Red Dead Redemption 2 Fishing Guide

Red Dead Redemption 2 was a long-awaited game for many first part’s fans. Almost 2 months have passed since the game release, and some of you, I bet, didn’t have enough time to try such an exciting in-game activity like fishing.

If you are one of those ner … sorry, passionate gamers, who have already completed the biggest part of the game or even the whole game (I envy you with your free time), then it would be a good idea for you to read our guide too. It will serve not only as a reminder but contains some tips and tricks. 

Small spoilers for those who haven’t passed on the plot further than the main screen yet. You have great shutter speed and a very busy schedule, by the way. Access to fishing opens after completing one of the tasks of the storyline - A Fisher of Men. It becomes available in the second chapter. During the mission, the character that you are playing for, Arthur becomes a fishing teacher for the young Jack Marston. He also learns the business himself. This mission serves as the basic tutorial for fishing, and from then on, your fishing rod will always be available in your satchel.

How to start fishing?

The first thing you need to reach the fishing rod in your backpack: go to the "Objects" menu. The next step is the affixing of working gear. There are 2 elements of gear: float and bait.

To start using the rod, you need to press L2, and to throw, you must press R2. The R2 button must be held, the duration allows you to adjust the casting distance. 

First, you have to try a little bit to feel the ratio of the period of keeping the casting distance. It’s important to learn to cast the rod in certain places where the fish is located. If you look closely, the fish swims under water, even near the shore. You can start fishing from the coastal area, it will help to see the behavior of fish in the water. Also helps to determine the best time for posting a fishing rod.

Next, there are several options: it all depends on the gear’s type. If float gear is used, the player just needs to sit waiting for the bite. To attract the fish’s attention by pulling the fishing line you need to press R2. Do not rush to pull until there is a strong bite hook. The fish usually tries the bait several times before swallows.

Here, everything is like in real fishing. The fisherman is left with nothing with light bites at the time of cutting. It is necessary to wait for a confident bite when the float confidently sinks underwater, now the fish has definitely caught. Now the battle between Arthur and the underwater giant begins.

The fish caught on the hook will immediately begin to twitch and float back. Your goal is to let her get tired and don’t wind the fishing line to prevent the rod from breaking. Press the left stick in the opposite direction from the fish movements, trying to exhaust it. When you succeed, wind the line by turning the right stick counterclockwise as quickly as possible. The left stick should be held down: it is best to use the thumb for the left stick and the index finger for the right one so that the fishing line wound even faster. 

Carp, rock and black perch catch is quite simple. But you’ll have to pull a large fish like sturgeon or salmon for a few minutes.

What are the lures in the game?

The developers made a wide selection of baits for fish and tried to bring it as close as possible to real fishing. It’s very important to find the right bait like in real life. The shops sell standard bait: corn, bread, cheese. A little more expensive are the bait for large fish: crayfish, worms. The game has a baits separation into groups according to their use: river, lake, marsh. Another special kind for a particularly large or legendary fish.

Basic info:

• Bread is ideal for catching small fish;

• Corn is an alternative to bread, but is used to catch other small fish;

• A small fish also reacts to the cheese;

• Worms do well in catching medium fish in lake conditions;

• Crayfish often bring biting of big proportions fish. They inhabit on the bottom of the rivers and lakes, so the crayfish are an excellent choice;

• Crickets are good as nozzles for medium-sized fish.

Types of lure:

• River lure: effective when fishing on rivers in order to search for small and medium-sized fish;

• Lake Lure: it shows itself well when hunting for a big lake fish;

• Swamp lure: used in swamps and brings medium-sized specimens of prey;

• Special river lure: has great chances of catching medium and large fish in rivers;

• Special lake lure: more effectively attracts large individuals;

• Special swamp lure: gives the player more chances to catch large fish.

Where to buy bait with tackles?

In Red Dead Redemption 2 you can buy most of the lure and baits in the Largus settlement, namely in the store Bait And Tackle.

Prices for bait:

• Crustaceans - 25 cents;

• Worms - 50 cents;

• Insects - 50 cents;

• Conventional bait: for rivers, lakes, and swamps - $ 2.5.

• Special baits: for rivers, lakes, and swamps - $ 20.

Types of fish and their taste preferences

There are at least 12 species of fish that differ in habitat and "tastes” in the game. It’s better to think what kind of fish you’re preparing to catch beforehand. The choice of gear, baits, and locations depend on this. The following types of fish were encountered and their food  inclinations were found for now:

• Bluegill goes well on cheese;

• Chain Pickerel often pecks on plant foods like corn;

• Northern Pike is often caught on a bait with bread;

• All kinds of small Perch are well caught on all natural types of baits, as well as on bread and cheese;

• Bullhead Catfish is a small breed, it prefers to attack cheese and corn;

• Channel Catfish goes to the lake nozzle;

• Largemouth Bass is caught exclusively on crayfish;

• Salmon constantly attacks the worms;

• Muskie is caught on lake lures;

• Sockeye comes across a river nozzle.

Best time to fish

The fish is caught day and night, but the peak of its activity is noted at a certain time. It’s better to go fishing in the early morning. A little harder to predict, but an active bite is seen in rainy time.

Where and when is it better to catch certain types of fish:

• Bluegill lives in lakes and rivers, throughout the Wild West. It’s especially active in rainy time;

• Chain Pickerel is found in all types of water bodies. It’s active on sunny days;

• Redfin Pickerel is found exclusively in rivers in the south of the map. Has a tendency to peck in the heat;

• Largemouth Bass prefers all bodies of clean water, active on clear days;

• Smallmouth Bass lives in the northern rivers, active in the rain;

• Bullhead Catfish swims in the swamps and often hooked in the rain;

• Perch can be found almost everywhere, it’s better to go looking for it on sunny days;

• Lake Sturgeon loves warm water, so it is common in lakes and swamps in the south of the map, cloudy weather is the perfect time to catch it;

• Bigmouth Perch is not picky about water quality but prefers warmth, it’s found in the south, and is activated in the rain;

• Steelhead trout prefers the southern lakes and the central region of the Wild West, especially often caught in rainy time;

• Muskie is a unique inhabitant of northern lakes, and prefers cloudy days;

• Sockey is found in the north, it loves the overcast sky.

There is one secret for catching very large specimens of fish: they prefer the mouths of waterfalls. Here the water is enriched with oxygen more than in other places.

Where to find the legendary fish?

The legendary fish is a kind of quest for fishermen in Red Dead Redemption 2. There are 13 legendary fish in total. To begin catching legendary fish, you need to talk with Jeremy Gill first. You can find him in the Heartlands near the shores of Flat Iron Lake. After the small chat, he’ll give you a map with the location of all the legendary fish.

Believe me, catching legendary fish is not so simple as catching ordinary fish. First of all, be patient, and stock up a strong rod and fishing line. For the best bite, stock up on special baits and lure, so a couple of pieces are definitely not enough for you. Try to catch it closer to the shore to increase the chance of successful capture of the legendary fish. You will reduce the required time of its resistance.

The best tactic of catching legendary fish is very simple. First, you have to exhaust the fish so it stops resisting. Then do the following, instead of the usual winding up of the fishing line. Tilt the fishing rod up (press the left stick down) and quickly unwind the fishing line (right stick, turn counter-clockwise), but don’t unwind the fishing line for a long time.

In simple words: lift, reel and let go, after a couple of seconds repeat the actions, and do the same until the fish starts to resist.

Remember, fishing is the best rest between various quests and sucking snake venom from that strange man’s leg.