Ice Fishing is one of the sneakier side missions in the Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned DLC for Borderlands 4. It does not show up on your map by default, and plenty of players blow right past it without realizing the quest even exists. The trick is collecting 4 hidden ECHO Logs before the mission ever appears, which means you need to know exactly where to fish and how to do it. Here is everything you need to unlock and finish it.
What do you need before starting Ice Fishing?
Before this quest becomes available, two prerequisites must be met according to the sources. First, you need to have completed Main Quest 4: A Lot to Process from the base game. Second, the quest itself is part of the Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned DLC, so that content needs to be installed and active. The quest giver is Marina, located inside The Speakeasy bar in the Kairos > The Whispering Glacier zone, but she only hands it over after you have already done the fishing legwork.
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You cannot start Ice Fishing without first collecting all 4 ECHO Logs from the Crooked Teeth region. The quest will not appear in The Speakeasy until those are in your inventory.
Crooked Teeth fishing spot
How to unlock the Ice Fishing quest
All three fishing spots sit in the northern section of the Crooked Teeth region, clustered around the Edge of the World fast travel point. If you have already unlocked that fast travel node, getting to all three spots takes only a few minutes on foot.
Each spot has a bucket of dynamite sitting nearby. The method is the same at every location: pick up some dynamite, scan the water for disturbances or glittery particles indicating something is below the surface, and throw the dynamite at those bubbles. The explosion launches loot into the air, and you can grab it with your grappling hook or fish it out of the water if it drops in. ECHO Logs glow golden, so they are easy to spot mid-air.
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If the bubbles are not showing up at a fishing spot, save and quit, then reload. The disturbances will reset and reappear.
You need 4 ECHO Logs total across the three spots, but you do not have to collect them all in one session.
Fishing spot 1
The first spot is the most straightforward. Head just northeast of the Edge of the World fast travel point and follow the water's edge. You will find a single chair sitting next to the dynamite bucket. Throw at the bubbles and grab whatever comes up.
Fishing spot 2
Turn around from spot 1 and cross to the opposite side of the point. Look for a radio sitting beside another dynamite bucket, both positioned next to an overhanging block of ice. Same process applies here.
Fishing spot 3
From spot 2, turn left and follow the water's edge further along until you reach two deck chairs flanking a third dynamite bucket. This one is a bit further out but still within easy walking distance.
ECHO Log mid-air retrieval
Starting the quest at The Speakeasy
Once all 4 ECHO Logs are collected, the Ice Fishing quest triggers and becomes available inside The Speakeasy. Head back there and speak with Marina. She mentions she has not seen Gumpy in some time and points you toward his fishing hut in the Crooked Teeth region.
Follow the quest marker to Gumpy's hut and interact with the fifth and final ECHO Log inside. This one details Gumpy's plan to hunt down a massive creature called Ol' Thrash, complete with coordinates.
How to destroy the ice cap and fight Ol' Thrash
Grab the dynamite from the bucket sitting in front of Gumpy's hut. From there, turn left and move forward toward the water. You are looking for a dark spot in the ice on the left side of a large, tilted metal structure with red lights. Throw the dynamite onto that dark spot to break through the ice and release Ol' Thrash.
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Ol' Thrash is a Thresher-type enemy with a red health bar. Bring incendiary weapons to the fight since fire damage tears through its health quickly, according to IGN's walkthrough.
Once Ol' Thrash is down, pick up Gumpy's hat from the ground. The hat was inside the creature's stomach, which tells you everything you need to know about what happened to Gumpy. Marina gets her closure, and you get your rewards.
Tips for finishing Ice Fishing faster
- The grappling hook retrieves ECHO Logs from the air before they hit the water, saving time.
- Logs that fall into the water can still be picked up by wading in, so nothing is lost if you miss the grab.
- You do not need to complete all three fishing spots in a single visit. Progress carries over between sessions.
- Incendiary weapons are the fastest way to burn down Ol' Thrash once it surfaces.
- The dark ice spot for the final dynamite throw is on the left side of the tilted metal structure with red lights, not directly in front of Gumpy's hut.
For more walkthroughs and side mission guides across Borderlands 4 and other games, browse more guides on GAMES.GG.