General:Fishy Stick

The popular fishy stick image

The fishy stick phenomenon began when Captain Eldrad joined the Official Forums on January 18, 2001. The graphic used is from an advertisement for Captain Morgan's rum, with a fish stick in place of the bottle of rum. In the beginning, fishy sticks were only given to those who truly deserved the honor, by Captain Eldrad himself. Later, his friend Soursha gave them away to new members. Eventually, it became customary to give fishy sticks to the newcomers of the forum. The Bethesda developers were very amused by all of this, and they added tributes to the fishy stick in several games.

Many fishy stick variants were created by community members during its peak usage in 2001-2002, often dipped into a special type of "sause" that gave them unique and fantastical properties. By 2006, even though Captain Eldrad and Soursha rarely visited the forums, the fishy stick continued to live on. For a brief period in 2007, an entire fan forum called The Fishy Stick Empire had also been created, dedicated to keeping the fishy stick alive. From its inception until the shutdown of the Official Forums in 2021, newcomers of the forums were given fishy sticks by the more experienced members of the forum. Some said that being given a fishy stick is part of the initiation of becoming a regular member. Others dismissed it, saying that it is simply a fad that will go away in time, and although it has lost more popularity as time goes on, it is still used commonly.

Today, the Fishy Stick lives on as a prize awarded to helpful editors on the UESP and TES Wiki, and is also an emote on the Discord servers for the wikis, OnceLost Games, and various other Elder Scrolls-related communities.

In-Game ReferencesEdit

There are a few references to the fishy stick in the Elder Scrolls video game series:

MorrowindEdit

A tribute to the fishy stick can be found in Morrowind in the form of a book called Capn's Guide to the Fishy Stick. It says that the book is supposed to be the definitive reference to fishy sticks throughout Tamriel, but unfortunately the pages are so smeared with fishy stick sauce that it is impossible to read any of them. The skeleton of the captain can be found in the same shipwreck next to a stash of moon sugar, implying that it caused him to crash the ship.

OblivionEdit

One of the quotes from M'aiq the Liar in Oblivion is "M'aiq wishes he had a stick made out of fishies [sic] to give to you. Sadly, he does not."

SkyrimEdit

When you approach Sheogorath during the quest The Mind of Madness, he will say "Do you mind? I'm busy doing the fishstick. It's a very delicate state of mind!"

Elder Scrolls OnlineEdit

Fishy Sticks

You can cook Fishy Sticks through the Provisioning profession. Also, the default name for a Palomino Horse is "Fishystick".

One of the quotes from M'aiq the Liar in Oblivion is "Some have urged M'aiq to get married. Married! Why would M'aiq ever wish to do this? There would be no more traveling. No more exotic foods and fishy sticks. M'aiq suggests you not ever get married."

LegendsEdit

After the client update, the card Artaeum Savant references the fishy stick when summoned. The new Summon voiceline is, "Wha? Oh, sorry. I was busy doing the fishstick."

When attacking, Manic Jack says, "Let's do the fishstick."

When getting instructions from Sheogorath during the Isle of Madness - Episode 3 Intro, he will say "Your next nut to crack is one Baron Navir. Spoiled, arrogant little mortal, who's had everything handed to him -- money, power, fishsticks, several large rocks, you name it. But I think he craves even more."

Betrayal of the Second EraEdit

Fishy Stick is a common consumable item. It allows you to either discard it and heal HP, or put it in your pack instead and gain fatigue. Artwork of two Fishy Sticks is also featured in the game's Limited Edition Art and Lore Book.

Fallout 4Edit

The fishy stick reference in Layton Towers

On the fourth floor of Layton Towers in Fallout 4, there is a dead fish, a wooden "Y" block, and a stick in a bath tub, which put together form "Fish-y Stick".

GalleryEdit

High res transparent Fishy Stick, used in the later years of the forum
Logo of the Fishy Stick Empire
The Captain's skeleton next to the moon sugar stash in the shipwreck
A golden-orange palomino horse named Fishystick, also sharing a similar color to its namesake