The rod you click with sets Attack Damage and Luck. Skill multipliers sit on top of that damage, so the same book hits harder on a stronger rod. One worked example: a 100x skill on 217 damage is about 21,700, and the same 100x on 542 damage is about 54,200. That is arithmetic from the printed cards, not a measured combat log.
Mankie on Starter Island
Mankie stands at the bottom of the wooden steps with a purple star. Talk, choose OK, and buy. Purchase does not equip the rod.
| Rod | Attack | Luck | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wooden Rod, Common | +217 on the shop card; one tutorial frame showed +117 | +1 | Owned |
| Stone Rod | +289 | +3 | 3,000 Coins |
| Iron Rod, Uncommon | +542 | +5 | 12,000 Coins |
Open Equip, Rods, select the new rod, and press the green Equip button. It moves to hotbar slot 1. Then move your skill book onto it.
Iron Rod is the clearest early buy if catches already finish and 12,000 Coins does not eat the 40,000 Jungle fee. At 30,000 Coins, the Jungle gap is 10,000. A slower rod that still finishes is better than a rod that strands you short of the gate.
Jungle vendor
An older rod can still fish after Jungle opens. The test-server narrator compared 217 click damage with Jungle offers around 722 and 1,350. A later note calls those the Golden Rod, about 722, and the Steel Rod, about 1.35K. Buy the one whose live card is higher than yours. Those two numbers are not a full Jungle catalogue.
One sale is not a price list
Observed single sales, not a market table:
- Uncommon Redfin Grass Carp, 555 Coins
- Common Metal Shark, about 538 Coins
- Epic Dogfish, 2,540 Coins
A new Starter Island species can also clear a daily worth 5 Gems and 3,000 Coins. That daily is a faster path to the Stone Rod than one more common sale.
Hidden rods on Snow, Volcano, and Island 6 are quests, not rows in Mankie's shop. Use the quest rod guide before you spend millions.