Fish by Island and Bait

Build check: This tackle list covers the PC version through Patch 1.0.12 and was verified on September 15, 2026. Each table groups creatures by the island where its tackle first becomes available. A pool is the group of creatures that can bite on one rod-and-bait setup. Regular lures control the pool and can still work after you sail to later islands. Minibosses and story bosses must be triggered on their named island. A pool lists possible catches, not the guaranteed result of your next cast.

You know the disaster: the Tuna hits dry land, the sale bell goes ding, and five seconds later the crew learns that the whole Tuna was the Albatross bait. How to Fish enjoys explaining the crime after your wallet has spent the evidence. Read the Preserve or use column before selling, cooking, eating, or feeding anything to a machine with flashing lights.

Class key: Normal creatures come from regular lure pools. Each of the 38 normal species can appear as a rainbow-named Rare Drip and uses the same rod and bait as its base form. Minibosses use purchased Boss Lures. Story bosses use an NPC quest item or the body from an earlier fight. Bosses and minibosses do not need a separate rainbow hunt; defeating each one supplies its paired boss collection credit. The Tab journal tracks 49 base creatures: 38 normal species and 11 bosses or minibosses.

Spoiler: The story-boss rows name later bait chains and progression hand-ins.

Lighthouse Pool

Creature	Required rod	Bait or trigger	Class	Preserve or use
Brown Crab	Crab Fishing Rod	Free Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Shrimp	Crab Fishing Rod	Free Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Rock Crab	Crab Fishing Rod	Hot Dog	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Lobster	Crab Fishing Rod	Hot Dog	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Spider Crab	Crab Fishing Rod	Empty Beer Can	Story boss	Lighthouse Keeper; bait: Empty Beer Can; hand-in: Spider Crab Shell to the Lighthouse Keeper. Keep the Shell to earn the boat keys.

The Free Lure is the no-cost starting lure. The Empty Beer Can is different: buy a Beer, give it to the Lighthouse Keeper, and use the empty can he returns. A Free Lure or Hot Dog cannot replace this quest bait.

Forest Pool

Creature	Required rod	Bait or trigger	Class	Preserve or use
Mackerel	Fishing Rod	Free Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Gar	Fishing Rod	Free Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Give yourself room before landing it.
Piranha	Fishing Rod	Hot Dog or Beginner Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	This is the ordinary Piranha, not the Giant Piranha story boss.
Cod	Fishing Rod	Beginner Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Goby	Fishing Rod	Beginner Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Pike	Fishing Rod	Free Lure or Beginner Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Do not confuse it with The Old Pike miniboss.
Salmon	Fishing Rod	Beginner Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Perch	Fishing Rod	Beginner Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Triggerfish	Fishing Rod	Beginner Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Leave a clear landing lane.
Goldfish	Fishing Rod	Free Lure or Beginner Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Sunfish	Fishing Rod	Beginner Boss Lure	Miniboss	Optional combat and collection catch.
The Old Pike	Fishing Rod	Beginner Boss Lure	Miniboss	Optional combat and collection catch. The same Boss Lure can produce Sunfish instead.
Giant Piranha	Fishing Rod	Modified Leech, also called Leech Bait	Story boss	Woman beside the lake; required items: three Leeches; hand-in: the three Leeches to her. Cast the Modified Leech she returns, then preserve the Giant Piranha Skeleton and hand it to the same NPC.

Desert Pool

Tourist under the tree; required catch: one intact creature marked Endangered; hand-in: the Tourist. Inspect the catch before handing it over. Needlefish, Seahorse, and Bowlfish can carry the required status. The Tourist gives you the Carrot used to summon Pufferfish.

Creature	Required rod	Bait or trigger	Class	Preserve or use
Catfish	Fishing Rod	Standard Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Clownfish	Fishing Rod	Standard Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Sea Urchin	Fishing Rod	Standard Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Move the small body away from loose beach gear.
Yellow Boxfish	Fishing Rod	Standard Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Needlefish	Fishing Rod	Standard Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Preserve one marked Endangered if you still need the Tourist's Carrot.
Angelfish	Fishing Rod	Standard Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Bluegill	Fishing Rod	Standard Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Seahorse	Fishing Rod	Standard Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Preserve one marked Endangered if you still need the Tourist's Carrot.
Bowlfish	Fishing Rod	Standard Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Preserve one marked Endangered if you still need the Tourist's Carrot.
Blue Shark	Fishing Rod	Standard Boss Lure	Miniboss	Grillmaster; required catch: defeated Blue Shark; hand-in: carry its body to the Grillmaster. After he accepts it, interact with the Grill to start cooking.
Pufferfish	Fishing Rod	Carrot	Story boss	Tourist; required bait: Carrot; hand-in: Pufferfish Fin to the Tourist. Keep the Fin to receive the Rocks coordinates.
Bing Bong	Fishing Rod	Coconut from the central palm-tree area	Optional secret; outside the journal	Optional chaos, not part of the Pufferfish route or the 49-creature Collector and Fishipedia checklist.

Rocks Pool

Islander inside the shop; required catch: whole defeated Tuna; placement: dry ground near the shop. The Tuna draws in the Albatross. After the bird fight, preserve its Head and hand it to the same islander. Selling the Tuna here is the fishing version of feeding the mission objective into a wood chipper.

Creature	Required rod	Bait or trigger	Class	Preserve or use
Bass	Fishing Rod	Professional Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Eel	Fishing Rod	Professional Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Control the landing before switching tools.
Red Snapper	Fishing Rod	Professional Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Leave yourself room to move.
Sengarat	Fishing Rod	Professional Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Halibut	Fishing Rod	Professional Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Tigerfish	Fishing Rod	Professional Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Do not land several into the same cramped spot unless the crew wants an aquarium-themed firefight.
Flying Fish	Fishing Rod	Professional Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Track its landing path before switching tools.
Voxelfish	Fishing Rod	Professional Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Check whether it is a rainbow-named Drip before selling.
Parrotfish	Fishing Rod	Professional Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Safe to sell after its normal or Drip entry is filled.
Dripper	Fishing Rod	Professional Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Dripper is the creature's name. A Drip Dripper is its rainbow-named rare form, because the game enjoys administrative violence.
Tuna	Fishing Rod	Professional Boss Lure	Miniboss	Keep the defeated body whole. Place it on dry ground near the shop to trigger Albatross.
Albatross	No rod; placed-body trigger	Whole defeated Tuna	Story boss	Rocks islander; required catch: whole Tuna; hand-in: Albatross Head to the islander inside the shop. This supplies the Volcano coordinates.

Volcano Pool

Scientist in the yellow hazmat suit; required catch: any five fish; hand-in: the Scientist. Volcano catches made with the Scientific Lure work, but the quest does not require five different species or five catches from this pool. Keep the batch until he accepts all five. He returns the Fish Bucket needed for Bowhead Whale.

Creature	Required rod	Bait or trigger	Class	Preserve or use
Blobfish	Fishing Rod	Scientific Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Can count toward the Scientist's five-fish hand-in.
Oarfish	Fishing Rod	Scientific Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Can count toward the Scientist's five-fish hand-in.
Anglerfish	Fishing Rod	Scientific Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Can count toward the Scientist's five-fish hand-in.
Stonefish	Fishing Rod	Scientific Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Can count toward the Scientist's five-fish hand-in.
Superdwarf Fish	Fishing Rod	Scientific Lure	Normal; Rare Drip possible	Can count toward the Scientist's five-fish hand-in.
Goblin Shark	Fishing Rod	Scientific Boss Lure	Miniboss	Optional combat and collection catch.
Bowhead Whale	Fishing Rod	Fish Bucket	Story boss	Keep the entire defeated body. Carry it up the wooden volcano route and drop it into the crater's lava to trigger the final boss.
Mutated Bowhead Whale	No rod; placed-body trigger	Whole defeated Bowhead Whale	Story boss	Scientist; required trigger: whole Bowhead body in the volcano; hand-in: Whale Fin to the Scientist. This earns the RHIB keys used to finish the game.

Boss Lures Versus Authored Quest Bait

A Boss Lure is a purchased lure tier. Beginner Boss Lure rolls Sunfish or The Old Pike in the Forest; Standard Boss Lure summons Blue Shark in the Desert; Professional Boss Lure summons Tuna at the Rocks; and Scientific Boss Lure summons Goblin Shark at the Volcano. These are miniboss pools, even when the hooked creature has enough teeth to dispute the word “mini.”

Authored quest bait comes from an NPC chain or an earlier defeated boss. The sequence is Empty Beer Can for Spider Crab, Modified Leech for Giant Piranha, Carrot for Pufferfish, whole Tuna for Albatross, Fish Bucket for Bowhead Whale, and the whole Bowhead body for Mutated Bowhead Whale. A nearby Boss Lure tier cannot replace one of these triggers.

Make the Fishipedia Count the Catch

Open the journal with Tab. Hooking, seeing, or releasing a creature does not complete its entry; kill or defeat it first. The normal and Rare Drip records are separate for the 38 regular species. A Drip has rainbow-colored name text and an altered look, but it takes the same tackle as the base creature. Kill it before selling it or feeding it to the Reel of Fortune, then reopen the journal and confirm the entry filled. Bosses and minibosses do not require a second rainbow version.

If the Fishing Rod seems dead, check the exact rod and bait pair above, cast into open water, and reel slowly instead of leaving the line still. If a purchased Boss Lure vanishes during a failed attempt, replace that same tier. If an authored trigger was consumed, repeat its listed NPC exchange or earlier-boss step. Do not burn money testing the lure beside it; a Standard Boss Lure will never become a Carrot through confidence alone.

← Prev Next →