Clover Time Fishing: Get the Rod, Catch Fish, and Use the Rewards

Fishing in Clover Time needs exactly two items: a fishing rod and bait. Buy both from village merchants, or craft a rod yourself at the crafting bench. Then walk to the nearest river or sea, press V with the rod equipped, wait for a bite, and keep clicking through a short minigame to land the fish. Every catch pays out one of two ways: sell it to the fish-dealer NPC for Iuns, or keep the fragments from Golden Marlin catches and craft them — together with potatoes — into Mana Crystals, the item that lets you spin for grimoires at the tower.

What you need before you can fish

A fishing rod. Village merchants sell rods alongside bait. One merchant stall listed a sword, common bait, and a fishing rod together for 6600 Iuns — the game's currency — though that price covers the whole listing, not the rod alone. Merchant stock rotates: that merchant's display re-rolls over time, and another early tester found a merchant whose stock refreshes every 20 minutes that also sells fishing rods. If no rod is listed when you visit, check back after the refresh.

You can skip the shop entirely. The crafting bench lists a fishing rod among its recipes, and an axe and pickaxe collect the wood and ore those recipes draw on. If you haven't set up gathering yet, see Clover Time how to get tools, and for the bench itself, Clover Time crafting.

Bait. Bait comes in five tiers — common, uncommon, epic, rare, and legendary — and a mythical bait has also appeared in a tester's inventory. Don't worry about tier requirements: common bait was bought and used successfully in the demonstrated fishing session, and a dedicated Mana Crystal run used uncommon bait. No source ties any specific tier to a specific catch.

One caution on planning: this loop comes from testing sessions of a game still in active development, so treat the 6600 Iuns figure as the documented price and recheck merchant prices and rewards after economy or gathering changes.

How to catch a fish

The catch loop demonstrated on camera takes under a minute once you're at the water:

1. Equip the fishing rod from your inventory.
2. Press V. With the rod equipped, V starts fishing and opens bait selection, where you choose which bait to use.
3. Wait for the fish to bite.
4. Keep clicking through the simple minigame to reel it in.
5. The catch lands in your inventory, ready to sell or save for crafting.

Where to fish

Fish at open water — the dedicated Mana Crystal route heads to Haga village first and then to "the nearest river or sea near you," and the demonstrated session fishes a spot right in the starting village area. You never need a specific pond.

Potions are an optional helper, not a requirement. One route brings potions to make fishing easier and increase luck, and a luck potion usable for fishing is among the craftable brews. Potion recipes unlock as you level — a level-13 tester still had the tier-2 stamina potion locked — so early on, fish without them.

Sell your catch for Iuns

The simplest payout is cash. The fish-dealer NPC stands in a corner of the starting village near the fishing spot, and you can sell a fish to him the moment you land it. A second fishing NPC works in Raji, near the alchemist Emma, and buys fish from players there. The testers who use these NPCs describe selling fish as a genuinely good way to earn money — and because the catch loop repeats as long as you have bait, fishing works as a recurring Iuns route rather than a one-time payout.

The Golden Marlin route to Mana Crystals

Fishing's second payout matters even more for progression. The Golden Marlin is the fish that provides Mana Crystal Fragments, and Mana Crystals are what let you spin for grimoires at the tower. The documented route:

1. Fish at the nearest river or sea and keep the fragments from Golden Marlin catches — hold on to crafting ingredients instead of selling everything you collect.
2. Return to the crafting bench, open the materials tab, and craft with the fragments plus potatoes until you produce a Mana Crystal.
3. Take your Mana Crystals to the tower to roll for grimoires.

Fishing is one of several Mana Crystal sources — crystals also spawn on the map, come out of chests, arrive via Clover Time codes, and are covered further in Clover Time mana crystals — but it's the source you can run on demand whenever you want more rolls.

Why fishing is worth your time

Few side activities in Clover Time feed progression from this early. The same two-minute loop funds your Iuns balance through the fish dealer and supplies the fragments that become grimoire spins, so it stays useful whether you're saving for merchant gear or chasing a better grimoire. Once your fragments and potatoes have turned into Mana Crystals, your next step is the spin itself — the tower's position is mapped in Clover Time grimoire tower location, and the rolls it offers are ranked in Clover Time grimoires tier list.