How to Fish Mechanics: Casting, Fighting, Selling, and Trick Shots
Updated 2026-08-24
Master the physics-based fishing loop in How to Fish: casting, reeling, fighting creatures, selling, cooking, and trick-shot multipliers.
The catch-and-combat loop
How to Fish treats fishing as a physics action sequence. First, equip a rod and a lure, then cast into the water. When a creature bites, reel it in. Once it is on land, switch to your weapon and attack until it dies. Pick up the body and sell it for cash. This money funds better rods, weapons, boat engines, and lures. The better your gear, the bigger and more valuable the creatures you can hunt.
Casting and reeling
Casting is physics-based, so expect some trial and error while learning the arc and timing. Use the Free Lure for small early creatures, the Hotdog Lure for bigger catches, and quest-specific lures for bosses. Reel steadily once something bites; jerking the line too hard can lose the catch. Different creatures prefer different lures, so check the creature database before farming a specific target.
Fighting creatures
Small fish and crabs can be killed bare-handed or with the starting Knife. Larger targets require upgraded weapons. Bosses have unique attack patterns: the Spider Crab charges and can be sidestepped; the Giant Piranha spawns minions; the Blue Shark spirals toward you. All bosses have a white escape bar under their health pool. If it empties, the boss runs away and you must restart the fight.
Selling, cooking, and the 1.5x multiplier
Raw creatures sell for their base value. After you defeat the Blue Shark on Desert Island, the Grill activates and an NPC gives you a lighter. Cooked creatures sell for 1.5x their raw value, which is the single biggest early boost to your income. Always cook valuable catches once the Grill is available, and avoid selling rare or boss trophies that may be needed for quests.
Trick shots and kill-score multipliers
Landing trick shots raises your kill-score multiplier, increasing the money you earn from a kill. The 'Impressive' achievement requires a 5x multiplier. The '360 No Scope' achievement asks you to kill a creature with a full 360-degree unscoped spin. Set these up on weak normal creatures, weaken them to one hit, find open ground, spin, and fire.
Sources
Steam store page for How to Fish (Dazed Games / Valve, accessed 2026-08-24) — 'Fish fish, kill fish, sell fish' loop, rare variants, trick shots, gambling. Destructoid 'Complete How to Fish game walkthrough' (accessed 2026-08-24) — cooking, lure usage, boss patterns.
Watch: Video guide
钓鱼机制 + 全程实机演示。