How to Get the Sinking Lure in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Sinking Lure is an optional fishing item in the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake. Its appearance depends on conditions that can be difficult to pin down, but you don’t need it to finish the game, and you can’t take it out of the fishing pond.

Where to Find the Sinking Lure in Ocarina of Time

The exact requirements for making the Sinking Lure appear are unclear. Testing across three save files suggests that you may need to win the fishing pond’s major prize in at least one time period:

• Young Link: Catch a fish measuring at least 50 cm to earn a Piece of Heart.
• Adult Link: Catch a fish measuring at least 60 cm to earn the Golden Scale.

You may not need to win both prizes. In one tested save, the lure appeared for young Link after the Golden Scale had been won, even though the Piece of Heart had not. In another, adult Link found the lure after young Link had earned the Piece of Heart, without having won the Golden Scale.

The lure only appears after you pay the Fishing-Pond Man and rent a rod. During testing, he mentioned the lure whenever it appeared, either warning that it was against the rules or saying that it kept turning up in his pond.

Once you have rented a rod, check these possible locations:

• Near the small waterfall flowing into a stone fountain on the north side of the pond.
• Near the larger waterfall on the south side.
• Around debris in the pond.

If you leave and immediately return, the lure may not reappear. During testing, going in and out of the shop did not bring it back. After traveling to the Temple of Time and returning to the fishing pond, however, the lure appeared again.

What to Use the Sinking Lure For

The Sinking Lure makes most fish easier to catch, but the Fishing-Pond Man will not reward you for catching ordinary bass with it. There is one exception: catching the Hylian loach earns you 50 rupees.

The lure can make the loach easier to hook because the fish spends much of its time underwater. Landing it is still a challenge: it frequently jumps and changes direction, and it takes longer to reel in than other fish. Beyond the 50-rupee reward, catching the loach is mostly a feat to show off.

The Ocarina of Time remake differs from the original in some respects. For more help, explore guides to the dungeons, from the Deku Tree to Ganondorf’s Castle, as well as side activities involving Richard the dog and the Cuccos.

Completionists can also look for guides covering every Piece of Heart, Gold Skulltula token, and Magic Bean planting location.

Source: Polygon