A Short Hike - Fishing Manual

A guide about all things related to fishing in A Short Hike

Fishing basics

Your first fishing rod
To start fishing you need to visit Bill the Hippo, he spends his time fishing off the dock by Meteor Lake. When you first speak to him he'll give you a fishing rod and teach you how to fish.

_______________________________________________________________

The Pelican Captain
Docked in the Northeast of Hawk Island is the Pelican Captain, he'll offer you coins for the first fish of each kind. Any trade after the first of each type of fish will instead reward you with bait. Once you give the captain at least 3 unique types of fish he will give you his fishing journal, providing a list of all 15 variants of fish you can catch as well as clues to find ones you haven't. Trading all 15 kinds of fish to the duck captain will reward you with the Golden Rod, increasing your catch rate for rare fish.

_______________________________________________________________

Bait
Bait is used to speed up the time it takes to catch fish, you'll get your first set of bait from the camping cat after finding his camping permit and returning it to him. The Pelican captain will also give you bait in exchange for any fish you give him (excluding the first of each variant).

Fish variants

As well as the regular fish you can also find three other special variants of most fish: Tiny, Big & the rare Albino variant.
_______________________________________________________________

Brook Trout
Often seen in deep blue or cold waters.

• Deep Blue Waters

Albino Brook Trout
Often seen in deep blue or cold waters.

• Deep Blue Waters

Spotted Brook Trout
I Usually see ’em in the shady blue waters, but they’re not hard to find.

• Blue Waters

Albino Spotted Brook Trout
I Usually see ’em in the shady blue waters, but they’re not hard to find.

• Blue Waters

_______________________________________________________________

White Perch
Known to prefer calm river waters.

• Calm Rivers

Albino White Perch
Known to prefer calm river waters.

• Calm Rivers

Yellow Perch
Usually seen in weedy water in Meteor Lake.

• Meteor Lake

Albino Yellow Perch
Usually seen in weedy water in Meteor Lake.

• Meteor Lake

_______________________________________________________________

Rainbow Trout
Usually found in deep blue waters.

• Deep Blue Waters

Actually Rainbow Trout
Usually found in deep blue waters.

• Deep Blue Waters

_______________________________________________________________

White Bass
I came down with a cold the last time I went looking for them.

• Frozen Waters

Pink White Bass
I came down with a cold the last time I went looking for them.

• Frozen Waters

_______________________________________________________________
Northern Pike
Bill is always catching these. He knows a good spot for them.

• Meteor Lake

Albino Northern Pike
Bill is always catching these. He knows a good spot for them.

• Meteor Lake

_______________________________________________________________

Crayfish
These little guys live in little waters.

• Small Ponds with Lilies

Albino Crayfish
These little guys live in little waters.

• Small Ponds with Lilies

_______________________________________________________________

Catfish
Only live in moving waters.

• Calm Rivers

Golden Catfish
Only live in moving waters.

• Calm Rivers

_______________________________________________________________

Burbot
They never settle down and prefer to live within the rushing rapids.

• Rapids/fast moving river water

Albino Burbot
They never settle down and prefer to live within the rushing rapids.

• Rapids/fast moving river water

_______________________________________________________________

Pumpkinseed Fish
I’ve only seen them in that little pond with the lilies.

• Pond with Lilies

Pumpkinseed Fish
I’ve only seen them in that little pond with the lilies.

• Pond with Lilies

_______________________________________________________________
Bluegill
I almost caught one of these in the little bay on the south end of the island.

• Southern Bay of Sid Beach

Albino Bluegill
I almost caught one of these in the little bay on the south end of the island.

• Southern Bay of Sid Beach

_______________________________________________________________

Common Carp
They prefer calm rivers or deep blue reefs.

• Calm Rivers
  
• Deep Blue Reefs

Albino Common Carp
They prefer calm rivers or deep blue reefs.

• Calm Rivers
  
• Deep Blue Reefs

_______________________________________________________________

Salmon
I've only seen them near the bottom of river waterfalls.

• Foot of River Waterfalls

Albino Salmon
I've only seen them near the bottom of river waterfalls.

• Foot of River Waterfalls

_______________________________________________________________

Fishing locations

Meteor Lake
Found by following the trail to the Meteor Lake Lookout.
_______________________________________________________________
Blue waters
Any water that is in the middle gradient of blue.

Deep Blue Waters
Any water that is in the darker gradient of blue.

Deep Blue Reefs
Deep Blue waters that come near land.
_______________________________________________________________
Calm Rivers
Any slow moving water in a river.

Rapids/fast moving river water
Any fast moving water in a river.

Foot of River Waterfalls
Waterfalls that flow into oceans don't count.
_______________________________________________________________

Pond With Lilies
The small pond with a tree inside of it next to the graveyard.

Small Pond with Lilies
In the Royal Ridge region of northwest Hawk Peak island.
_______________________________________________________________

Southern Bay of Sid Beach
Southern bay in the Sid Beach area.
_______________________________________________________________

Frozen Lakes
Lakes that are near Hawk Peak.

Fishing related quests/achievements

Camping Permit
Near White Beach Trail you will find an illegal camping spot and a cat desperately looking for something, talking to the cat will reveal that he has lost his camping permit and he claims it has been eaten by a fish. By catching a few fish in Meteor lake you can find the permit in one of the fish. Returning his licence rewards you with bait.
_______________________________________________________________

The Fish Are Biting Today Achievement
This achievement is obtained by completing the fishing journal and trading all 15 variants of fish with the Pelican Captain. As a reward he will give you the golden fishing rod which attracts rarer fish and is apparently made of gold.

[Meammers]

Crayfish is impossible to catch

[margaret.m.snead]

KlaHaMi i think you have to spam the b button, i am so sorry if this doesn't work, i use a keyboard so it might not work

[pookie]

This whole time I thought he was a walrus

[KiaHaMi]

My line keeps breaking too... how should one work the buttons??? After, it bites, I press B. The fish pulls the string, swirling around in the water, then *snap*... Help please...

[Bucetossauro]

There are almost no Blue Waters in this game. They always end up having Deep Blue Water fish

[| Hibryd |]

Just to summarize for people looking for the achievement/golden rod; you don't have to catch every fish on this list, just the fish that are outlined in the journal. Certain fish like the actually rainbow trout are not outlined in the journal (but will be added to it once caught). If you view the outlines in-game it will give you a tip where to find them.

[rileyappleseed]

I actually caught the camping permit at the summit. I didn't really like fishing at first, so I didn't start until near the end of the story. Once I was at the summit I though it would be perfect to fish in the hot springs, it was one of the first fishes I caught since I hadn't fished much yet.

[Penguin.1008]

This is for everybody, who wonders how to actually use the rod to fish.
1. Pull the movement stick to yourself against fish's movement.
2. Your fishing line will start to make a noice. The higher sound you hear- the closer you are to catch a fish.
3. Do not get yourself into the water or you will lose the fish. If you are too close to water, just relocate yourself further off the water, press B button (if you are using XBOX controller) to hook the fish back and start pulling again.

I don't like to YouTube everything I am having troubles with in the game so I decided to figure it out myself and I didn't lose a single fish with this method. I couldn't see any tips in Steam either so I hope it will help someone. Have fun- gotta catch' em all!

[Verneryk]

Can you please add to this guide how to use the rod?

[Timmering]

I missed a bit of the tutorial... and I do not quite know how to fish.