Harpoon a Fish How to Catch Fish: Aim, Fire and Reel
How to Catch Fish
- Answer: Aim at the fish and fire; the connected harpoon begins the capture attempt.
- Use it: Time the reel inputs to pull in the fish, rather than treating the initial hit as the reward.
- Next step: Finish the catch before choosing its aquarium or collection role.
Make the fish your target
Aim at the fish you want to catch, then fire the harpoon. The opening PC tutorial demonstrates clicking at a marked target. Use that simple example to separate choosing a fish from completing the capture: the aiming step tells the game which target you are attempting, while the next stage determines whether you bring it in. Use the Harpoon a Fish experience for the current in-game task.
For your early attempts, pick a fish in water you already reach and stay with that choice. Repeatedly switching targets makes it harder to follow what happened after each shot. A modest fish can teach the entire sequence, and the tutorial’s small catches are useful practice. You do not need a rare specimen to learn what a successful capture looks like.
Complete the reel after the hit
Once the shot connects, follow the timed reeling sequence. The developer explicitly says to time your reels to pull in the fish. Keep your attention on that phase instead of firing at a second target as soon as the first harpoon lands. The catch is still in progress, and your next useful action belongs to the reel.
If an attempt slips away during this phase, make the following attempt about finishing the pull. Keep the target choice simple enough that you can pay attention to timing. Buying a new tool is a separate equipment decision; it does not replace learning the capture action. For more focused help, the reeling guide concentrates on this part of the attempt.
| Stage | What to do | Result to recognize |
|---|---|---|
| Harpoon launch | Aim at the selected fish and fire. | The attempt begins. |
| Reeling | Time the pull for the current target. | The capture progresses. |
| Landed fish | Return and choose its next role. | A catch for collection or the aquarium. |
Treat a contested fish as a contest
Another player can harpoon a fish you are attempting to catch. Harpoon a Fish advertises stealing as part of the game and says that only one player can catch the trophy. Firing first therefore does not make the target a reserved reward. Keep reeling while the contest is active, then check who actually landed it.
For a collection task, you can choose a different target instead of turning every encounter into a rivalry. For a competitive session, the same capture sequence lets you enter the contest yourself. These are different uses of the mechanic: one prioritizes finishing your own objective, while the other accepts an uncertain result for the chance to win that particular fish. Neither needs an invented last-hit rule or a promised guaranteed steal.
Use the completed catch
After landing the fish, decide what it contributes to your session. The official loop includes putting caught fish in the aquarium and growing them as pets. A new species can also advance the collection goal represented by the fish index. The important change is that you now have a catch to use, rather than a harpoon still attached to an unfinished attempt.
On PC, the tutorial shows Space as the way back to the surface. Return when you are ready to continue the island tasks, and open the aquarium guide if pet placement is your next goal. Keeping this sequence in mind makes the loop easy to follow: choose the fish, finish the reel, bring back the result and give it a purpose. Depth progression can wait until that basic sequence feels comfortable.