How to find fish

[skittles666]

Like the topic says i wanted to start a collection of different techniques people have found work best for finding all the different types of fish in the game. i will list a few that have worked for me,

1. Tips: Buying tips from the different ports seems to give you a general idea of where fish were at a certain point in time. this had been very hit and miss for me, sometimes i will go directly to the fish on the map associated with the tip and there will be fish of that type under my boat and all around. other times i will go all around the tip fish and come up with nothing. Note- the tip on the map also includes an arrow that i assume hints at the direction of fish movement however i have noticed no connection to the arrow and where the fish appear around the tip fish on the map. (i have updated this opinion check comments)

2. Free Roam: Just sailing around the map and keeping an eye on the sonar. i have not had a ton of luck with this sometimes it feels like i can sail in a random direction for an hour or so in real time and not find much of anything or i will just see a lot of tuna swords and mackerel. if you are looking for those fish then this may be a legit method. apparently the presence of seagulls suggests there are more fish in those areas however this has been very hit or miss for me as well.

3. Fast Travel: this would be just fast traveling all over the map and stopping periodically to check the sonar for a bit in real time to see what is in the immediate area. this is tricky because its hard to tell if the sonar is updating enough to give you an accurate idea of what fish are in the area. someone also posted on here that you can guide your boat around with the next waypoint marker and listen for gulls on the map screen, i have not tested this myself so im not sure if it works, ill try it out and report back.

These are the top three i can think of and i would love to hear what works for everyone else. i also understand that these methods are evolving as updates are released, lets see if we can keep this up to date with the most well known ways of finding fish in this game.

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Addition: This is a method i have found with some testing just wanted to bring it up here from the comments to help anyone out that might be having trouble finding fish.

Step 1. Buy whatever bait and rigging you will need for the type of fishing you are doing { just for transparency i did most of my testing on longlines but the same worked fine for lobster as well and nets} as well as fill up on fuel and repair your boat.

Step 2. Save your game and exit fishing north atlantic

Step 3. Open your game and load the save you just made.

Step 4. Travel from port to port until you find a tip for the fish you are looking for ( preferably a 3 day 3000 cash tip but it still works with the 7 day tips just a slight modification is needed to the technique) buy the tip

Step 5. if it is a 3 day tip head out immediately to the exact spot the tip is on the map ( i mean exact zoom in all the way and make sure you put your way point between the fish and the arrow ) when you get there you should see the fish you are looking for on your sonar immediately. (if you dont see the fish when you arrive dont lose hope)

Step 6. Sail in the direction of the arrow ( i set a 1500m auto course and set my 10000 hook longlines right from the start ) if you still don't see the fish by 1000m then sail back to port and start back at step 1 however this never happened to me in all my testing.

Extra. if all you can find is a 7 day tip do everything the same just instead of sailing directly to the tip fish on the map, zoom all the way into the tip and try your best to sail about 1200m in front of the arrow then it will act the same as if you had sailed right to a 3 day tip. (i did not test this as thoroughly as i did 3 day tips however it still worked every time i tried it)

Step 7. Repeat from step one and become bored quick lol

[Arkin Raedwald]

Well basically I have done the same as you with the tips. Some are hits and some are misses. With the tips from the bar being at least 3 days old the fish have moved on and most times not in the direction that the arrow points, so I usually tack port and starboard in the general direction. Some times I get lucky. I don't trust the tips from the bar, but not to say they are not useful.

I usually free roam where I think the fish maybe, basically hunting for them. If I find a pocket, I note it with the fish marker, and roam around that area to see if there are any more better shoals. Sometimes this is hit and miss, but I have had a fair bit of luck this way.

Seagulls supposed to indicate that there is a source nearby, but I have not had much luck with that roaming around where they are. You probably have to follow them around for a while to get a hit on fish.

I try keep a mental note of where I have had good result in the past and use that knowledge. To some degree I have had luck and caught a fair deal. As fish migrate around the sea you cannot always expect them to be in the same area every time. You have to hunt for them. Fish are seasonal, and swim at differing depths at different times of the year, so what you see in an area in spring, may not be there in summer. The same goes for the other seasons.

From what I have seen so far Redfish tend to be near and around Lobster, but only at some depth up to 150 m. Haddock roam in mid waters and from what I have seen follow the Cod, which seems to hang around in mid to deep water where snow crabs are found. Pollock seam to roam in big shoals and are usually found in waters 100 m+ up to a depth of 200 m. They prefer the Scotian Shelf, and more open waters.
Lots of Lobster can be found around the German Bank and in shallower waters, but have been spotted in deeper waters running along the edges or contours of deepening water.

Tuna and swordfish like deeper waters up to 500 m but can be found in shallower waters. From my observations they are pretty plentiful between Browns Bank and Georges Bank when in season.

I have not fished or recorded Mackrell yet but they are very much dispersed and seem to like the inner coastal waters where the water is not too deep.

Keep an eye out for whales. I have a fair amount of luck around them, usually Pollock. Whales eat Krill so where you find Krill you will usually find other fish.

I have not found any fish far north of Ingals nor have I found much far east.

DON'T go off the edge of the Map, unless you have a submarine, be warned and take heed.

[Arkin Raedwald]

Another conundrum when hunting for fish. Say I am travelling North and I spot fish under my sonar, them fish can be going in any direction on the compass, so it often pays to circle the area as you may pick them up again. It maybe the same shoal or part of a larger shoal. To me it is logical to think when I encounter fish they are either swimming in the opposite direction from me or from port to starboard, or vice versa. So I set way points up usually in 1 square nautical mile. So basically 45 degrees off my Port Bow and same for the starboard side, and 45 degrees off my stern Port side and 45 degrees off my stern Starboard side. whichever is your heading/direction.
So 1310 meters at those 45 degree angles. Using this system puts a square around your vessel with you in the middle. You can then roam inside that area and see where the fish are. Mark where you see the shoals. It takes a few seconds to set up, but a while to travel inside that area.

I hope that helps.

[Ayahuasca]

Fast travel and sonar is kinda wierd the sonar dont kick back in for a bit it hangs i have noticed ......like after a fast travel to port you still see the old sonar from where you left till you get going again so i think its very unreliable

[Arkin Raedwald]

I seldom use fast travel when out hunting. Like you said very unreliable.

[Fabulous Nathan]

generall i have found most fish can be caught south east in the very deep areas, lobster and crab in the trenches and shelves from digby back down to yarmouth.

the windmill area can be good for lobster also .

[Arkin Raedwald]

Thank you. I will check the areas out that you mentioned. For clarification did you mean the area South East from Lunenburg or the area South East of the bay of Fundy?

[Fabulous Nathan]

Originally posted by allan.oliver2:

Thank you. I will check the areas out that you mentioned. For clarification did you mean the area South East from Lunenburg or the area South East of the bay of Fundy?

the most open sea part , south east from lockeport right out in the dark blue

[Arkin Raedwald]

Thank you for your reply. I thought it maybe the area between Lockeport and Lunenburg.

I did go around the are North East from Lunenburg and found no fish other than unusual coastal features, which looked like the developers for got to finish off. The land portions where striped like strata in rocks but too uniform to be strata they were also devoid of trees and where bare or barren no rock features at all. So the landscape seems to have been missed. it was interesting but added nothing to fishing.

[skittles666]

i think i figured it out guys

[Arkin Raedwald]

Originally posted by skittles666:

i think i figured it out guys

What have you figured out?

[skittles666]

OH yeah sorry i forgot to follow up on this, so i have found a way to find the fish i am looking for everytime 100% so far i have done this a few hundred times so you guys can know it works.

here we go

Step 1. Buy whatever bait and rigging you will need for the type of fishing you are doing { just for transparency i did most of my testing on longlines but the same worked fine for lobster as well and nets} as well as fill up on fuel and repair your boat.

Step 2. Save your game and exit fishing north atlantic

Step 3. Open your game and load the save you just made.

Step 4. Travel from port to port until you find a tip for the fish you are looking for ( preferably a 3 day 3000 cash tip but it still works with the 7 day tips just a slight modification is needed to the technique) buy the tip

Step 5. if it is a 3 day tip head out immediately to the exact spot the tip is on the map ( i mean exact zoom in all the way and make sure you put your way point between the fish and the arrow ) when you get there you should see the fish you are looking for on your sonar immediately. (if you dont see the fish when you arrive dont lose hope)

Step 6. Sail in the direction of the arrow ( i set a 1500m auto course and set my 10000 hook longlines right from the start ) if you still don't see the fish by 1000m then sail back to port and start back at step 1 however this never happened to me in all my testing.

Extra. if all you can find is a 7 day tip do everything the same just instead of sailing directly to the tip fish on the map, zoom all the way into the tip and try your best to sail about 1200m in front of the arrow then it will act the same as if you had sailed right to a 3 day tip. (i did not test this as thoroughly as i did 3 day tips however it still worked every time i tried it)

Step 7. Repeat from step one and become bored quick lol

[Arkin Raedwald]

Thanks for the reply. I will try this.

[skittles666]

Originally posted by Arkin Raedwald:

Thanks for the reply. I will try this.

let me know how this works for you i would love to get some more people testing it

[Arkin Raedwald]

Yes I have tried a couple of times and it seems to work. The week old tip was a fair bit out, but I still found some.

Thank you.

[skittles666]

Originally posted by Arkin Raedwald:

Yes I have tried a couple of times and it seems to work. The week old tip was a fair bit out, but I still found some.

Thank you.

yeah the week old tips are a bit harder to pinpoint but i do believe they are still reliable