How to Fish in Destiny 2: Fishing Tackles, Locations & Exotics

by | Apr 10, 2024

Who could have imagined that fishing would someday be a legitimate activity in Destiny 2? Yet here we are. Fishing is now available in Destiny 2; it is fun and offers excellent rewards.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about fishing, including how to fish, where to fish, and how to farm its top-tier rewards.

How to unlock fishing in Destiny 2

To unlock fishing, you needed to complete a few steps from Week 1 of Season of the Deep’s questline. But in case you never got around to doing that, you can simply visit Hawthorne at the Tower. She’ll introduce you to the essential fishing mechanics to get you started via a short quest that will take you to all three fishing locations currently in the game.

Destiny 2 Fishing locations

There are three different fishing holes in the game:

  • The Cistern – Nezzus
  • Outskirts – The EDZ
  • Miasma – Throne World

After visiting these three locations for the first time, you can return to Hawthorne for 10 free baits and fully unlock fishing in Destiny 2.

Fishing Ponds

Fishing Ponds, Destiny 2

How to get Fishing Tackle and Start Fishing

Fishing requires one resource: Bait.

Bait can be acquired by completing Salvages, Deep Dives, Playlist activities, Public events & Patrols, and collecting Planetary materials. As a general rule of thumb, the longer the activity, the more bait it rewards. As such, completing a Deep Dive can reward you with up to 19 bait, whereas collecting Planetary Materials will reward you only 1 bait. You can carry up to 500 bait at any given time.

Fish can only be acquired from one of the three fishing holes listed above. When it comes to the actual fishing mechanics, I strongly believe that a picture (or video) is worth a thousand words; therefore, I recommend you check this video from EK1 Gaming instead.

Focused Fishing in Destiny 2

Focused Fishing is the meter mechanic that allows you to catch rarer fish. While fishing, you’ll see the Focusing Fishing meter appear, and the higher the meter, the higher your chances of finding rarer fish.

You can increase the Focused Fishing meter by fishing with other Guardians and fishing for as long as possible. For that reason, you’ll want to start fishing as soon as a fishing hole appears. Keep in mind that the same meter applies to everyone fishing on that spot, not only you. To increase your drop rate as much as possible, you should always fish in the weekly featured Pond. You can visit the Fishing Tackle on your inventory to see what fishing pond is featured at any given time:

Fishing Tackle screen Destiny 2

Fishing Tackle, Destiny 2

Last but not least, when a Public Event, the fishing pond completely disappears, restarting the Focusing Meter…

Exotic Fish in Destiny 2

These are the only two Exotic Fish discovered so far:

ArtFish NameRarityRarity?Source
Kheprian Axehead Exotic FishKheprian AxeheadExoticExoticEDZ
Aeonian Alpha-Betta Exotic Fish artAeonian Alpha-BettaExoticExoticEDZ

More may unlock as we progress through the season, but it is safe to assume the Kheprian Axehead and the Aeonian Alpha-Betta are the only two Exotic Fish we’ll see this season.

How to Catch Exotic Fish in Destiny 2

For the maximum chances of catching Exotic Fish, you need to increase the pond’s Focused Fishing Meter. The higher the meter, the higher your chances of catching rarer fish. This is how you can achieve this:

  1. Join a large group of Guardians fishing on that same spot
  2. Fish on the same pond for as long as possible
  3. Aim for that Perfect catch bonus (by clicking the button as soon as possible)
  4. Have enough bait (70+) to fish for as long as you can

Remember that the Focused Fishing Meter is shared between all Guardians sharing that same pond. Also, Public Events stop fishing altogether and reset the Focused Fishing meter. You’ll want to hit the pond as soon as the Public Event ends to have the longest possible time to fish and increase the Focused Fishing Meter.

Exotic Fish Rewards

These are the rewards you can expect for depositing Exotic Fish at the H.E.L.M.:

  • Exotic items, including Exotic Material and Exotic armor
  • Legendary gear, including the returning Reckoning weapons
  • Deep Dive Keys
  • Sonar Station Reputation
  • Glimmer
Focused Fishing Rewards Destiny 2

Legendary Fish Rewards, Destiny 2

Legendary Fish in Destiny 2

ArtFish NameRarityRarity?Source
Galliard Trevally Legendary Fish artGalliard TrevallyLegendaryLegendaryEDZ
Salvagers Salmon Legendary Fish artSalvagers SalmonLegendaryLegendaryEDZ
Drangelfish (Baroque) Legendary Fish artDrangelfish (Baroque)LegendaryLegendaryEDZ
Temptation’s Haddock Legendary Fish artTemptation’s HaddockLegendaryLegendaryEDZ
Servant Lobster Legendary Fish artServant LobsterLegendaryLegendaryEDZ

Other notable Legendary fish include:

  • Aachen Cichlid
  • Agronatlantic Salmon
  • Allegrian Jack
  • Azimuth Angelfish
  • Cod Duello
  • Cuboid Cod
  • Cup Bearer Catfish
  • Cydonian Cichlid
  • Deafening Whisker
  • Gnawing Hun Gar
  • Golden Trevallyhoo
  • Gusevian Gar
  • Ignition Toad
  • Koi Cirrus
  • Minueting Mackerel
  • No Turning Jack
  • Traxian Toad

Legendary Fish Rewards

These are the rewards you can expect for depositing Legendary Fish:

  • Legendary gear, including Reckoning weapons
  • Deep Dive Keys
  • Sonar Station Reputation
  • Glimmer
Focused Fishing Rewards Destiny 2

Legendary Fish Rewards, Destiny 2

Rare & Uncommon Fish Rewards

These are the rewards you can expect for depositing rare and uncommon fish types:

  • Sonar Station Reputation
  • Glimmer

Before you go…

Make sure you prepare in order to maximize your fishing in Destiny 2. Joining a large group to boost that Focusing Meter, having enough bait, and aiming for that Perfect catch will all increase your chances of finding rarer fish, including Exotic Fish. 

About The Author

Ric Molina
Ric Molina
I've been covering gaming since 2012, and some of my work has been featured by large brands, including MSN.com, Forbes, Rock Paper Shotgun, and more. I've been obsessed with Destiny 2 (and now Diablo 4) for years now, and I hope to provide new and returning players with the guides and resources I wish I had when I first started.
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