named fish because the Steam list does not publish one. That absence is useful information. Do not turn the aquarium into a fake achievement requirement until the developer adds it to the official roster.

What is not documented yet

The checked primary sources do not provide a full fishing wiki. Specifically, they do not verify:

• The current species names after the v0.7 “more fish” note
• An exact rod roster, upgrade costs, or install limits
• Fish locations, time windows, weather rules, or bait recipes
• Aquarium capacity, upgrade price, or a complete collection reward
• Fish sell prices or a fishing-specific skill tree

These are good future topics if Gangru Games documents them. For now, filling the gaps with a copied number would make the guide look more complete while making it less reliable. Winter Burrow's complete guide hub and the Fields of Mistria beginner guide cover more fully documented cozy-sim systems, but their fishing rules should not be imported into Besmirch.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does fishing unlock? The developer estimated that the Fishmonger becomes available around day 13 through the Carpentry Shop in the town square.

How many fish were documented? The June update documented seven, six common and one rare. V0.7 later says more fish were added without giving a new total.

Where is the aquarium? It is to the right of the town square, with tanks and a deposit machine.

Do better rods matter? Yes, the official update says better rods can be necessary for harder fish, but it gives no complete rod table.

Can fish be stored? Yes. The aquarium's tanks and deposit machine are the documented storage flow.

Is there a fishing achievement? The current official 28-achievement list does not name a fishing achievement.

Related Reading

• Besmirch Complete Guide: Farming, Horror, and the Baron
• Besmirch Tips: 12 Things to Know Before Your First Night
• Besmirch Baron Trust System: How It Actually Works
• Besmirch Early Access: FAITH-Inspired Farming Horror
• Besmirch Achievements: All 28 Steam Unlocks Explained
• Combolands launch coverage
• Dead as Disco Early Access Launch
• Alabaster Dawn Early Access
• Beastro Boss Guide

References

• Besmirch on Steam, official store listing and current Early Access feature scope, checked September 28, 2026.
• Besmirch fishing update, official June 27 announcement covering rods, the Fishmonger, seven documented fish, the aquarium, and the minigame.
• Besmirch v0.7 announcement, official August 25 update listing the aquarium upgrade and more fish.
• Besmirch Steam news archive, official update archive used to check the later build boundary.