How to get a Fishing Rod in Red Dead Online

Learn how to get a Fishing Rod, so you can start your journey to becoming a master fisherman in Red Dead Online.

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Fishing can be a great source of money and casual enjoyment in Red Dead Online, and many of the daily challenges you’ll find in the game will often require you to catch fish. If you’re looking to get your career as a fisherman started, then you’re going to need all the tools of the trade. In this guide, we’ll teach you how to get a Fishing Rod, which will allow you to start fishing for Steelhead Trout and more.

How to get a Fishing Rod in Red Dead Online

While the Fishing Rod is rewarded as a quest item in Red Dead Redemption 2—which we’ve detailed in our guide on how to start fishing—you’re going to need to work a bit more for this handy tool in Red Dead Online.

The Fishing Rod in RDO
You can purchase the Fishing Rod from the catalogue for in-game cash after reaching Level 14.

In fact, you’re going to need to either A: Be prepared to spend Gold to bypass the unlock phase or B: Be prepared to grind up to a specific level and then purchase it using in-game cash. If you choose option A, then you’ll be able to purchase the Fishing Rod from the Catalogue at any point by simply visiting a General Store or opening the portable Catalogue by holding J (or whatever the respective key is on console).

Fishing in Red Dead Online
Fishing is a great way to relax and complete some daily challenges in Red Dead Online.

If you don’t want to spend your Gold on a Fishing Rod (it only costs 4 Gold, but you’ll need that Gold for things like the Bounty Hunter License, Collector’s Bag, and Butcher’s Table), then you can also grind up to Level 14  and purchase the Fishing Rod for $32.50 using in-game cash. Once you’ve purchased your Fishing Rod, you’re going to want to head to the nearest Bait Shop (or purchase some Lures and Bait from the Catalogue). Once you have some Lures and Bait, you can head down to the water and start casting your line out to see what you get.

Now that you know how to get the Fishing Rod in Red Dead Online, head back over to our Red Dead Redemption 2 guide for even more useful information.

Guides Editor

Joshua holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has been exploring the world of video games for as long as he can remember. He enjoys everything from large-scale RPGs to small, bite-size indie gems and everything in between.

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