If you have just started How to Fish and are wondering what you are actually supposed to do, this guide takes you from the opening island all the way to the final boss.
The game looks like a simple fishing game for about five minutes. Then you realize the actual gameplay loop is catching fish, throwing them onto land, murdering them with increasingly ridiculous weapons, cooking them, selling them, buying better equipment, and eventually fighting giant monsters.
This walkthrough covers the important mechanics, weapon progression, all five islands, every major boss encounter, useful upgrade advice, and whether you should play solo or co-op.
How to Fish Game Islands Guide – All Islands NPCs, Boss
If you already understand the controls and basic gameplay loop, you can skip this section.
For new players, though, learning these controls early will save you a lot of confusion.
- E: Talk, interact and buy things from NPCs.
- Q: Throw the item you are holding into an NPC’s mouth. This is used for selling items and handing over quest items.
- F: Inspect whatever you are holding. This shows information such as value and whether the item is connected to a quest.
- Tab: Open your creature collection and encyclopedia.
- Right-click: Cast your fishing rod.
- Left-click: Reel the fish in when something bites.
- Right-click again: Drop the caught creature onto land.
- X: Unequip the fishing rod.
- Left-click while holding a creature: Eat it.
That last one becomes surprisingly important.
You will get hungry constantly, especially during longer trips and boss fights, so do not treat food as something you only use when your health is already critical.
The basic gameplay loop is simple:
Catch → Kill → Cook → Sell → Upgrade → Catch bigger things → Repeat.
Your inventory is very limited at the beginning, so buy additional inventory slots whenever you can reasonably afford them.
Also remember that dropped items remain on the ground for a while, although the ocean and seagulls can eventually make your carefully prepared pile disappear.
Weapons Progression: From Fists to Fully Automatic
Weapons become a huge part of How to Fish.
You start with practically nothing, but the game gives you a steady progression toward much stronger weapons.
There is some flexibility in the order, but this is the progression that makes the most sense for a normal playthrough.
Brass Knuckles
Your hands are your starting weapon, but brass knuckles are your first meaningful upgrade.
They improve your melee damage while remaining fast and requiring no ammunition.
Buy them as soon as you can afford them.
You will also continue using them later for smaller enemies and for the Handyman achievement, which requires the final boss to die from a melee attack.
Knife
The knife deals more damage per hit than your basic melee attacks, although it is slower.
Keep sharpening it at the available stations.
Each island has its own damage progression, so keeping your melee weapon upgraded before moving on is worthwhile.
The knife is particularly useful for finishing off low-health creatures without wasting ammunition.
Pistol
The pistol is your first proper firearm.
It is inexpensive and reliable, and upgrading its bullet damage makes early boss fights much easier.
It is also useful for learning the game’s headshot and trick-shot mechanics.
That said, you do not need to sink a huge amount of money into it if you are planning to move quickly toward the shotgun and later weapons.
Shotgun
The shotgun is essentially your delete button.
It is excellent against groups of smaller enemies, particularly piranhas, and the spread means you do not need perfect aim.
The knockback can also help keep aggressive creatures away from you.
Keep upgrading its damage.
For many players, the shotgun is the most comfortable weapon to use during the early and middle sections of the game.
SMG
The SMG makes the game considerably easier once you obtain it.
Its high rate of fire is excellent for melting bosses while moving around them.
The recoil can take some getting used to, but attachments such as a compensator or suppressor make the weapon easier to control.
The SMG is particularly useful against the pufferfish and bird encounters.
Sniper Rifle
The sniper rifle is excellent when you want high single-shot damage and reliable long-range attacks.
It is also useful for trick-shot achievements such as 360 No Scope.
You do not necessarily need the large sniper scope for every fight. A red dot or even the standard sight can be easier depending on what you are doing.
A laser sight is especially useful for hip-fire challenges.
Assault Rifle
The assault rifle is your endgame workhorse.
Once fully upgraded, it provides excellent sustained DPS and is the weapon I recommend taking into the final boss fight.
Fully upgrade it and add as many attachments as possible before attempting the final encounter.
Dynamite
Dynamite is both extremely useful and extremely dangerous.
Throwing it into the water can kill or heavily damage groups of creatures and can also provide a convenient source of food.
It is not my first choice for boss combat because the throwing arc and fuse make it inconsistent.
It is much better for clearing groups, collecting fish, setting up certain achievements, and occasionally launching your boat into the air.
Just remember that the explosion can kill you too.
Island 1: The Starter Rock
Your first island introduces practically everything you need to know about the game.
You begin near your crashed boat and the lighthouse.
Look around the starting area and collect the free clams.
Eat one if you need food and sell the others to get your first bit of money.
Your first priority is getting a fishing rod.
Cast into the water and start catching creatures.
Once you catch something, pull it onto land, remove the rod and kill it.
It feels strange at first, but this is the entire economy of How to Fish.
Catch something.
Kill it.
Sell it.
Use the money to buy something that lets you kill bigger things.
The First Real Quest
Speak with the lighthouse keeper.
He has a problem with a long-legged spider crab that keeps stealing his beer.
Buy a beer and give it to him.
He empties it, leaving you with an empty beer can.
Put the empty can on your rod as bait and fish with it.
This summons the Spider Crab.
Kill the crab and take its trophy back to the lighthouse keeper.
Completing the quest rewards you with the boat keys.
This is what actually opens up travel to the next island.
There is also a radar near the lighthouse keeper that is easy to overlook.
Pick it up and use it to navigate toward the next destination.
How to Defeat the Spider Crab
The Spider Crab is fast and can hit surprisingly hard for the first boss.
A sharpened knife or upgraded brass knuckles are enough.
Fight around the rocks and dock rather than standing in the open.
The crab can stun itself after certain attacks.
When that happens, move in and get several attacks off.
Do not become greedy.
A couple of hits followed by a retreat is much safer than standing next to the crab trying to squeeze in one more attack.
If the crab starts dragging you toward the water, get away immediately.
Once the crab is dead, remember to take the quest item back to the lighthouse keeper rather than accidentally eating or selling it.
Island 2: Leeches and the Giant Piranha
Island 2 introduces new NPCs, better equipment and the first genuinely chaotic boss encounter.
One of the important quests involves the girl who wants a large fish for her father.
Before you can complete the quest, you need to collect five leeches.
These are ground pickups rather than fish you catch with your rod.
Search the area carefully and pick them up.
Give the leeches to the girl and she turns them into the special bait required for the giant piranha encounter.
While working on this quest, continue fishing and earning money.
The Beginner Lure gives you access to a different group of creatures, making this a good point to start expanding your collection.
This is also a good time to start improving your weapons.
The pistol can handle the early game, but moving to the shotgun will make groups of aggressive creatures much easier.
Keep upgrading your bullet damage whenever the game gives you the option.
The Beginner Boss Lure is also useful because it allows you to summon the Old Pike mini-boss and can be used for farming as well as later achievements.
If you have not already purchased the boat engine upgrade, this is a good time to do it.
Giant Piranha in How to Fish
The Giant Piranha is accompanied by smaller piranhas, and these little enemies can become more annoying than the boss itself if you ignore them.
Bring a pistol or shotgun.
I strongly prefer the shotgun here because it is much better at dealing with groups.
Clear the smaller piranhas whenever they start surrounding you.
Then concentrate your damage on the main boss.
Keep moving throughout the fight.
Use the shoreline and nearby terrain to control where the boss approaches from rather than allowing it to trap you against an obstacle.
Do not accidentally sell, eat or discard the boss trophy.
You need the quest item to continue the story.
Once the fight is finished, return the required trophy to the NPC and continue toward island 3.
Island 3: Tropical Chaos and the Pufferfish
Island 3 is where the game starts opening up considerably.
You now have access to better fishing options, the grill, more expensive weapons and several useful side activities.
The grill master wants a shark.
Catch the required shark using the appropriate boss lure, defeat it and bring it back.
Once you complete the quest, you gain access to the grill.
This is a major upgrade to your economy.
Cooking and Making More Money
Cooking increases the value of your fish.
The multiplier rises as the item cooks and can reach approximately 1.5x.
Watch the item while it cooks.
If you leave it on the grill for too long, the value starts falling and eventually reaches zero when the item becomes completely black.
So do not walk away from a valuable fish while it is cooking.
Once you have access to the grill, cooked fish become one of your main sources of money.
You can also use the inspection function to check the current value while cooking.
Island 3 is also where buying extra inventory space starts becoming particularly useful.
More slots mean more food, more valuable fish and fewer trips back to sell things.
Blue Shark Boss Fight
The Blue Shark is a fast-moving boss with a decent amount of health.
It can move aggressively and make it difficult to maintain distance.
An upgraded shotgun or SMG works well.
Use the environment to your advantage.
Trees and other objects can sometimes give you a moment to reposition, although you should not rely on the boss getting stuck.
Keep moving and avoid letting the shark corner you.
If you are comfortable with trick shots, high killscore multipliers can make creatures considerably more valuable, although there is no need to risk a difficult trick shot during a boss fight.
Survival is more important.
Helping the Tourist
Another important island 3 quest involves the tourist.
You need to catch an endangered fish and give it to him.
Endangered fish are different from drip creatures, so do not confuse the two systems.
Once you give the tourist the required fish, he gives you a carrot.
The carrot becomes the bait for the Pufferfish boss.
Pufferfish Boss
The Pufferfish is one of the first fights where careless movement can get you killed very quickly.
It rolls around the arena aggressively and becomes more dangerous as the fight progresses.
Later in the battle, it can also produce a poisonous cloud.
Do not stand still.
A fully upgraded SMG is a very comfortable weapon for this fight because you can keep moving while maintaining pressure.
The shotgun is also useful if you need additional knockback.
Keep cooked food available so you can heal during the encounter.
The most important thing is not to panic when the pufferfish starts moving quickly.
Keep your distance, dodge its attacks, wait for safe openings and continue dealing damage.
Island 4: The Bird Combat
Island 4 introduces one of the most annoying enemies in the game: the giant bird.
The island’s NPCs need help dealing with it, and the bird has a particular interest in tuna.
Buy the Professional Boss Lure, fish up the tuna and place it on the ground.
The tuna acts as bait for the bird and starts the encounter.
This island also introduces the casino and gives you access to more advanced equipment.
Casino
The casino contains two particularly important systems.
The slot machine allows you to insert drip creatures in exchange for a chance at weapon and rod skins, including legendary skins.
The roulette allows you to gamble an item on a color.
Green offers a particularly large potential payout, but losing means losing the item you bet.
Do not gamble your entire inventory without understanding the risk.
If you are working toward the millionaire-related achievements, save valuable cooked fish for the later island 5 money strategy instead.
The Bird Boss Fight
The bird has excellent mobility and is extremely annoying if you try to fight it in the open.
A sniper rifle, fully upgraded SMG or assault rifle are all good choices.
Listen carefully for the audio cue before its dive attack.
Use buildings and other solid structures as cover.
The red enemy marker can help you keep track of the bird even when it is out of sight.
If you are playing co-op and the bird grabs another player, shoot the bird rather than your teammate to make it release them.
Stay close enough to buildings that you can quickly take cover when necessary.
Do not chase the bird around the entire island.
Let it come to you.
Island 5: Volcano, Military, Science and the Final Whale
Island 5 is the final major area and where you should start preparing seriously for the ending.
You will encounter military personnel and the scientist, and the island gives you access to the highest-level fishing and boss equipment.
Scientific lures allow you to catch some of the strangest creatures in the game, including valuable endgame fish.
This is also the best place to build up a large amount of money.
Lava Cooking
The volcano makes cooking much easier.
Lava cooks items to exactly 1.5x.
There is no need to worry about timing the cooking process as carefully as you would with the normal grill.
Take advantage of this.
Before the final boss, build up a large supply of lava-cooked fish.
You want enough food to heal repeatedly during the final fight.
Do not enter the final encounter with an almost empty inventory simply because you wanted to save a few minutes of preparation.
The Whale
The scientist’s quest eventually leads you toward the whale encounter.
You need to provide the scientist with the required fish before receiving the bait.
Once you have the correct bait, fish up the whale and defeat it.
The whale can charge at you and launch itself into the air before coming down with a powerful attack.
Keep moving and avoid standing directly underneath it.
Use your strongest upgraded firearm and heal whenever necessary.
After defeating the whale, the story is not quite finished.
The whale’s body needs to be taken to the volcano.
How to Defeat the Mutated Bowhead Whale
The final mutated whale is the toughest fight in the game.
Before starting the encounter, make sure your assault rifle or SMG is fully upgraded.
The assault rifle is my preferred option because of its sustained DPS.
Bring as much cooked food as your inventory can hold.
During the fight, prioritize survival over maximizing damage.
The boss has several attacks that can punish you heavily, including powerful movement attacks and dangerous attacks that cover parts of the arena.
Stay aware of where you are standing.
Do not accidentally trap yourself against terrain.
Use buildings and other structures where possible to create safe moments for healing.
Keep shooting whenever the boss is vulnerable, then immediately return to movement and positioning.
The second phase is considerably more aggressive, so save enough healing items for the later part of the fight.
Handyman Achievement Trick
If you are trying to unlock Handyman, you do not need to fight the entire final boss with your bare hands.
This is extremely important.
Fight the mutated whale normally using your assault rifle.
Bring its health down until it has only a tiny amount remaining.
Then switch to your fists and land the final killing blow.
The achievement checks the killing hit rather than requiring the entire fight to be completed with melee attacks.
You may accidentally kill the boss with your gun while trying this.
If that happens, simply try again.
In co-op, this is even easier because the other players can continue shooting while one player switches to fists for the final hit.
Throwing the Whale Into the Volcano
After defeating the whale, take its body up toward the volcano.
You need to throw it into the volcano to progress the ending.
The path can be annoying, and there are hazards along the way, so do not rush.
Heal whenever you need to and take your time.
Once the whale is finally thrown into the volcano, return to the scientist.
You receive the equipment needed to leave the islands.
Start the boat and follow the route home.
That is the end of the main story.
Playing How to Fish Co-op vs Solo
You can complete the game solo, but How to Fish is particularly fun with a group.
The game supports 1–4 player co-op, and having additional players changes the way several encounters feel.
One player can concentrate on fishing while another handles combat.
During boss fights, multiple players can also split the boss’s attention, giving everyone more opportunities to attack.
Reviving teammates is another major advantage.
A player who would have died outright in solo can potentially be brought back by another player.
There are some downsides, though.
More players also means more chaos.
Fish can get picked up by the wrong person, valuable drops can end up somewhere unexpected, and everyone needs to know who is carrying the important quest item.
Before starting a boss quest, it is worth agreeing on who will carry the trophy afterward.
For achievement hunting, co-op is particularly useful for difficult encounters such as the final boss and Handyman.
The Bean speedrun is the major exception.
For that achievement, solo play is generally the better choice because coordination costs valuable time.
Overall, though, if you have friends who are willing to embrace the game’s completely ridiculous fishing-meets-shooter gameplay, co-op is one of the best ways to experience it.