Fishing Guide (All Quests and Locations)

This Monster Hunter Wilds fishing guide covers all fishing quests, rewards, and locations!

Hunting monsters can be exhausting. So why not take a break and hunt small aquatic life instead? All you need to do is find a nice little water area with visible fish and equip your trusty Fishing Rod.

You can start this questline as early as the first time you visit the Scarlet Forest.

• Number of Quests = 5
• Rewards
• • Golden Bughead - For gaudy fish like Goldenfish
  • Emerald Jitterbait - For useful fish like Sushifish
  • Tough Joint Bait - For swift fish like Gastronome Tuna
  • Duster Rig - For catching fish that like dark or muddy places like Gajau
  • Tentacle Jig - For catching fish that have feelers or tentacles

This guide is written by JourneyFar.

• Report to Kanya
• Catch a fish

Kanya is found in Scarlet Forest Base Camp in Area 1 of the Scarlet Forest. She will be at the pond area at the other end of the base camp opposite of the entrance. Get used to going here because you'll have to return there for all the quests in this guide.

Catch any fish right there where Kanya is at using the one lure you have. You can try fishing in the area she is at or the water behind her. Basically you can fish the fish you see on either side.

The key tip to catch a fish is to just either jiggle the line by pressing down a lot until a fish bites or to press up and down one at a time to slowly reel in the line.

Once a fish bites down, press the Reel In button (R2) immediately. If using a controller, it will vibrate when a fish is biting down. The Hunter will show an animation of struggling but no need to press anything else and your Hunter will eventually reel it in.

• Rewards
• • Miscellaneous Fish Rewards

• Report to Kanya
• Catch a Goldenfish

A common place to find a Goldenfish is in the Scarlet Forest near the Pop-up Camp in Area 16: Ruin Interior. If you have not discovered this Pop-up Camp yet then head to Area 15.  

At the west end of Area 15 you will find a long climbable ivy wall on the left and a ledge with an ivy wall above it. Climb the ledge on the right and scale up the short ivy wall.

This will take you behind the waterfalls and into the Ruin Interior. There is a calm pond there that will spawn Goldenfish, Goldenfry, and the like. 

I find Nighttime during season of Plenty to be the most consistent. 

Catch a Goldenfish with the Golden Bughead lure. It can be equipped by first equipping your fishing rod and then holding the inventory button and swapping up and down your lures.

• Rewards
• • Golden Bughead
  • Miscellaneous Fish Rewards

• Report to Kanya
• Catch a Gravid Bowfin

Gravid Bowfin can be found right at Pop-up Camps in both the Iceshard Cliffs and Ruins of Wyveria. 

In Iceshard Cliffs, it is at Area 20: Ancient Room Pop-up Camp. This Pop-up Camp can easily be found as the main Storyline drops you there at one point. The small patch of water can contain Gravid Bowfin.

OR

The Pop-up Camp in Wyveria is called Area 13: Hidden Cave. Area 12 is where Xu Wu’s nest is so go out from that nest area then head left going up the spiral in Area 13. You will find climbable ivy to the Pop-up Camp. Once there, there is a big area of water surrounding the camp. The darker side on the left and not near the Landspine will contain the fish.

If not seen, try resting to a new season at a different time and keep swapping from camp to camp. I have found consistency in Fallow Daytime for both areas but actual results may vary.

Once spotted, equip Emerald Jitterbait lure and catch it. 

If there are too many other fish around, equip your Capture Net and catch all the other fish and isolate the Gravid Bowfin. You MUST fish it to complete the quest.

• Rewards
• • Emerald Jitterbait
  • Miscellaneous Fish Rewards

• Report to Kanya
• Catch a whopper

A whopper is just any big fish that starts the fishing minigame. 

Whoppers can be consistently found no matter time of day or season in the middle part of Area 17 in the Scarlet Forest. 

The picture above usually shows a common point for whoppers to show up. However, 2 other fishing points can be found in the same Area 17. One in the far right and then another in the far left. Both are still in the water filled area so that means blue part in the map. 

Depending on the time of day and season, various whoppers like the Goliath Squid, Gastronome Tuna, Gajau, etc. are spotted here.

Equip the Tough Joint Bait and use the slow reel and jiggle tactic to hook the whopper.

Play the whopper fishing minigame to catch the fish.

• The whopper fishing minigame can be quite tricky. Once a whopper is hooked, it will speed around from side to side. Controller users will know by vibration if you are going against its direction. Your job is to follow its movement. If it is racing to the right, then you are holding right. But if it's going left then hold left. Follow its movement.
• • Sometimes obstacles can get in the way, a pop up message will show that an obstacle is in the way. When that happens, pull the fish in the opposite direction to get it away from the obstacle.  So it is racing towards the right but the obstacle pop up message shows, then hold left to get it out of the obstacle quickly. Don’t hold too much or the line will snap. 
  • Another thing that occurs is a jump. When a jump happens, immediately press the Reel button (R2) to wrestle it down and try to match how it jumped. Either left or right. The whopper when wrestled down will drop to the left or right, follow how it drops if unable to tell how it jumped. 
  • After following movement, pulling away from obstacles, and wrestling it down a jump, it will TIRE OUT AND STAY STILL for a brief moment. Quickly reel it in by pressing up and down really fast.  If not caught by then, the minigame will continue on. 
  • Continue to tire it out and reel it in. 

Goliath Squid which are normally found at night in any season do not jump so they are easier to catch.

• Rewards
• • Duster Rig
  • Tuff Joint Bait,
  • Miscellaneous Fish Rewards.

• Report to Kanya
• Catch a Grand Escunite

These squid are normally found at Night in Area 17 of the Scarlet Forest (the same place as Quest #4). I believe they can be found in any season.

My most consistent is first going through Inclemency at Night and seeing a Fishing frenzy spot, where Wingdrakes are dive bombing into the water.

Your Palico will mention the fish gathering. After seeing this, rest to season of Plenty Nighttime. Then you should see a white looking lump in the water. That is a Grand Escunite.

Equip Tentacle Jig and use the jiggle and slow reel technique to hook it.

No whopper fishing minigame needed, just catch it.