How to Get the Castbound Rod in Fisch (Venue Takeover)

The Castbound is a Stage 10 fishing rod in Fisch, added in the Venue Takeover update on May 2, 2026. It carries infinite lure speed, 390% luck, and a slash-based perfect catch passive that makes it one of the strongest rods for farming rare fish. Unlocking it is a long process tied to The Guide NPC inside the Underground Music Venue.

Quick answer: Reach level 1000, travel to the Underground Music Venue inside Crystal Cove, talk to The Guide, then finish three quests: perfect catch 10 Shiny Flying Fish, perfect catch 150 fish with the restricted Castbound in the Shimmer, and own all 15 required rods at once. The third turn-in removes the restrictions.

Requirements before you start the Castbound questline

You must be level 1000 or higher to claim the questline. If The Guide does not offer a quest when you interact, your level is almost always the reason. There is no workaround for this gate.

You also need a Chaotic Enchant Relic to open the path to the venue, plus a high-luck setup for the first quest and the full set of 15 rods for the final one. Gather these before you commit, since the middle quests demand a lot of catches.

How to reach the Underground Music Venue and find The Guide

The Guide’s three Castbound quests

Quest 1: Perfect catch 10 Shiny Flying Fish

Catch 10 Shiny Flying Fish, and every one must be a Perfect Catch. Fish in the cloud areas, such as Above the Clouds or the upper parts of Vertigo, where Flying Fish appear. Use high-luck gear to roll the Shiny mutation more often.

A strong setup is a high-luck rod like Pinion’s Aria or the Seraphic Rod with Blessed and Glittered enchantments, fishing during a Shiny Surge alongside Aurora or Rainbow weather. Completing this hands you the Castbound at -50% stats (Restricted).

Quest 2: Perfect catch 150 fish with Castbound in the Shimmer

Take the restricted Castbound into the Shimmer, also called the Aether. This is a hidden cave inside Vertigo, found through a narrow entrance below a long purple crystal and marked by a glowing purple fishing pool. Land 150 Perfect Catches there using the Castbound itself.

To grind faster, avoid high-difficulty fish and lean on resilience-friendly bait so your catches stay clean. Finishing this returns the Castbound with a smaller -25% stat penalty.

Quest 3: Own all 15 required rods at once

The final step asks you to hold 15 specific rods in your inventory at the same time. You do not lose them; The Guide only checks that you own the full set. Once you do, turn in the quest to receive the fully unrestricted Castbound.

How to confirm the Castbound is fully unlocked

After the third turn-in, the rod in your inventory drops the “Restricted” label and reads as the full Castbound at 100% stats. Its luck shows 390% and lure speed reads as infinite. If the rod still shows a stat penalty, you have only completed quest 1 or quest 2 and need to return to The Guide.

The most common reasons the questline stalls are simple. The Guide will not offer the quest below level 1000, the Shimmer step only counts catches made with the Castbound itself, and the final step requires every one of the 15 rods present together rather than across separate trips.

Castbound rod stats and passives

The standout passive triggers during a Perfect Catch. The rod slashes for 5% progress every 0.8 seconds, and each slash shortens the interval by 0.1 seconds down to a 0.1-second minimum. As the interval speeds up, the per-slash progress scales down to a 1% floor, while the control bar slowly drains toward -0.15. If you lose the Perfect Catch, the slash effect stops, base control is set to -0.15, and you gain +30% forced progress speed to recover.

Every catch also has a 50% chance to grant a second, free fish carrying one of four high-value mutations. This extra fish can even include passive-blocked catches such as The Kraken or Megalodon.

Between the infinite lure speed, the high luck, and the bonus-fish passive, the Castbound rewards the long grind with one of the fastest farming tools in Fisch. The main hurdle is reaching level 1000 and assembling the 15-rod set, so plan that collection well before you sit down with The Guide.