How to Fish looks like a simple fishing game for about five minutes.
How to Fish
Release Date: August 20, 2026
Genres: Simulator, Adventure
Then you start shooting fish, throwing dynamite, cooking your catches, fighting bosses, gambling your earnings, and wondering why the seagulls have suddenly become a legitimate threat to your income.
These beginner tips cover the upgrades, progression traps, money-making tricks, weapons, bait, cooking, and boss mechanics worth knowing before you waste your first pile of cash.
TL;DR – Best How to Fish beginner tips
Table of Contents
15 How to Fish beginner tips
1. Stop treating How to Fish like a normal fishing simulator
The fishing rod is just the start of the loop. You catch something, kill it, increase its value, sell it, buy better equipment, complete quests, defeat bosses, and eventually reach another island.
Weapons and trick shots become increasingly important because the way you finish a creature can affect how much money it is worth. If you want a broader overview of the game, check our How to Fish spotlight on G2A News.
2. Do not sell anything that looks like a boss trophy
This is probably the most important progression tip. Bosses can drop shells, skeletons, fins, heads, and other unusual objects that look valuable but may actually be quest items.
If you defeated a boss but the next destination did not unlock, check your inventory. You may already be carrying the item an NPC needs.
3. Buy the Radar almost immediately
The Radar costs only around $10 at the Lighthouse and becomes essential when NPCs begin giving you coordinates for new islands.
This is one upgrade you should not delay. Later improvements can make navigation even easier, but the basic Radar should be one of your first purchases.
4. Upgrade your firepower before obsessing over your boat
A faster boat is convenient. A weapon capable of actually killing the next boss is usually more important.
The Shotgun costs around $150 and is a strong early investment. Later, the Assault Rifle becomes increasingly useful. Weapon attachments include an extended magazine, laser sight, optic, and muzzle, so focusing upgrades on one reliable gun is often better than spreading money across everything.
5. You probably do not need every engine upgrade
The first major engine upgrade appears on the Forest island for roughly $230, while the later Dual Motors cost around $860. You can skip some intermediate upgrades and put that money into weapons, attachments, ammunition, and supplies instead.
6. Learn how Killscore works
The way you kill a creature can increase its value. Long-range shots, airborne kills, trick shots, and other stylish finishes can stack into larger Killscore multipliers.
Practice on weak creatures first. Damage one until it is almost dead, create some distance, and then try the fancy finishing shot. Bosses summoned with expensive bait are not ideal training dummies.
7. Dynamite is excellent early, but not your best long-term income source
Dynamite becomes available around the Forest stage for roughly $25. Throwing it into the water can quickly wipe out several creatures, which makes it great for food and early cash.
Later, individual catches combined with Killscore and cooking multipliers can become more profitable.
8. Unlock the grill as soon as you reach Island 3
Completing the Grillmaster’s shark request unlocks cooking. Holding a sellable object over the grill gradually increases its value multiplier up to 1.5x.
Inspect the item while cooking and remove it when the multiplier peaks. Leave it there too long and you can burn away most of the value.
9. You can cook more than fish
The cooking multiplier is not limited to seafood. Weapons and other sellable objects can also be cooked before selling them.
If an old gun has become useless, grilling it first can increase its value. Few fishing guides can offer that sentence with a straight face.
10. Cooked fish also work as health supplies
Cooking is useful during combat too. Cooked creatures restore more health, so preparing food before a boss encounter gives you a much safer backup plan.
On the Volcano island, lava can also cook fish and provide the maximum cooking multiplier without requiring careful grill timing.
11. Match your island, rod, and lure
Different creatures are tied to specific locations, rods, and bait. If nothing useful is biting, your equipment may be the problem.
13. Bosses are puzzles before they are damage checks
Bosses usually have attack patterns and vulnerable windows. The Spider Crab can be punished after a missed charge, while later enemies add ranged attacks, rolling movement, and environmental hazards.
Keep an eye on the white bar below the boss health bar too. If it expires, the creature can escape and may need to be summoned again.
14. Pick up your catches before the seagulls do
Leave a valuable catch lying around and a seagull can steal it. Put expensive creatures into your inventory quickly.
There is also an achievement for killing a gull with dynamite, should you feel the situation has become personal.
15. Do not gamble anything you cannot afford to lose
Roulette lets you wager items rather than simply selling them. Hitting green reportedly pays 35 times the value of the wager, but green occupies just one slot on a 37-pocket wheel.
Upgrade your equipment first. Gamble the surplus later.
17. Save Fishipedia completion for later
Rare variants, Fishipedia completion, and achievement hunting are much easier after the main island progression is complete. Once you have better equipment and free access to previous areas, filling collection gaps becomes much less painful.
Common How to Fish progression blockers
Best early upgrade order in How to Fish
- Buy the Radar.
- Get a dependable early weapon.
- Save for the Shotgun.
- Buy Dynamite when it is useful instead of stockpiling it.
- Get the first meaningful boat engine upgrade.
- Unlock the Island 3 grill.
- Invest attachments into one main weapon.
- Move toward the Assault Rifle for later encounters.
- Buy Dual Motors once money is no longer a major problem.
- Leave serious gambling and collection grinding for the endgame.
You do not need to min-max every dollar. The goal is simply to avoid spending your entire fortune on a faster boat immediately before discovering that the next boss barely notices your current weapon.
How to Fish and similar games on G2A.COM
If the mix of fishing, combat, upgrades, bosses, and island exploration works for you, these G2A Marketplace offers cover different parts of the same appeal.
Fishing for a better deal?
G2A Plus can give members additional marketplace benefits such as Plus Points, selected member deals, discounts, rewards, and other perks depending on the plan.
How to Fish FAQ
What should I buy first in How to Fish?
The Radar is one of the best first purchases. After that, prioritize a dependable weapon before spending heavily on boat upgrades.
Should I sell boss trophies?
Not until you know they are no longer needed. Boss drops can be required to finish quests and unlock new islands.
How do you make more money from fish?
Use Killscore bonuses from stylish kills and unlock cooking on Island 3. Properly cooked items can reach a 1.5x value multiplier.
Can you cook weapons in How to Fish?
Yes. Weapons and other sellable objects can also benefit from the cooking multiplier.
Why am I not catching the fish I need?
Check the island, rod, lure, and bait. Different creatures require different equipment, and bosses often use unique bait.
Should I gamble valuable catches?
It is safer to fund your equipment first. Roulette can provide a large payout, but it can also wipe out an expensive catch instantly.
Fish smarter, shoot straighter, keep the weird trophy
The biggest progression problems in How to Fish usually have very little to do with actually casting a line. You are more likely to get stuck because you sold a quest item, forgot the Radar, brought the wrong lure, or spent all your money on something funny instead of something useful.
Buy the Radar, protect unique boss drops, unlock cooking, learn the Killscore system, and upgrade whatever is currently blocking your progress. Once that foundation is in place, you can return to the game’s real endgame: using increasingly irresponsible amounts of firepower against seafood.