Zelda OOT Remake: Fishing Pond and Sinking Lure explained, all rewards

Fishing is a classic video game pastime, and of course The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time includes a fishing minigame.

Visit the Fishing Pond on the shore of Lake Hylia, and you’ll be able to fish for as long as you wish, in exchange for a small fee.

Fishing is fun in its own right, but there are a few rewards available here that you definitely shouldn’t ignore. Read on below for everything you need to know about the Fishing Pond in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s Nintendo Switch 2 remake.

How to fish – OOT Remake

After you arrive at the Fishing Pond and pay for your session, you can fish for as long as you’d like. Just aim and cast out your line as you would with a normal item.

The fish here will be curious, but that doesn’t mean they’ll bite straight away. You need to tempt fish by wiggling your lure, but too much wiggling might make the fish too cautious. Smaller fish tend to be less cautious than larger ones. Once a fish has taken a bite, press ZR to hook it. If you were already reeling with ZR, be sure to let go and press again to hook it.

Now that a fish is on the hook, you need to wear it out. Angle your line in the same direction that the fish is swimming — if you go against the fish, your line will break quickly. You can hold ZR throughout and continually angle your line. Whenever the fish stops thrashing, you’ll be able to reel it closer to you. Once it’s close enough, Link will automatically land the fish.

You’ll then be given the option of keeping the fish, or setting it free. You should only keep the biggest fish you’ve caught.

Sinking Lure explained – OOT Remake

After you’ve caught a fish of 50cm or longer, your future Fishing Pond sessions will spawn a Sinking Lure. The Sinking Lure will be located somewhere within the Fishing Pond and may even be underwater. It appears as a red and yellow worm, and this lure will sink to the bottom of the pond, giving you a better chance of catching large fish. It spawns in a small number of random locations and can be pretty hard to spot, especially at night.

This lure should only be for players who truly enjoy the Fishing Pond gameplay. Any fish you catch with the Sinking Lure cannot be kept, and you will not earn rewards for your catch. Consider it just for fun.

All Fishing Pond rewards – OOT Remake

The fish get larger while Link is in stasis in the Sacred Realm, and the Fishing Pond will have new rewards available for your biggest catches.

Child timeline fishing rewards

As Child Link, catch a fish of 50cm or larger and you’ll be rewarded with a Piece of Heart as you exit your session.

Adult timeline fishing rewards

As Adult Link, catch a fish of 60cm or larger and you’ll be rewarded with the Golden Scale, allowing you to dive deeper than ever before. Take a long dive in the Lake Hylia Laboratory tank, and the scientist will gift you another Piece of Heart for the effort.