Catching a specific creature in How to Fish comes down to one thing more than any other, and that is the bait on your line. Each bait pulls a fixed set of fish, so a creature that keeps ignoring your cast usually just needs a different lure. Some baits sit on shop shelves for a few coins, while others only appear after you help an NPC or clear a boss.
Quick answer: Buy the tiered lures (Beginner, Standard, Professional, Scientific) and their Boss variants from island shops to cover most fish, and earn the special baits (Empty Beer Can, Modified Leech, Carrot, Coconut, Fish Bucket, Tuna) from NPCs, trees, or boss kills for the rarer catches.
Every bait in How to Fish and what it catches
You begin at the Lighthouse with just the Free Lure that comes attached to the Crab Fishing Rod. More baits open up as you unlock later islands, so your options grow alongside your progress. The table below lists every bait, how to obtain it, and the creatures it hooks.
| Bait | How to get | Catches |
|---|---|---|
| Free Lure | Default lure included with the Crab Fishing Rod | Shrimp, Brown Crab, Gar, Pike, Mackerel |
| Hot Dog | Shop on Island 1 and Island 2 for $1 | Rock Crab, Lobster, Piranha |
| Empty Beer Can | Buy beer, then give it to the Lighthouse Keeper | Spider Crab |
| Beginner Lure | Shop on Island 2 for $3 | Salmon, Triggerfish, Cod, Goldfish, Piranha, Perch, Goby |
| Beginner Boss Lure | Shop on Island 2, 3, and 5 for $40 | Sunfish, Old Pike |
| Modified Leech | Give five leeches to the girl on Island 2 | Giant Piranha |
| Carrot | Give an endangered creature to the tourist on Island 3 | Pufferfish |
| Coconut | Harvest from coconut trees on Island 3 | Bing Bong |
| Standard Lure | Shop on Island 3, 4, and 5 for $15 | Sea Urchin, Clownfish, Yellow Boxfish, Needlefish, Angelfish, Catfish, Seahorse, Bowlfish, Bluegill |
| Standard Boss Lure | Shop on Island 3, 4, and 5 for $280 | Blue Shark |
| Professional Lure | Shop on Island 4 and 5 for $50 | Tigerfish, Parrotfish, Bass, Halibut, Eel, Sengarat, Flying Fish, Voxelfish, Dripper, Red Snapper |
| Professional Boss Lure | Shop on Island 4 and 5 for $1,200 | Tuna |
| Scientific Lure | Shop on Island 5 for $500 | Superdwarf Fish, Blobfish, Anglerfish, Stonefish, Oarfish |
| Scientific Boss Lure | Shop on Island 5 for $5,800 | Goblin Shark |
| Fish Bucket | Give fish to the scientist NPC on Island 5 | Bowhead Whale |
| Tuna | Awarded after beating the Tuna boss | Albatross |
Baits you can’t buy from a shop
Several of the most useful baits never appear on a shop menu. These are the ones players tend to miss, so they are worth tracking down on purpose.
- Empty Beer Can — Buy beer first, then hand it to the Lighthouse Keeper to turn it into the can. It is the only bait that lands the Spider Crab.
- Modified Leech — Collect five leeches and give them to the girl on Island 2. In return you get the single bait that catches the Giant Piranha.
- Carrot — Bring an endangered creature to the tourist on Island 3. The reward is the Carrot, which is needed for the Pufferfish.
- Coconut — Pick these straight from the coconut trees on Island 3. It is the bait for the creature known as Bing Bong.
- Fish Bucket — Give fish to the scientist NPC on Island 5 to receive this bait, which hooks the Bowhead Whale.
- Tuna — Defeat the Tuna boss and you can then use a Tuna as bait to catch the Albatross.
How to switch your equipped bait
B on your keyboard to cycle to the bait you want. Keep pressing until the correct one is active.
Working through the tiered lures in order keeps your catch pool growing without wasting coins, and the Boss lures are the gate for the biggest targets like the Blue Shark, Tuna, and Goblin Shark. Once you have the special baits in your bag, matching each creature to its bait becomes a simple lookup, and the fish you kept missing start biting on the first cast.
