Buy the Professional Boss Lure on the fourth island, then bait the Tuna's charges and shoot until its health bar empties.
Buy the Professional Boss Lure on the fourth island, then bait the Tuna’s charges and shoot until its health bar empties.
by Sehaj Padda
The Tuna is a miniboss on the fourth island of How to Fish, and it hits far harder than a normal catch. It reads your movement, closes the gap fast, and gives you very few openings, so the fight is less about fishing and more about dodging and shooting. Catching it also unlocks the next step on that island, since you need the Tuna to bring out the large bird an NPC warns you about.
Quick answer: Buy the Professional Boss Lure for $1200 in the dock shack on the fourth island, cast it to hook the Tuna, then switch to a sniper rifle (or a fully upgraded shotgun), keep moving in circles to dodge its charges, and shoot it until its health bar is empty. Pick the Tuna up out of the water once it dies.
What you need before the Tuna fight
The Tuna only appears once you reach the fourth island and buy its dedicated lure. Reaching this point means you have already cleared the earlier islands. Before you summon the boss, make sure your health and hunger bars are full, because the Tuna deals heavy damage and can end the fight quickly if you start weak.
Requirement
Detail
Location
Fourth island (the Rocks), reached late in the game
Required item
Professional Boss Lure, bought inside the dock shack for $1200
Best weapon
Sniper rifle for range, or a fully upgraded shotgun
Head into the shack on the fourth island’s dock and purchase the Professional Boss Lure for $1200. Its description reads “Catches professional mini-boss,” which is what triggers the encounter. Without this lure the Tuna will not appear.
Prepare before you cast. Grab a clam to keep your hunger topped up and make sure your health bar is full, since the Tuna’s attacks are punishing. Ready your fishing rod so you can start the encounter cleanly.
Prepping the rod near the dock; keep your health and hunger full before you summon the boss. Image credit: Dazed Games / via @PazarGamingGuides
Attach the Professional Boss Lure to your hook and cast the line from the dock. Hold the mouse button to pull back the rod, then release to send the line out. The Tuna takes the bait almost immediately.
Casting with the Professional Boss Lure equipped in the fourth slot to hook the Tuna. Image credit: Dazed Games / via @PazarGamingGuides
Once the Tuna is hooked it leaps out of the water and the boss fight begins. Immediately switch from your rod to a ranged weapon. A sniper rifle works well because it hits hard from a distance, and a fully upgraded shotgun is a cheaper alternative if you are short on money.
Bait its charges instead of trying to outrun them. The Tuna predicts where you are heading, so if you simply run left it catches you mid-move. Nudge slightly in one direction to make it commit, then dash the opposite way. The Tuna flies past and you get a clear window to shoot. Strafe in circles between attacks to keep dodging its high-damage lunges.
Shooting the Tuna between dodges until its health bar is almost gone. Image credit: Dazed Games / via @PazarGamingGuides
Keep repeating the feint-and-shoot pattern until the Tuna’s health bar is fully drained. When it dies, walk over and pick it up out of the water to collect your catch.
How to know it worked
You know the fight is won when the Tuna stops moving and a “New Creature Caught!” notification for the Tuna appears after you retrieve it. The Tuna is then added to your collection and you can lay it down to continue the island’s questline.
The New Creature Caught banner confirms the Tuna is beaten and collected. Image credit: Dazed Games / via @PazarGamingGuides
Note: Watch the white bar under the Tuna’s health pool. That bar is the timer keeping the boss on your line. If it runs out before you finish the fight, the Tuna escapes and you have to start the whole encounter over, so avoid getting stunned or backed into a corner for too long.
