The bug
It is not possible to catch anything by fishing. When a fish comes and you reel the fishing rod, nothing happens.
This can also cause a crash when watch dog shuts down the server.
Stack trace
20w18a (from MC-181549)
[16:48:45] [Server thread/FATAL]: Error executing task on Server
java.lang.NullPointerException: null
at be.b(SourceFile:183) ~[server.jar:?]
at bi.a(SourceFile:32) ~[server.jar:?]
at bdo.b(SourceFile:478) ~[server.jar:?]
at biv.a(SourceFile:23) ~[server.jar:?]
at bjh.a(SourceFile:212) ~[server.jar:?]
at yv.a(SourceFile:273) ~[server.jar:?]
at zl.a(SourceFile:1000) ~[server.jar:?]
at sp.a(SourceFile:31) ~[server.jar:?]
at sp.a(SourceFile:9) ~[server.jar:?]
at nh.a(SourceFile:21) ~[server.jar:?]
at uo.run(SourceFile:18) ~[server.jar:?]
at alu.c(SourceFile:144) [server.jar:?]
at aly.c(SourceFile:23) [server.jar:?]
at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.b(SourceFile:789) [server.jar:?]
at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.c(SourceFile:159) [server.jar:?]
at alu.w(SourceFile:118) [server.jar:?]
at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.bc(SourceFile:771) [server.jar:?]
at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.w(SourceFile:765) [server.jar:?]
at alu.bl(SourceFile:103) [server.jar:?]
at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.v(SourceFile:749) [server.jar:?]
at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.run(SourceFile:702) [server.jar:?]
at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source) [?:1.8.0_181]
Linked issues
is duplicated by 140
Comments 24
Could this be related to the recent trigger changes
fishing_rod_hooked - entity
and/or misc player trigger syntax changes? The patchnotes say the old syntax should still work, but may not have been tested in all instances.
I got this stack trace on the server, hope it helps
[12:59:02] [Server thread/FATAL]: Error executing task on Server java.lang.NullPointerException: null at be.b(SourceFile:183) ~[server.jar:?] at bi.a(SourceFile:32) ~[server.jar:?] at bdo.b(SourceFile:478) ~[server.jar:?] at biv.a(SourceFile:23) ~[server.jar:?] at bjh.a(SourceFile:212) ~[server.jar:?] at yv.a(SourceFile:273) ~[server.jar:?] at zl.a(SourceFile:1000) ~[server.jar:?] at sp.a(SourceFile:31) ~[server.jar:?] at sp.a(SourceFile:9) ~[server.jar:?] at nh.a(SourceFile:21) ~[server.jar:?] at uo.run(SourceFile:18) ~[server.jar:?] at alu.c(SourceFile:144) [server.jar:?] at aly.c(SourceFile:23) [server.jar:?] at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.b(SourceFile:789) [server.jar:?] at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.c(SourceFile:159) [server.jar:?] at alu.w(SourceFile:118) [server.jar:?] at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.bc(SourceFile:771) [server.jar:?] at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.w(SourceFile:765) [server.jar:?] at alu.c(SourceFile:127) [server.jar:?] at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.v(SourceFile:750) [server.jar:?] at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.run(SourceFile:702) [server.jar:?] at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source) [?:1.8.0_241]
Yeah this is happening for me too, and I would really like it to be fixed; fishing is one of my favorite things to do
I have this issue too. Right clicking when the bobber goes down to indicate a bite does nothing. After the catch is missed, right clicking returns the bobber to the player.
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Resolution of this issue says "Fixed", However I just noticed i am having this exact problem in 1.16.4.
I'm not sure if it was fixed in earlier versions, and became an issue again in 1.16.4 or if it hasn't been fixed yet.
I am able to catch things like bows, enchanted books, and i'm not sure what else. But i am unable to catch fish, or any common drop as 95% of my catches result with nothing.

If you get nothing, you probably fished wrong. Also note that it's a probability thing, so even if you get no fish 100 times in a row, it might just be very bad luck.
I've tried reeling in the fishing rod as soon as the fish particles reach the floater, and reeling in after when it is under water, and reeling in after it bobs back up. If it's a timing issue on my end I would say the time frame where i would catch something is too short. I've fished before i do know how it works.
It might be a unique problem, but i am responding to this thread because it most accurately describes my problem. So i assumed it hadn't been fixed yet.
I might try making a brand new world, without datapacks, optifine, or texturepacks but these things shouldn't affect fishing.

Datapacks and mods definitely invalidate bug reports (or version reports).
⚠️ Don't try to change "Mojang Priority". It may only be changed by the developers.