Boreal Pines turns Fisch’s Northern Expedition into a frozen endgame grind, with harsh weather, two powerful rods, and a compact bestiary built around winter-only fish. Reaching the area is straightforward, but surviving the cold and securing the last few entries in the bestiary takes planning.
How to reach Boreal Pines
Boreal Pines sits on the Northern Expedition side of the main map. The compass in Fisch points you toward regional markers; follow it north until the Northern Expedition marker lines up, then head for that portal.
After you go through the Northern Expedition portal, Boreal Pines is on the left side of that sub‑map, close to Northern Summit. Walk toward the snowy forest, and you’ll transition into the Boreal Pines area.
As soon as you arrive, a temperature bar appears on your screen. That bar behaves like the one at Northern Summit: if it empties, you die instantly. To keep it full, you need cold‑resistant gear such as the Winter Cloak or the Glimmerfin Suit 3, which lets you stay in the snow long enough to fish, explore, and move between ponds.
Movement is also affected by the terrain. Deep snow and slopes slow you significantly, which makes traversing between fishing spots feel sluggish. Winter Boots counter that slowdown and restore your movement speed on snow.
Winter Boots come from a quest given by Marvin, an NPC at Boreal Pines. He asks you to bring Meg’s Spine and Meg’s Fang. Both of these drops are obtained by fishing at the waterfalls on the Ancient Isle, so you need to spend time there before Boreal Pines becomes comfortable to use as a farming hub.
Boreal Pines rods and where to get them
The island adds two pieces of fishing equipment with strong passive effects: the Boreal Rod and Cryolash. One is a cheap upgrade anyone can grab early, the other is a late‑game purchase locked behind a steep level and completion check.
| Rod | Key stats | How to find it | Cost | Requirements | Notable traits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boreal Rod | Lure Speed 60%, Luck 50%, Control 0.05, Resilience 25%, Capacity 14kg | On the left trail in Boreal Pines, next to Marvin at a campfire | 18,000 C$ | None | Passive can apply the Boreal mutation, multiplying a fish’s value by 4 with a 40% chance. |
| Cryolash | Lure Speed 87%, Luck 149%, Control −0.1, Resilience 75%, Capacity 150kg | From Marvin, climb the right‑side cliff to the wooden cabin above; the rod is on the bed | 3,500,000 C$ | Level 500 and Boreal Pines bestiary completed | Passive forces Frozen (1.5× value) and Glacial (8× value) mutations; progress speed increases every 4 seconds. |
The Boreal Rod fills an important gap for mid‑game players. Its 60% lure speed and 50% luck outclass many Stage 1–3 rods while staying cheap enough to buy early. The Boreal mutation passive is the main reason to use it. On roughly two out of five catches, the rod converts a fish into a Boreal variant worth four times as much money, which accelerates cash farming in any cold‑weather location.
Enchantments make it more flexible. Unbreakable improves weight handling and control, which makes fights against heavier fish less punishing. Quality spreads small buffs across multiple stats, giving a more rounded upgrade if you are not targeting a specific weakness.
Cryolash pushes those ideas much further but with clear trade‑offs. Its 149% luck and 87% lure speed are endgame values, and the 150kg capacity lets you comfortably handle the heaviest Boreal Pines fish. The Frozen and Glacial mutations it guarantees stack value multipliers on almost every catch, with Glacial granting an 8× multiplier. At the same time, −0.1 control makes the rod feel slippery, especially if you are used to higher control builds.
To mitigate that weakness, Controlled and Herculean enchantments are common choices. Controlled directly counters the low control score, while Herculean leans into raw power and capacity, letting you brute‑force big fish if you are comfortable managing more chaotic fights.
The price and requirements put Cryolash into a niche. At 3.5 million C$, it competes with the Ethereal Prism Rod and sits far above cheaper options like the Elder Mossripper at 350,000 C$. Other rods, such as the Cerulean Fang Rod, Merlin’s Staff, and Rod of the Zenith, offer similar or better performance for less money. Cryolash’s main appeal is its mutation‑focused playstyle for players who have already committed to clearing Boreal Pines and want a rod tailored to that island’s economy.
All Boreal Pines bestiary fish and conditions
The Boreal Pines bestiary contains 12 entries. Most of them can be caught anywhere on the island during winter, but a few require special tools or very specific conditions.
| Fish | Rarity | Weather | Season | Time | Bait | Location | Tool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Sea Urchin | Common | Any | Any | Any | Any | Ice Pool on the mountain | Crab Cage |
| Fourhorn Sculpin | Uncommon | Any | Winter | Any | Shrimp | Anywhere | Rod |
| Polar Cod | Uncommon | Any | Winter or Spring | Any | Insect | Anywhere | Rod |
| Saffron Cod | Uncommon | Any | Autum or Winter | Any | Shrimp | Anywhere | Rod |
| Snow Crab | Uncommon | Any | Winter | Any | Any | Ice Pool on the mountain | Crab Cage |
| Eelpout | Unusual | Any | Winter | Night | Any | Anywhere | Rod |
| Lake Whitefish | Unusual | Any | Autum or Winter | Any | Insect | Anywhere | Rod |
| Antarctic Icefish | Rare | Any | Winter | Any | Bagel | Anywhere | Rod |
| Greenland Halibut | Rare | Any | Winter | Any | Worm | Anywhere | Rod |
| King Crab | Legendary | Any | Winter | Any | Any | Ice Pool on the mountain | Crab Cage |
| Glacial Squid | Mythical | Any | Winter | Night | Fish Head | Crystal Fissure | Rod |
| Frostwyrm | Exotic | Rain | Winter | Night | Sapphire Krill or Frostnova | Crystal Fissure | Rod |
Most entries are straightforward. For fish that can spawn “anywhere,” you only need to respect the season, time of day, and bait requirement. Shifting into winter and carrying a small rotation of baits (Shrimp, Insect, Worm, Bagel, and a general‑purpose bait) is usually enough to clean up everything up to the rare tier in a couple of sessions.
Crab Cage entries require a bit more intention. Green Sea Urchin, Snow Crab, and King Crab are all tied to the mountain Ice Pool and will not appear in regular casts. You must place crab cages in that specific pool and wait for them to fill. If you are catching Snow Crab regularly but never see King Crab, the missing step is usually that you are still fishing with a rod instead of letting cages do the work.
How to catch Glacial Squid
Glacial Squid is usually the first major roadblock on the bestiary because it ignores the “anywhere” rule and is bound to a tight set of conditions.
Step 1: Set the season to winter and wait for night. Glacial Squid does not appear in other seasons or during the day, so do not waste rare bait outside that window.
Step 2: Head to the Crystal Fissure fishing spot in Boreal Pines. This is a specific pool within the region rather than a generic shoreline. Casting in other Boreal water will not pull Glacial Squid.
Step 3: Equip Fish Head as bait, then fish directly in the Crystal Fissure pool. With the right season, time, and bait, Glacial Squid can appear on normal casts. Expect several attempts before you land one, since it is a mythical‑rarity catch.
Some players refer to a nearby shoreline as Crystal Shore, but the key requirement is that your bobber lands in the Crystal Fissure water. If you stay locked on that pool and keep Fish Head equipped, the squid eventually fills its bestiary slot.
How to get King Crab
King Crab is legendary, and many players try to brute‑force it with their rod, which will never work. Every bestiary detail for this catch points to one rule: King Crab only comes from crab cages in the Ice Pool on the mountain during winter.
Step 1: Travel to the mountain Ice Pool in Boreal Pines. This is the same location used for Green Sea Urchin and Snow Crab.
Step 2: Confirm the season is winter. Weather and time of day do not matter for King Crab, but season does.
Step 3: Place multiple crab cages in the Ice Pool and leave them for a full cycle. Any bait works for King Crab here, so focus on volume rather than specific bait types.
Step 4: Return after the cages have had time to fill and collect all catches. Over several cycles, you will pull Green Sea Urchin, Snow Crab, and eventually King Crab. If you never see a legendary crab, increase the number of cages to speed up your odds.
Once King Crab appears and is logged in the bestiary, you no longer need to rely on cages for that entry, but they remain a good way to farm Snow Crab and Green Sea Urchin for money.
How to spawn and catch Frostwyrm
Frostwyrm is the final hurdle between you and a completed Boreal Pines bestiary, as well as one of the main gates on the Cryolash purchase. It does not spawn under normal conditions. Instead, it behaves like a hunt target similar to Scylla or Megalodon.
Step 1: Prepare for a winter, rainy, night session. The Frostwyrm entry specifies winter, rain, and night at the Crystal Fissure. If any of those are missing, the hunt cannot progress.
Step 2: Travel to the Crystal Fissure in Boreal Pines. Just like with Glacial Squid, all fishing for this encounter must happen inside that pool.
Step 3: Use Sundial Totems in the area to trigger the Frostwyrm Hunt. The hunt does not start from a single use; you need to place multiple Sundial Totems before the event begins. In practice, this can easily reach dozens of totems before Frostwyrm finally appears.
Step 4: When the hunt is active, equip Sapphire Krill or Frostnova as bait and continue fishing at Crystal Fissure. Frostwyrm is an exotic‑rarity fish tied directly to the hunt state, so it will only bite during the active event window while you have the correct bait equipped.
Once you successfully catch Frostwyrm, the Boreal Pines bestiary reaches 12/12, and the Cryolash requirements tied to bestiary completion are satisfied. From that point on, Boreal Pines shifts from a progression checkpoint into a high‑value farming zone, especially if you decide to lean into mutation‑focused rods like the Boreal Rod and Cryolash.
With travel, cold resistance, and boots handled, the island’s difficulty compresses into three tasks: learning to use crab cages at the mountain pool, respecting the strict Crystal Fissure rules for Glacial Squid, and committing enough Sundial Totems to bring out Frostwyrm. Everything else slots into place once those pieces are in motion.
