Minecraft wiki entry for Fishing, associated text: After the waiting time has passed, fishing particles appear, approaching the bobber in a serpentine path. After 1 to 4 seconds the particles reach the bobber and the player has a approximately half a second‌[Bedrock Edition only] or evenly-distributed one to two seconds‌[Java Edition only] to reel in the line before the waiting time resets. Removing the bobber from water during this interval secures the caught item on the line.