A fishing rod in Minecraft is a tool mainly used for fishing, however, it has a number of other uses that players rarely ever explore. In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase the top 4 best uses for fishing rods in Minecraft.
1. Fishing items underwater
It is fairly obvious that the main feature of a fishing rod is to fish. However, fishing in Minecraft can yield more than just the usual catch.
Fishing rods can be cast into the water. After a short period of time, a stream of bubble particles approaches the fishing rod. If the rod is reeled in once the particles "bite" the bobber, the player obtains a fish, junk, or possibly a treasure item.
Each level of the Luck of the Sea enchantment increases the chance of catching a treasure at the expense of reducing the chances of catching fish and junk. The Luck status effect grants the same benefit. Lure increases the rate of something biting the player's hook while fishing. Specifically, it decreases the wait time for something to appear by 5 seconds per level.
2. Hooking mobs and other entities
The fishing rod can be used to hook mobs, items (Java edition only) and some entities, and even players. The fishing rod can then be reeled in, which drags them toward the player and deals no damage. Reeling in a mob or entity costs 5 points of durability, and reeling in an item costs 3 points.
Here is the list of items that can be reeled in by players: Boats, minecarts of any type, armor stands, Shulker bullets, fireballs, primed TNT, Gravity affected blocks
3. Creating carrot/warped fungus on a stick
A carrot on a stick is an item that can be used to control saddled pigs. Warped fungus is pretty much the same thing, but for striders instead. These items are created by combining the fishing rod with a carrot or warped fungus.
To do this, the player simply holds the item in one hand and any nearby pigs/striders within view are attracted toward the player. Saddle and mount them - to make pigs/striders move, just hold out the carrot/warped fungus on a stick toward a direction.
Right-clicking with the item makes the pig/strider go faster, but reduces the item's durability by 1 for every speed boost. If the item's durability reaches 0, it turns into a fishing rod.
4. Gain advantages in PVP
Fishing rods are a gimmicky item, dealing no damage to players but knocking them back slightly on contact. Repeated strikes may open up a small window of opportunity for a combatant to slip in a few sword strikes. The knockback can also push enemies off the cliff as well, causing them to take significant fall damage.
This can also be a decent tool to deal durability damage to armors and break them, however, players might need to enchant it with Unbreaking and Mending.
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