So I discovered a bug, and a temp solution to it. If, just after getting the rod, you fish before talking to Lilu, somehow your fishing rod vanishes and she sends you to the shop. the problem is that the shop keeper isn't there and then you're, amusingly, calling what I thought was an extremely tiny shop keeper cute and short. the stool moves on its own and all...but as i looked around, I saw her in the back and I couldn't leave as the game kept saying to ask about the rod. Solution was to go back and replay up to that point and talk to Lilu when I should have.