Dredge: How To Unlock Abyssal & Hadal Fishing

Dredge is all about fishing. Sure, it’s also steeped in intrigue and horror, but getting out and about with a couple of rods is the core of the game. Catch a fish, mark it in your Encyclopedia, sell the fish, and repeat. It’s a simple life, but it’s undeniably addictive. Of course, there are some catches (pun intended).

The biggest one being certain fish require specific rods. You start with a fairly basic rod, but if you want to catch some of the more valuable fish, you are going to need rods that can venture into the abyss and come back intact. In this guide, we will walk you through obtaining these more powerful rods. 

More Dredge content: 

What Is Dredge? | How To Get Explosives | How To Get Research Parts | Music Box

How To Unlock Abyssal Fishing

One of the earliest things you learn in Dredge is that to catch rare fish, you need better rods. Different rods can reach different depths, and you don’t get much deeper than the Abyss. Unfortunately, unlocking Abyssal and Hadal fishing is not straightforward. A quick glance at the Research Tree and you will see that these rods are not connected to the main tree. So how do you unlock them?

Well, like with many mysteries, you will have to do a Pursuit. Head to the Stellar Basin and make your way to the Old Fortress. You will find a Researcher who wants you to collect some samples after her Research Station was destroyed by a monster. 

Her quest requires you to catch some rare fish – and we have a guide on how to catch them as they are not the easiest to catch. This is especially true for the elusive Aurora Jellyfish. In short, however, you are going to need to do some fishing at night. 

Once you have returned all three fish (we recommend dropping them off one at a time to prevent them from rotting), you will be tasked with retrieving some parts. These can be found at the Research Station. Head back to the Old Fortress and get yourself an Abyssal Fishing Rod and a new quest – although this quest is not required. 

How To Unlock Hadal Fishing

Once you have Abyssal Fishing, you are 90% of the way to unlocking Hadal. Once you have access to your first Abyssal Rod, you can access your Research Tree and unlock a Rod that has both Hadal and Abyssal fishing capabilities. What’s more, it only costs 1 Research Part. You would have found two at the Research Station when acquiring the Abyssal Rod, so this Upgrade should be instant. 

With the Abyssal and Hadal fishing unlocked, you are ready to catch just about anything. Good luck out there, and beware of the monsters lurking at the centre of the Basin.

That’s all we have on Dredge for now. Be sure to check out our other Guides and Walkthroughs for more Dredge content. Beware of the terrors hiding in the deep.