JayBird's My Fishing Guide

Find the fish. Know the bait. Fish your way.

My Fishing Guide brings a helpful Spirit Fishing Guide to Valheim. Find nearby fish, learn which bait to use, and get fishing advice in a movable interface. It provides information and atmosphere without automatically catching fish.

Promotional Artwork

Features

• Nearby fish scout: Displays fish species detected nearby, with distance and bait information where available.
• Bait guidance: Helps identify suitable bait and warns when your equipped bait may not match the nearest fish.
• Spirit Fishing Guide: Offers situational fishing advice and catch messages.
• Boat scout: Configurable wider fish scanning while sailing, limited to creatures loaded by the game.
• Ocean awareness: Optional warnings about dangerous Sea Serpents, hostile RtDOcean creatures, and SeaAnimals sharks, Humboldt squid, and swamp crocodiles that can threaten your boat. SeaAnimals and RtDOcean integration are optional.
• Fishing audio: Optional bite (nibble), hook, and struggle cues where supported, plus a Viking-style catch celebration. No continuous reel-in audio is advertised.
• Movable interface: With a fishing rod equipped, press F8 to unlock the mouse, drag the guide, then press F8 again to save the position.
• BepInEx configuration: Tune scan intervals, display, audio, and other options in the generated config file.
• Improved readability (v0.11.18): High-contrast guide text and background options make scouting information easier to read over bright ocean water.

Installation

Install with a Thunderstore-compatible mod manager, or copy JayBirdMyFishingGuide.dll to BepInEx/plugins in a Valheim installation with BepInExPack installed.

The mod uses the plugin identifier jaybird.myfishingguide.

Notes

• SeaAnimals and RtDOcean integrations are optional; neither mod is bundled.
• The fish scout can only report fish/wildlife currently loaded by Valheim; it does not generate fish or guarantee catches.
• Version 0.11.18 adds improved guide contrast, SeaAnimals wildlife scouting, and a corrected startup version message. The temporary Fishing Skill Test has been removed. Compatibility with every third-party fishing mod has not been independently tested.
• Version 0.11.19 corrects the Thunderstore release documentation and version number; no gameplay changes from 0.11.18.
• Version 0.11.20 corrects the Thunderstore icon artwork and release version; gameplay is unchanged from 0.11.19.
• Version 0.11.21 revises SeaAnimals cautions: Orca and Whale Shark remain peaceful sightings; White, Blue, Hammerhead and Tiger Sharks, Humboldt Squid, and Crocodile trigger cautions. Vanilla Sea Serpent and Bonemaw warnings remain unchanged.

Recommended Companion Mods & Thanks

My Fishing Guide can be enjoyed on its own, but I also recommend these excellent Valheim mods for players who want to expand their fishing and ocean adventures:

• ComfyFishing by Loxley — A more relaxed fishing experience with craftable rods, a different reeling system, and skill-based progression. Thank you, Loxley, for making fishing more enjoyable!
• SeaAnimals by Marlthon — Adds marine wildlife such as sharks, whales, dolphins, orcas, and squid. My Fishing Guide lists supported wildlife separately from catchable fish and warns about nearby predatory sharks, Humboldt squid, and crocodiles. Orcas and whale sharks remain peaceful sightings. Thank you, Marlthon, for bringing more life to the sea!
• RtDOcean by Soloredis — Expands the oceans with marine wildlife, predators, and new things to discover. Thank you, Soloredis, for bringing Valheim's oceans to life!

For ocean wildlife, I recommend choosing either SeaAnimals or RtDOcean, not both together. This keeps the ocean from becoming overcrowded; it is not a claim that the two mods are technically incompatible. ComfyFishing can be used alongside either choice.

All three are optional companion mods, not required dependencies. My Fishing Guide is an independent project and is not affiliated with these mods or their authors.

Artwork

The promotional banner is hosted at iili.io for display on Thunderstore. A copy is also included in the package as MyFishingGuide_Promo.png.

Author

JayBird

v0.11.22 — Thunderstore re-upload version

• Incremented the package and plugin versions after Thunderstore reserved v0.11.21 from the previous upload attempt.
• No additional gameplay changes; retains v0.11.21 SeaAnimals wildlife warning classifications.
• Packaged the compiled DLL, manifest, icon, README, changelog, and promotional image at the ZIP root.

v0.11.21 — SeaAnimals wildlife danger classification

• Removed the Orca from the SeaAnimals danger-warning whitelist. Orca and Whale Shark remain normal wildlife sightings.
• Added SeaAnimals White Shark, Blue Shark, Hammerhead Shark, Tiger Shark, Humboldt Squid, and Swamp Crocodile to the warning whitelist.
• Preserved sightings, counts, distances, bearings, optional integration, vanilla Sea Serpent/Bonemaw warnings, and RtDOcean warning behavior.
• Includes the compiled v0.11.21 DLL. In-game verification is recommended before publication.

v0.11.20 — Thunderstore artwork correction

• Restored and verified the original clean 256×256 Thunderstore icon (matching the earlier 0.11.16 release), not an image-viewer screenshot.
• Kept JayBird's original README layout, promotional banner, and companion-mod credits and recommendations.
• Updated the DLL plugin metadata, startup message, manifest, and source version to 0.11.20.
• No fishing, scouting, or gameplay changes from 0.11.19.

v0.11.19 — Thunderstore release correction

• Corrected the release package to preserve JayBird’s original README, promotional artwork, and companion-mod thank-you notes.
• README recommends choosing either SeaAnimals or RtDOcean, not both; ComfyFishing remains an optional companion.
• Updated the BepInEx plugin version and startup message to 0.11.19. No gameplay logic changes from 0.11.18.

v0.11.18 — Readability, credits and cleanup

• Added an optional deep-navy, semi-transparent background behind the fishing guide for readable text against bright sky and water; background height tracks fish and wildlife rows.
• Added [Display] DarkBackdropEnabled (default true) and DarkBackdropOpacity (default 0.82, configurable 0.25–0.95).
• Kept optional SeaAnimals wildlife sightings and Orca boat cautions; no cooking, meat or recipe support added.
• Updated README with SeaAnimals link and thanks to Marlthon, Loxley (ComfyFishing) and Soloredis (RtDOcean). Recommend SeaAnimals OR RtDOcean, not both together, for a cleaner ocean experience (not a confirmed technical incompatibility).
• Bumped plugin metadata and startup message to 0.11.18; removed temporary Fishing Skill Test config and Skills.GetSkillLevel Harmony patch.
• Existing Fishing Skill Test config entries may remain on disk but are no longer used.
• Author-compiled DLL included in the 0.11.18 Thunderstore package; in-game testing of this build is pending.

v0.11.17 — Optional SeaAnimals wildlife scouting (source only)

• Recognizes all 15 marine creature prefab names documented by Marlthon's SeaAnimals 0.3.9.
• Adds a dedicated SeaAnimals wildlife HUD section, with counts, distance, and ship-relative bearings where available.
• SeaAnimals creatures remain separate from rod-catchable fish; no fake bait or fishing-range badges.
• Untamed SA_Orca triggers a compact boat caution, based on older author documentation confirming boat attacks; other species are sightings only pending behavioral validation.
• Tamed orcas are excluded from boat warnings; wildlife listings still include them.
• SeaAnimals integration is optional and configurable; existing vanilla and RtDOcean scanning, audio and alerts remain.
• Fixed Boat Scout announcements to treat SeaAnimals as wildlife, never as fish to steer toward.
• Requires local build and in-game testing. No compiled DLL included.

v0.11.15 — Bonemaw boat-danger warning (source only)

• Added explicit detection for vanilla BonemawSerpent (including clone instances), even without a fishing rod equipped.
• Bonemaw now receives its own prominent red DANGER - BONEMAW NEARBY banner and warning text.
• Retained separate Sea Serpent detection and warnings, and all RtDOcean boat-threat warnings (including Squid).
• Marlin, Catfish, and Catfish Wanderer remain sightings only.
• Bonemaw is detected directly from Valheim characters, not incorrectly added to RtDOcean's _RtD wildlife list.
• Source-only update: compile with build.ps1 and test in-game.

v0.11.14 — Squid boat-attack warnings (source only)

• Added Squid to the explicit RtDOcean sea-threat whitelist because squid have been observed attacking boats.
• Kept Marlin, CatFish, and CatFishWanderer out of sea-danger warnings; all remain wildlife sightings.
• Boat warnings still work without equipping a fishing rod.
• No changes to audio, fishing targets, wildlife scanning, HUD layout, or creature behavior.
• Source only: requires local compilation and in-game verification.

v0.11.13 — Catfish false-positive warning fix (source only)

• Removed CatFish and CatFishWanderer from the hostile sea-threat whitelist. Neither triggers a danger warning, whether the fishing rod is equipped or not.
• Retained both Catfish types in the ordinary RtDOcean wildlife-sighting whitelist, so boat scouting still identifies them.
• Preserved existing warnings for sharks, Murkpod, BoneFish, BoneSquid, LuminousLooker, and other explicitly listed threats, plus vanilla sea serpents.
• No changes to fishing audio, HUD layout, fish bait advice, boat scanning distance, or catch detection.
• Source patch; build locally with build.ps1. Not compiled or game-tested here.

v0.11.12 — Hostile ocean threat classification (source patch, uncompiled)

• Removed ordinary hunting targets Marlin and Squid from sea-danger alerts; Orca is now a wildlife sighting only.
• Added prefab-based threat matching for Shark/GreatWhiteShark, HammerheadShark, Megalodon, MurkPod, BoneFish, BoneSquid, LuminousLooker, and additional potentially hostile RtDOcean creatures.
• Wildlife scan now accepts both Animal_<Name>_RtD and <Name>_RtD prefab naming conventions to avoid missing shark variants.
• Boat danger warnings can display while sailing without a fishing rod equipped; the fishing HUD remains rod-gated.
• Kept normal fishing audio, fishing targets, and boat scouting behavior unchanged.
• Source-only, not compiled or tested in Valheim. Verify the actual prefab IDs and threat behavior in game before publishing.

v0.11.11 — Return shore fishing detection to 25 m

• Reduced player-centered shore fishing scan radius from 50 m to 25 m.
• Updated the fishing-rod-range label and boat scout in-range badge through the shared range constant.
• Kept boat Fish Scout default 150 m and its independent scanning range unchanged.
• Retained existing creature warnings and audio.
• Source only; requires local compilation and in-game validation.

v0.11.10 — Quieter RtDOcean cautions

• Keep large red danger banner for sea serpents only.
• Show compact, muted amber caution for selected potentially dangerous RtDOcean creatures.
• Remove humpback and sperm whales from the caution list; sightings remain in wildlife.
• Preserve distance and ship-relative direction when available.
• No changes to scanning, fishing, audio, or creature AI.
• Source-only release; compile and test before publishing.

v0.11.9 — Prominent Sea Threat Warnings

• Display an attention-grabbing dark-red DANGER banner for detected sea serpents and selected large RtDOcean wildlife.
• Show nearest RtDOcean threat distance and ship-relative direction when available.
• Prioritize Spirit warnings over fishing tips when a potential threat is detected.
• Highlight potentially dangerous RtDOcean wildlife rows in red.
• Add [Safety] ShowSeaThreatWarnings (default true).
• No changes to damage, AI, fishing audio, or detection scan cadence.
• Source package; compile and test in Valheim before publishing.

v0.11.8 — Audio-enabled FPS regression fix

• Prevented per-frame FindObjectsOfType(FishingFloat) searches while fishing audio is enabled.
• Throttled hook searches to 0.5s and struggle fallback searches to 0.75s.
• Skip audio polling unless a fishing rod is equipped; preserve existing audio cues.
• Source-only build; compilation and in-game validation pending.

v0.11.7 — Viking catch celebration and cleaner audio

• Replaced synthesized applause with a 1.55-second horn-and-two-drum fanfare.
• Added an independent golden-yellow catch Spirit message across the upper center of the screen for 3.5 seconds with fade-out.
• Removed the reeling/tension loop, associated line-shortening logic and volume configuration binding.
• Retained nibble, hook confirmation, struggle splash, 50m player-centered fish scan, and 150m boat Fish Scout.
• Catch detection still uses inventory increases; no audio test controls.
• Source package; compilation and in-game testing pending.

v0.11.6 — 50m fish scan and four-stage fishing audio test

• Increased player-centered shore fish scan from 25m to 50m; boat Fish Scout remains 150m by default.
• Added distinct synthesized hook confirmation when a hooked fish is observed.
• Added line-shortening-based reeling detection for the reel-tension loop, including a best-effort ComfyFishing fallback after a nibble.
• Kept nibble, struggle splash, and fish-caught applause award. No F8 sound test.
• All sounds are generated in memory; no external sound assets required.
• Hook/reel detection requires in-game validation, particularly with ComfyFishing.

0.11.6 — Catch applause award sound (test source)

• Replaced catch chime with short procedurally generated handclap sequence and two-note award flourish.
• Removed F8 sound-test key and configuration entry.
• Kept fish inventory catch trigger and temporary Fishing skill slider.
• Added optional ComfyFishing and RtDOcean acknowledgements and links to README.
• Bobber-centered fish detection and reel-event improvements remain planned, not included in this update.

0.11.5 — Temporary Fishing skill slider for testing

• Added disabled-by-default Fishing Skill Test enable toggle and 0–100 slider (default 20).
• Harmony prefix overrides reads of Skills.GetSkillLevel(Fishing) only when enabled; no skill/XP mutation.
• Corrected startup log version to 0.11.5.
• Other 0.11.4 audio and bait behavior preserved.
• Experimental: ComfyFishing may bypass the getter.

0.11.4 — ComfyFishing audio diagnostic test

• F8 manual audio test cycles nibble, struggle, and catch sounds.
• Added custom synthesized catch chime when fish enters inventory, including auto-catch.
• Added a 20m local bobber proximity fallback for nibble events when vanilla owner fields are absent. This is experimental and can mistake another nearby player’s bobber.
• Preserved v0.11.3 green alternative bait display.

0.11.3 — Green alternative bait guidance (test source)

• Show alternative nearby-fish bait types immediately below the primary bait action.
• Match BAIT READY green with smaller, regular-weight text.
• Hide the alternative line when there are no other bait types; no duplicate line below the fish list.
• Retain 0.11.2 experimental audio diagnostics and bobber ownership fix; audio remains unverified in-game.

0.11.2 — Bobber ownership and stable bait guidance

• Check the local player’s active fishing float first when determining audio ownership.
• Keep the recommended bait steady for at least 15 seconds while matching fish remain nearby.
• Expanded nibble ownership diagnostics.
• Audio still requires in-game verification.

0.11.1 — Audio diagnostics and Odin dialogue

• Changed all Njord references in guide sayings to Odin.
• Added audio initialization/hook and nibble diagnostics.
• Added a local-player fishing float probe as fallback for struggle sounds when no static float collection is available.
• Audio remains experimental; test with ComfyFishing enabled and disabled.

0.11.0 (experimental audio)

• Added optional local-only bite plink, struggle splash, and fading reel tension with independent volume settings.
• Added runtime Harmony hooks and procedural sounds.
• Kept fishing/scout behavior from v0.10.2.
• Audio hooks require in-game verification.

v0.10.2 — Spirit Tips Heading

• Label the golden, quoted spirit dialogue Tips from your Spirit Fishing Guide.
• Reserve dynamic HUD space for the heading so it does not overlap fish or bait details.

0.10.1 — Golden Spirit Dialogue

• Spirit quotations now appear in brighter golden-yellow for stronger contrast with the fishing HUD.
• All detection, scouting, and bait logic unchanged.

0.10.0 — Faster scout and Viking spirit HUD

• Boat Scout refresh defaults to 3 seconds, configurable from 1 to 15 seconds maximum.
• Compact highlighted BAIT READY / CHANGE BAIT / EQUIP BAIT panel.
• Highlighted WITHIN FISHING ROD RANGE badge for vanilla fish within 25 meters while scouting.
• Larger, quoted Viking spirit dialogue with varied contextual shore sayings.
• RtDOcean wildlife retains no bait recommendations.

0.9.9 — Fixed rod range and scout callouts

• Normal Fishing Guide detection is always 25 meters, with no configurable range.
• Boat Fish Scout retains its independently configurable long-distance detection range.
• Vanilla fish within 25 m in Fish Scout are labeled Within Fishing Rod Range.
• RtDOcean wildlife listings and announcements never mention bait.
• Correct startup version message.

0.9.8 — Helm-gated scouting

• Fish Scout activates only when a player is operating the ship helm; merely standing aboard is insufficient.
• Passengers with rods can scout when another player is at the helm.
• Shore-mode scan settings apply whenever the helm is unoccupied.

0.9.8 - RtDOcean Wildlife Scouting

• Detect RtDOcean marine wildlife as hunting targets in both shore and boat ranges.
• Separate wildlife list with distances, counts, and boat-relative bearings.
• No bait advice for RtDOcean wildlife; vanilla fish bait logic unchanged.
• Boat spirit can announce wildlife targets.
• Late RtDOcean plugin recognition after BepInEx loads it.

0.9.6 - Boat Fish Scout (test)

• Separate boat and shore scan intervals and radii; boat defaults 150 m / 15 s.
• Boat scouting dialogue with directional hints, species counts and message cooldown.
• Configurable minimum fish threshold and capped settings.
• No biome-derived bait recommendations.
• Requires field testing for ship detection and world object streaming.

0.9.5

• Primary bait targets the nearest detected species; species count breaks distance ties.
• Prominent CHANGE BAIT / EQUIP BAIT / BAIT READY action banner.
• Shows nearest target distance and species count; other bait types are secondary.
• Never uses biome as a fallback.

0.9.4 - Nearby fish bait and counts

• Recommend bait only from detected fish, never from biome.
• Count individual fish by species and show totals.
• Enforce detection radius 1-100 m and bounded configuration values.
• Replace biome-based bait advice with nearby-fish guidance.
• Retain HUD spacing changes.

0.9.3 - HUD spacing fix

• Reserve measured, padded height for every fish name and bait label.
• Separate nearby-fish rows from the best-bait recommendation.
• Reset per-frame label colors to avoid stale bait colors.
• No changes to fish detection or fishing mechanics.

0.9.2

• Separate fish names and bait onto independently measured lines to prevent overlap.
• Dynamically space nearby-fish rows and biome bait guidance.
• Retain vanilla item sprites and configured detection radius.

Changelog

0.9.1 (test source)

• Restore nearby fish species list in the configured range.
• Display native fish inventory icons when available, with fallback markers.
• Show fish name and detected bait; preserve F8 HUD movement and existing advice.
• No changes to fishing mechanics.