Why am I not getting any treasure from fishing?

Your water is probably too small. Treasure requires the bobber to sit in open water — about a 5x4x5 area with air above and water around it. Move to a lake, river or ocean, and avoid jungle biomes, whose loot table works differently.

What is the best fishing enchantment in Minecraft?

Luck of the Sea III, which raises treasure chances from about 5% to 11.3%. Pair it with Lure III for faster bites and Mending so the rod repairs itself with fishing XP.

Can you fish in lava?

No. Fishing only works in water.

How much XP does fishing give?

Every successful catch grants 1–6 XP. It is slow but steady, and with a Mending rod the XP keeps your rod repaired at the same time.

Minecraft Fishing Guide: How to Fish, Loot Tables and Best Enchantments

Home › Minecraft › Minecraft Fishing Guide: How to Fish, Loot Tables and Best Enchantments

Fishing is Minecraft's slowest mechanic and, weirdly, one of its most rewarding. A quiet hour by a lake can hand you saddles, name tags, nautilus shells and enchanted books — items that otherwise demand a lot of exploring. If you have never bothered with a rod, this guide covers how it all works and how to tilt the odds your way.

Step 1: Craft a Fishing Rod

You need three sticks and two string. Arrange the sticks diagonally from bottom-left to top-right of the crafting grid, then place the two string in the right column below the top stick. Rods also turn up as fishing junk, in some structure loot, and from fisherman villager trades, but crafting your first one takes seconds.

Step 2: How to Fish

Aim slightly above the water where you want the bobber to land — it travels in an arc.
Cast with the use button and wait, eyes on the bobber.
After a short wait, a trail of bubbles streams toward the bobber.
The instant the bobber dips under, use the rod again to reel in.
Your catch flies to you, and you gain 1–6 XP per successful reel.

Any water works mechanically — a single bucket's worth in a hole will do — but treasure has stricter demands, covered below.

What Can You Catch?

Category	Base Chance	Highlights
Fish	~85%	Cod (60%), salmon (25%), pufferfish (13%), tropical fish (2%)
Junk	~10%	Lily pads, leather, bones, string, tripwire hooks, ink sacs
Treasure	~5%	Enchanted books, saddles, name tags, nautilus shells, enchanted bows and rods

Each treasure item is equally likely once the treasure category is rolled. Jungle biomes tweak the junk table — bamboo and (on Bedrock) cocoa beans join the list — but they cannot produce treasure the same way, so do your serious fishing elsewhere.

The Open-Water Rule for Treasure

Treasure only appears when your bobber sits in open water: roughly a 5 by 4 by 5 area around it, with at least two blocks of air above, water below, and water source blocks extending two blocks out in every horizontal direction. A natural lake, river or ocean usually qualifies. A tiny decorative pond often does not — which is why many players fish for hours and never see a saddle.

Best Fishing Rod Enchantments

Luck of the Sea III — the big one. Lifts treasure chance to about 11.3% and cuts junk.
Lure III — fish bite noticeably faster, shortening the wait between casts.
Mending — fishing XP repairs the rod as you use it, making it effectively permanent.
Unbreaking III — stretches the rod's durability further.

All four combine happily on one rod. Because fishing itself yields XP and occasionally enchanted books, an afternoon of fishing often produces the books needed to perfect the rod that caught them.

Repairing Your Rod

Rods cannot be topped up with string. Instead, combine two damaged rods in a crafting grid or anvil to merge their remaining durability. With Mending fitted, you will rarely need to bother.