Checked on 21 October 2026 against GONE Fishing 1.0 (20 October 2026, with the 20 October hotfix). Steam app 3645890 by GONE Studios. Forum dates are UTC.

Early on, the sources point to plentiful low-score bait and bait traps [S8]. At the top end, GONE Studios points to the heart, a tier 6 bait with a bait score of 99 in its Early Access post of 13 September 2026 [S3]. The release post says "Players now get two hearts (tier 6 bait) after defeating the boss and upgrading the butcher table" [S1].

What bait score does

GONE Studios wrote on 10 September 2026, during Early Access, that "Baitscore is important since it determines the type of fish you will catch" [S5]. The same post said buffs now also affect the weight and point value of the fish [S5].

SilverFoilHat's solo guide (19 September 2026, Early Access) describes the maths as base bait score times day multiplier, depth, Leviathan totem level and sinker level [S7]. The base score is the number shown in the hotbar, and the guide says a random variable stays in the result [S7]. The same guide says the hotbar now carries a bait tier list, and the speaker says it takes "four line" to use an orange item [S7].

Bait scores listed on the community bait encyclopedia

The community site gonefishing.gg lists bait scores on its Bait Encyclopedia. The page read on 21 October 2026 shows 20 of 59 baits, says the stats are current season, and says the bait list covers all time [S6]. These are a selection from that page, not a full list.

BaitScore listedFish types listedMaps listedSource
Worm15686[S6]
Cockroach16393[S6]
Lizard21696[S6]
Bull Frog24836[S6]
Minnow28946[S6]
Glizzy28126[S6]
Spider30936[S6]
Turtle42946[S6]
Raccoon58786[S6]
Gorilla60966[S6]
Chopped Bait XLarge70985[S6]
Human Corpse70925[S6]

Two readings follow from the page. The Worm has the lowest score in the table and the most catches on the page, 150,664 [S6]. A higher score does not always mean a wider list of fish: the Minnow at 28 and the Turtle at 42 both list 94 fish types, and the Glizzy lists 12 [S6].

Early game: cheap and plentiful

SilverFoilHat's lake tutorial (3 December 2025, Early Access) says "worms have the lowest bait score that you can catch" but are plentiful, found near the cabin [0:56] [S8]. The same video calls the minnow trap bait fish "a really good early game bait source" because the trap spawns them without end [3:16] [S8].

The release post changed traps: they are harvestable at the start of each morning because they catch bait overnight, and the primary bait traps are the Minnow Trap, Crab Trap and Rabbit/Raccoon trap [S1]. GONE Studios says a bait trap "serves as an infinite bait source" [S1].

SilverFoilHat's solo guide (19 September 2026) warns about bait choice early in a run. The speaker says "a lot of people use bad bait or they try to use too much bait" [7:49] [S7]. They say they fish with no bait or smaller bait early because the value increase is not noticeable yet [16:38] [S7]. They also say players who jump to turtles and baby alligators too soon get ahead of what they can handle [16:04] [S7].

Mid game: step up the score

The lake tutorial calls crabs a pretty good midgame bait, found roaming near the teleportation portal [4:39] [S8]. In the solo guide, the speaker swaps minnow traps for spiders because they have a better base bait score [65:06] [S7]. The same speaker calls alligators "really good bait" and gets them by letting the mother alligator catch them, then grabbing the babies [30:40] [S7].

Skeeter adds a trade route. GONE Studios wrote on 13 September 2026 that Skeeter's high tier bait trades improved, and that Skeeter has a 15% chance to give an extra bait when handed a high tier fish [S3]. The post defines a high tier fish as worth more than 40 points [S3].

Late game: chopped bait, corpses and the heart

Chopped bait comes from the butcher table. In the solo guide, the speaker says the upgraded table gives two XL bait per fish, which they call an infinite bait cycle [74:42] [S7]. They also describe turning a high-value fish into a pearl and using the pearl as bait [75:29] [S7]. For pearls and grilling, see the cooking page.

Corpses are the other source. GONE Studios wrote on 1 January 2026, during Early Access, that the Stalker's corpse "makes for some of the best bait in the game" [S9]. The release post says that with the musket "every creature in the game can now be killed and used as bait", with pets excepted [S1]. For the creatures themselves, see the enemies page.

The heart sits at the top. On 13 September 2026, GONE Studios described the first tier 6 bait, acquired by chopping the heart on the butcher table, with a bait score of 99 [S3]. The post says the heart has a special effect: in its example, a 1 in 50 chance at a legendary or mythic fish becomes 1 in 25 [S3]. The release post says "Players now get two hearts (tier 6 bait) after defeating the boss and upgrading the butcher table" [S1]. The 20 October 2026 hotfix fixed a bug where "players would only recieve one heart bait from the upgraded butcher table" [S2].

A separate Early Access change on 3 October 2026 moved the minimum bait score for legendary fish from 200 to 175 [S4]. The same post fixed a bug where some legendary fish could not be caught when fishing with the heart [S4]. The release and hotfix posts do not restate either number. For the legendary and mythic fish themselves, see the mythical fish page.

GONE Studios also teased new bait at the full release: "Jeb has some new bait on the shelf", with a warning that fishing with it may get serious [S1]. The ending is covered on its own page.

Matching bait to the fish

Two posts name bait for specific fish. On 22 November 2025, GONE Studios wrote that "Frogs, Spiders, and lizards will be the best for catching" the Redtail Catfish [S10]. The release post says the glizzy bait can now be used to catch the Wels Catfish [S1].

Keeping and refilling bait

The release post says the bountiful bait totem "now gives a % chance to give you 2 bait from a trap instead of just 1" [S1]. It lists the Iron worm trinket as a "Chance to keep bait after catching a fish" [S1]; the other trinkets are on the trinkets page. GONE Studios says the Fish Trap has to be baited with bait from your tacklebox, and the fish it collects depends on the value of the bait placed in it [S1]. On 24 July 2026, GONE Studios wrote that "Bait in the bait storage box will now be saved and loaded when loading a saved game" [S11].

Sources and version

Checked on 2026-10-21 against GONE Fishing 1.0 (20 October 2026, with the 20 October hotfix).