Songs of Glimmerwick is a peaceful, story-driven RPG set on an island renowned for its university of magic. In this woodland fantasy world, music is the secret to casting spells: ancient songs make garden work a breeze, raise sunken temples, and open up every corner of the island. With your trusty flute and songbook at your side, you’ll attend classes, join after-school clubs, befriend classmates and townsfolk, and uncover Glimmerwick’s many oddities and mysteries across a year of seasons, festivals, curses, and witchy hijinks.
Between all that studying, though, there’s plenty of time to unwind by the water — and fishing is one of the island’s most rewarding pastimes.
Fishing in Songs of Glimmerwick is a rhythm game. You cast your line where you can see fish swimming, hook whatever bites, then tap along to that fish’s song to reel it in.
There are 23 fish to catch and you’ll want them for Florian’s book of native fishes, for cooking up Fisherman’s Pie, and for earning a few extra Gold Petals at the Magic Well. This guide covers everything you need to land them all: how the rhythm minigame works, where each fish swims, the song you’ll need to play to reel it in, and the bait and traps that draw out the rarer catches.
How To Begin Fishing
Get A Fishing Rod
To begin fishing in Songs of Glimmerwick, you’re going to need a Fishing Rod. Buy it from Mel for 200 Gold Petals: she runs the shop at Mel and Lusina’s Shell, on the beach south of Wisk, and stands outside it all day. Talk to her and pick “Open Shop.” If Mel is away during her quest, her sister Lusina minds the shop and sells the same rod.
Note that the rod never stops being available. Later in the year, once Mel’s Journey ends, Mel and Lusina leave Glimmerwick — but a merfolk couple takes over the same beach shop and keeps the Fishing Rod in stock. There are no rod upgrades, and fishing uses no bait. So once you buy this item, you’re set for life.
Fishing Mechanics
Equip the fishing rod from your inventory before you fish. If you’re riding in a boat, it’s the only tool you can equip.
Then find a fishing spot: a patch of water where you can see fish swimming. (Patches of bubbles are dive spots, not fishing spots.) You can reach the river, the Wisk Lake, and most of the ocean spots near the shore on foot; for the open sea and the Ochre Woods lake you’ll need a boat. Dee, who runs the river ferry, puts one up for sale for 2,500 Gold Petals partway through Summer, as long as you’ve finished her Ferry Girl quest.
Aim at the fish — with a mouse, move the cursor over the glowing patch where the fish are; with a controller, move the fishing cursor with the right stick. Cast with the left mouse button or A. A fish swims over to your bobber after a few seconds.
When an exclamation mark appears over the line, hook it with the left mouse button or A. There’s no time limit here, so the fish waits for you. The musical sequence that follows, rather than the initial cast, determines whether you land the catch.
Note that every time you fish, it will cost 16 mana, but you only pay it when you land the catch. If the fish escapes or you give up, you keep your mana and can cast again straight away. Eating a Fisherman’s Pie will lower the cost.
Fishing Rhythm Game
As soon as you hook a fish, its song starts, and notes scroll toward a line on the staff. Press the left mouse button or A each time a note reaches the line. Each species always plays the same song, so a fish you’ve caught a few times gets easier to land. On a controller, pressing B gives up the catch.
Each note is scored by how close your tap lands to the line:
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Perfect (bright blue note) | 10 |
| Okay | 8 |
| Sloppy | 6 |
| Missed note, or a tap with no note nearby | −2 |
To land the fish, you need more than 85% of the best possible score — a score of exactly 85% does not pass. A run where every note is “Okay” only scores 80% and the fish gets away, so aim for Perfect on as many notes as you can. A missed note is the expensive mistake: you lose the 10 points you could have had and take a 2-point penalty on top. Don’t tap when there’s no note at the line, because every stray tap also costs 2 points.
Fishing Locations
Seasons and weather make no difference when fishing in Songs of Glimmerwick. Every fish can be caught all year, in rain or sun. What matters is the type of water you fish in and the time on the clock:
- Day fish bite from when you wake up until 6:00 PM.
- Night fish bite from 6:00 PM onward.
- Any-time fish bite all day and all night.
Night fishing is easy to fit in. The clock stops at 10:00 PM and stays frozen until you go to bed, so once evening comes, you can fish for night species as long as you like.
There are four types of fishing water, and the fish you can catch depend on the type:
| Water | Where | Spots |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean | Along the shore and docks around Freshman Pier (three of the four reachable on foot) | 4 |
| Ocean | Just offshore from Mel and Lusina’s Shell, near the jetty and the flat rocks of the tide pool | 4 |
| Ocean | Out on the open sea south and west of the island — boat required | 7 |
| River | The river south of Wisk, upstream and downstream of Dee’s ferry crossing | 5 |
| Lake | The lake on the east side of Wisk | 2 |
| Lake | The lake deep in the Ochre Woods — spots are out in the middle, boat required | 10 |
| Mountain Stream | The stream in the Shifting Spires, between the top of the Gondola and the Temple of Silence — fish from the bridge | 2 |
Ocean
| Fish | Time | Rarity | Notes | Max Misses | Sell Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonefin | Day | Uncommon | 42 | 5 | 10 |
| Brinebelly | Day | Very common | 25 | 3 | 5 |
| Bubblehead | Day | Uncommon | 13 | 1 | 15 |
| Horn Fish | Day | Uncommon | 21 | 2 | 20 |
| Inky Puffer | Night | Uncommon | 35 | 4 | 10 |
| Jade Butterfly Fish | Day | Rare | 8 | 0 | 18 |
| Jelly Bell | Any time | Very common | 18 | 2 | 7 |
| Lantern Fish | Night | Rare | 21 | 2 | 25 |
| Merlin’s Beard | Any time | Uncommon | 17 | 2 | 10 |
| Merman’s Folly | Any time | Very rare | 27 | 3 | 30 |
| Prismatic Squid | Night | Rare | 22 | 2 | 15 |
| Sea Moth | Day | Common | 20 | 2 | 25 |
River & Lake
| Fish | Time | Rarity | Notes | Max Misses | Sell Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Trill | Day | Rare | 15 | 1 | 10 |
| Iron Tail | Day | Uncommon | 13 | 1 | 15 |
| Mud Fish | Any time | Uncommon | 21 | 2 | 10 |
| Murkwater Vampire | Night | Uncommon | 18 | 2 | 15 |
| River Pixie | Day | Very common | 24 | 2 | 7 |
| Royal Trout | Day | Rare | 33 | 4 | 15 |
| Saltwater Harp | Night | Uncommon | 24 | 2 | 8 |
| Sea Peony | Day | Uncommon | 34 | 4 | 15 |
| Spectral Eel | Night | Very rare | 20 | 2 | 35 |
| Yodeling Catfish | Day | Common | 20 | 2 | 8 |
Mountain Stream
| Fish | Time | Rarity | Notes | Max Misses | Sell Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Tail | Day | Uncommon | 13 | 1 | 15 |
| Mud Fish | Any time | Uncommon | 21 | 2 | 10 |
| Murkwater Vampire | Night | Uncommon | 18 | 2 | 15 |
| River Pixie | Day | Very common | 24 | 2 | 7 |
| Saltwater Harp | Night | Uncommon | 24 | 2 | 8 |
| Spectral Eel | Night | Very rare | 20 | 2 | 35 |
| Sunray Salmon | Any time | Uncommon | 24 | 2 | 15 |
Fishing Spells
| Ability | Effect |
|---|---|
| Song of the Sea | Land a fish with every note Perfect, and you catch two or three of them. |
| Treasure Finder | Each catch has a 5% chance to reel in a bag of 20–50 Gold Petals. The Gold Petals replace the fish. |
| Fishmonger | Fish you sell are worth 20% more. |
| Fish Trap Refrain | Gives you a free catch every day. Mel teaches it to you during Mel’s Journey. Play it within a short walk of any fishing spot, then pick where to drop the trap. The spell costs 80 mana, or 64 once you’ve Perfected the song. This spell is the only way to get a Stony Spine fish. |
Note: Song of the Sea needs a flawless song. One Okay note or a single stray tap and you only get one fish, so it pays off best on the short, slow songs you know well.
