Shrimp Catcher in Dragonwilds: Net First, Rod at Level 3
Shrimp Catcher is Dragonwilds' fishing tutorial, and it has an unusual trigger: crafting a coarse net starts it automatically. There is no NPC to seek out first. The quest then walks you through the one progression gate that catches new anglers — you cannot make a fishing rod until Fishing level 3, and the only way to reach level 3 is netting shrimp.
Quest Details
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Secondary |
| Added | 21 April 2026 — Eye on Ashenfall 0.11.1 |
| Start | Craft a fishing net, then speak to the Wise Old Man in Bramblemead Valley |
| Items needed | 2 coarse thread for the coarse net; 1 ash log, 1 coarse thread and 1 raw sardine |
| Rewards | 1 Tome of Fishing - Vol 1, 3 feather bait |
The start condition is the crafting, not the conversation. Make a coarse net at the crafting table and the quest triggers, prompting you to go and talk to the Wise Old Man. If you crafted a net incidentally before ever meeting him, the quest is already running.
The Level 3 Gate
This is the mechanic the quest exists to teach, and it is a hard gate:
1. Stand in a net fishing spot while wielding your net to start trawling. This catches raw shrimp and unlocks shrimp bait.
2. Keep netting shrimp until Fishing level 3. There is no shortcut. Rods are locked behind the level, and the level comes from netting.
3. At level 3, craft an ash rod at the crafting table from 1 ash log and 1 coarse thread.
4. Use the shrimp you caught as bait and fish for a sardine in the Brynmoor waters.
Netting and rod fishing are two different activities with two different tools, and the quest deliberately makes you do the first before it lets you do the second. A player who buys or finds a rod early still cannot use it productively without the levels.
The Conversation Matters
When you first speak to the Wise Old Man, choose option 2. He remarks on the net, reminisces about catching things in a local pond in his youth to the annoyance of the owners, and then sets the actual objective: catch him a sardine in the Brynmoor waters, using a fishing rod and crafted bait.
He follows up with four options to discuss fishing, which is where the quest hands over its background information. Exhausting those is optional for completion and useful for understanding the skill.
The framing is worth noting because it tells you what fishing is for in this game: he mentions boiling, roasting and stewing the catch, and — separately — that really nice specimens can be put on display. That is the Pristine fish trophy system, which is one of the fifteen decoration categories and the only one that doubles as a progress record.
The Rewards Are Both Fishing Investments
| Reward | What it does |
|---|---|
| 1 Tome of Fishing - Vol 1 | Free Fishing experience |
| 3 feather bait | Bait for the next tier of fish |
Both feed straight back into the skill you just unlocked, which makes this one of the tidier tutorial quests — the reward advances the thing the quest taught rather than paying out in an unrelated currency.
Feather bait specifically is a step up from the shrimp bait you unlock during the quest, so the three you receive are your entry to fish above sardine tier.
Where Fishing Fits
Fishing in Dragonwilds is not just a food source. It is:
- A skill with its own level ladder, gated behind the netting → rod progression this quest teaches.
- A healing route — fish dishes are among the better restorative foods.
- A decoration system — Pristine fish trophies are one of the fifteen decoration categories, at 11 pieces.
- A spell target — several utility spells exist specifically to support fishing, including Fishnado and Fishing Frenzy.
Doing this quest early is worth it for the tome alone, and because the level 3 gate is easier to clear when you have a reason to be netting anyway.
Running your own Dragonwilds server
Fishing is the low-stakes thing one player does while the rest of the group fights something, and that only works in a shared world that keeps running. A gamever Dragonwilds server keeps Ashenfall persistent with automatic updates and one-click backups.
Conclusion
Shrimp Catcher was added on 21 April 2026 with Eye on Ashenfall 0.11.1, and it starts unusually: crafting a coarse net triggers it, after which you speak to the Wise Old Man in Bramblemead Valley and choose option 2. The gate it exists to teach is that fishing rods unlock at Fishing level 3, and the only route there is standing in a net fishing spot while wielding a net to trawl raw shrimp — which also unlocks shrimp bait. At level 3, craft an ash rod from 1 ash log and 1 coarse thread, bait it with the shrimp, and catch the sardine in the Brynmoor waters the quest asks for. The total material cost is 2 coarse thread for the net, then 1 ash log and 1 coarse thread for the rod. Both rewards feed back into the skill — a Tome of Fishing Vol 1 and 3 feather bait, the latter being the step above the shrimp bait you started on.
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