Fishing baskets use shallow water; animal cages use dry land. Placement and collection need separate checks.
Reviewed build: 0.1.190.146 FULL FIXED R4 · October 26, 2026. Built against RimWorld 1.6.4871. DLC requirements are listed below.
Set up the system
- Carry a usable fishing rod, select Go Fishing and choose reachable water for direct fishing.
- Place freshwater baskets in matching shallow freshwater and ocean baskets in shallow sea or ocean water.
- Reinstall old shore baskets into the water; cancel and replace unsuitable shore blueprints.
- Enable Hunting and accepting storage for automatic basket collection.
- Place baited animal traps on dry land and empty a live catch before moving a cage.
Current rules and limits
- Fishing can fail. Baskets have a minimum soak and a later catch chance, not a guaranteed hourly yield.
- Each fishing basket holds up to five catches. Odyssey local fish lists are used when available, with fallback fish and regional bycatch.
- Old Hauling-only or shore-placement instructions are superseded by the later updates.
- The .136 job-selection fix lets other work proceed when automatic fishing cannot obtain a usable rod.
Collection versus capture
Direct fishing, a soaking basket and a baited animal cage are separate activities. Baskets hold up to five catches and use minimum-soak and catch-chance rules; waiting one hour does not guarantee a full basket. Check the freshwater/ocean type as well as whether the water is shallow.
Animal handling
Animal cages belong on dry land and use their permitted bait. The tame-versus-slaughter choice affects how the live catch is handled: handlers perform taming and hunters handle collection or slaughter work as appropriate. Empty a live catch before relocating the trap.
When a hunter stands still
The .136 selection change lets a pawn choose other work when automatic fishing cannot obtain a usable rod. Check carried equipment, access and the actual job before assuming the catch timer is responsible. Old shore placement and Hauling-only collection instructions no longer describe the current baskets.
Related references
- Use and preserve catches
- Report a collection problem
- Full development update
- Individual build notes
- Release and compatibility notes
Source builds: .189.6, .190.12-.15 and .136. These references describe packaged beta behavior; focused tests do not establish complete live-game validation.
These references describe the reviewed beta build. Check the installed package and later release notes for changed recipes, values, dependencies and compatibility. A documented fix is not a substitute for live colony testing.