How to Fish: Beginner’s Guide

How to Fish combines fishing, combat and exploration as you travel between islands, catch increasingly valuable creatures and defeat the bosses blocking your progress.

This beginner’s guide covers the most important mechanics to understand, including fishing equipment, lures, Killscore, cooking, weapons, useful upgrades and preparing for boss encounters.

If you have just started playing and need help leaving the first island, check out our complete Lighthouse Island walkthrough.

The creatures you can catch are determined by the fishing rod and lure you have equipped. Stronger lures become available as you reach new islands, giving you access to more valuable and dangerous catches.

Check each island’s shop for new fishing equipment and reinvest some of your money into better lures. You do not need to replace everything immediately, but relying on the starting equipment will make it harder to earn money later in the game.

Regular Lures and Boss Lures are separate items, even when their names look similar. Regular Lures catch a selection of ordinary creatures, while Boss Lures summon specific minibosses at the correct location.

Always check the full name before purchasing a lure, as Boss Lures are considerably more expensive than their regular versions.

If you are looking for a particular catch, check out our guide covering all 49 fish, creatures and lures in How to Fish.

After catching a creature, the way you defeat it can increase its final selling price. Headshots, no-scopes, airborne kills and full 360-degree spins can all add to your Killscore multiplier.

Multiple bonuses can be earned from the same finishing shot. Weaken the creature normally before attempting your trick shot, as only the final attack needs to earn the bonus.

You do not need to perform a complicated combination on every catch. Even a simple headshot or no-scope provides additional value, which quickly adds up when saving for more expensive weapons and upgrades.

Later in the game, the Sniper Rifle makes earning a higher Killscore easier because of its excellent accuracy and high damage.

Each island introduces stronger weapons, attachments or damage upgrades. You begin with basic melee options before gaining access to ranged weapons such as the Shotgun, SMG, Assault Rifle and Sniper Rifle.

The SMG provides fast damage but can be difficult to control, while the Assault Rifle offers a more balanced option for general combat. The Sniper Rifle is particularly useful for accurate finishing shots and earning a higher Killscore.

You do not need to purchase every new weapon. A gun that has received several bullet damage upgrades may remain stronger than a newly unlocked weapon with no improvements.

Attachments can also make your chosen weapon easier to use. Extended magazines reduce how often you need to reload, sights improve accuracy and compensators help control recoil. These become especially useful against fast moving bosses.

Cooking becomes available on the Desert Island after completing the Grill master’s Blue Shark request. Once the Grill is unlocked, you can cook your catches to increase their selling price or make them more effective when eaten.

Hold or place the catch over the flames and inspect it while it cooks. Remove it once it reaches the maximum cooking multiplier, as leaving it over the heat for too long will burn it and destroy most of its value.

A properly cooked catch sells for 1.5 times its normal price. Killscore and cooking multipliers also work together, allowing you to perform a valuable finishing shot before cooking and selling the creature for a much larger payout.

Once you reach Volcano Island, you can use the lava to cook fish and other items without needing a Grill. Simply place or hold the item over the lava and wait for its cooking multiplier to increase.

If you need help unlocking the Grill, check out our complete guide on how to unlock and use the Grill.

Every island has a main boss that must be defeated before you can continue. These encounters usually begin as soon as you cast the required bait, so do not use it until you are prepared.

Make sure you have a reliable weapon and several pieces of food. Heal before beginning the fight and leave enough room to move around the island, as most bosses deal extremely high damage when their attacks connect.

Focus on avoiding attacks before dealing damage. Wait for the boss to finish a charge, jump or other major attack, then use the brief opening to fire before moving again.

After defeating an island’s main boss, return its important drop to the correct NPC. You will then receive the coordinates needed to locate your next destination with the Radar.

If a boss is blocking your progress, check out our individual boss guides for a complete strategy.

Every island follows a similar progression. Speak to its NPCs, check the shop for new equipment, complete the main quest and defeat the boss before following the next Radar marker.

Take time to catch and sell regular creatures whenever you need more money. Keeping your fishing gear, weapon and food supplies updated will make each new island much easier to complete.

If you need help finding or completing any location, check out our guide covering how to unlock every island in How to Fish.