Fish It best rod path from starter to Element Rod

Rod choice in Fish It is the difference between scraping by on Commons and passively printing money on Mythics and Secrets. Luck, speed, and weight scale sharply as you move up, so upgrading in the right order saves millions of coins and many hours of grinding.

The progression below focuses on rods you can realistically obtain, avoids weak sidegrades, and lines up with late‑game quest requirements.

Core rod stats and why they matter

Every fishing rod in Fish It has three key stats:

• Luck increases the chance to hook rarer and mutated fish, and is the single most important stat for long‑term income.
• Speed controls how fast the cast bar fills and how quickly you reel in catches, which affects how many fish you land per hour.
• Weight is the maximum weight a fish can have before the line snaps; higher caps let you pull in heavier, more valuable fish safely.

As rods improve, all three stats rise together. The goal is to climb quickly into rods with very high Luck while keeping enough weight and speed to farm comfortably in tougher locations.

Recommended rod progression (short version)

If you just want the path, here is the streamlined route from early game to true endgame:

This path assumes you are willing to grind coins and quests. If you want an even smoother curve, a few extra pickups like Midnight, Steampunk, and Ares can make the climb more comfortable; those sit naturally between the steps above.

Early game rod progression (Starter to Lava to Lucky)

The opening hours are about escaping the Starter Rod as quickly as possible and unlocking a strong free option.

Starter Rod

You begin with the Starter Rod on Fisherman Island. Its stats are effectively baseline: 0% Luck, 0% Speed, and a tiny 10 kg weight cap. Use it only long enough to finish the first simple quests and earn money for travel.

Lava Rod (first real upgrade, and it’s free)

The Lava Rod is the first major spike in power and does not cost coins.

Step 1: Travel to Kohana Volcano using any boat or by asking another player for a lift from Fisherman Island.

Step 2: Enter the volcano and make your way to the central area where the Lava Fisherman NPC stands.

Step 3: Talk to the Lava Fisherman; he awards the Lava Rod immediately.

The Lava Rod has about 30% Luck, 2% Speed, and 100 kg weight. That is a huge jump from Starter and competitive with early shop rods, without spending a single coin. Fish here for a while; Volcano fish pay well, and you can start building a bankroll quickly.

At this point, you can completely skip buying basic Commons like the Luck Rod or Carbon Rod if you prefer to save every coin. However, there is one early shop rod that is still worth grabbing.

Lucky Rod (cheap Luck spike)

The Lucky Rod (often called “Lucky” in‑game) is the ideal first paid upgrade from early gear. It is sold in the Rod Shop on Fisherman Island for around 10,000–15,000 coins, depending on the current balance patch.

Lucky Rod sits in the Rare tier with roughly 130% Luck, 7% Speed, and 5,000 kg weight. Compared with Lava Rod, you gain more than four times the Luck and a much higher safe weight, which translates directly into more Mythics and heavier fish per hour.

From here, you have two solid early routes:

• Stay on Lava Rod if you are extremely coin‑tight and grind a bit longer for a mid‑game rod.
• Switch to Lucky Rod as soon as you can afford it for noticeably faster early progression.

Mid‑game rod progression (Lucky to Chrome, Midnight, Steampunk)

Mid‑game begins once you are consistently fishing outside Spawn and Kohana, and you have a rod with at least 100% Luck. The goal here is to reach a powerful Epic or mid‑Legendary rod that can both farm coins and support late‑game quest requirements.

Midnight Rod (optional, smoother climb)

The Midnight Rod is a Rare shop rod that costs around 50,000–100,000 coins, depending on tuning. It offers about 100% Luck, 10% Speed, and 10,000 kg weight.

Midnight is technically weaker in Luck than Lucky Rod but has better weight, and some progression paths treat it as the first “mid‑game” rod. It is a viable stepping stone if you skipped Lucky and came straight from Lava, but if you already own Lucky, you can treat Midnight as optional.

Chrome Rod (core mid‑game workhorse)

The Chrome Rod is the first Epic that many players buy and one of the most efficient investments in the game.

• Price: roughly $437,000 at the Rod Shop.
• Stats: about 229% Luck, 23% Speed, and 190,000 kg weight.

This combination is what makes Chrome stand out. You more than double your Luck from Lucky Rod and gain a huge weight buffer, so big catches at locations like Kohana and deeper zones rarely snap the line. With solid bait or bobbers, Chrome can easily farm the coins needed for your first Legendary.

Some players consider the Steampunk Rod instead of Chrome at this stage. Steampunk is also Epic, with roughly 175–225% Luck, around 19–20% Speed, and 25 kg weight. It is cheaper than Chrome, so if your budget is tight you can:

• Go Lucky → Steampunk → Chrome, or
• Skip Steampunk and go straight Lucky → Chrome to avoid paying for two Epics.

Late‑mid: Hazmat and Ares as pre‑endgame rods

Once Chrome or a similar Epic is online, you are ready to move into powerful Legendary and Mythic rods that will carry you through most of the game.

Hazmat Rod (best Legendary pick)

The Hazmat Rod is a Legendary rod sold only by the Traveling Merchant. It does not appear every time, so checking the merchant frequently is part of the grind.

• Price: around $1,300,000–2,000,000 depending on balance.
• Stats: about 350–380% Luck, 32–43% Speed, with weight in the 150,000–300,000 kg range.

Hazmat sits in the A tier of most rod rankings and is often described as the best Legendary rod. It gives you enough Luck to see Mythic and Secret fish at a reasonable pace, and the weight cap keeps up with almost all content prior to Lost Isle and Ancient Jungle endgame areas.

With Hazmat plus decent bait (Dark Matter, Corrupt, or Chroma) and a money‑focused enchant, you can comfortably farm for your first Mythic purchase or for quest progress toward free Mythic rods.

Ares Rod (first purchasable Mythic)

The Ares Rod is a Mythic rod that you buy directly in the world rather than from the basic shop.

Step 1: Travel to Tropical Grove using a boat from Fisherman Island.

Step 2: Find the waterfall on the island and enter the cave hidden behind it.

Step 3: Follow the tunnel to a chamber containing the Ares Rod vendor and purchase it for 3,000,000 coins.

Ares offers approximately 455% Luck and 56% Speed, with a 400,000 kg weight limit. That is a huge jump over Hazmat and makes Ares a true late‑game farming rod. It also positions you well for Lost Isle questing and for grinding Secrets in deeper areas.

Before diving into Lost Isle content, it is worth buying Diving Gear for 75,000 coins at Spawn or on the Lost Isle outcrop. Without it, you cannot safely reach the underwater quest areas where the strongest rods are unlocked.

Endgame rod progression (Ghostfinn, Angler, Bamboo, Element)

Endgame in Fish It is dominated by Mythic quest rods and a single Secret‑rarity rod. These are not purchased with coins but unlocked through long questlines focused on rare and Secret fish.

Ghostfinn Rod (second‑best rod, quest locked)

The Ghostfinn Rod is a Mythic rod obtained from the Deep Sea Quest on Lost Isle. It is widely treated as the second‑best rod in the game and has excellent stats:

• Luck: 610%
• Speed: 118%
• Weight: 600,000 kg

To unlock Ghostfinn, you must:

• Catch 300 Rare or Epic fish in the Treasure Room on Lost Isle.
• Catch 3 Mythic fish at the Sisyphus Statue room.
• Catch 1 Secret fish at the Sisyphus Statue.
• Earn 1,000,000 coins over the course of these activities.

These requirements are demanding, especially the Secret catch at the statue, which has extremely low odds. However, you earn significant money while attempting the quest, so even failed Secret attempts still contribute toward your overall progression.

Once you have Ghostfinn, most other purchasable rods become obsolete. It is the recommended main rod for farming both money and Secrets while you work toward the ultimate Element Rod.

Angler and Bamboo Rods (additional Mythic sidegrades)

Two other Mythic rods exist alongside Ares and Ghostfinn:

• Angler Rod is sold at Lost Isle for about 8,000,000 coins and offers around 530% Luck, 71% Speed, and 500,000 kg weight.
• Bamboo Rod is found in the Ancient Jungle’s Sacred Temple for about 12,000,000 coins, with roughly 760% Luck, 98% Speed, and 500,000 kg weight.

Both are very strong, but the cost is high and they compete directly with the free‑but‑quest‑gated Ghostfinn Rod. Players focused strictly on efficiency usually prioritize Ghostfinn, then consider Bamboo or Angler only if they prefer to grind coins instead of relying on Secret RNG.

Element Rod (current best‑in‑slot)

The Element Rod is the only Secret‑rarity rod in the main progression and currently the strongest rod in Fish It.

• Luck: 1111%
• Speed: 130%
• Weight: 900,000 kg

To even start the Element Rod questline, you must already own the Ghostfinn Rod and unlock the Ancient Jungle temple.

Step 1: Travel to the Ancient Jungle island and locate the stone temple structure.

Step 2: Unlock the temple by finding and fishing up four artifacts (Hourglass Diamond, Diamond, Arrow, and Crescent) at specific nearby fishing spots and placing each one on its matching pedestal to pull a lever.

Step 3: Once all four levers are activated, enter the now‑open temple to access the Element Rod quest.

The Element Rod quest requires:

• Catching 1 Secret fish in the Ancient Jungle.
• Catching 1 Secret fish in the Sacred Temple area.
• Creating 3 Transcendent Stones by sacrificing Secret fish at the altar above the temple.

Each Transcendent Stone consumes a Secret fish, so the total cost is at least three Secrets just for the stones, plus the two Secrets required by the quest itself. This is a heavy ask even for experienced players, which is why the Element Rod is firmly in true endgame territory.

With Ghostfinn, strong bait like Singularity, and high‑tier enchants, the grind becomes more realistic. Once you finally obtain the Element Rod, any remaining rod purchases are purely for collection or style.

Efficient bait and enchant progression alongside rods

Rod stats tell only half the story. Bait and enchants multiply those stats, especially Luck and mutation chances.

Bait progression

A simple, low‑waste path for bait looks like this:

• Starter / Basic bait while on Starter or Lava Rod.
• Midnight or Chroma bait once you own Lucky or Midnight; these add a noticeable Luck bump.
• Dark Matter or Corrupt bait when you reach Hazmat or Ares; they add both Luck and mutation bonuses.
• Aether bait for late‑Mythic farming with Ares, Angler, or Ghostfinn.
• Singularity bait as the final upgrade, with around 380% Luck, typically purchased from the merchant for millions of coins.

Always keep your bait tier roughly in line with your rod tier. Running low‑tier bait on a top‑tier rod wastes its potential, while very expensive bait on a weak rod is rarely worth the cost.

Enchant priorities

Enchantments are applied with enchant stones, which drop randomly while fishing. They can be rerolled to chase stronger effects. For progression focused on money and rare fish, the most valuable enchant types are:

• Empowered for broad performance boosts and more value per catch.
• Mutation Hunter (especially level II) to increase the spawn rate of mutated fish.
• Gold Digger to increase coin income directly from sales.
• Leprechaun for additional Luck percentage, especially on mid‑tier rods.

On early rods, landing any one of these is enough. On high‑end Mythic or Element rods, rerolling until you hit an ideal combination is worth the stones or premium rerolls, because every percentage point of Luck and mutation chance scales off an already huge base.

Following this progression—from Lava Rod through Lucky and Chrome, into Hazmat, Ares, Ghostfinn, and finally Element—keeps your upgrades meaningful at every stage. Combined with smart bait and enchants, each new rod is a clear step up, not just a lateral move, and you avoid burning millions on gear that will be obsolete in a few hours of efficient fishing.