I didn't have much expectations for Skyrim's new fishing mission, but I was fascinated.

After surviving the attack of the dragon, the protagonist of my latest Skyrim game did not start the usual heroic pursuit to embrace his fate as the legendary dragonborn. Why? Because he is busy fishing. Skyrim Anniversary Edition is the latest version of Bethesda's RPG to conquer the world, released to celebrate its tenth anniversary. It bundles a large number of additional components and additional features, including the ability to cast lines in the crystal clear streams, lakes and rivers of the sky, and extract various fish from them.

I decided to start a new role and make him fully dedicated to becoming the greatest fisherman in Tamriel, rather than loading one of my existing saves. I hope that the taverns on this land are full of whispering stories about the mythical salmon, and he is not afraid of the dragon to become a fishing legend. After escaping Helgen, I headed to the sleeping village of Riverwood. Usually I will start the Bleak Falls Barrow mission here and start my adventurer career, but this is too dangerous and exciting. Why should I fight the dirty Draugur in the dark, dirty old dungeon when I can enjoy the outdoors and go fishing?

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By a small stream running through the village, I found an old wooden pole, a bucket of bait, and a book explaining the basics of how to fish. Written by an angler who calls himself Aland Sea-Bird, this dusty tome will only make me more firmly embrace the life of fish. The yellowed pages read: "I used to fish in the open and deep waters, in storms that no mortal would dare to set foot in." "I ventured down the bottomless pit and challenged the monsters of the abyss with my hook." Dude, Forget the legend of the dragonborn: this is a legend.

This is how fishing works. You can only do it in fixed locations, which are scattered around different waters around the world—recognizable as a basket of fish with a fishing rod resting on it. Then you must equip a pole as a weapon. Whenever I do this, my character will enter a combat stance and brandish it like a sword, which is fun. This way you can interact with the fishing spot and throw your fishing line into the water. Obviously, this is a modified system, but the slightly clumsy integration is not distracting.

You don't have to worry about bait or bait. Once your line is in, just watch and wait. The fish first pulls the string lightly, and then jerk it, which is a cue for you to quickly press the button and get it involved. You don't have to tap it or anything: it just happened. Sometimes you will catch fish, and sometimes you will catch trash like old boots. Once I caught a good ancient Nord dagger, which made me believe that there might be some more valuable loot to catch. It is as basic as a fishing game, but it still manages to attract me.

Another page in the Seabird book pointed me to a fishery in Rift Valley City. I hiked to Whiterun, where I rode in a carriage and talked with a Yalong fisherman named "Deep Water Swimming". He pointed to the fishing spot near me, gave me a list of fish to catch, and said he would pay for anything I brought back. For the next 40 minutes, I wandered the peaceful lakes and rivers of Rift, looking for fishing spots, and filled my inventory with my smelly and slippery prey. My pocket is full of carp and glass fish.

This is a refreshing, peaceful and leisurely way to interact with the beautiful and atmospheric world of the sky. It forces you to stop and absorb your surroundings in a way that regular games never really do. Only you, a fishing rod, the beating of the water, and the howl of the cold wind in the distance. I also appreciate how to place all the fishing spots in the special scenic areas of the map, which means you can always enjoy the beautiful scenery while fishing. The simplicity of fishing itself requires zero effort and will only increase this Zen.

After catching the first deep-water fish, he gave me another one: a fish that can only be caught in the rain this time. This gave me a sense of sinking, because the weather in the sky is random, and having to pause my fishing adventure until the sky opens sounds like an unnecessary chore. Then I found a reward goal. Obviously, my Argonian friend lost a lucky fishing hat, and it will rain if you wear it. I fished it out of the lake, and voila, whenever I put it on, it would start throwing it down.

Fishing in the rain is even more pleasant. I always knew the sound design in Skyrim was great, but when I stopped to really listen when I was fishing, the atmosphere was very good. Alas, after spending a morning on the waterways of the Rift Valley, I had to drag myself away from the game to write this article. But I look forward to seeing more of what these fishing missions have to offer. Obviously, when I really have enough money to buy a house, I can keep my fish in the aquarium. I also look forward to fishing in the icy waters of the far north.

I can't talk about the quality of the other add-ons included in the Skyrim Anniversary Edition, but fishing? I am a desperate fish, turning over and over on Bethesda's hook, unable to resist. As someone who likes to survive in Skyrim, this is a pleasant low-risk way to spend time there. It also made me fall in love with this game again after years of exhaustion. As soon as this article is published, I will go back and continue my quest to become a salmon. I will not stop until every soul in Tamriel knows the name.

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Andy Kelly is the feature editor of TheGamer. He likes detective games, anything with a good story, weird indie games and Alien: Isolation.