How to Fish all fish: creature & bait finder
Search the creatures, bosses and baits we can trace to a source, with the lure or quest that unlocks each one and how well the claim is supported.
No source we can link lists every creature, so this is a growing index, not a full checklist. Two community guides agree on one rule: the lure decides what you catch, not the island. Since patch 1.1.3 the in-game Fishipedia also shows the bait for any creature you have killed once, which is the fastest way to fill gaps.
Search the creature index
Pufferfish
Island boss. Players say it is summoned with a carrot bait handed over after an endangered fish is delivered. The developer reduced its difficulty in patch 1.0.4.
Bait or trigger: Carrot (quest reward)
Read related guide ↗Community report: Pufferfish help — Steam discussion, August 2026 ↗Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗Whale
Nerfed in patch 1.0.4. The notes do not describe how it is started or what it drops, so we give no trigger.
Bait or trigger: Not verified
Read related guide ↗Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗Giant piranha
Island boss. A community guide lists leech bait (three leeches handed to a quest character) among the boss baits. Rebalanced in patch 1.0.12.
Bait or trigger: Leech bait
Read related guide ↗Community report: Steam guide “EVERY FISH, BOSS and BAIT [v 1.1.3]” — updated October 3, 2026 ↗Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗Final boss
Named only as "final boss" in the developer notes: patch 1.0.12 fixed explosives not damaging it when it landed on its tail. The Handyman and We are so back achievements relate to it.
Bait or trigger: Not verified
Read related guide ↗Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗Official store data: Steam global achievements for How to Fish — 31 achievements, viewed October 8, 2026 ↗Manta
New in 1.1.0 (the notes say "a new mini-boss" without naming it). Three community guides name it Manta and say a special barrel thrown into the water at an oil-barrel islet starts the fight.
Bait or trigger: Special barrel (reported)
Read related guide ↗Developer: THE ISLET UPDATE 1.1.0 — Steam post, September 28, 2026 ↗Community report: Steam guide “How I got Euro/Euros, the Bow, the new boss, and the wishbone item” — written September 29, 2026 on version 1.1.1 ↗Community report: Steam guide “EVERY FISH, BOSS and BAIT [v 1.1.3]” — updated October 3, 2026 ↗Community report: Steam guide “All fish and bait UPDATE” — updated October 2, 2026 ↗Bing Bong
A secret creature. Two guides describe buying a coconut and fishing with it, but they disagree on which island it is on, so we give no location. One reports a drip version.
Bait or trigger: Coconut (reported)
Read related guide ↗Community report: Steam guide “EVERY FISH, BOSS and BAIT [v 1.1.3]” — updated October 3, 2026 ↗Community report: Steam guide “All fish and bait UPDATE” — updated October 2, 2026 ↗Drip Gar
Named in the developer's September 30 announcement about a plush made with Makeship. That post is about merchandise and says nothing about catching it in game, so we give no location or bait.
Bait or trigger: Not verified
Read related guide ↗Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗Piranha
Rebalanced in patch 1.0.12; the notes give no numbers.
Bait or trigger: Not verified
Read related guide ↗Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗Tuna
Slightly reduced in strength in patch 1.0.12.
Bait or trigger: Not verified
Read related guide ↗Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗Anglerfish
Nerfed slightly in patch 1.0.10 because it was "too annoying" with a lot of health.
Bait or trigger: Not verified
Read related guide ↗Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗Tench
Named in the 1.1.2 notes: a bug stopped it spawning from the new bait, and that was fixed.
Bait or trigger: Crab Carcass (new bait)
Read related guide ↗Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗Squid
Two community guides say a squid-type creature is caught with the new Crab Carcass bait.
Bait or trigger: Crab Carcass (reported)
Read related guide ↗Community report: Steam guide “EVERY FISH, BOSS and BAIT [v 1.1.3]” — updated October 3, 2026 ↗Community report: Steam guide “All fish and bait UPDATE” — updated October 2, 2026 ↗Needlefish
Players report it counts as an endangered fish for the carrot hand-in.
Bait or trigger: Standard Lure (reported)
Read related guide ↗Community report: How to get an endangered fish — Steam discussion, August 2026 ↗Community report: Steam guide “EVERY FISH, BOSS and BAIT [v 1.1.3]” — updated October 3, 2026 ↗Bowl fish
Players report it counts as an endangered fish for the carrot hand-in.
Bait or trigger: Standard Lure (reported)
Read related guide ↗Community report: How to get an endangered fish — Steam discussion, August 2026 ↗Stonefish
One community guide says it needs the Scientific Lure.
Bait or trigger: Scientific Lure (reported)
Read related guide ↗Community report: Steam guide “EVERY FISH, BOSS and BAIT [v 1.1.3]” — updated October 3, 2026 ↗Superdwarf fish
One community guide says it needs the Scientific Lure.
Bait or trigger: Scientific Lure (reported)
Read related guide ↗Community report: Steam guide “EVERY FISH, BOSS and BAIT [v 1.1.3]” — updated October 3, 2026 ↗Drip parrotfish
Drip creatures are rare variants. A bug that stopped this one being cooked was fixed in patch 1.0.11.
Bait or trigger: Not verified
Read related guide ↗Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗No creatures match. This index only lists what we can source.
Lure and bait table
Island numbers below follow the community guides that count the starting island as number one. The developer's own notes also mention an "island 6" (patch 1.0.11), so treat numbering as a rough guide and read the map page for the caveat.
| Bait | Where it is reported | What it is for | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ham | Free bait from the green rod | Entry bait | Community guide |
| Fry | Free bait from the professional rod | Entry bait | Community guide |
| Hot Dog | Sold on the first island | Early creatures | Community guide |
| Beginner Lure | Second island | Next tier of creatures | Community guide |
| Standard Lure | Third island. One thread says a pink lure is the one to use for endangered fish | Endangered fish for the carrot | Community guide + Steam discussion |
| Professional Lure | Fourth island | Next tier of creatures | Community guide |
| Scientific Lure | Fifth island | Stonefish and Superdwarf fish are listed against it | Community guide |
| Crab Carcass | A mini island of small sand platforms; new in 1.1.0. Up to three baits per visit were reported, and the 1.1.2 notes raised its spawn from 2 to 3 | New creatures such as the squid; the 1.1.2 fix says Tench can spawn from it | Developer notes + two guides |
| Beginner, Standard, Professional and Scientific Boss Lures | Listed by one guide as sold on islands two to five | Mini-boss summons. Prices are not confirmed | Community guide |
| Leech bait | Three leeches handed to a quest character on island two | Giant piranha | Community guide |
| Carrot | Reward for an endangered fish (guide says a Needlefish, discussions say "an endangered fish") | Pufferfish | Steam discussions + guide |
| Empty Beer | A beer handed to the sailor on the first island | Listed among the island boss baits | Community guide |
| Fish Bucket | Five items handed to the scientist on the fifth island (the guide says fish, beer or snail all work) | Listed among the island boss baits | Community guide |
How lures decide what you catch
Two separate community guides organise their creature lists by lure rather than by island, because the same creature can be fished anywhere on the map if you use the right lure. In practice that means you do not need to travel to a particular island to find a creature; you need the lure tier that creature belongs to.
The developer's notes do not describe spawn tables, so we cannot confirm exact odds or which creatures sit in which tier. Treat each "Bait or trigger" line on a card as a lead to test, not a guarantee.
Use the Fishipedia to fill gaps
Players say the Tab key opens an in-game encyclopedia of creatures, with drip variants tracked separately. It shows what you are missing, but historically not what to use to catch it.
The developer changed that in patch 1.1.3: the Fishipedia now displays the name of the bait needed for a creature once you have killed it once. The notes say the change was made to make drip creatures easier to hunt. Read Drip creatures, Fishipedia & wishbone for how that connects to the Fishipedia achievement.
Developer: Developer announcements — patches 1.0.4–1.1.3 ↗What this index does not cover
We do not list spawn rates, sell values or exact bait prices, because none of the developer's notes publish them and the community values we saw come from older versions. We also do not include creatures we could only trace to a screenshot with no text. If you can document one with a version number and a repeatable method, send a correction.
The bait lines on the cards come from developer notes, Steam discussions and Steam guides updated for 1.1.3. We have not logged a catch for each one ourselves. The creature list itself is incomplete.