Caught the Red Herring! Spoilered Tips for people struggling

[keeperofmanynames]

After banging away at this puzzle for a while I finally figured out the right combinations of lure, location, bait, and time! what a diabolical puzzle, really really enjoyed having a second layer to the game like this of tricky fish spawn puzzles.

for people still struggling, here's some spoilered hints that might point you in the right direction:

google the term "red herring"--if you're confused why it's not showing up where you expect it to, that should give you a clue

there's a pattern to the lure/special fish unlock pairs. it does follow this pattern! ...but the lure effect itself is... you guessed it, a red herring

the bestiary follows a pattern. if you catch all the other fish in the area, what slot is missing and what does that tell you about where the red herring spawns?

pay attention to the payout range for the herring. what bait level of fish are in that range?

Hope these point people in the right direction and maybe help explain the joke a bit for people unfamiliar!

[Sigma]

lol nice tips. I'm still stumped rofl Good way to put it though.