Every run in How to Really Fish starts the same way. You spawn in the lobby, join a boat party, and get teleported to Forest Island with a starter opening objective on screen: HOW TO MAKE MONEY, with the instruction to Find 3 clams and sell them to the Fisherman. Everything you earn after that follows one rule.
Quick answer: Pick up clams on the Forest Island beach, cook each one at the campfire, then sell them to Fisherman Joe. Cooking is what raises the price, and it applies to every fish you catch, not just the opening clams.
Cook every catch before selling it
Selling an item raw works, but it pays less. Dropping a clam or a fish onto the campfire triggers a confirmation message that tells you the new price, such as Cooked the Clam! Now worth $2... or Cooked the Carp! Now worth $11. That message is your proof the item is ready to sell. If you do not see it, the item never touched the fire and you are about to hand Fisherman Joe a cheaper version of the same catch.
Cooked values are not identical every time. Two Carps sold in the same run can land at $11 and $8, so treat the numbers below as the range you should expect rather than a fixed price list.
| Item | How you get it | Cooked value |
|---|---|---|
| Clam | Picked up on the Forest Island beach | $2 |
| Carp | Fishing with the Basic Lure | $8 to $11 |
| Emo Fish | Fishing | Cook, then sell |
| Bream | Fishing | Cook, then sell |
| Leech | Collected on the island | Cook, then sell |
| Crab Claw | Giant Crab boss drop | Boss reward |
Join a boat party and teleport to Forest Island
ENTER TO PLAY prompt. You appear on the lobby beach, where you can walk around freely before committing to a run.CHOOSING PARTY while it waits for other players to step on.STARTING IN countdown begins automatically, and a red Leave button stays on screen if you change your mind before it hits zero.
TELEPORTING and drops the whole party at Forest Island together. You know it worked when the location label shows Forest Island and the money objective appears.Fishing controls and your first catches
Fishing needs two actions. Cast the line with the rod equipped, then reel in when a fish bites. The starting bait is the Basic Lure, and a Change Bait option sits alongside the cast control for when you have something better. Once a catch is on the line, the interface swaps in the reel prompt, plus a Drop Fish option if you want to get rid of it.
Carp is the most common early catch, with Emo Fish and Bream turning up as you keep casting from the shoreline. Run the same three steps on each one. Reel it in, walk it to the campfire, then take the cooked version to Fisherman Joe. The rest of your hotbar carries Punch, a knife, and weapon cards such as OP Uzis, alongside movement options like Sprint and Drop.
Giant Crab boss fight and the Crab Claw drop
The Giant Crab is a shared encounter, not a private one. Any player who wakes it announces it to the whole island with a server message naming them, along the lines of STANDOFF27967 has woken the Giant Crab! A GIANT CRAB health bar then appears for everyone.
Players swing knives at it together to bring the bar down. Partway through, the fight escalates and the game warns you with The Giant Crab is enraged! Keep attacking with the rest of the party until it drops.
The kill is confirmed by a broadcast reading GIANT CRAB SLAIN! It dropped a Crab Claw! If you never see that line, the crab is still alive and the fight is still going.
Buy upgrades from Fisherman Joe
Fisherman Joe is both your buyer and your shop. Interacting with him lets you sell cooked items and browse upgrades in the same menu, so you never need to leave the beach to spend what you just earned. The Sharpen Knife upgrade costs $15, which is roughly two cooked Carps.
Note: money and upgrades matter most before the crab wakes up, since the knife is the weapon players use on it. Selling a few cooked catches early gives you something to spend before the fight starts.
Using boats to move around Forest Island
Boats are drivable and let you fish away from the starting beach. While you are out on the water, a GPS readout tracks your distance back to Forest Island, which is the simplest way to avoid drifting too far from the campfire and Fisherman Joe. There is also a NEXT ISLAND marker in the interface for progressing beyond Forest Island.
Since cooking and selling both happen back on the island, long boat trips only pay off if you are hauling several catches at once. For the opening clam objective and your first few Carps, staying on the shoreline is faster than sailing anywhere.
