Fishing Potion

Fishing power decides three separate things: how long the bobber sits there before something bites, how often the catch is a crate rather than a plain fish, and whether the rarest entries on a biome's list can appear for you at all. Low power in an ocean means junk and common fish over and over. A potion pushes you across thresholds that rod and bait alone cannot reach early on, which matters most when you are stuck on a quest fish that will not show up below a certain rating.

The Angler hands these out as quest rewards constantly, and most characters end up with more than they will ever drink. Work through his pile and save the ingredients for something scarcer. Drink one at the start of a session rather than between casts, since the timer covers a long run of quests and there is no benefit to holding it back.

Every fishing power source adds together, so this sits on top of your gear rather than replacing any of it: the best rod you own, proper bait, the fishing accessories in your slots. Add a Crate Potion when you are fishing for ore instead of fish, and keep a Sonar Potion going so you can see what took the bait before you reel it in. That last one is what stops you burning the buff on catches you would have thrown back.