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.
There are three difficulties
Patch 1.0.9 added easy and hard on top of the original normal mode. You can change it in the main menu or in game.
It only touches creature combat numbers. It does not change lures, trophies or the island hand-in chain.
| Mode | Creature health | Creature damage | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 25% less | 50% less | First solo run, still learning the controls |
| Normal | Unchanged | Unchanged | This site’s baseline, most balanced |
| Hard | 25% more | 25% more | Anyone who already knows the boss patterns |
Why the choice matters
The game mixes physics, boats and combat. Easy gives you room to learn reeling and picking items up. Hard makes every missed dodge expensive, which suits players who already know the routes.
Either way, the Lighthouse hand-in, the boat key, the Radar and the named trophies are still required.
The four toggles added in 1.0.11
Patch 1.0.11 (September 1, 2026) added four control groups in the main menu and in-game settings. They are separate from difficulty, so the two do not affect each other.
| Setting | What you can change | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | Switch to toggle, so you tap instead of holding | Long reeling sessions, sore hands, controller players |
| Sprint | Switch to toggle and stay sprinting | Anyone ferry-running islands and picking up drops |
| Attack | Switch to hold for continuous attacks | Melee crowds without mashing a button |
| Nametags | Turn player nametags off | Screenshots, recording, less on-screen clutter |
None of these change achievement rules or the save format.
Can you turn off auto-aim
Someone asked exactly that on the Steam forums.
The official notes only mention “an option to use toggle for aiming”. There is no separate auto-aim switch, and the notes never explain how controller aim assist behaves.
So this site does not claim you can turn auto-aim off. The four toggles above are what you can confirm.
How to pick and verify
- Choose easy, normal or hard in the main menu or in game.
- Open a private lobby and write down the current mode before testing.
- Take two hits under the same conditions and watch your health and damage. Do not judge by feel alone.
- If players disagree about what is set, have the host close and reopen the lobby, then check the mode again.
Keep the same lure and the same creature during a test. Change one variable at a time.
What 1.0.9 did not promise
The patch does not say difficulty changes drop tables, spawn chances, achievement rules or island unlocks. It also does not promise to fix stutter, a red Relay line or fish not biting. For those symptoms, use the matching troubleshooting page.
Source: official Patch 1.0.9 notes, Patch 1.0.11 notes and the How to Fish Steam page.
Related Articles
guide
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.
guide
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.
guide
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.