If your Sim spends a lot of time fishing, they’ll eventually end up with more fish than they know what to do with.
The problem is that fish don’t stay fresh forever. Fish left in your Sim’s inventory will spoil after 24 hours.
Luckily, you don’t have to throw them away. There are several useful things you can do with the fish your Sim catches.
Sell fish for extra Simoleons.
Selling fish is probably the simplest option. The amount you get depends on the fish’s quality and rarity, so rare, high-quality fish can be worth quite a bit.
If your Sim needs some extra money, fishing can be a decent side income, especially if they don’t have a high-paying career.
Mount fish on the wall
You can mount caught fish as decorations. Select the fish in your Sim’s inventory and choose Mount.
The fish is placed on a wooden plaque that you can then hang on the wall. Mounted fish also give off a Confident aura, which can help with skill gains.
Put fish in an aquarium
You can also keep caught fish as pets by putting them in fish bowls or aquariums. You can name the fish and watch them swim around.
Large aquariums can hold up to six fish. You can’t feed the fish, though.
Use fish for cooking.
You can cook and eat the fish your Sim catches in The Sims 4.
If you want to use your catch for cooking, move the fresh fish from your Sim’s inventory into the fridge.
Once your Sim reaches level 3 in the Cooking skill, they can use fish from their inventory to prepare fish dishes. As they level up, they’ll unlock more recipes.
When you want to cook with it, click on the fridge, select Cook, and choose Use Fresh Ingredients.
Several recipes use fish as an ingredient, including fish tacos, pan-fried Tilapia, and grilled salmon.
Putting fish in the fridge slows down the spoilage, but doesn’t stop it completely.
If you try to put a fish fillet in the fridge and the game won’t let you, it’s probably already gone bad. Foul fish can’t be stored in the fridge.
Interestingly, Sims with level 10 Cooking can still prepare high-quality dishes using spoiled fish.
If you own Outdoor Retreat, you can also cook fish over a campfire.
It’s generally better to avoid cooking with poor or foul-quality fish if you can help it.
Your Sim may end up feeling sick after eating low-quality food.
If you have Get to Work, you can use a commercial fridge to keep fish fresh indefinitely.
Build a retail store, place a commercial fridge on the lot, and use the Set for Sale option on the fridge. You can then store your fish there without worrying about it spoiling.
Use fish as fertilizer.
Fish are also useful for gardening. You can use them as fertilizer, including poor-quality and foul fish.
If you have a bunch of fish that have already gone bad, don’t throw them away. Put them to work in your garden instead. Fish fertilizer can help your plants grow faster.
Use fish as bait.
You can use fish as bait when fishing for other fish.
This is particularly useful if you’re trying to complete the Fish collection. Common fish can be used to catch rarer fish, so don’t sell every common fish you catch.
Foul or spoiled fish aren’t completely useless.
You can still use them as fertilizer or bait, and you can sell them for a small amount of money. So even when a fish has gone bad, there’s usually no reason to simply throw it away.
You can’t breed fish in The Sims 4. There isn’t a fish tank, pond, or other object that allows your Sim to breed fish.
You can, however, use fish you’ve caught to stock a pond on your home lot.
If you just want somewhere to keep your fish, you can also put them in an aquarium.
Large aquariums can hold up to six fish.