Minecraft wiki entry for Beginner%27s_guide, associated text: If you can manage to kill a couple (or more) spiders, you may get a couple of pieces of string, which lets you craft a fishing rod. This is a perpetual source of food if you have water nearby. Cooked cod and cooked salmon are both good food items, replenishing both the hunger and saturation levels. Now, if you are next to a river or an ocean, you can just jump into the water and kill some of the fish... but proper fishing can also catch a few useful items along with the fish. You do not need bait of any kind, but the fishing rod will eventually wear out.