Game guides
Fisch Beginner's Guide: How to Catch Fish and Make Money Fast
By AllanIsGreasy · updated Sep 30 · 4 min read
Fisch looks simple: cast, wait, reel. But new players lose a lot of time on things that don't matter, like perfect casts, and skip the things that do, like Angler quests. This guide covers what to do in your first hours, checked against the official Fisch wiki as of the Boat Racing update (September 2026).
Want free stuff first? The Fisch codes page has every working code and where to type it.
How fishing works
Fishing has three steps.
- Cast. Hold left click (tap on a phone, R2 on PlayStation) to fill the meter, then let go. You'll see grades from "Meh" to "PERFECT!!", but the grade doesn't seem to change anything afterwards, so don't stress about it.
- Wait and shake. While you wait for a bite, you can shake the rod. Each shake cuts about 0.5 to 1.5 seconds off the wait. It's optional, but it speeds things up. A red ! means a fish is on.
- Reel. Keep the fish inside the white bar. Holding moves the bar right, letting go lets it drift left. The progress meter fills while the fish is in the bar and drains while it's out. If it drops to zero, the fish escapes.
Perfect catches pay extra. If you reel a fish in without the progress meter ever dropping, you get +10 C$ and 50% more XP for that catch. Practise keeping the bar on the fish instead of chasing speed.
The first rods to buy
You start with the free Flimsy Rod. The official progression guide suggests fishing with it until about level 5 while you learn the reeling. After that, these are the rods at the Merchant in Moosewood:
| Rod | Price |
|---|---|
| Training Rod | 300 C$ |
| Plastic Rod | 750 C$ |
| Carbon Rod | 2,000 C$ |
| Fast Rod | 4,000 C$ |
| Lucky Rod | 4,500 C$ |
Many players skip the cheap rods and save straight for the Carbon Rod. It's a big jump in luck and lure speed for its price. That's player advice rather than an official rule, but it saves you buying two rods you'll replace within an hour.
The next tier is at the Blacksmith in Roslit Hamlet: the Steady Rod (7,000 C$), Fortune Rod (11,000 C$) and Rapid Rod (12,000 C$). Roslit Bay is also where the Magma Rod quest starts. Talk to the Orc there, who asks you to catch a Pufferfish at the Coral Reef.
Making money early
Catching and selling fish works, but these pay much better:
- Angler quests. There are Anglers on several islands, including Moosewood, Roslit, Sunstone and Terrapin. They ask for a specific fish and pay about 6 to 8 times its sale price plus XP, sometimes with bonus items like Bait Crates or Totems. The quests repeat forever with a 2-minute cooldown, which makes them one of the best early ways to earn.
- The Bestiary. Press H to open it. Every location's page you complete pays C$, XP and bobbers. The Ocean page alone gives 2,000 C$ and 2,000 XP. Catching one of each new fish is worth it early.
- Selling in bulk. Any Merchant (there are 18 across the map) can "sell my inventory". Favourited fish aren't sold, so favourite anything rare you want to keep.
- Appraising, carefully. The Appraiser in Moosewood re-rolls a fish's weight and mutation, as if you'd caught it again. It costs 30% of the fish's current price. It can make a fish worth much more or less, so only appraise fish you'd be fine losing value on.
Levelling up
You earn XP from almost everything: every catch, perfect catches, treasure chests (1,500 to 2,000 XP each), Angler quests, Bestiary pages, and discovering new locations (300 XP each). New players level fastest by doing Angler quests while they explore, since that covers catches, quests and new locations at the same time.
Does bait matter?
Yes, a little. Bait can boost your luck for fish that like it, and some baits change lure speed or resilience. You get bait from Angler quests, chests, codes, the Bait Dealer, and Bait Crates (120 C$ at the Moosewood docks and Roslit Bay). A crate gives 2 to 6 items, and some of it is garbage, so treat crates as a bonus, not a plan.
Where to go after Moosewood
Moosewood is where you start, and where you do Pierre's tutorial. Once you have a few hundred C$:
- Buy the Rowboat (400 C$ at any Shipwright) and a GPS (100 C$) so you know where you're going.
- Sail west to Roslit Bay for the next rods, the Magma Rod quest and a glider.
- From there, explore the rest of the First Sea: Sunstone Island, Mushgrove Swamp, Terrapin Island, Snowcap Island and Forsaken Shores. Each new place is 300 XP just for finding it, plus new fish for your Bestiary.
There's no fixed level to move on. A good rule is to leave an island once you've done its Angler quests and caught most of its Bestiary fish.
Quick start checklist
- Do Pierre's tutorial and fish to level 5 with the Flimsy Rod.
- Redeem the Fisch codes for free C$, bait and bobbers.
- Do Angler quests on repeat for money.
- Save for the Carbon Rod (2,000 C$).
- Buy the Rowboat and GPS, then head to Roslit Bay.
- Open the Bestiary (H) and fill it in as you explore.
Fisch updates often. Prices and quests in this guide are from the official wiki as of late September 2026. If something has changed, tell me and I'll update it.
