Combining the Bell Trick with Other Offhand Uses

Why the Offhand Matters

Fish On The Line relies on the offhand slot for the bell. That means anything else you want in the offhand competes for the same slot. Understanding this helps you plan fishing trips where you also want a shield, torch, or food ready.

Practical Loadouts

• Pure fishing trip: bell in the offhand, rod in the main hand. Nothing else needed; right-click when the bell rings.
• Fishing near danger: you may want a shield in the offhand instead. In that case, either accept that the bell sound will not play (with the default config) or disable mustHoldBellInOffhand so the bite sound works without a bell.
• Fishing while building or farming: keep the bell in the offhand and the rod in the main hand, then swap the rod out for tools as needed. Just remember to swap the rod back before casting.

If you frequently switch between a shield and a bell, bind a quick swap key so you can move the bell into the offhand fast. The key point: with the default config, the bell must be in the offhand for the bite sound, so plan your offhand around whether you want audio cues or another item.