Minecraft wiki entry for Combat, associated text: Fishing rods are not a weapon in the traditional sense, but useful nonetheless. Their ability to grab and draw in mobs is useful to keep passive mobs from running away when hit, or to draw hostile mobs into traps or hazards. Additionally, reeling in a mob while standing high above it can launch it quite far into the air, causing it to take fall damage on the way back down. To maximize effectiveness for combat, keep a sword in the item slot next to the fishing rod, so that drawing in an enemy, then striking them with a sword becomes faster. The player can also fly with elytra using fireworks to boost fly higher while use fishing rod grab mobs or player then reeling it can cause high fall damage.