In order to get started fishing, you'll first need to collect at least 200 Crowns. If you just started with a new character, you can seek out the secret chests in the Sanctum and sell the contents to Sally's Shop for some easy cash.

Once you've collected at least 200 Crowns, you then need to head to the Sanctum Lake. If you don't know how to get there, head to the Spawn Platform (the area you spawn in at after loading your save) in the Sanctum, and take the warp circle to the right (assuming you are looking towards the warp circles).
Go through the passage and to the other side of the lake. You will see a character named Torta, sitting by the crates. (At the time of writing, Torta is shown as a 2D sprite, not a 3D model.) Talk to him, go to his shop menu, and go to the "Consumables" tab. In the top left spot, there will a Wooden Rod for sale at 200 Crowns; go ahead and buy it.



Now that you have a Wooden Rod, you are able to fish! However, the method for fishing is a little odd. First, you need to find a fishing spot in the lake, and make sure that your character is facing towards it. Then, open your inventory, go to the Consumables tab, right-click on the Wooden Rod, and use it. Your character will cast the rod, and a prompt will appear to Reel the rod. Just wait until an exclamation point icon pops up, and reel it in to get your catch!


If you find it annoying to have to open your inventory every time you want to cast your rod, you can map it to one of the function (F1-F4) keys. All you have to do is drag it to the slot you want, just like you would for a healing item!

Now that you know how to get started fishing, I hope you have a lot fun with it, and catch some rare fish and treasure! Don't forget that you can exchange your fish with Torta to get some unique items and potions, and that sometimes you'll get a non-fish item when fishing, such as Angela's Tears, Soul Orbs, or the useless Old Boots.