EvenMoreFish: Turning Fishing into a Server Competition

If you're running a Minecraft server and fishing feels like an afterthought, EvenMoreFish might be the plugin that changes that. Built on the foundation of the abandoned MoreFish plugin, this Paper plugin transforms fishing from a solo activity into something worth competing over. With over 60 custom fish out of the box and endless customization options, it's one of the more complete competition plugins available for modern Minecraft servers.

What EvenMoreFish Does

EvenMoreFish is a fishing competition plugin for Paper servers running 1.20.1 and above. Honestly, the core idea is simple: players fish, and you can trigger timed competitions where the player with the biggest catch wins rewards. But the execution goes way deeper than that baseline.

The plugin adds a rarity system (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic by default, but you can add your own), and different fish have different lengths. You catch a fish, it goes into your Journal with stats, and you can sell it for money based on its rarity and size. During competitions, players race to land the fattest fish while a boss bar counts down above their heads. When time's up, whoever has the largest catch gets whatever reward you've configured.

What makes this actually feel substantial instead of gimmicky is how much you can customize. Every message is editable. Every fish type can be custom modeled with item stacks or base-64 encoded heads. You can set up different rarities with their own colors and drop rates. Anyone can even disable baits during competitions for fairness.

Why You'd Want This

Most servers have fishing as a utility. You fish for enchanted books and hunt for that rare enchantment. EvenMoreFish reframes it as an event.

Competition-based events are good for server engagement. They give casual players something to aim for that doesn't require raiding or PvP skill. And if you're running an economy server, fishing suddenly becomes a legitimate income source. Players can farm fish, sell them at the shop, and use that money for other things. The rarity system means progression feels real: you're chasing those rare spawns.

The baits system is clever here. Baits are consumables that boost your chance of catching certain fish types or rarities. You can let players use them normally, but disable them during competitions to level the playing field. It's a small feature that prevents pay-to-win complaints during events.

And honestly, if you've got a creative server or a roleplay server, custom fish heads and messages let you fit fishing into your world-building. You're not stuck with vanilla fishing anymore.

How to Install EvenMoreFish

Three download sources exist: Modrinth, GitHub Releases, or Jenkins (experimental builds). The stable choice is GitHub Releases or Modrinth.

Download the correct version for your server. The plugin ships builds for 1.20, 1.21, and 26.1 (the latest Java release). Grab the matching JAR and drop it into your plugins folder.

# On your server, assuming plugins folder exists
cd /path/to/server/plugins
wget https://github.com/EvenMoreFish/EvenMoreFish/releases/download/v2.2.3/even-more-fish-2.2.3-1.20.jar
# Replace 1.20 with 1.21 or 26.1 if needed

# Restart your server
service minecraft restart

The first startup generates a config folder at `plugins/EvenMoreFish/`. That plugin includes detailed explanations for every config line, so the initial setup isn't mysterious. You get messages.yml (customize all player-facing text), rarities folder (define fish rarities), and general config options for economy behavior.

Actually, one thing to watch: the plugin will log "has successfully hooked into" for each economy type that loads. If you see warnings about economy types failing to load, check that you've an economy plugin installed (Vault with an backend like EssentialsX, or a direct economy integration).

Key Features That Matter

The custom item support is more powerful than it sounds. Any in-game item can be a fish. Enchanted swords, colored leather armor, player heads - they all work. This means your server's custom fish collection can match your build style.

The shop system is genuinely useful for economy servers. Each rarity has a sell multiplier. A Common fish might be worth 10 coins per unit length, but an Epic fish is worth 50. Players can access the shop with `/emf shop` and sell their catches. Items are protected while in the shop UI, so you don't lose them on a crash.

Competitions are flexible. You can trigger them manually (`/emf admin competition start`) or schedule them via config. The boss bar is customizable and vanishes when the competition ends. Rewards can be items, commands, money, potion effects, or messages. You can stack multiple reward types, so the winner gets both money and an item, for example.

Baits are the overlooked feature. Craft or configure them however you want. A player uses a bait to increase their odds of landing rare fish for the next 10 minutes. You can disable them during competitions, which keeps things fair. Admin can give baits to specific players using `/emf admin bait -p: `.

The Journal menu is where players see all the fish they've caught, ranked by length. It's a nice touch for competitive players who want to track their record fish.

Common Gotchas and What to Watch For

Economy integration is the biggest setup hurdle. EvenMoreFish doesn't handle money itself - it hooks into Vault or direct integrations. If you forget to install an economy backend, the plugin still works, but sell prices are zero. Check the console logs to confirm your economy loaded properly.

Config syntax matters. The rarities folder uses YAML, and malformed YAML will silently fail to load. If your custom rarities don't show up, double-check indentation and quotes.

On 1.21.3 and above, the plugin supports tooltip styles for item lore and names. Older versions won't render these, so don't go overboard with tooltips if you're supporting multiple versions.

Placeholders in item lore and names are parsed as of the latest releases. So this is new behavior, so if you're upgrading from an older build, your config might need tweaking. Check the changelog when updating.

Other Fishing Plugins Worth Knowing About

AdvancedFishing is another option, though it's less focused on competition and more on progression through fishing levels. If you want a fishing skill tree, that's your choice. EvenMoreFish prioritizes events and selling.

Some servers just use vanilla fishing with custom loot tables. It's less flashy but requires no plugin. The trade-off is you lose the competition structure and the rarity system.

If you're running a full RPG server, you might layer EvenMoreFish with something like AuraSkills or mcMMO, which the latest versions now support. You can catch AuraSkills treasure or mcMMO treasure if players have those plugins and disable custom fish.

Is It Worth Setting Up?

If you run an economy server or want to add regular competitive events, yes. If fishing is purely a utility on your server and you have no interest in making it social, probably not. The setup is straightforward, the customization is real, and the plugin is actively maintained (latest release was v2.2.3, and the maintainers are responsive on the Discord).

One thing the project does well is letting you define what fishing means on your server. You can make it a grind, a casual side activity, or the centerpiece of your economy. That flexibility is why it's stuck around even after the original plugin went dormant.

If you're building a server that stands out in the community, a well-tuned fishing system is the kind of detail that makes regulars keep coming back. And if you need to check block IDs or hunt for specific items to customize your setup, the block search tool can save you a bunch of searching.