Original GBC · not HeartGold / SoulSilver
Fishing rods & fish encounter tables
Collect every rod in original Pokémon Gold & Silver, then look up the exact fish group for each body of water. Tables include approximate slot rates, day/night Corsola vs Staryu, Dragon’s Den Dratini/Dragonair, and phone Qwilfish / Remoraid swarms—linked to the live map, items, Pokédex, Mechanics Lab, and catch tools.
Fast answer
Where are the three fishing rods?
Old Rod — Fishing Guru in the Route 32 Pokémon Center (early Johto).
Good Rod — Fishing Guru in the Olivine City Good Rod house (mid Johto).
Super Rod — Fishing Guru in the Route 12 house after Kanto via S.S. Aqua.
Stand facing water, open the Key Item, and fish. Every water tile uses a map fish group; rod tier picks which table inside that group. Bite chance is about 50% per cast on these tables.
Key items path
Old, Good, and Super Rod
Rods are free Key Items (cannot be tossed). You only need to talk to each Guru once. Super Rod is gated behind the post-Johto Kanto trip—not by a badge requirement on the rod itself.
Interactive tool
Fish group finder
Filter by rod tier and species. Slot rates use the game’s cumulative tables, shown as rounded percentages (Old ~70/15/15, Good ~35/35/20/10, Super ~40/30/20/10). Time slots list day vs night species when they differ.
Hunt list
High-interest fishing targets
Phone events
Qwilfish & Remoraid swarms
Qwilfish · Route 32
Caller cluster includes Fisher Ralph. Swarm tables put Qwilfish on Old/Good/Super instead of waiting for the normal Super Rod 10% bottom slot.
Remoraid · Route 44
Route 44 switches to the Remoraid swarm group while the call is active. Normal non-swarm tables only bottom-slot Remoraid on Super Rod.
RTC note
Day vs night fishing slots
Most fish slots are the same day and night. The important exception is the Shore Good/Super time_group slots: Corsola by day, Staryu by night (night band 18:00–03:59). Morning (04:00–09:59) uses the day fishing species for those slots. Other time groups (Shellder, Goldeen, Poliwag, Dratini, etc.) list the same species both halves of the day.
Progress
Fishing checklist
Checks save in this browser only (localStorage).
FAQ
Common fishing questions
Do I need a badge to use fishing rods?
No badge gate is on the rods themselves. You only need to stand next to water and use the Key Item. Story progress gates which rods you can reach (Olivine for Good Rod, Kanto for Super Rod).
Why am I only getting Magikarp?
Old Rod tables are Magikarp-heavy by design. Upgrade to Good Rod in Olivine, then Super Rod in Kanto, and fish the correct group for your target (Shore for Corsola, Dragon’s Den for Dratini, etc.).
Is the Red Gyarados a fishing encounter?
No. The shiny Red Gyarados at Lake of Rage is a static story encounter. Lake of Rage also has a separate Gyarados fishing group for ordinary Gyarados. See the Red Gyarados guide.
Can I fish Lapras?
No. Friday Lapras is a static Union Cave encounter, not a fish table. Use the Lapras Friday guide.
Is this the same as HeartGold / SoulSilver?
No. This page is original Game Boy Color Gold & Silver tables from pret/pokegold. HGSS changes locations, swarms, and some encounter structure—do not mix remake guides with these rates.
Field tips
Balls & status
Dratini, Qwilfish, and Corsola do not use the roaming-beast flee behavior in ordinary wild battles. They can still faint or consume your Balls, so status conditions and stronger Balls help once Super Rod opens tougher levels.
Pair with Surf
Many targets also appear on Surf tables. Cross-check the map encounter panel and the HM checklist for Surf timing.
Dex & team
Mark catches in the catch checklist, then drop keepers into the Team Planner for coverage vs Johto/Kanto gyms.
Related guides & tools
Original Game Boy Color Gold & Silver fish groups · Not HeartGold/SoulSilver