I was reading this Article from PC Gamer by Lauren Morten about their dislike of fishing in games and I have to say, it is pretty valid.
The article focuses on the actual gameplay behind fishing and how the mechanics are all incredibly similar from game to game and many times require little to no input on many games as well as the randomness of the items received compared to the expected items from other gathering professions.
It's reasonable to understand why fishing in a video game can seem annoying, it's just not consistent enough in games where consistency in (mostly) any action brings progress. Kill enough mobs and level, gather enough resources and craft, do enough quests and earn rewards.
But I get a thrill out of the unexpected acquirements and enjoy a good bit of flavor text on 'useless' items. I enjoy the thought that as long as there is a body of water nearby I can cast off and catch something as opposed to going to the mountains for ore to mine or going into the forests for trees to chop down.
This lack of enthusiasm for 'expected results' might stem from my early years of being an MMO player. The group I often played with had an obsession with the 'Meta'. It produced expected results and every move could be calculated to extreme variables such as ping difference/latency issues, player reaction time, and minor pieces of gear/enhancements. I got tired of 'expected results', began experimenting with more unorthodox approaches or 'unexpected' plays and started having fun again.
Fishing is freedom from the monotony. Bit wild to say but the landscape in video games are usually 'what you see is what you get' and that is it, whereas in the waters there is no telling what the developers hid in those depths and the chance of reeling in something undiscovered or vastly unique is always there.
To be fair though, I too get disappointed when the fishing mechanic is boring. I would say Warframe, New World, Mabinogi, and Stardew Valley have good mechanics with there being a level of interaction that keeps me alert while LOTRO and WoW have okay mechanics with those just being a 'listen and click'.
I read the article and wanted to jot my thoughts down and probably give clarity to others why 'Virtual Fishing' has been prevalent in my recent posts (Including this one).
Thank you for reading!