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FISHIPEDIA WORKBENCH / ROUTE-FIRST

How to Fish fish list by island: bait & lure guide

Looking for a How to Fish fish list, fish-by-island chart, or bait answer for the 1–4 player Steam game? Use this curated route-first index to search public catch names, filter by island, use or evidence state, and mark your own catches locally. It is not an official encyclopedia and it does not invent drop rates.

Public references cross-checked50 indexed rows / 5 route stopsGuide boundary: v1.0.12Last checked 22 Sep 2026Checklist stays in this browser

Quick answer:

Use the filters to find a documented creature, bait clue or boss trigger by island and use. Keep any named request or boss bait until its handoff is complete. General catch rows are discovery leads from public tables; their exact pools, weights and spawn rules remain needs-verification.

Quick lookup by island

Start with the route stop you are playing. These are handoff anchors, not a claim that every ordinary catch pool has been fully reproduced.

Route stop	Look up first	Next action	Evidence
White / Lighthouse	Empty Beer Can · Spider Crab	Open first-boss plan	Route-backed
Green	Leech · Modified Leech · Giant Piranha	Find the leech route	Route cross-check
Yellow	Carrot · Pufferfish	Open Pufferfish plan	Route-backed
Red	Tuna · Terrorizing Bird · Albatross	Check the Red route	Trigger needs replay
Purple	Fish Bucket · Bowhead · Whale Fin	Open final-boss plan	Late route needs replay

Public-reference catch map by island

Two independent public fish references publish overlapping island catch lists. The table below keeps the common names as a discovery index and separates regular catches from boss encounters. It does not claim an official total, sell price, drop rate or guaranteed bait result; those details remain needs-verification until a current replay or a second matching source confirms them.

Island	Regular catches in both references	Boss / route entries	Evidence boundary
White / Lighthouse	Rock Crab · Shrimp · Lobster	Spider Crab	Public cross-check
Green / Forest	Piranha · Mackerel · Gar · Pike · Cod · Goldfish · Perch · Triggerfish	Giant Piranha · The Old Pike	Public cross-check
Yellow / Desert	Angelfish · Boxfish* · Catfish · Sea Urchin · Seahorse · Clownfish · Bluegill · Salmon · Needlefish	Blue Shark · Pufferfish	Public cross-check
Red / Rocks	Parrotfish · Voxelfish · Bass · Halibut · Eel · Tigerfish · Flying Fish · Sengarat · Red Snapper	Tuna · Albatross	Public cross-check
Purple / Volcano	Anglerfish · Blobfish · Oarfish · Superdwarf Fish · Stonefish	Goblin Shark · Bowhead Whale · Mutated Bowhead Whale	Public cross-check

* Naming note: one public table uses “Boxfish” while another uses “Yellow Boxfish.” Keep both search terms until the in-game spelling is checked. Other competitor-only rows such as Bowlfish, Goby, Dripper and creature/meat entries are intentionally not merged into this common list.

Search the fish list and bait index

50indexed rows

5route stops

34common catch names

2public lists compared

Loading index entries...

Local onlyTick a row after your own catch. The checklist is saved in this browser and is not sent to the site.

Done	Creature or item	Island / stage	Use or bait clue	Evidence state
01	Spider Crab	White / Lighthouse	Empty Beer Can boss trigger	Route-backed
02	Empty Beer Can	White / Lighthouse	Hold for the first boss handoff	Route-backed
03	Leech	Green island	Leech route and Modified Leech request	Route-backed
04	Modified Leech	Green island	Giant Piranha bait clue	Route cross-check
05	Giant Piranha	Green island	Leech bait route	Route cross-check
06	Carrot	Yellow island	Tourist request / Pufferfish trigger	Route-backed
07	Pufferfish	Yellow island	Carrot route; return the trophy	Route-backed
08	Tuna	Red island	Professional Boss Lure / route request	Route cross-check
09	Terrorizing Bird	Red island	Island objective and achievement clue	Official + route
10	Albatross	Red island	Public route terminology; trigger not fixed	Needs verification
11	Fish Bucket	Purple island	Public bait-table clue for Bowhead	Single source
12	Bowhead Whale	Purple island	Late encounter; exact bait needs replay	Needs verification
13	Whale Fin	Final handoff	Keep before the ending advances	Route-backed
14	Rock Crab	White / Lighthouse	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
15	Shrimp	White / Lighthouse	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
16	Lobster	White / Lighthouse	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
17	Piranha	Green / Forest	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
18	Mackerel	Green / Forest	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
19	Gar	Green / Forest	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
20	Pike	Green / Forest	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
21	Cod	Green / Forest	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
22	Goldfish	Green / Forest	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
23	Perch	Green / Forest	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
24	Triggerfish	Green / Forest	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
25	Angelfish	Yellow / Desert	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
26	Boxfish / Yellow Boxfish	Yellow / Desert	Two public names are retained until the in-game spelling is checked	Public cross-check
27	Catfish	Yellow / Desert	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
28	Sea Urchin	Yellow / Desert	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
29	Seahorse	Yellow / Desert	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
30	Clownfish	Yellow / Desert	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
31	Bluegill	Yellow / Desert	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
32	Salmon	Yellow / Desert	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
33	Needlefish	Yellow / Desert	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
34	Parrotfish	Red / Rocks	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
35	Voxelfish	Red / Rocks	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
36	Bass	Red / Rocks	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
37	Halibut	Red / Rocks	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
38	Eel	Red / Rocks	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
39	Tigerfish	Red / Rocks	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
40	Flying Fish	Red / Rocks	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
41	Sengarat	Red / Rocks	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
42	Red Snapper	Red / Rocks	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
43	Anglerfish	Purple / Volcano	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
44	Blobfish	Purple / Volcano	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
45	Oarfish	Purple / Volcano	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
46	Superdwarf Fish	Purple / Volcano	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
47	Stonefish	Purple / Volcano	Common catch name in both public island lists; exact bait result needs replay	Public cross-check
48	Blue Shark	Yellow / Desert	Public boss grouping; exact lure and trigger need current replay	Public cross-check
49	Goblin Shark	Purple / Volcano	Public boss grouping; exact lure and trigger need current replay	Public cross-check
50	Rare variants / Drip creatures	Any island	Use the in-game encyclopedia as a personal checklist; no species total or rate claim	Needs verification

Bait and lure ladder

Public references describe a progression from free or hot-dog bait through Beginner, Standard, Professional and Scientific pools, plus special boss lures. Treat that as a naming and planning ladder only. The exact catch tables belong in a current-version test log, not in a made-up percentage chart.

Tier	Use this page for	Current boundary
Free / Hot Dog	Early cash and low-risk pool discovery	Pool details pending
Beginner / Standard	Early and mid-route collection planning	Names cross-referenced
Professional	Late route and Tuna terminology	Route clue only
Scientific	Late collection and Goblin Shark terminology	Pool details pending
Special boss lures	Check the boss page before consuming a named bait	Route use first

What still needs a test

Record the in-game spelling for every bait and catch; community tables use slightly different names.
Test one bait at a time and log difficulty, island, bait consumed, result, date and version.
Do not publish a percentage, one-in-N rarity, fixed timer or guaranteed spawn until a second independent source or a reproducible current-version run agrees.
Keep Collector, Fishipedia and Drip progress separate; completing one does not prove the others are complete.

Next validation task: replay the five route anchors first, then sample the public catch rows island by island on v1.0.12. If a result conflicts with this index, keep the row visible, downgrade it to needs-verification and add the observation to the changelog instead of silently averaging the sources.

Sources and last checked

Last checked 9 Sep 2026Version 1.0.12Route anchors separated from cross-site catch names

Supplied route and boss guideUsed for route anchors, boss terminology and handoff context; this page is original paraphrase.Open the Steam guide →

Supplied bait referenceUsed as a public author reference for catch names and claimed bait pools. Percentages remain unverified.Open the bait guide →

Public fish reference: How to Fish WikiIsland catch names and boss grouping were compared against its reported fish list; the page is not treated as official.Open the fish list →

Public fish reference: Howtofish.fansIndependent island-by-island catch and bait presentation used to identify overlap and naming conflicts.Open the fish reference →

Database UX reference: Game Player HelpIts searchable fish/bait table informed the lookup pattern only; visible counts, costs and mappings remain unverified.Open the database reference →

Official game contextSteam store and achievement pages establish the game identity and collection-related achievement surface.Open Steam store → · Open achievements →

FISHING TROUBLESHOOTING / COMMUNITY SIGNAL

Fish will not bite on the next island?

Use this short diagnostic before spending more bait or calling the catch pool broken.

Quick answer:

Check the lure first, then the rod and reel behaviour. Public reports distinguish the starter Crab Fishing Rod from later regular rods, and multiple guides describe bait as part of the catch selection. These checks are useful leads, not a guaranteed fix for every save or lobby.

Safe checks in order

Confirm the bait name matches the fish or quest you are attempting; do not assume a new island automatically accepts the previous lure.
Confirm the intended rod is equipped and that the cast actually reaches water. A later rod may use a different reel rhythm than the starter Crab Fishing Rod.
Try a slow reel after the cast instead of waiting indefinitely. Keep the cast, bait, rod, island and input method unchanged while testing one variable.
In co-op, ask another player to try the same water. If they can catch while you cannot, record the difference before buying another item or abandoning the route.

Evidence boundary:

Steam players report the symptom and suggest different remedies; public bait references agree that lure choice matters, but exact rod timing, island pools and a universal fix have not been reproduced here on v1.0.12. Keep this branch needs-verification until a clean test log confirms it.

Community symptomTwo Steam discussions report fish failing to bite after a later-island or rod change; replies conflict on bait, cast and reel steps.Fishing Glitch ↗ · Next-place fishing ↗

Public cross-checkIndependent bait references also frame lure choice and rod/reel handling as the first checks, but their exact pools and timings remain outside the confirmed evidence boundary.Bait and lure reference ↗ · Catch-pool reference ↗

ROD-SPECIFIC LEAD / PUBLIC CROSS-CHECK

Crab Fishing Rod vs Fishing Rod: what changes?

A focused answer for the “rod is equipped but nothing bites” search.

Reported distinction:

The starter Crab Fishing Rod is described as a wait-for-the-bite tool, while the later regular Fishing Rod is described in public references as needing a slow reel after the cast. A Steam discussion and a current rod guide agree on that distinction; it is still a public cross-check, not an official control specification.

Use it safely:

Test with a cheap lure, keep the island and bait fixed, and change only the rod or reel rhythm. If the fish still never bites, record the exact inputs and version rather than assuming the catch pool or save is broken. This page does not claim that every fish uses the same timing.

Cross-check sourcesOne Steam report describes slow reeling with the regular rod; a separate public rod guide states the Crab Rod waits while the Fishing Rod slow-reels.Steam report ↗ · Public rod guide ↗

COLLECTION / RARE VARIANTS

Drip fish and Fishipedia cleanup

A route for the rare-variant questions that keep sending players back to the same lure pool.

Safe answer:

Treat a Drip creature as a separate Fishipedia checklist entry, but start with the normal creature’s documented island and lure. Public references and Steam players repeatedly point to the same workflow: match the ordinary catch setup, keep the variant hunt separate from story progression, and confirm the entry in Fishipedia before selling or cooking the catch.

Low-risk cleanup order

Write down the missing normal or Drip name and the island/lure currently associated with the ordinary catch.
Use the normal rod and lure setup first; do not invent a special Drip lure from a single table.
Keep the catch until Fishipedia records it, then mark the checklist locally.
For long dry streaks, change one variable at a time and record the version, island, rod and lure. Do not publish a fixed number of casts as a guarantee.

Evidence boundary:

Steam reports describe long Drip hunts and player-reported cast-and-drop methods; independent public references agree on using the normal catch setup for several variants. Drop rates, a universal best island and any “always works” farm remain needs-verification.

Community reportSteam players report missing Drip Voxelfish, Drip Goldfish and Drip Seahorse entries, including long dry streaks and a cast/drop method. This is community evidence, not an official drop table.Open the Steam discussion ↗

Independent public cross-checksMultiple public references keep Drip variants attached to the normal creature’s lure or Fishipedia entry while warning against treating community routes as guaranteed.Corpus Drip guide ↗ · Fishipedia route reference ↗

COLLECTION / EVIDENCE NOTES

Current Drip route notes

Use these as leads for Fishipedia cleanup, not as guaranteed spawn tables.

Drip Goldfish: Island 2, regular rod and Beginner Lure behind the Drip slot machine is the clearest repeated community route.
Drip Voxelfish: Island 4 is repeatedly reported, but long dry streaks are also reported; keep the ordinary setup fixed before changing islands.
Drip Goby: the missing-entry problem is confirmed, but no repeatable route is established; keep it needs-verification and log one variable per session.

These notes combine the Steam discussion with public Fishipedia references. They do not establish drop rates, pity systems, or a best-island guarantee.

Evidence linksCommunity route reports are separated from official patch facts. Use them to choose the next controlled test.Steam discussion ↗ · Fishipedia reference ↗

SEARCH BY ANSWER

Find a fish, bait or island answer

Use this page as the searchable index, then hand off to the route page when the question becomes a key, NPC or next-island problem.

Fish locations by islandStart with the island filter; common names are a public-reference index, not an official pool list.Bait and lure lookupSearch a bait name or use the bait/lure ladder before spending a named route item.Map, key and next islandUse the color route and completed handoff to decide where the radar should point next.Claimed catch tableCompare the supplied bait reference, but keep percentages marked needs-verification.

Lookup questions this page can answer

How do I find a fish by island?

Choose an island filter, search the creature name, and keep the route table open for named quest or boss items. The common catch map is cross-referenced public data; exact pools still need a v1.0.12 replay.

How many fish are in How to Fish?

There is no official complete taxonomy published in the sources used here. This page currently indexes 34 common catch names plus route, boss and checklist entries; that is a lookup count for this guide, not an official total.

What bait starts each story boss?

Use the route anchors: Empty Beer Can for Spider Crab, Modified Leech for Giant Piranha, and Carrot for Pufferfish. Check the dedicated boss page before consuming a late-route item.

What bait catches each fish?

Use the row as a discovery lead, then open the bait ladder or route page. Public tables disagree on some names and exact mappings, so this page does not present an unverified lure as guaranteed.

Are Drip creatures separate fish?

Keep Drip or rare variants as a separate personal checklist. Public references disagree on counting and the current game does not provide a complete taxonomy here, so no extra species total is claimed.

Where do I go when a fish answer becomes a route problem?

Move to the island route when an NPC will not accept a catch, a key is missing, or the next radar coordinate is unclear.

ACHIEVEMENT FIX / OFFICIAL PATCH NOTE

Fishipedia achievement not unlocking?

Check this before farming one more Drip creature.

Short answer:

On Patch 1.0.5 and later, you should not need an extra Drip beyond the full set. The official Patch 1.0.5 announcement says the “all Drip creatures + 1” unlock bug was fixed. Update the game, then use the in-game Drip entries to audit uncertain kills; the patch note does not publish a complete Drip roster or guarantee every old save state.

Official evidencePatch 1.0.5 fixed the Fishipedia unlock condition that previously asked for one extra Drip.Steam official announcements ↗

Last checked 22 Sep 2026Patch baseline 1.0.12Official patch fact; checklist count remains community-sourced