Fishing Basics

Fishing is an amazing way to earn money in Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos. You will receive your first fishing rod from Eugene in Lectenbury as part of the game's story. He'll send you down to the coastline of Lectenbury and explain how to reel in fish.

Fishing can only be done next to waterways where you see fish shadows; you can't fish everywhere in the game. Walk up to a group of fishy silhouettes, and an action button will appear. You'll then select any bait you may have in the Items pocket of your inventory and where your bobber will land. When you see a "!" appear above your head, press the action button on your game controller to start the fish battle.

The fish will splash around and try to swim away. Press your analog stick on your controller in the opposite direction the fish is going. You'll slow its progress until it stops swimming. You can then press and hold the action button to reel the fish closer to you. Repeat this swim/reel action until the fish is pulled in.

When reeling in fish, I find it seems to work best when pressing down on the analog stick before the fish bites. At the point of hooking, you will already pressing in the opposite direction (or close to it) from the direction the fish is trying to run. Simply keep pressing down even when reeling in so you already have tension on the line for when the fish tries to escape, then just rotate the analog stick to the opposite direction the fish is going.

When no more shadows are at that location, you can end fishing and move to another spot. The fish will return the next day.

Some fishing spots will appear/disappear depending on weather and season. There are ponds in the desert that appear when it rains, and the frozen ponds in the Snowy Playground area will melt during summer.

Fish come in three versions: 0-Star, 1-Star, and 2-Star. The higher the star rank, the more money you'll earn when shipping. If you cook a meal using a higher rank fish, the resulting meal will also have a high rank.

Your fishing skill will naturally increase as you catch fish. You can find this in the Records section of the DocPad at the bottom of the character summary. A Newbie skill means you'll mainly catch 0-star quality fish. Keep fishing to increase this skill to Intermediate, Advanced, and finally Master, when 2-Star quality fish are regularly reeled in.

Fishing Rod Upgrades

Your basic level fishing rod will be upgraded to the Expert Fishing Rod as part of the Lilikala story. You'll bring Kaimana 3 Silver and 1 Gold. You can find both these ores in the Lectenbury Mine: Raw Silver Ore starts on floor 15, and Raw Gold Ore starts on floor 21.

The next upgrade is the Master Fishing Rod. This pole becomes available at Makoa's Crafter Shop in Lilikala after you have reached a full 3 stars on Lilikala's Cultural Level and have unlocked the town's 4th star. You need to bring your Expert Fishing Rod, 5 Square Lumber, 5 Platinum, and 5000 G. The ore can be found in the Zimagrad West Mine starting on floor 25. It can also be found in the Herbstburg South Mine, but I found that it's much lower, around floor 41.

Lastly, the Legendary Fishing Rod. This appears in Makoa's Crafter Shop in Lilikala after you complete the game's main storyline and have Lilikala at 4 stars of cultural level. He requests 1 Master Fishing Rod, 2 High-Quality Square Lumber, 3 Orichalcum, and 10,000 G. The ore can be found outside of the mines by visiting the Volcano Summit, where 2 Raw Orichalcum Ore nodes appear. The node will reappear after a few days.

Fishing Tips

For reeling in huge fish shadows, equip some fishing bait and land your bobber so it is closer to you than where the fish are swimming. The bait will entice the fish to swim closer to you. When hooked, you'll have a shorter distance to reel the fish in.

The fish that sells for the most money is the Golden Carp. This fish is in fish pond levels in the mines. When you reach a pond located on a floor divisible by 10, check the fish shadows in the water. A Golden Carp will have a sparkle around its fish shadow. Using Rare Fish Bait will entice the carp to bite the line rather than the trash Crucian Carp, Goby, and Black Goby, but you can use Regular Bait too.

Golden Carp can also be found outside the mines at the Hilltop Fishing Pond just a little southeast of the Three-Pronged River warp point at the border of the Herbstburg region. You can catch one Golden Carp here once per day. It is the only fish found in this pond.

Golden Carp can also appear in the volcano, the Rocky Backroads, and in the desert when it rains, but it's consistantly found at the Hilltop Fishing Pond.

This fish is a fighter and will change directions frequently, so use bait (Lv. 2 Regular Bait or stronger) and a good fishing rod to catch this golden jewel. A no-star Golden Carp ships for 4400 G, a 1-star sells for 6400 G, and a 2-star will bring in 13,200 G.

A fellow farmer wants us to know that you can catch multiple Golden Carp at the Hilltop Fishing Pond in one day by using a save/reload trick. After catching the Golden Carp, save your game via the Options menu, and then select the Load option to launch the just-saved game. The fish will reappear in the Hilltop Fishing Pond to catch again.

The most profitable location to catch fish is the eastern shore of the Herbstburg area, either at the shoreline in the northeast corner of town or the shore east of the Herbstburg Mine entrance. Even at 0-star quality fish, you can catch Black Porgy (440 G), Red Bream (1100 G), Red Seabream (440 G), and Snakehead (2640 G).

  

Anchovy can be caught in the western ocean areas. Head to the Valley of the Setting Sun - the area just to the northwest of Lectenbury. You may have to travel and repair a bridge to get there, so bring 30 Material Stone, 8 Square Lumber, and 16 Bronze (look for the yellow ore nodes in the Lectenbury Mine). In the southwest corner of that area is a shoreline where you can catch this fish. If you are in summer, the small island on the southern edge of the River of Blessing Estuary (west of Lilikala) is accessible by foot, and you can catch Anchovy there, too.

For catching Mahi-Mahi, head to the Shallow Playground area in the southwest corner of the Lilikala area. You can find those fish at the far south point of the shallows. If you aren't in the summer season, go to the end of the eastern piers in Lilikala. Head to the end of the docks where they cross over in an "X."

When you're reeling in a fish when the clock strikes 6:00 am, you'll lose the fish off the line.