Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Switch 2) Fishing & Sinking Lure Guide: How to Catch 10 and 20-Pound Fish, Secret Lure Locations, and Unlock the Piece of Heart & Golden Scale
Tucked away on the eastern shore of Lake Hylia, the Fishing Pond is far more than a quiet minigame detour in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Nintendo Switch 2. For an entry fee of 20 Rupees per session, this pond holds two major progression rewards required for 100% completion: a Piece of Heart during Link's childhood and the essential Golden Scale seven years later.
Landing those prizes takes more than blind luck. You need to know where the heaviest bass lurk around the submerged log, how to unlock the secret Sinking Lure without having your record disqualified as a cheat, and how to hook the legendary 35-pound Hylian Loach (or even snatch the owner's hat right off his head). Here is our complete Switch 2 fishing guide.
Quick Reference Table: Fishing Pond Rewards, Weight Targets, and Secret Catches
| Era | Target / Fish Type | Minimum Weight / Size | Allowed Lure | Reward Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Link (Child) | Large Bass near submerged log | 10 pounds or more (~50 cm+) | Standard floating lure | Piece of Heart |
| Adult Link (7 Years Later) | Record Bass in center pond | 15 to 20 pounds (~60 to 70 cm+) | Standard floating lure | Golden Scale (9-meter dive depth) |
| Child or Adult | Secret Sinking Lure | Current era prize already won | 4 hidden shoreline/log spots | Bottom-sinking bait for trophy fish |
| Adult / Child Link | Hylian Loach | 30 to 35 pounds adult (~18 lbs child) | Sinking Lure recommended | Purple Rupee (50 Rupees) & bragging rights |
1. Where to Find the Fishing Pond at Lake Hylia and Nintendo Switch 2 Controls
The Fishing Pond is located along the eastern cliffside of Lake Hylia. As Young Link, you can reach the pond immediately after unlocking the underwater shortcut from Zora's Domain or by crossing southern Hyrule Field. Seven years later as Adult Link, when Lake Hylia's water level is drained prior to clearing the Water Temple, you can summon Pierre the Scarecrow or use the Hookshot across the broken bridges to reach the cabin door.
Every fishing session costs 20 Rupees, and you can stay inside the pond for as many casts as you want until you walk back out the exit door. On Nintendo Switch 2 (as well as PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC controller layouts), landing heavy fish comes down to four core inputs:
- Aiming and Casting (20 Rupees per visit): Stand near the water's edge or climb onto the submerged log, hold ZL to lock your camera toward the target area, and press ZR (or B depending on your button mapping) to cast your line.
- Working the Bait: Gently tap the Left Stick side to side while lightly tapping A or ZR to make the lure wiggle on the surface without reeling it all the way back to shore.
- Setting the Hook: The exact moment a fish lunges and bites the lure, hold R / ZR and pull the Left Stick straight down to set the hook firmly in its jaw.
- Reeling in Bursts Without Snapping the Line: Reel continuously when the fish swims toward you or pauses to rest, but always tilt the Left Stick in the exact direction the fish is pulling (hold left if it pulls left, right if it pulls right). Whenever the fish leaps out of the water or thrashes violently away, release the reel button briefly and tilt the stick up to keep the line from snapping.
2. Child Goal (10 Pounds) and Adult Goal (15 to 20 Pounds): Piece of Heart & Golden Scale
Before casting your first line, inspect the fish tank sitting on the counter to the right of the owner. It displays the weight of the current record holder (measured in pounds in North American versions and centimeters in European releases).
- Young Link Objective (At Least 10 Pounds): To win the childhood grand prize, you must catch a fish weighing 10 pounds or more (roughly 50 cm). Ignore the smaller fish swimming near the reeds along the entrance. Instead, wade into the water on the western side and climb onto the large submerged tree trunk sticking out near the center of the pond. The heaviest bass always idles right underneath this sunken log. Cast a couple of meters ahead of its nose, hook it, and bring it to the owner to claim a Piece of Heart.
- Adult Link Objective, 7 Years Later (15 to 20 Pounds): When you return seven years later as Adult Link, all the fish in the pond have grown substantially larger. To beat your childhood record and earn the adult prize, you need to land a fish weighing at least 15 pounds (typically between 15 and 20 pounds, or 60 to 70+ cm) using the standard floating lure. Climb back onto the central submerged log so you have minimal line distance to reel in, land the giant bass, and show your catch at the counter.
Impressed by your 15-to-20-pound trophy, the fisherman awards you the Golden Scale. This upgrade extends Link's free-diving depth to 9 meters (9 seconds underwater), allowing you to head across Lake Hylia, touch the bottom grate of the professor's indoor pool without Iron Boots, and claim another Heart Piece, as covered in our complete Silver Scale and Golden Scale 9-meter diving guide. While you are stocking up on upgrades for the adult dungeons, make sure to also check out our 30-second trick to unlock the hidden 6th Empty Bottle on Switch 2.
3. How to Unlock the Secret Sinking Lure (All 4 Locations) and Avoid the 'Cheat' Label
Unlike the default bait that floats on top of the water until you reel it in, the secret Sinking Lure is a rainbow-colored worm bait that drops straight to the pond floor and makes heavy bottom-dwellers bite almost immediately.
Before the Sinking Lure can spawn, you must meet one condition: you must have already won the main prize for your current age (the Piece of Heart as Young Link or the Golden Scale as Adult Link) or hold the active tank record. Once eligible, pay 20 Rupees to take the rod and walk directly over these 4 hidden spawn locations while holding the fishing rod in your hands:
- In the grass against the outer wall: Walk through the patches of shoreline grass pressed right against the northern perimeter wall of the pond.
- On the stones at the mouth of the stream: Step onto the wet, partially submerged rocks where the small waterfall stream feeds into the pond.
- On the large submerged tree trunk: Climb and walk along the arched sunken log sticking out of the water near the west-central part of the pond.
- In the tall grass and weeds by the water's edge: Check the aquatic weeds and shallow rocks near the three wooden poles on the eastern shore.
Why the Owner Marks Your Catch as a '(Cheat)' and How to Legalize It: If you find the Sinking Lure and immediately catch a record-breaking fish without saying a word to the owner, he will notice the non-standard bait during inspection, refuse to award you the Golden Scale, and log your fish on the leaderboard with the tag '(Cheat)'. To get the lure officially approved for your session, walk up to the fisherman at the counter as soon as you pick up the Sinking Lure and select 'Let's talk about something.' Because you came clean upfront, he will laugh it off and let you use it openly!
4. Catching the Hylian Loach (30 to 35 Pounds) and Stealing the Fisherman's Hat
With the Sinking Lure in hand, you are ready to hunt the pond's ultimate trophy: the Hylian Loach. This eel-like bottom feeder weighs around 17 to 18 pounds during Link's childhood and grows to a massive 30 to 35 pounds (over 80 to 90 cm) in the Adult era.
- How to Spot and Hook the Hylian Loach: The Loach only spawns roughly one out of every four times you enter the Fishing Pond. As Adult Link, equip the Iron Boots and Zora Tunic to walk along the bottom of the pond and verify whether its long, mottled brown body is resting near the center. Once spotted, climb onto the submerged log, cast the Sinking Lure right beside its head, and wait patiently until the Loach begins swimming upward toward the surface for air. Twitch the bait right as it rises to trigger the bite. Landing it earns you a Purple Rupee (50 Rupees) before the owner releases the rare creature back into the water.
- How to Snag the Fisherman's Hat (and the 50-Rupee Penalty): In the Adult era, the pond owner always wears a white cap to hide his bald head. Stand a few steps away from the counter, aim your rod directly at him, and cast your line so the hook lands on his head. When you reel back, your hook will rip the cap right off his head, leaving it dangling at the end of your fishing line while the embarrassed owner covers his bald scalp! You can talk to him at the counter to return it safely, but if you cast his hat into the pond water, the furious owner will immediately fine you a 50-Rupee penalty!
My Perspective
I cannot count how many evenings I spent wading through every patch of shoreline grass at Lake Hylia searching for that rainbow Sinking Lure, and I am thrilled that every single quirk of the original pond made it into the Switch 2 remake intact! With the Joy-Con 2 HD rumble translating every sudden thrash of a 35-pound Hylian Loach right into your palms, keeping the line from snapping feels more tense and rewarding than ever. And truth be told, even after unlocking the Golden Scale, I still cannot leave that cabin without hooking the owner's cap at least once, even if tossing it into the pond costs me fifty Rupees on the way out.
Zelda Ocarina of Time
Explore official trailers, technical specs and all latest coverage for Zelda Ocarina of Time.
Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
