some replies:
On fishing rod cord length I'm willing to entertain debate. The =30= is probably a quick transfer over of 2 cords each now =15=. Im not 100% sure on what the period fishing rod looks like. That said my current vision is the cord runs the length of the rod (about 5 ft), then down to the water (a few feet), then into the water anywhere from a few to a lot of feet to catch the bigger feet. From my own real life fishing the bigger fish are probably more than 10 ft below the surface. So I would suggest more than 10 perhaps 20 if you weren't happy with 30.
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On getting ore...
The most common method Ive used is to get bog ore. This take having a shovel, preferably a metal one but hey you may have to make that, into a "mire" when the ground isn't frozen (for UrW no snow on the ground).
I do recall successfully testing the dip net though that was before the move to the new cordage system. Curious about the dip net method I even did some research and did indeed find that in iron rich places, like Finland, it was possible to get ore this way. Chunks of rock fallen out with iron veins and/or similar processes that make the bog ore.
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Dip net check...
Are you able to make a dip net?
When on a lake, rowed out on a raft or other boat, can you get the lake ore or do you get an error message?