Curiosity Lure

Overview

Curiosity Lure is a tackle that increases the chance of catching rare fish. It is one of the few fishing tackles that cannot be crafted, and it cannot be bought from Willy’s Fish Shop. Instead, it is obtained as a drop, including a 1% chance from Mummies in the Skull Cavern, as a special monster drop in the Skull Cavern and the Quarry Mine, and from breaking boxes, crates, and barrels in the Quarry Mine, Skull Cavern, and the Volcano Dungeon.

When equipped while fishing in most locations, Curiosity Lure increases all fish bite chances proportionally, which also makes trash appear slightly less often. This effect only changes which fish is selected once a bite occurs; it does not shorten the wait time before a fish bites. Using two Curiosity Lures on an Advanced Iridium Rod provides no additional benefit over using one.

Some fish receive special handling and are affected more directly than the normal global bite-rate change. Assuming the normal catch requirements are met, Curiosity Lure increases the bite chance of several high-value targets, including legendary fish and certain location-specific fish. The affected fish include:

Crimsonfish and Son of Crimsonfish: 18% to 25%
Legend and Legend II: 10% to 20%
Mutant Carp and Radioactive Carp: 10% to 20%
Angler and Ms. Angler: 20% to 25%
Stonefish in the Mines: +5%
Ice Pip in the Mines: +4.5%
Lava Eel in the Mines: +4%
Goby: +15%

Curiosity Lure also affects Night Market fishing. In the submarine ride, it increases the chances of hooking Spook Fish, Blobfish, Super Cucumber, and a Pearl, while reducing the chance of everything else. On the Beach, when fishing for Night Market fish with Magic Bait, the lure raises the chance of hooking each Night Market fish from 3.3% to 10.2%.

Not every fish listed with a special category is actually boosted. Glacierfish and Glacierfish Jr. do not gain any increased bite rate from Curiosity Lure, despite being associated with the legendary fish groups. Octopus is also not helped during the Night Market submarine ride; in fact, its chance drops from 2.2% to 1.6% with the lure equipped.