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How to Fish Game Guide

How to Fish is Dazed Games' 1–4 player physics-based fishing action game on Steam. Use this guide for island progression, bosses, fish, achievements, troubleshooting, and co-op play.

Play How to Fish on Steam Start the Walkthrough

Start Here

Your How to Fish Journey

Beginner Guide

Learn the catch, sell, upgrade, quest, and first-island loop.

Full Walkthrough

Follow five prerequisite story islands, then the mainland endgame called Island 6 in Patch 1.0.11.

Boss Guide

Prepare bait, read attack windows, and carry the right trophy back.

Fish Locations

Filter the island pools and bait tiers while you complete Fishipedia.

Recent Updates

Browse all

Illustration: a large stopwatch beside a tin can with a bean, with a small fishing boat sailing behind

How to Fish Bean Achievement: Finish Within One Hour

Bean officially means "Finish the game within 1 hour", and only 3.2% of players have it. Where a run loses time, and what to skip.

Illustration: an open encyclopedia with a grid of fish slots, most filled and a few empty, beside a magnifier and a tick list

How to Fish Collector Achievement: Kill Every Creature

Collector officially means "Find and kill all the creatures", and only 18.5% of players have it. A catch is not a kill, and Drip is separate.

Most Useful Guides

Stuttering & high GPU fix

FPS cap, 90–100% GPU and mouse polling rate, in the order that actually isolates the cause.

Fish not biting on Island 2

What to try when Island 2 stops biting: rod, lure, bait and the quest trigger.

All 28 achievements

All 28 official achievements, with a story route and a cleanup order.

Patch 1.0.12 changes

Steam Cloud saves, Piranha and Tuna balance, plus the 1.0.11 platform changes.

Guides

Illustration of a VR first-person view: two tracked hands hold a fishing rod over the water while translucent VR settings panels float on both sides

How to Fish VR Mod: HowToFishXR Install & Setup

The game has no built-in VR, but this free mod runs it in PCVR: requirements, install steps, flat-screen switching and multiplayer.

Official How to Fish screenshot of two players cooking side by side at the island grill

How to Fish MorePlayers Mod: Install, Configure & Remove

Push past the official lobby limit with the unofficial MorePlayers mod: install, MaxPlayers settings, coexistence with other mods and a clean removal.

Illustration: a handheld console and a laptop on a dock, both showing the fishing boat, joined by a cloud icon

How to Fish Platforms, Console Release & Price

Where you can play it now, what it costs, how to launch it through GeForce NOW, how Steam Cloud saves work, and whether PS5, Xbox, Mac or mobile exist.

Illustration: the same fishing fight twice, easy with full health and a small fish, hard with low health and a large angry fish

How to Fish Difficulty & Control Settings: Easy, Normal or Hard?

What easy, normal and hard actually change, how to pick one, how to verify it, plus the aim, sprint, hold-to-attack and nametag toggles added in 1.0.11.

Official How to Fish screenshot of the Lighthouse equipment shop and an NPC

How to Fish Beginner Guide: First Hour, Controls and Upgrades (1.1.3)

The first-hour How to Fish loop on version 1.1.3: controls, difficulty numbers, saving and Steam Cloud, safe selling, the $10 Radar and first boss.

Official How to Fish screenshot of a player climbing a palm tree on a forest island

How to Fish Island Progression: Unlock Every Island

Unlock five prerequisite story islands and the mainland endgame with the exact NPC, boss trophy, boat key, $10 Radar, and green-marker checks.

Official How to Fish screenshot of an island shop counter with a seagull and an NPC trader

How to Fish Leech Bait: Find All 3 Leeches on Island 2

Find the three Island 2 leeches, claim the Modified Leech, summon Giant Piranha, and finish the skeleton hand-in without losing the quest item.

Official How to Fish screenshot of a player landing a fish on the beach with a weapon in hand

How to Fish Walkthrough: Five Islands, Island 6 and the Islet Update

The full How to Fish route through five story islands to island 6, with the current 1.1.3 version timeline, the Islet Update additions and every gate.

Bosses

Illustration: a giant piranha lunging from the shallows while two players fire a pistol and a shotgun, dynamite on the sand

How to Fish Giant Piranha Boss: Trigger and Fight

The second boss: hand in three leeches for the leech bait, then fish it up. Dynamite and a pistol solo, boat kiting in co-op.

Player fighting the inflated Pufferfish boss in How to Fish

How to Beat the Pufferfish Boss in How to Fish

Get the Carrot, summon the Island 3 Pufferfish, survive its rolling and poison phases, retry after a loss, and deliver the Pufferfish Fin.

Official How to Fish screenshot of two players firing weapons at night on the water

How to Fish Boss Guide: Every Trigger, Fight and Trophy (1.1.3)

Beat Spider Crab, Giant Piranha, Pufferfish, Albatross, Bowhead, the final boss and the 1.1.0 mini-boss, with every official rebalance listed.

Fish Locations

Official How to Fish screenshot of a player landing a fish beside a co-op partner

How to Fish All Fish Locations: 49-Creature Tracker

Filter all 49 creature names by island and lure, track catches locally, see what is cross-checked, and where Anglerfish lives.

Achievements

How to Fish Bean Achievement: Finish Within One Hour

Bean officially means "Finish the game within 1 hour", and only 3.2% of players have it. Where a run loses time, and what to skip.

How to Fish Collector Achievement: Kill Every Creature

Collector officially means "Find and kill all the creatures", and only 18.5% of players have it. A catch is not a kill, and Drip is separate.

Official How to Fish screenshot of players using the island grill

How to Fish Achievements: All 28 Unlock Requirements

Search all 28 official How to Fish Steam achievements, mark local progress, and follow exact story, combat, collection, economy, Bean, and Handyman conditions.

Troubleshooting

Illustration: a rod with an empty hook above still water while a fish ignores it below, with two alternate lures as insets

How to Fish Fish Not Biting on Island 2: Rod Fix

Fix the Island 2 fish-not-biting report by checking the new rod, hold-left-click input, lure tier, recast state, and co-op ownership.

Official How to Fish screenshot of a player holding a seabird in an equipment shop

How to Fish Multiplayer, Black Screen & Cannot Join Fixes

Fix How to Fish co-op failures with the official Steam Relay red branch, private lobbies, version alignment, session restart, server names and community workarounds.

Official How to Fish screenshot of the boat and equipment ready for a new run

How to Fish Save Location, Autosave & Steam Cloud

Where the save lives, when the game writes it, how Steam Cloud sync works, and what to do when a save is missing or corrupted.

Illustration: a steady green frame graph and a jagged red one above a fishing boat, with a settings gear and a cooling fan

How to Fish Stuttering, GPU, FPS Cap & Tearing Fixes

Fix How to Fish stutter with a controlled order for FPS-cap mismatch, 90–100% GPU use, 8 kHz mouse polling, VSync tearing, overlays and network lag.

Updates

Illustration: a save-file card floating into a cloud with an upload arrow beside a scale holding a fish and a gear

How to Fish Patch 1.0.12: Steam Cloud Saves & Balance

What Patch 1.0.12 changed: saves moved to Steam Cloud, how to upload an old save, Piranha and Tuna balance, the new item speed cap, plus voice and lobby FPS fixes.

Illustration: a game settings panel with toggle switches beside a shield with a check mark and a save-file card

How to Fish Patch 1.0.11: Deck Verified, GeForce NOW & Toggles

What Patch 1.0.11 added: Steam Deck Verified, GeForce NOW support, four control toggles, save checks and backups, plus the honest limit of what it actually fixed.

Official How to Fish screenshot of a player launching a weapon beside the boat

How to Fish Patch Notes: Every Version and Change

Every How to Fish patch in one place: the 1.1.3 fishipedia update, the 1.1.2 fixes, the 1.1.0 Islet content update and the older 1.0.x patches.

Reviews

The Spider Crab boss health bar and escape timer during the first How to Fish boss fight

Beating the First How to Fish Boss: the Spider Crab, Step by Step

Do not drink the beer. Trade it for an empty can, fish the Spider Crab out of the water, dodge the charge and hit it while it is dizzy to earn the boat keys.

A shark hanging from the fishing line above open ocean in How to Fish

What a Full How to Fish Playthrough Looks Like (Insym, 3h46m)

A complete run shows a lot: five story islands plus the mainland finale, one boss gate per island, a campaign you finish in hours.

A player carrying a caught fish along the island beach in How to Fish

What a Normal How to Fish Session Actually Looks Like

Strip away the highlight reels and an ordinary run is very routine: clams, small catches, dragging fish inland to kill them, selling or grilling.

The Lighthouse Keeper and the beer can quest item on the starting island in How to Fish

How to Fish Co-op on Day Two: What Launch Week Really Looked Like

A four-player session recorded the day after launch is an accidental snapshot of the release build: black screens, failed joins, refund jokes.

The You Are Dead screen beside the Lighthouse Keeper in How to Fish

Four Players in How to Fish: What Oracle's Full Group Actually Shows

With a full lobby the game becomes a survival drill: one baits, one revives, one hauls. Drowning, friendly fire and lag end runs, not bosses.

Two players grilling a seagull on a beach barbecue in How to Fish

What SMii7Y's 5-Million-View How to Fish Video Actually Shows

A 32-minute video films the game's most ridiculous parts: a beer can as boss bait, seagulls stealing your loot.

A whole shark cooking on the island grill for cash in How to Fish

Yumi's How to Fish Finale: What "Biggest Catch" Really Means

In a 78-minute finale the late game looks nothing like the start: snipers, dynamite and casino money. The biggest catch is not a fish but what your gear can handle.

How to Fish FAQ

Short answers to common How to Fish questions, with a link to the full evidence-based guide.

How many players can play How to Fish?

The Steam store describes How to Fish as a 1–4 player game. Patch 1.0.4 added lobbies for up to 8 players, so check the current build when hosting.

Read co-op fixes

How do I unlock the next island?

Complete the current NPC request, defeat the required boss, and hand in its distinct trophy. A boss kill alone does not update the Radar.

See the progression route

Why are fish not biting on Island 2?

With the new Island 2 rod, keep left click held after the hook enters the water, then test lure and reel inputs separately.

Troubleshoot the rod

How do I fix stuttering or high GPU usage?

Start with a stable FPS cap, lower shadows and effects, disable overlays, and compare frame time before changing several settings at once.

See the fix order

How many Steam achievements are there?

How to Fish currently lists 28 Steam achievements, including story, collection, trick-shot, Handyman, and Bean objectives.

Open the checklist

Ready to cast off?

Bookmark the guide and return after each patch for updated routes, fixes, and collection notes.

Open the walkthrough Join the official Discord