Mostly Fishing in Minecraft - A Journal

I started a new Minecraft survival game with the intention of advancing through the game mostly by fishing. Why fishing? Isn’t it really boring? Yes, it is a little boring, but it is also peaceful and zen-like. And it’s a really good way to level up your XP and to get some excellent enchanted items.

Fishing is easy to do. The first thing you need is a fishing rod, which you can craft with 3 sticks and 2 pieces of string on a crafting table. Once you have your first fishing rod, you can start fishing in any nearby body of water, even if it’s just a 1x1 square!

Here’s my journal of my epic Minecraft fishing adventure.

Starting Out

I decided that if I was going to be a fisherman it would be best to go all the way. So I got myself a Fisherman skin on NameMC. I want to look the part!

Day 1

I spawned in a good place to be a fisherman! I was right next to the ocean and there are plenty of oak and acacia trees nearby for wood. I started to collect the basics, including enough wood to make a crafting table and all the simple tools I would need to create a home base and survive the first night.

Here I am at the start of my new fishing adventure in Minecraft.

My plan is to build a fishing hut later on where I can fish both day and night. But to get started, I dug out a simple cave in a nearby hillside. It’s enough for a starter home and I want to be able to dig down underground to get the materials I will need to hunt some spiders.

An overhead view of the area where I spawned.

Why spiders? Well, to get your first pieces of string, you need to kill some spiders, so I knew that before I could start fishing, I would need to prepare myself for fighting spiders at night.

Before long, the sun began to set on my first day as a fisherman in Minecraft. When night falls, I will begin the hunt.

Nestled safely at night in my starting cave in Minecraft.

It didn’t take long to find some spiders. And zombies. And skeletons. Surviving the first night was challenging, but I made it and killed enough spiders to get the string I needed to craft my first fishing pole.

Fighting spiders at night to collect string for my fishing pole.

I assembled my fishing pole with the strings from the spiders and sticks I had gathered from chopping down trees. As the night drew to a close and the sun started to rise again, I was ready to fish!

Day 2

The first order of business for my second full day was to get a lay of the land and pick the best spot to build my fishing hut. I climbed to the top of my hill to view the surroundings.

I take in the surroundings from the vantage point of my hilltop.

I spotted a great place near the shoreline where there were some small pools of water. It was a perfect spot both to fish and to grow some crops. I knew I’d need plenty of sugarcane to make paper for enchanting, since I want to get the Lure and Luck of the Sea enchants on my fishing pole as soon as possible. I also wanted to plant seeds to grow wheat. You need wheat to tame and breed cows, and you need cows for the leather hides to make books.

My fishing hole.

Once everything was ready, I built a fishing pier from acacia planks and cobblestone. Building a pier was not strictly necessary, but it makes fishing feel a little more authentic and eventually I’ll build my fishing hut on the pier so that I can do night fishing over the ocean while staying safe from mobs.

Fishing from my new pier as the sun sets on my second day.

My second night brought some unwelcome surprises, including a nasty skeleton who attacked me in my cave. I barely escaped and decided it would be smart to dig deep down underground to get better materials, like iron for a better sword and armor, and plenty of coal to fuel the furnaces I’d need to cook all my fish.

Digging deep underground is also a nice way to stay safe at night if you don’t have a bed yet.

Day 3

More fishing!

My third morning was spent fishing from my pier.

A little word about advancements. So far, I have obtained the following advancements in this game. Usually I don’t pay attention to them, but I wonder how many advancements I can get if I mostly concentrate just on fishing.

• Stone Age
• Getting an Upgrade
• Acquire Hardware
• Monster Hunter
• A Seedy Place
• Fishy Business
• Sweet Dreams

While I was fishing from my pier, a wandering trader showed up with his two llamas in tow. He didn’t have much to sell that I wanted to buy, but he stayed around and kept me company for a while. It wasn’t so bad to have him around. Fishing can get a little boring.

A wandering trader keeps me company while fishing.

After a little while, I decided to try fishing in another spot just to see if I could catch anything a little more interesting.

Trying out fishing in a nearby pond.

As night fell, I retreated to my cave for safety. But even there I ran into a little trouble with zombies at the gate. In the end, I dispatched them with my sword.

Here I am fighting off zombies at the gate to my cave.

Day 4

It’s Day Four, and there’s a Creeper at the back door! This is not what you want to wake up to in the morning. He chased me through my stone hallway, but I managed to kill him before he could explode and cause some serious problems in my cave hideaway.

There's a creeper at my back door!

All of this monster fighting is a little too exciting for me. It’s time to get back to some safer pastimes…like fishing!

But before I head back to the ocean to catch some more fish, I decided it was time to plant some more trees near my cave to replenish my wood supply.

I'm planting trees, just like Johnny Appleseed.

And after that was done, I spent the rest of the day calmly fishing at my little pond.

Back to the peace and calm of fishing at my pond.