Verified 2026-10-04 · game version 1.1.3 · how we source things

Home › Guides › Beginner

Beginner route

The opening of How to Fish is a loop: catch the easy shellfish, sell them, buy a better rod, then use that rod to reach fish that pay more. Here is the order that works.

1. The clam loop

Before you can do anything clever you need money. Clams are the starter catch — easy, low value, always available. Sell them and put the money straight back into gear.

2. Buy the Crab Rod and the knife

The Crab Rod plus a knife opens up crabs, which pay more than clams. This is the first real upgrade and the one most beginners skip.

3. Switch to Hot Dog bait

Hot Dog bait is the pool that reaches Rock Crab and Lobster. See the full bait and lure table for what each bait reaches.

4. Do the Lighthouse Keeper quest

The Who Stole My Beer? quest starts the boss chain: give the Lighthouse Keeper a Beer, and you get back an Empty Beer Can. You then use that can to summon the Spider Crab, and hand the result back for a boat key.

5. Get the Boat Keys and leave island 1

The boat keys are the island-1 gate. Once you have them you can move on — see the island route for what waits on each island.

How casting actually works (the thing that confuses everyone)

The single most common "my game is broken" report from new players is that nothing ever bites. Nothing is broken — the rod needs movement:

1. Cast the line and wait until the hook lands in the water.
2. Hold the reel-in button (left click) and take the line back slowly. This is when bites happen.
3. When you feel or see the bite, click rapidly to land the fish.

If you cast and then just let the hook sit there, you will wait forever. Players on the Steam board put it plainly: "you have to reel them in for fish to hit it." Source: Steam thread “How does lures work?”.

Two related things people miss at the same point:

• The bait decides the pool, not the spot. Moving to better-looking water changes nothing; swapping the lure changes everything. See the bait table.
• The Reel of Fortune gives skins, not fish. It only works on a drip (special) catch, not a regular one — and once you have a skin you switch between them by pressing the skin-swap key while holding the item.

Things beginners get wrong

• Spending everything on cosmetics before the Crab Rod.
• Ignoring seagulls — community tips single out seagulls as a real threat, not decoration.
• Carrying all your money into a gamble. Roulette and slots can end a run.

Once you are past the opening, the co-op page covers multiplayer and shared money, and the fixes page covers launch problems.