History Main / FishingForSole

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' has a guy fishing up a "necklace" belonging to the local mermaid (in the Japanese version, it's her bra). The remake on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch would also add a Fairy Bottle that could be caught in the FishingMinigame.

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Taken to [[RefugeInAudacity ridiculous extremes]] in one episode of ''Manga/CaseClosed'': fishing in a rain-swollen river, Kogoro hooks something huge...and discovers to his horror that he has hooked his rental car, which was swept away in a flash flood.
** Episode 352 has a straight example where the Detective Boys participate in a fishing tournament and catch a boot.

* The cover of Volume IV of the Mag Garden ComicBookAdaptation of ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' depicts Ryu catching a boot when trying to fish. This is actually an inversion of a ''very'' long-running trope in the series where the various Ryus are depicted as expert fishermen (''Franchise/BreathOfFire'' as a series is famous, nearly ''infamous'', for its {{Fishing Minigame}}s--especially ''IV'' which actually had ''its'' FishingMinigame spun off into a NoExportForYou Japanese smart-phone game). The same manga (in Volume III) portrays Ryu's LiteralSplitPersonality Fou-lu actually ''catching'' fish, adding insult to injury...

* [[RunningGag Hopper]] in ''Anime/AnimalCrossingTheMovie'' has [[SerialEscalation increasingly bad luck]] fishing.

[[folder:Fanfic]]

* In the children's book ''TheFamilyUnderTheBridge'', the protagonist, a Parisian hobo, keeps a shoe he found because he might come across its mate someday. As it happens, he sees a man fish it out of the river.

* It can happen in the ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' series. You can get boots, cans, and tires. It's impossible to know that they're junk ahead of time, since they look and fight back just like real fish. (No idea how or why they fight, but they do.) In ''City Folk'', some villagers may end up locked out of their houses, leaving you to fish for the key. In ''New Leaf'', you can prevent this by enacting the "Beautify Our Town" ordinance which, among other effects, keeps you from fishing up garbage. In ''New Horizon'', there's a number of DIY recipes that use the junk you fish up, making them genuinely desirable for a change; for instance, a tin can can be recycled into a thumb piano or a planter for a succulent plant, while managing to catch two boots allows you to refurbish them into a pair of wearable "recycled boots".

* ''VideoGame/BarrowHill : The Dark Path'' features a magnet-fishing sequence in which you retrieve a needed item from a junkyard, as well as a water-fishing one in which you can bring up a variety of garbage (cans, boots, etc) out of a woodland spring before the item you actually need turns up.
* The drakeskin boots in ''Blades of VideoGame/{{Avernum}}'' (the best boots available among the predesigned items) are obtained in one of the predesigned scenarios by fishing at a particular spot after achieving a high LuckStat. The message prompt is exactly as follows: "You have a fantastic stroke of luck! You fish out a pair of boots."

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' has a guy fishing up a "necklace" belonging to the local mermaid (in the Japanese version, it's her bra). The remake on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch would also add a Fairy Bottle that could be caught in the FishingMinigame.
* The {{MMORPG}} ''VideoGame/{{Mabinogi}}'' has a fishing skill and minigame. Aside from fish, catches include any number of different items, including quests, clothing and armour, crafting items, etc. Some items can only be found via fishing. The higher the player's rank, the more valuable the items (and fish) that can be caught.
** In one case, the "how did that stuff get down there" question was answered: a fashion designer decided the best way to publicize his new line was to dump the ''entire collection'' into various bodies of water and sell bait (instead of the clothes themselves) to see people try to fish them up.

* The UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the lowest-rank "fish" you can catch at Shirichi Beach is a tire. It's completely useless, but fishing there can also net you the [[JokeWeapon Joke Weapons]] for every party member (except [[KickChick Chie]], ironically enough). This results in the protagonist fishing up objects like bus stop signs, benches, a ''drill'' and '''an antique flintlock pistol'''.

* In ''VideoGame/StardewValley'' you can fish up all sorts of junk, including seaweed, pond algae, broken glasses, trash bags, discarded [=CDs=], and unopened cans of Joja Cola. Fortunately, you can put trash items into a Recycling Machine to convert them into useful resources, and any seaweed or algae you fish up can be used in certain cooking recipes.

* Every ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' game since the second have included a fishing-game, and the 'Boot' has always been a possible alternate catch. Two amusing details: Those Boots are actually equippable an an Accessory item, which is somewhat odd unless they always come in pairs. And you actually have a 'biggest size caught' listing for the Boot as well as the various types of fish, only instead of being measured in centimeters, it's measured in boot size...

* In ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' you can fish while roaming Earth's Plains of Eidolon or Venus' Orb Vallis, and if you miss your intended catch there's a small chance you'll reel in a Grineer or Corpus trooper's boot instead; you'll also get a [[Funny/{{Warframe}} brief banjo ditty or electronica tune to go with it]], as opposed to the more triumphant tune for a regular catch. Finally, whilst you can sell the boots as ShopFodder, you can choose to mount them on trophy boards and display them in your Orbiter.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

** Humorously, it isn't just the player that can experience this--idle comments from [[DefectorFromDecadence the Grineer defector known as Kahl]] indicates that he also sometimes ends up with boots when he goes fishing. However, since the boots he fishes up are the same model worn by Grineer Lancers like him, Kahl doesn't mind because hey, free spare boots.

[[quoteright:234:[[http://amazingdesigns.com/boy-fishing-1 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sole_food.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:234:If you catch something you don't want chances are you've caught this.]]

[[quoteright:235:[[http://amazingdesigns.com/boy-fishing-1 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sole_food.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:235:If you catch something you don't want chances are you've caught this.]]

[[quoteright:250:[[http://amazingdesigns.com/boy-fishing-1 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sole_food_2323.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:250:If you catch something you don't want chances are you've caught this.]]

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** In an episode of Misty hooks a tea kettle after a surprising struggle.
** In the first episode where Misty hooks Ash. "Aw, it's just a kid!"
** Wobbuffet somehow manages to hook a flip flop in an episode of ''Sun and Moon''.
** Jessie manages to snag ''Bewear'' while on Akala Island.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Spiritfarer}}'', one of the possible items Stella can get while fishing are "soggy and smelly" Old Shoes, which can be sold to Francis at 80 Glims each.

* While fishing in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' with fishing skill lower than the required for the zone, significant part (up to ''all'' of them) of catches will be useless junk, like twigs...and occasionally An Old Boot (which can't even be worn). However, even at high enough levels to not catch any junk, plenty of ''actual fish'' is useless to the degree of not even being worthy ShopFodder. It also sometimes is inverted, with rare non-fish catches being more valuable, or at least [[CosmeticAward cosmetic]].
** And once you reach a high enough skill level, [[http://www.wowhead.com/items=4?filter=sl=8;cr=69;crs=1;crv=0#0-2+1 you *can* fish up wearable footwear]] (and +15 Intellect isn't all that bad when you're a level 44 caster).
* It can happen in the ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' series. You can get boots, cans, and tires. It's impossible to know that they're junk ahead of time, since they look and fight back just like real fish. (No idea how or why they fight, but they do.) In ''City Folk'', some villagers may end up locked out of their houses, leaving you to fish for the key. In ''New Leaf'', you can prevent this by enacting the "Beautify Our Town" ordinance which, among other effects, keeps you from fishing up garbage. In ''New Horizon'', there's a number of DIY recipes that use the junk you fish up, making them genuinely desireable for a change; for instance, a tin can can be recycled into a thumb piano or a planter for a succulent plant, while managing to catch two boots allows you to refurbish them into a pair of wearable "recycled boots".
* Every ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' game since the second have included a fishing-game, and the 'Boot' has always been a possible alternate catch. Two amusing details: Those Boots are actually equippable an an Accessory item, which is somewhat odd unless they always come in pairs. And you actually have a 'biggest size caught' listing for the Boot as well as the various types of fish, only instead of being measured in centimeters, it's measured in boot size...
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'':
** The game both plays this straight and subverts it. Non-fish objects that you can catch include the usual junk like sticks, cans, and old cartwheels, but also some good things such as an empty bottle, a bag of rupees, or the most effective fishing lure in the game. The sign in the fishing hole area warning people not to throw junk in the water might be a LampshadeHanging, or it might just be a clue about dredging up the good stuff.
** The game even seems to imply that fishing up an Empty Bottle [[CommonplaceRare is a more valuable treasure than any fish]] and snagging it helps with the litter problem since you're recycling the bottle.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' has a guy fishing up a "necklace" belonging to the local mermaid (in the Japanese version, it's her bra). The remake on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch would also add a Fairy Bottle that could be caught in the FishingMinigame.
* ''VideoGame/UltimaOnline'' had this happen and decrease in likeliness as you gained more skill. Due to poor balancing the boots were a far better catch then the fish; food was in abundant supply and boots sold for more.
* [[UnderTheSea Maraqua]] from ''Website/{{Neopets}}'' has "Underwater Fishing", where boots, tin cans, driftwood, broken fishing poles, and other pieces of junk are frequent catches.
* Occurs in some of the ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' games that feature fishing, such as ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonFriendsOfMineralTown''.
** The [[VideoGame/HarvestMoon1 very first game]], for SNES, randomly shows boots or cans when fishing attempts fail. The player can't pick them up, however; they just vanish after a moment.
** In ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS'', you actually have to catch a Bottle so you can [[spoiler:propose to the mermaid, Leia.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Hydroneer}}'', while fishing you occasionally pull up a "stanky old boot" with a split toe. Pure vendor trash since the game has no clothing mechanic. Interestingly, boots are treated as fish in ''all'' respects: not only can they be caught in passive traps, they can also be mounted on fish-trophy plaques, and even ''cooked'' to increase their sell price.
* Happens also in the fishing minigames at ''Website/GaiaOnline''. Interestingly enough, you can trade your garbage for special hats at the fishing shop, which in turn managed to create a market for lake garbage. Like the saying goes, one man's rubbish is another man's treasure...
** The short-lived minor meme: "Johnny K. is a litterbug", referring to the amounts of trash that could be dredged up by Gambino Island.
* There's actually a special enhancement exclusively used to invoke this trope in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'', although the situation is reversed compared to ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', as most items fished up really ''are'' junk, and most of the fish will result in a better profit(Although the junk was more valuable before, but it got heavily nerfed due to massive RMT exploiting).
* In ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'', there's a chance of catching a boots with a big fishing net. With that method, it's also possible to receive gloves.

* The "7Seas" MiniGame in ''VideoGame/SecondLife'' has a variety of boots you can catch with your fishing pole. Like the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' example above, these are wearable items and often have shiny bling.

* Happens constantly in ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3''. Which wouldn't be so bad, except that they don't ''stack''. Hopefully you wanted that entire inventory of boots and cans.
* In the text-based MMORPG ''World of Hollow'', fishing can net you various fish, a boot, or even a new fishing pole. It's a bit of a game to see if you can fish new poles out of the lake faster than you break them on fish that get away.
* The drakeskin boots in ''Blades of VideoGame/{{Avernum}}'' (the best boots available among the predesigned items) are obtained in one of the predesigned scenarios by fishing at a particular spot after achieving a high LuckStat. The message prompt is exactly as follows: "You have a fantastic stroke of luck! You fish out a pair of boots."

* ''VideoGame/{{Torchlight}}'' and the ''VideoGame/{{FATE}}'' series involve fishing minigames where the fish sometimes contain items. It's usually jewelry or gems, but sometimes other things. There are also actual fish, which when fed to your pet turn it into a [[PowerUpFood powerful]] PetMonstrosity.
** The really funny part is when you get an [[GridInventory eight-grid-cell]] artifact shield [[FridgeLogic out of a one-cell fish]].
** Torchlight in particular gives out an inordinate number of magic boots when fishing.
* Happens in ''VideoGame/TheSims2: Seasons''. Not only do you catch boots, but you can put them in your blender and drink them and watch your Sims have wacky reactions to boot smoothies. You can also have them mounted on the wall like a prized catch.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/TheSimsMedieval''. You can fish all you like and you only ever catch fish.

* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' version 1.2.4 adds fishing to the gameplay. There are several "failure" items that can be caught if the lake is too small, like old shoes, seaweed, and old tin cans. So if you start getting these, what you have to do is to make the lake larger and the fish will find their way in, no matter how the lake was made. If it's too small, you get junk. If it's large enough, there will be fish. [[InsaneTrollLogic Even if you spawned the water from thin air into some random hole.]]
* Case 43 of ''VideoGame/CriminalCaseGrimsborough'' opens with Jones reeling in (part of) the victim's corpse.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'' has a [[FishingMinigame fishing minigame]] at Valleria Shore in chapter 1. Besides five different kinds of fish of increasing rarity and value, you can also catch "Holey Boots".
* In ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'', casting a fishing hook into non-sparkling pit may get you such junk like knives, bones or remains of food if you aren't lucky.
* There's no actual boots to be caught in ''VideoGame/AceFishing'', but unlucky players might reel in empty bottles, diving helmets and worthless sea urchins (which are somehow worth even less EXP & gold than the bottles/helmets)
* In ''VideoGame/StreetPassMiiPlaza'''s "Ultimate Angler", boots are one of the "junk" catches you can fish up (alongside cans, seaweed, and driftwood). If you don't have any bait colors that the area's fish like, these junk catches are ''all'' you'll be getting, although there's a chance you'll get junk even if you do have the right bait.
* In ''VideoGame/StardewValley'' you can fish up all sorts of junk, including seaweed, pond algae, broken glasses, trash bags, discarded [=CDs=], and unopened cans of Joja Cola. Fortunately, you can put trash items into a Recycling Machine to convert them into useful resources, and any seaweed or algae you fish up can be used in certain cooking recipes.
* In ''[[VideoGame/CubeEscape Cube Escape: The Lake]]'', you need to repeatedly go fishing for items you need. You ''do'' catch a fish, but also keys, safes, a seashell (somehow), and a live human...[[HumanoidAbomination oid creature]].
* The pond near your home in ''VideoGame/MySims'' has Tire Essences to be fished up... which is good, because some Tasks require them.
** One fishing spot in ''VideoGame/MySimsKingdom'' has a boot... armor-style. Indeed, several pieces of armor can be found, some by fishing.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' you can fish while roaming Earth's Plains of Eidolon or Venus' Orb Vallis, and if you miss your intended catch there's a small chance you'll reel in a Grineer or Corpus trooper's boot instead; you'll also get a [[Funny/{{Warframe}} brief banjo ditty or electronica tune to go with it]], as opposed to the more triumphant tune for a regular catch. Finally, whilst you can sell the boots as ShopFodder, you can choose to mount them on trophy boards and display them in your Orbiter.
** Humorously, it isn't just the player that can experience this--idle comments from [[DefectorFromDecadence the Grineer defector known as Kahl]] indicates that he also sometimes ends up with boots when he goes fishing. However, since the boots he fishes up are the same model worn by Grineer Lancers like him, Kahl doesn't mind because hey, free spare boots.

* ''VideoGame/EndlessOcean: Blue World'' introduced underwater salvaging to earn extra money, and you won't know what any given object is until you get Nancy Young to appraise it. A small bottle could either be a priceless perfume or a discarded orange juice bottle, for instance.
* Fishing in ''VideoGame/{{Spiritfarer}}'' can result in catching a "soggy and smelly" Old Shoe.
* ''VideoGame/MyChildLebensborn'': If the PlayerCharacter fails to actually catch a fish while fishing, it will be shown as them getting an old shoe, instead. If the child is present when it happens, they may remark on it, in some cases wondering if there is currently someone wearing fish on their feet.
* It's pretty interesting what sort of "junk" you can fish up with the [[GameMod Fishing Creation]] bundled with the Anniversary Edition of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''. There's normal stuff like empty bottles of wine, buckets, and flagons, but you can also find weapons and armor (which may also be enchanted, depending on your luck), troll skulls, ''filled'' bottles of wine (and ale too), and even some artifacts that previously only appeared in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''. If you're fishing in a spot near some [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwemer]] ruins, you get a pretty different list of junk that includes stuff like gears, scrap metal, and entire structural supports. Speaking of Dwemer stuff, using a Dwarven fishing rod increases the chances of this trope occurring.
* In ''VideoGame/ToontownOnline'', in addition to fish and the occasional jellybean jar, you can fish up worthless boots. This is desirable in Fish Bingo, however, where they act as a wild card that can be placed on any square.

* In ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIV'', Rosella uses a fishing pole to catch a fish, which is needed to progress the game. She needs to bait the hook with a worm, in order to catch said fish though. Otherwise, she'll catch a boot instead. (Even with the hook baited, she may end up not catching anything, and have to try again.)
* ''VideoGame/DungeonsOfAether'' has useless boots that can be caught while fishing in the Underground Oasis.

* Occurs in some of the ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' games that feature fishing, such as ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonFriendsOfMineralTown''. In ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS'', you actually have to catch a Bottle so you can [[spoiler:propose to the mermaid, Leia.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Raft}} has fishing, and lets you catch various odd decoratives besides fish; old toys, a candle in a bottle, and a shoe, among others. The shoe can also double as a planting pot for small crops.