"There is no fish around"?

Any tips for finding a stretch of river with fish in it? I’ve tried a few map screens in either direction but I only get this message whenever I try and put a fish trap down.

Hey mate.
If you are moving along river areas and you get messages regarding fish movements/splashes/fights or visually seeing fish
you ll know you hit the right spot-at least everytime in the recent past is the way-to-go for me.

Trying to fish in a general river area hasn’t worked ever for me-although in latest year
versions i ve yet to encounter proper fishing area.
Maybe i just being unlucky though

Cheers, first time I set up base near a river and looks like it’s no good - should have checked before I made a few fish traps oops.

It’s basically as Gio says. Fish from fishing or fish trapping are drawn from the nearby creature pool. If you don’t see fish in the area, you won’t catch any fish. Basically, the trap/fishing rod picks a fish at random, decides if you catch it or not, kills it, and deposits it’s body at your feet. snipped rant about attempts to mod fishing system

My advice: Also as Gio says, look for fish appearing on the bank of the river. Also, use a bow/crossbow/.22 or try to corner them in the shallows with a melee weapon. You’ll get more reliable “catches” and use less time that way.