Have Fishing Rods, They Refuse To Fish

[Tutorial Boss]

I swear, if I didn't teach them how to make sweet rolls and stew, my dwarves would've starved to death long ago.

I am in Custom mode, in a cold, wet, large world. I have made for each of them a fishing pole, so that all of them may go forth and fetch precious nutrients with which to survive nuclear winter. Unfortunately, when I go to the water with fish in it and queue them to fish, they refuse to move. I queue it multiple times, and still nothing. I even go back to my base and hover over all of them.

All of them said Doing Nothing. Seriously. They were all standing there twiddling their thumbs. I don't understand. Do they not like fish? Do they have a pact with Blub, King of the Sea?

Now, sometimes i'll queue them to fish, and lo and behold, one of them goes to fish! One out of many, but still! I don't know why he sometimes decides to fish, and sometimes not. It is infuriating.

If anyone has any advice on how to make them catch fish for me, it would be greatly appreciated.

[mike]

Maybe none of them have fishing skills and they don't want to?

[Sir Bob The Turkey]

I find fishing is a secondary priority for dwarfs like hunting. i generally have mine fish while i cut down some trees nearby, and i get a few.

[mike]

Then it's not the problem, I'm pretty sure. Maybe they can't get any fish near the bank? Maybe try to build bridge across the lake and try again?

[mikeydsc]

I think it has to do with skill books - buy one from the store and try it

[Droknar]

none of my dwarves know the fishing skill but they still catch fish. I had to click 3 water blocks away for them to actually fish however

[Tombei]

I had built a bride across one pond with lots of fish and my dwarfes kept leaping in the water and swimming up and leaving without fishing so i took out my bridge and now they can fish fine. I have noticed that i think the water level needs to be very close the edge for them to fish not 100% sure.

Edit: Oh and if you put rock in the bottom the water does not dry.

[mikeydsc]

Originally posted by Tombei:

Edit: Oh and if you put rock in the bottom the water does not dry.

100% false

[Quang]

If you already have few wooden buckets. Order dwarfs to gather water in that fish pond till water level go down a little. Now order your dwarf to fish again.