Fishing
Buy a rod at any gas station, cast into deep water and fight whatever bites. 150 species live in the island's waters, from a 10-gram clownfish to 40 kg tuna and sturgeon. Every species lives in its own kind of water, and the rarer ones only at hidden spots that the fishing maps show. Every catch has its own weight: the Hunting Lodge pays by the kilo, and the Fishing Club pays extra for a fish heavy enough for its record list.
What you need
| A Fishing Rod | $100 at every gas station (4 on the island). Take it in your hands like a tool; all fishing is done with the fire button. |
| Deep water | Fish only bite where there is at least 70 cm of water under the lure and the lure is at least 7 m out. A lure that lands on the shore, on a pier or in the shallows just lies there — reel it back and cast again. |
| A fishing map (optional) | Shows where a set of species bites. 22 maps from $400 at the Hunting Lodge — see fishing maps. |
| Room in your bag | A fish counts at its real weight. If it is heavier than the weight you can still carry, it slips away at the last moment. |
How it works
- Cast. Hold fire to charge the cast (full power in 1.2 s) and let go. The lure flies about 8–25 m from the shore, a bit further from the end of a pier.
- Wait for a bite. After a few seconds a fish can bite at any moment. Reeling in slowly while you wait makes a bite twice as likely.
- Fight it. The fish takes turns running and resting — see the fight below.
- Land it. Once the fish is about 3 m from you, it is out. A message tells you what you caught and how much it weighs — "You caught a Perch – 0.59 kg", or "Trophy catch!" for a big one. The fish hangs flapping on the hook, then goes into your inventory.
Fishing stops if you get into a vehicle, sit down, are downed or restrained, or put the rod away.
The fight
When the fish runs it pulls your camera towards the side it swims to, and reeling builds up line tension. If the tension stays at 100 % the line snaps.
- Steer against it — hold the camera against the pull. That cuts the tension build-up by up to 70 %, lets you reel faster and tires the fish quicker.
- Stop reeling when the tension gets high: the fish takes some line, but the line holds.
- Fish can change direction in the middle of a run, and some leap out of the water.
When the fish rests, reel hard — it comes in fast and the tension drops.
- A tired fish (out of stamina) pulls far weaker, runs shorter and rests longer.
- Bigger fish pull harder, last longer and reel in slower. A 10 kg pike is a real fight; a small perch is not.
- Fish stay in the water: one that is pulled against the bank swims along it, and one dragged up the bank stops fighting.
Watch your line. The spool holds 45 m. From 36 m the distance on screen turns red and a hooked fish strains the line more; past 45 m it snaps and the fish is gone. Walking too far away from your lure snaps it too.
You can see the fish. A hooked fish is drawn under the end of your line, facing where it swims, with its tail beating harder on a run. Bigger fish are drawn bigger.
Weight, size and trophies
Every fish you catch gets its own weight somewhere in its species' range. Most are on the small side; a fish near the record weight is rare. The weight decides its size class:
| Size class | Where in the species' range | About |
|---|---|---|
| Small | lightest quarter | 63 % of catches |
| Medium | 25–55 % | 19 % |
| Large | 55–85 % | 13 % |
| Trophy | top 15 %, up to the record | 5 % |
- Your inventory shows each fish with its weight (Pike · 3.30 kg). Only fish of exactly the same weight stack.
- A fish's size follows its weight the way real fish do: twice as heavy is only about a quarter longer, and long slim species (eels, gars) are longer than round ones (bream, sunfish) of the same weight. A fish you drop on the ground keeps its size.
Rarity
When a fish bites, the species is drawn at random from the fish that live where your lure is, weighted by rarity. Common fish live all over their kind of water; everything rarer lives only at fishing spots.
| Rarity | Species | Where it bites | For example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 56 | Anywhere in its kind of water — sea, lagoon, lakes, reef | Perch, Trout, Roach, Bluegill, Common Carp, Largemouth Bass, Atlantic Cod, Atlantic Mackerel |
| Uncommon | 45 | Only at fishing spots, about 3–4 % of the bites there each — except pike, which lives in every lake and the lagoon | Pike, Zander, Grayling, Silver Carp, European Eel, Skipjack Tuna |
| Rare | 36 | Only at spots, about 1.5 % each | Mahi-mahi, Great Barracuda, Clownfish, Blue Tang, Lake Trout |
| Very rare | 8 | Only at a few spots, about 0.6 % each | Alligator Gar, Wels Catfish, Nile Perch, American Paddlefish, Wahoo |
| Legendary | 5 | One spot each, about 0.3 % of the bites there — 1 in 300 | Danube Salmon, Huchen, Danube Sturgeon, Goliath Grouper, Yellowfin Tuna |
Perch, trout and pike are boosted in fresh water, so they are the fish you catch most in lakes and the lagoon.
Where fish bite
Which fish can bite depends on the water under your lure: what kind it is and how deep it is there.
| Water | Reach | Common fish | At its spots |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coast — sea under 12 m | shore, pier, boat | Herring, sardine, anchovy, mackerel, small cod | Spanish mackerel and striped bass around the islands and in the harbour |
| Coastal water — 12–28 m | boat | Cod, haddock, hake, mackerel, herring | |
| Deep sea — over 28 m | boat | Cod, hake, haddock, mackerel | Far offshore: skipjack tuna, mahi-mahi, wahoo — and one legendary |
| Tropical reef and its drop-off | shore near the tropical islets, boat | Red snapper, sergeant major | Wrasses, tangs, damselfish, clownfish, angelfish, puffers; on the drop-off giant trevally, barracuda, amberjack — and one legendary |
| Lagoon and sheltered bays | shore, boat | Perch, pike, roach, rudd, bream, chub, dace, smelt, gobies | The deep channel holds eels, sterlet, wels catfish and paddlefish; more at the inlets and the mouth — and two legendaries |
| Lakes | shore | Perch, trout, pike, roach, tench, crucian and common carp, bream, rainbow trout | Every lake has its own fish: a bass lake, a catfish pond, a gar pond, a carp pond, a warm pond with tilapia and cichlids, a deep lake with walleye, zander and char — and one legendary |
| Island ponds | shore | Two small ponds on the islands, each with only its own fish — one clear trout pond, one exotic pond | |
- Fishing spots are places inside a lake, the lagoon, the reef or out at sea. Nothing marks them in the world; a fishing map shows them. Inside a spot its fish join the common fish of that water, so you still catch plenty of perch and cod there.
- Legendary fish each live at a single spot: a small circle at the deepest point of a lake, the lagoon or the open sea. There is no cooldown — every bite there has the same small chance.
- No bites: water shallower than 70 cm (a few very shallow lakes and the tidal flats in the west), and swimming pools.
Fishing maps
The Hunting Lodge sells 22 fishing maps. Hold one like the normal map: circles mark where its fish bite, with the names next to each circle.
- A map shows up to 10 species, and at most 3 from the same lake or spot — one water's fish are spread over several maps.
- Common fish live all along their kind of water, so their map shows a few sample places, not every one.
- Each legendary has its own map with a big gold circle.
| Map | Maps | Price | Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fishing Map: Common Fish 1–7 | 7 | $400 | 8–9 common species each |
| Fishing Map: Uncommon Fish 1–5 | 5 | $800 | 8–9 uncommon species each |
| Fishing Map: Rare Fish 1–4 | 4 | $2,000 | 9 rare species each |
| Fishing Map: Very Rare Fish 1 | 1 | $4,000 | all 8 very rare species |
| Legendary Fishing Map: Danube Salmon · Danube Sturgeon · Goliath Grouper · Huchen · Yellowfin Tuna | 5 | $10,000 | the one spot of that legendary |
Every map and its species list is in Items → Misc. Prices are base prices.
Some of the species
All 150 are listed with icons and prices in Items → Fish. Base price is for a typical-size fish of that species; the real price follows the weight.
PerchCommon · 0.08–1.5 kg
$60 for a 0.3 kg fish
TroutCommon · 0.3–5 kg · jumps
$120 for a 0.9 kg fish
Rainbow TroutCommon · 0.3–10 kg · jumps
$60 for a 1.5 kg fish
Common CarpCommon · 1–35 kg
$40 for a 4 kg fish
Largemouth BassCommon · 0.3–8 kg · jumps
$44 for a 1.3 kg fish
BluegillCommon · 0.05–1 kg
$5 for a 0.17 kg fish
Atlantic MackerelCommon · 0.2–2 kg
$6 for a 0.4 kg fish
PikeUncommon · 1–15 kg · strong
$260 for a 2.5 kg fish
ZanderUncommon · 0.5–12 kg
$78 for a 1.9 kg fish
Mahi-mahiRare · 1–35 kg · jumps a lot
$160 for a 4 kg fish
Great BarracudaRare · 1–25 kg
$47 for a 3.1 kg fish
ClownfishRare · 10–50 g
$40, the smallest fish there is
Blue TangRare · 0.1–0.6 kg
$40 for a 0.16 kg fish
Wels CatfishVery rare · 3–40 kg
$120 for a 6.3 kg fish
Alligator GarVery rare · 3–40 kg · the longest
$120 for a 6.3 kg fish
HuchenLegendary · 2–40 kg
$300 for a 4.4 kg fish
Danube SalmonLegendary · 2–35 kg
$300 for a 4 kg fish
Danube SturgeonLegendary · 5–40 kg
$575 for a 7.2 kg fish
Yellowfin TunaLegendary · 3–40 kg
$319 for a 5.3 kg fish
Goliath GrouperLegendary · 5–40 kg
$300 for a 7.2 kg fish
Selling
The Hunting Lodge in the West industrial area (map −1463, 2352) buys every one of the 150 species. It pays 80 % of the base price, by weight: the base price is for a typical-size fish, and yours is worth that times its weight over the typical weight. Like every shop, it pays a bit more when it is short of that fish and less when it is full.
The shop screen shows each catch as its own card with the weight and a trophy mark. The lodge also sells fish over the counter when it has them in stock, at the base price, and the fishing maps.
A fish heavy enough for its species' record list is worth more at the Fishing Club.
Fishing Club
The Fishing Club keeps a record list for every species: the 10 heaviest fish ever handed in, with who caught them and when. The lists are the same for everyone on the server.
- Talk to the angler and pick Fishing Club. Anyone can browse the record lists.
- Join the club. Handing in fish needs the Fishing Club licence — $10,000 cash, bought right in the club window. It is not needed to fish; police can see it with your other licences.
- Check your catch. The window lists the fish in your bag and shows, for each, the place it would take on its list and what it pays.
- Hand it in. Click a fish that makes the top 10: the club keeps it, pays you in cash and writes your name on the list.
What a record pays
- The fish itself at its full base price by weight — more than the lodge's 80 %. The governor's tax on shop sales, if any, is taken off this part.
- A prize for the place, by rarity: the full prize for #1, half for #2, a third for #3, down to a tenth for #10. The prize is not taxed.
- An empty list takes a fish of any weight, so the first of each species is an easy #1. To pass someone you must beat their weight — a tie goes below.
| Rarity | #1 | #2 | #3 | #10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | $500 | $250 | $167 | $50 |
| Uncommon | $2,000 | $1,000 | $667 | $200 |
| Rare | $7,500 | $3,750 | $2,500 | $750 |
| Very rare | $20,000 | $10,000 | $6,667 | $2,000 |
| Legendary | $50,000 | $25,000 | $16,667 | $5,000 |
Being pushed down or off a list later costs you nothing — the money is yours. The licence price is the governor's to change, like every licence.
Achievements and daily jobs
| Achievement (Fishing 🎣) | Reward |
|---|---|
| Gone Fishing — first fish | $300 |
| Angler · Seasoned Angler · Old Salt — 10 / 50 / 200 fish | $1,000 / $4,000 / $12,000 |
| Know Your Waters · Field Guide · Ichthyologist · Living Encyclopedia — 3 / 10 / 25 / 50 different species | $1,500 / $3,000 / $8,000 / $20,000 |
| Fat Perch — a perch of 1 kg or more | $1,000 |
| Big Trout — a trout of 3 kg or more | $1,500 |
| Pike Hunter · River Monster — a pike of 5 kg / 10 kg or more | $2,000 / $6,000 |
| Trophy Wall — 5 trophy-size fish | $5,000 |
| Daily job | Pays per fish |
|---|---|
| Catch 10–20 fish of any kind | $150 |
| Catch 3–5 perch | $400 |
| Catch 2–4 trout | $600 |
| Catch a pike | $1,500 |
| Catch 3–6 fish over 1 kg | $450 |
| Catch 1–2 trout over 1 kg | $1,200 |
Every daily pays at least $1,000. Track your progress at the Job Office or in the Job Office app on the phone. Only a fish that actually ends up in your bag counts.