Fishing

Some extra clues will be highly appreciated.There hasn't been any progress for so long in the hunt for the fishing secrets!

fishing in POE is a meme.

Fishing...
is confirmed that theres is a hidden winding pier hideout, cant find a link right now, but some core developer tweeted about.

Thing is nobody ever found fish.

Lets think a moment about über-Hillock. Theres a reason why the market isnt flooded with Oni-Garoshis, über-Hilllock spawning for a level1 charecter isnt possible and would be pretty lame for first time players.

So theres definently technology/mechanics at play, that can check the level of your character before the twilight strand instance is created on login.

I dont want say that fish cannot be found after killing Hillock (who knows, maybe) - but same as a level1 cannot stuble upon überhillock, players cannot stuble upon fishing rods or fish.


For drop a fishing Rod the Fairgraves Tricone unique has to be equipped and they drop still quite rarely.
I try to imagine this as multiple drop-/loot-pools. As i heard developers talk about it, there are diffrent pools of loot for example specific bosses or the core-loot-pool dropping everywhere.
My theory, but only assumption, if Fairgraves Tricone enables the "fishing rod loot-pool", maybe equiping a fishing rod enables the "fish loot-pool".


BUT! if only equipping a fishing rod would enable fish to drop - probebly someone would have subled upon it already - so there has to be more.

Wierd sidenote: You cannot use spectral throw with a fishing rod, cause it requires a melee weapon, but you can animate weapon/guardian on a fishing rod, what also requires a melee weapon. BE CAREFUL, the rods are consumed by animated weapon/guardian, when they die the rod is gone.

Fishing rods do have special mods, for example the unique Reefbane glows on unique fish in the area (what been recorded in mudflats and the solaris temple).

For me more intressting are the Lure and Hook mods on rare fishing rods, cause their combination cannot be on unique fishing rods. I think, pure speculation from me, only the right combination of rare fishing rod mods can enable fish to drop - cause how many players acually mastercrafted fishing rods yet? Thats something i can imagine, nobody stubbles apon.

For the combination of fishing rod mods, we have to dig a bit into PoE-Lore. For example, i assmue one correct combination could be "Totemic Wood Lure + Karui Stone hook". Mostly cause the enemys in the Karuii forest spam thoose deadly ignite totems - i think the karuii are related to totems.
The other combination i assmue are "Siren Worm bait + Eternal Iron Hook", cause the Siren Mervell and Daresso from the Eternal Empire. "rhoa feather lure + ezomyte shell hook" cause of eyzomite taim/riding on roahs.

The last special mod is Vaal Soul hook, what doesnt has a lure - but there is a corruption only mod "can catch corrupted fish" what does make sense thematicly. The "Can catch corrupted fish" mod can also be found on "Anglers Plait" unique.
(I ve read that people farming Anglers plait had multiple headhunters drop before, thats how rare it is, the current farming method is killing unique monsters with fairgraives, corrupted slitherpinch unique (confirmed fishing item from div cards) and chance to flee - https://www.reddit.com/r/pathofexile/comments/getazz/serious_anglers_mate_3_how_to_obtain_an_anglers/ )

Lets take a quick look at the development history of fishing items in the game from the wikipedia...


UNKNOWN Albino Rhoa Feather - but quite early, anyone can confirm something?

0.11.5c "We don't know anything about those Fishing Rods that spawned over the weekend, but they're gone now."

0.9.6 Slitherpinch added.

1.0.4 "Reintroduced to the game with its own fishing rod item class." Rare Fishing Rods and Song of Sirens.

1.2.0 Krillson added to the Game.
Hideouts added to the game, may cause Winding Pier Hideout.

2.1.0 Rot Head Talisman added.

2.2.0 Writhering Jar added.

2.3.0 Reefbane unique added.

2.4.0 increased fish quantity on Reefbane.

2.5.0 Anglers Plait unique added.

3.8.0 The old man DivCard.

3.9.0 Baited expectation DivCard.

3.9.0 The Fishmonger DivCard.

3.12.0 Replica Bated Breath unique and Anomalous Portal Gem added.



What if - there is a hidden Winding Pier hideout since 1.2.0 in the game - and everything after are just hints or help to find it. For example Anglers Plaits can catch corrupted fish make it easier to equip "Vaal Soul Hook" with it, cause that would require vaaling a fishing rod previously.

What may confirms this is following comment from Chris ( https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/423185 )

"

I only know of one player who knows this recipe. We like vendor recipes, Unique items and uses for Albino Rhoa Feathers to be secret, because then the people who find them can choose whether to share the information or keep it to themselves. I promised not to disclose what the recipe was, but figured it was fair game to remind people that there are secrets worth uncovering in Wraeclast ;)

What confirms theres a undiscovered vendor recipe with the Rhoa feather.
The one player who knows it is probebly himself.

Its not as simple as vendoring a rhoa feather with a roah-fishing rod, i tried that with a portal gem and other fishing items.
That rhoa feather vendor recipe is still undiscovered.
Maybe some unique that was in the game before 1.2.0 and Rhoa Feather plus Rhoa Fishing Rod? Who knows, Chriss does.

Intressting here are the Content update Videos of 1.0.1 to 1.0.5, cause Chriss has Rhoa Feathers in this inventory in every ~2 Video.

1.0.1. https://youtu.be/4InYdN0Aca0?t=121 - Not a rhoa feather, but strange blue item in inventory (edit: oopsy, thats the Chitus Plum Quest item)

1.0.3. https://youtu.be/PDF-SCltL1Q?t=61 - 2 Rhoa Feathers

1.0.5. https://youtu.be/SjX5VbyxYRU?t=34 - 3 Rhoa Feathers, at the start of the video Chriss is also "fishing" a second and weaponswaps quickly.

1.0.6. https://youtu.be/Gj1GyDJnaKk?t=86 "Chris refuses to trade fish"




Speculation about Fishing Items added after Krillson

Reefbane, glows in certain Areas that may procc a hidden "überHillock event" like Map.

Anglers plait Lore Text "A man can spend his whole life fishing
before he learns it is not fish that he seeks." what probebly means we should look for the right combination of equiped items/mods instead of fish, its not the fish we seek.

Replica bated Breath Lore text ""I cannot fathom the mysteries of Prototype #16. It did nearly nothing until I brought it to [RESTRICTED]. It makes no sense!"
- Researcher Graven"
Thats a tricky one, not sure about it. I get the impression as if Prototype #16 is some undiscovered fishing stuff that was moved, in the games code, Maven Atlas Update Patch, almost as if Researcher Graven is a developer talking. Researcher Graven, Olesya and Arn could be nicknames from the core founders Chriss, Mark and Johnatan.
I would speculate that 1.2.0 Aztiri had a "fish loot-pool", thats now on her über alluring abyuss domain.