Fish list: every fish, where it lives and what it bites

Build 42 has 21 kinds of fish. This table gives the water each one lives in, how big it gets, and which kinds of bait it prefers. Read from the Build 42 game files, November 2026.

01Part

Every fish

Fish	Water	Usual max length	Trophy length	Usual max weight	Trophy weight	Best bait groups	Predator
Alligator Gar	River and Lake	180 cm	243 cm	45 kg	150 kg	Minnows 0.9, Leeches 0.5, Worms 0.5	Yes
Black Crappie	River and Lake	25 cm	28 cm	1 kg	2.7 kg	Minnows 0.9, Leeches 0.7, Worms 0.5	No
Blue Catfish	River and Lake	117 cm	165 cm	32 kg	68 kg	Flesh 0.9, Worms 0.5, Plant 0.5	Yes
Bluegill	River and Lake	20 cm	35 cm	1.4 kg	1.2 kg	Insect 0.9, Leeches 0.7, Worms 0.7	No
Channel Catfish	River and Lake	30 cm	80 cm	2.3 kg	26 kg	Flesh 0.9, Worms 0.5, Plant 0.5	No
Flathead Catfish	River and Lake	140 cm	147 cm	27 kg	55 kg	Flesh 0.9, Worms 0.5, Plant 0.5	Yes
Freshwater Drum	River and Lake	76 cm	95 cm	4.5 kg	24.5 kg	Plant 0.9, Worms 0.7, Leeches 0.5	No
Green Sunfish	River and Lake	20 cm	20 cm	1.4 kg	0.9 kg	Worms 0.9, Insect 0.7, Leeches 0.5	No
Largemouth Bass	River and Lake	51 cm	75 cm	2.8 kg	10 kg	Worms 0.9, Minnows 0.7, Leeches 0.5	No
Little Bait Fish	River and Lake	10 cm	–	0.05 kg	–	Insect 0.7, Worms 0.7, Plant 0.7	No
Muskellunge	River and Lake	101 cm	127 cm	18 kg	32 kg	Minnows 0.9, Leeches 0.5, Worms 0.5	Yes
Paddlefish	River and Lake	150 cm	220 cm	27 kg	90 kg	Insect 0.1, Minnows 0.1, Leeches 0.1	No
Redear Sunfish	River and Lake	20 cm	24 cm	1.4 kg	0.9 kg	Insect 0.9, Leeches 0.7, Worms 0.5	No
Sauger	River and Lake	45 cm	50 cm	1.9 kg	1.8 kg	Flesh 0.9, Leeches 0.7, Worms 0.7	No
Smallmouth Bass	River and Lake	41 cm	55 cm	2.3 kg	5 kg	Worms 0.9, Minnows 0.7, Leeches 0.5	No
Spotted Bass	River and Lake	38 cm	45 cm	1.8 kg	5 kg	Flesh 0.9, Leeches 0.7, Worms 0.7	No
Striped Bass	River and Lake	76 cm	90 cm	9 kg	15 kg	Leeches 0.9, Minnows 0.7, Worms 0.7	No
Walleye	River and Lake	80 cm	88 cm	9 kg	13 kg	Leeches 0.9, Insect 0.7, Minnows 0.7	No
White Bass	River and Lake	38 cm	40 cm	1.5 kg	3 kg	Minnows 0.9, Leeches 0.7, Worms 0.7	No
White Crappie	River and Lake	30 cm	24 cm	1 kg	2.5 kg	Minnows 0.9, Leeches 0.7, Worms 0.5	No
Yellow Perch	River and Lake	30 cm	30 cm	1 kg	1.9 kg	Leeches 0.9, Insect 0.7, Worms 0.5	No

The small number beside each bait group is the game's preference value for that fish: higher is better. For rods, lines and technique, see fishing.

02Part

Bait groups

Group	Items	Examples
Insect	15	Caterpillar, Caterpillar, Centipede, Centipede, Cockroach, Cricket, Grasshopper, Millipede and 7 more
Minnows	2	Little Bait Fish, Tadpole
Leeches	4	Leech, Slug, Slug, Snail
Worms	2	Maggots, Worm
Flesh	9	Crayfish, Canned Dog Food (Open), Fish Fillet, Frog Meat, Beef Patty, Shrimp, Rodent Meat, Small Bird Meat and 1 more
Plant	7	Baguette, Baguette, Bread, Bread, Canned Corn (Open), Cheese, Dough
ArtificalLure	2	Jig Lure, Minnow Lure

Every bait in a group counts the same to a fish.

03Part

Quick answers

How many fish are in Project Zomboid Build 42?

21 kinds.

What is the biggest fish?

Alligator Gar, with a trophy weight of 150 kg in the game data.

Which fish live in rivers and which in lakes?

The Water column in the table says river, lake or both for each fish.

What is the best bait?

It depends on the fish. The table lists the top three bait groups for each one with its preference value.

Figures are read from the Build 42 game data files, as catalogued by the PZFans craft table. The tables, grouping and wording are ours. Your game is the final word: if it disagrees with us, tell us and we will fix the page.