My Child New Beginnings fishing is a one-button minigame in the outdoor scene: tap the on-screen button to pull the hook up, and you will usually get a fish, though junk comes up as well. The catch is worth catching because it is the only food you can buy for free, and a cooked fish dish is what stops the child complaining about nothing but porridge.
On this page
My Child New Beginnings fishing: where to cast
The outdoor scene unlocks in Chapter 1 and appears on the town map. You take Karin or Klaus there after school, or while the child is resting at home. Fishing and foraging are the two free food sources out there, and they are the reason the shop does not have to feed the whole week.
The one-button cast
Go to the outdoor scene on the town map.
Start fishing and tap the on-screen button to pull the hook up.
Read what you pulled: most of the time it is a fish, but the results are randomised.
The junk list is worth knowing, because the child comments on it and some of it is genuinely funny:
A broken shoe.
An old worn-out sole.
A bottle.
A wooden boat.
The child will tell you to stop bringing home garbage, and will warn you if a boot would be three in a row.
Turning a catch into a meal
A fish in your hands does not feed the child until it has been cooked.
Open the kitchen or restaurant screen.
Click the cupboard to get the ingredients.
Drag the ingredients into the mould.
Cook it to make a proper dish.
Surplus fish can be cooked and stored, so a good afternoon on the river turns into food for a later meal. A properly cooked fish dish also settles the complaint that comes from feeding the child nothing but plain porridge for several days.
The two hidden events in the outdoor scene
Fishing three days in a row can trigger the Magic Fish Spirit event, which gives a special item that raises cleanliness. There is a second one in the same place: helping a lost little spirit find its way home also gives a special item reward. The Mountain pack adds ice fishing and a bonfire on top of this, which is covered here.
What a good catch is worth
A takeaway pizza costs 100 coins, while the daily wage is roughly 150 to 200. That gap is why fishing and blueberry picking carry the food budget when money is tight, and why the shop is worth thinking about twice before you spend. Fishing and the rest of the weekend are planned together here, and how the food actually reaches the child is here.
The Mountain pack adds an ice fishing spot on the mountain and a bonfire where you can grill the catch, which is covered here.
FAQ
Where do I get food for free?
Fishing at the river and picking blueberries are the two free food sources, and a catch can be cooked into a meal that feeds the child.
Where does the money come from?
One salary plus odd jobs around town, and two free food sources on top: catching a fish at the river and picking blueberries.