Best Fishing Rod Enchantments

Every fishing rod enchantment, ranked

Enchantment	Max	Verdict	Why
Luck of the Sea	III	Max build	More treasure, less junk.
Lure	III	Max build	Fish bite sooner.
Unbreaking	III	Max build	Part of every max fishing rod.
Mending	I	Max build	Part of every max fishing rod.
Curse of Vanishing	I	Avoid	A curse: it only makes the item worse.

What matters on a fishing rod

A max fishing rod catches faster and pulls up more treasure. Lure III shortens the wait, and Luck of the Sea III turns more catches into treasure such as enchanted books, name tags and saddles. Unbreaking III and Mending keep the rod alive for good.

Fishing also gives experience, 1 to 6 points per catch, so a Mending rod repairs itself while you fish. That makes fishing one of the easiest ways to find Mending books in the first place.

Treasure only shows up in open water: a 5 by 4 by 5 area of water or air around the bobber. In a cramped pool you only catch fish and junk.

Builds for different playstyles

Treasure fishing

Luck of the Sea III, Lure III, Unbreaking III and Mending. Fish in open water, and in rain if you can, for the fastest bites.

Long fishing sessions

The same build. Mending repairs the rod from the fishing experience, so the rod never breaks however long you sit there.

Fishing for XP

Lure III, Unbreaking III and Mending. Every catch gives experience, so a quiet fishing spot doubles as a slow but steady XP source.

Mob control

A fishing rod also hooks and pulls mobs and players. That costs durability, so Unbreaking helps if you use the rod in fights.

Conflicts and which one to pick

Lure and Luck of the Sea together

They don't conflict, so you want both. Lure speeds up bites, while Luck of the Sea improves what bites.

Each enchantment on the fishing rod

Luck of the Sea III

Luck of the Sea improves fishing loot: more treasure (enchanted books, name tags, saddles) and less junk. The book costs 6 levels on a fresh fishing rod. More about Luck of the Sea.

Lure III

Lure makes fish bite sooner. The book costs 6 levels on a fresh fishing rod. More about Lure.

Unbreaking III

Unbreaking gives items a chance to not lose durability when used. At level III that means tools skip 75% of durability loss, armor 30%. The book costs 3 levels on a fresh fishing rod. More about Unbreaking.

Mending

Mending repairs an item with experience orbs. At level I that means each experience point you pick up repairs 2 durability. The book costs 2 levels on a fresh fishing rod. More about Mending.

The numbers behind the build

A fishing rod has 64 durability. Unbreaking III skips three out of four durability losses on average, so it lasts about 256 uses instead of 64. Mending repairs 2 durability per experience point, so a full repair from almost broken takes about 32 points. That is roughly the XP needed to go from level 0 to level 3. With both books, each point of experience pays for about 8 uses.

Lure III takes 15 seconds off the wait for each bite. Luck of the Sea III adds 3 luck, which moves catches from junk toward treasure such as enchanted books, name tags and saddles. Fishing in rain speeds bites up a little more.

What you can catch

Every catch is a fish, junk or treasure. Treasure includes enchanted books, enchanted bows and fishing rods, name tags, saddles and nautilus shells. Junk includes leather boots, sticks, string and bowls.

Luck of the Sea shifts the odds toward treasure and away from junk, while Lure only cuts the wait. So the two together give the most treasure per hour.

Where to get the books

You need 4 books for this build. Mending is a treasure enchantment, so the enchanting table won't give it. Plan to trade or loot for it first. Here is where each one comes from:

• Luck of the Sea III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, random chest loot and fishing.
• Lure III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, random chest loot and fishing.
• Unbreaking III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, random chest loot and fishing.
• Mending: librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults, random chest loot and fishing.

Librarians are the most reliable source for exact books, because you can reroll them until they offer the one you want. The trading hall guide shows how, and the villager trade tool lists the prices. Combine the books in the cheapest anvil order so no step becomes too expensive.

Put a fishing rod in the enchanting table and it can roll Luck of the Sea, Lure and Unbreaking. Mending never shows up there on a fishing rod, so that one comes from books only. The enchanting table calculator shows the odds for each slot.

Which books to get first

Lure, Luck of the Sea and Unbreaking come from the enchanting table or librarians. Fishing rods have very low enchantability, so table rolls are often weak; a book is more reliable.

Fish with a plain Lure rod at first. Each catch has a small chance of an enchanted book, and Mending is one of the books you can find.

Mistakes to avoid

• Fishing in a tiny pool. Without open water you get no treasure at all.
• Skipping Luck of the Sea. Lure alone catches faster, but mostly fish and junk.
• Forgetting Mending. A rod has little durability, so without Mending it breaks fast.
• Fishing in clear skies when rain is due. Rain makes fish bite faster, so a storm is the best time to fish.

Fishing Rod enchantment questions

Every enchantment a fishing rod can take in Java 26.3: Luck of the Sea, Lure, Unbreaking, Mending.

Quick answers: can you put Mending on a fishing rod?

See also the full list of incompatible enchantments and the god gear command generator.

Cheapest order

Combining these books in the wrong order can cost twice as many levels or hit Too Expensive! The cheapest order for the max fishing rod costs 24 levels in 4 steps, with no step above 9. So you never need more than 9 levels at once.

Spend the levels step by step as you earn them: that costs about 314 experience points in total. If you saved up to level 24 first, you would need 828 points, because each level costs more XP the higher you climb. Afterwards the fishing rod has been on the anvil 3 times, so later repairs start at a penalty of 7.

See every step

Other gear

• Full armor set
• Helmet
• Chestplate
• Leggings
• Boots
• Elytra
• Sword
• Axe
• Spear
• Mace
• Trident
• Bow
• Crossbow
• Pickaxe
• Shovel
• Hoe
• Shears
• Brush
• Flint and Steel
• Shield
• Carrot on a Stick
• Warped Fungus on a Stick