The Drylands is a desert region in Fisch where most of the catches live under the sand rather than in open water. Completing its Bestiary means reeling in all 24 entries, and the biggest hurdle is that many of them can only be pulled out of the dunes with the right rod.
Quick answer: Teleport to Fischfest 2 with the Magic Conch, walk behind the Sand Castle to reach the Drylands at GPS (-24497, 2683, -5386), craft the Marrow Rod from Paleontologist Petri, and equip the Sand Sifter to fish the dunes. Use a regular rod for the oasis and flooded Claypan water.
How to reach the Drylands
The Drylands sits right next to the Fischfest 2 island, so the fastest route is to teleport there first. Open your Magic Conch and select Fischfest 2, then head toward the Sand Castle.
Walk behind the Sand Castle and you drop into the arid Drylands zone. The area’s entry point is GPS (-24497, 2683, -5386). From there you will find sandy dunes, small oases, and low-lying pools that fill up during rain.
Marrow Rod and the Sand Sifter
Water-based catches in the Drylands work with any regular rod. The oases and the rainwater that pools in the Claypans behave like normal fishing spots.
The fish buried in the sand are different. To pull those out, you need the Marrow Rod, which you craft after finishing the quest from Paleontologist Petri. You will find Petri on the Drylands at GPS (-23924, 2696, -6213), and the quest tasks you with collecting three separate parts before the rod is built.
Once the Marrow Rod is ready, equip the Sand Sifter to cast directly into the dunes. The Dune Enchantment can also be applied so you can sand fish with a compatible rod of your choice instead of switching gear each time.
Weather changes what you can catch
The Drylands runs its own weather cycle, and two events open up catches you cannot find otherwise. Check the sky before a farming session so you are not wasting casts.
- Dust Storms lower visibility but raise your Luck and unlock exclusive catches, which makes them the window for rarer species.
- Torrential Rain floods the Claypans, temporarily adding fish and collectibles that are gone once the water dries up.
Note: Sand fishing can also turn up ancient fossils instead of a normal catch. Those form a separate collection tied to Petri’s storyline and do not count toward the fish Bestiary.
Confirmed Drylands catch conditions
You do not need the exact bait to catch a fish, but matching it raises your odds, and any listed time or weather requirement must be met to encounter that entry. Every confirmed catch so far shares the Summer season. A dash means no specific requirement applies.
| Fish (Rarity) | Bait | Time | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calcified Trilobite (Common) | — | — | Clear |
| Sandbar Loach (Common) | Worm | — | Clear |
| Bone-Plate Dace (Uncommon) | Insect | — | Clear |
| Mirage Fin (Uncommon) | Insect | Night | Foggy |
| Marrow Pike (Unusual) | Fish Head | — | Clear |
| Duneseat Crustacean (Rare) | Cacti Pulp | — | Clear |
| Dustveil Ray (Rare) | — | — | Clear |
| Ancient Coelacanth (Legendary) | Fish Head | — | Clear |
| Dune-Stalker Eel (Legendary) | Shrimp | Night | Clear |
| Prickly Gurnard (Legendary) | Shrimp | — | Clear |
The night entries, Mirage Fin and Dune-Stalker Eel, only appear after dark, so plan those casts around the in-game clock. The remaining entries fill out the 24-fish total and are added as they are confirmed.
How to confirm your progress
Open the Bestiary with the H key and select the Drylands location page. Completion shows as a percentage under the location, and hitting full completion turns that page’s text yellow. A short jingle plays the first time you open a page after finishing it.
Only fish you catch yourself count toward completion. Anything received through trading does not add to your Drylands percentage, so every one of the 24 entries has to be reeled in on your own line.
If an entry refuses to appear, the usual cause is a missed condition rather than bad luck. Confirm you are using the Marrow Rod with the Sand Sifter for sand species, that it is Summer, and that any required Night timing or Foggy weather is active before writing off a catch.
