Heartopia fishing locations and every fish you can catch

Fishing sits at the center of Heartopia’s early game. It is the first hobby you learn, a steady source of gold, and the backbone of several collections and achievements. The island’s lakes, rivers, and seas hide close to a hundred species, many of them locked behind specific hobby levels, weather patterns, and time windows.

This overview brings those pieces together so you can plan where to cast next instead of wandering the shoreline at random.

How fishing works in Heartopia

Heartopia introduces the fishing rod during the tutorial and then leaves you free to fish almost anywhere you see a moving shadow in the water. The basic loop never changes, but mastering it is the difference between losing rare fish and landing them reliably.

Step 1: Equip your fishing rod from your inventory or toolbox, then walk up to any body of water that shows black fish silhouettes moving around.

Step 2: Long-press the fishing input to aim, then release to cast so that your float lands slightly in front of the fish, not directly on top of it.

Step 3: Wait for the bite indicator, then hold the same input to begin reeling the fish in.

Step 4: Watch the color of the line. White is safe, yellow means the fish is fighting harder, and red means the line is at risk of snapping. As soon as you see flashing red, let go to give the fish slack, wait until it calms down, then resume reeling.

You repeat this rhythm until the fish is dragged all the way to your character and added to your collection. If you hold through a red flash for too long, the line breaks and the fish escapes.

There are three main types of water on the island — rivers, lakes, and ocean — plus deeper sea areas you reach by renting a boat from the Fishing Village. Different species are tied to those categories.

Fishing hobby levels and skill perks

Every fish you land grants hobby XP. Leveling the fishing hobby unlocks new species, improves the quality of your catches, and opens access to tools and consumables that make the minigame less punishing.

Key upgrades include:

• Fishing Rod Maintenance increases rod durability so you repair it less often.
• Fish Quality raises the odds that a catch rolls a higher star rating.
• Fish Playing strengthens your line, giving more room for mistakes when the bar turns yellow or red.
• Fish Attractor, purchasable from Vanya, helps pull fish toward your bobber.
• Mermaid Perfume, also sold by Vanya, boosts general fishing efficiency.

Higher levels also act as gates. Many fish do not appear at all until you hit the required hobby level, which is why low-level players mostly see small common species around the island.

Reading fish requirements: location, time, weather, level

Every entry in Heartopia’s fish collection follows the same structure:

• Location — a specific lake, river, sea region, or activity such as Sea Fishing.
• Time of day — a window such as “All Day”, “6:00AM–6:00PM”, or slices like morning, afternoon, evening, and night.
• Weather — combinations of Sunny, Rainy, and Rainbow, with some species tied to Rainy/Rainbow only.
• Level requirement — the minimum fishing hobby level before that species can appear.

As a quick example, Beltfish spawns in Zephyr Sea at all hours in Sunny, Rainy, or Rainbow weather and is available from fishing Level 1. By contrast, Bluefin Tuna lives in the Sea category, appears all day in the same three weather states, but only once you reach Level 9.

Level 1 fish in Heartopia

At Level 1, you are learning the basics and building a starting bankroll. These fish live in beginner-friendly spots and are available throughout the day in any standard weather pattern.

These species are ideal for learning the line color timing and for making early gold by selling to vendors such as Albert, who uses your fish money to push his rocket project forward.

Level 2 fish in Heartopia

Once the hobby hits Level 2, the sea fishing event and coastal waters start yielding more exotic catches, including early deep-sea predators.

During sea fishing, keep an eye out for golden fish shadows. These often indicate high-value species like Anglerfish, which fetch significantly more gold than basic ocean fish.

Level 3 fish in Heartopia

Level 3 opens amphibians, crabs, and more demanding time windows. Some of these catches also begin tying into specialty tools such as the Mermaid Attractor.

Level 4 fish in Heartopia

By Level 4, you are chasing species that share habitats with earlier fish but have tighter time or weather demands. Some, like Goby, are notorious for putting up long, exhausting fights that test your line control.

During Rainy or Rainbow weather, Suburban Lake and Onsen Mountain Lake become much more important thanks to Mussel and Tadpole, both of which only appear under those conditions.

Level 5 fish in Heartopia

Level 5 rounds out the early mid-game set with higher-paying river and sea fish and rain-dependent koi that are valuable both as collectibles and as a money source.

Butterfly Koi and Trout share Meadow Lake but respond to different weather and time windows, so it is efficient to camp here and let the day cycle roll while you work through your collection.

Higher-level fish (6–10) and late-game targets

Beyond Level 5, Heartopia leans into rare weather dependencies and late-night or narrow time bands. These species are essential for completionists and often sell for much more than common fish.

Many of these fish turn Rainbow weather into an event. Forest Lake, Suburban Lake, Meadow Lake, and Whale Sea all gain rare species the moment a rainbow appears, so it is efficient to rotate between them during those short windows.

Fish quality, star ratings, and value

Each species can appear in multiple star tiers. Star rating reflects quality and weight and directly affects the price you receive when selling to vendors. For many low- to mid-level fish, a jump from one star to three or four stars can more than double the payout.

Heartopia ties star chances to both hobby progression and fish size. Investing in the Fish Quality and Fish Playing skills, then deliberately targeting larger shadows in the water, is the most reliable way to fill your collection with high-star entries.

Some players treat golden fish shadows, especially during sea fishing, as “big money” symbols because they tend to land as high-value species such as Anglerfish. When you see one, it is usually worth pausing your current target and casting toward it instead.

Where to track your fish collection

Heartopia keeps a detailed log of everything you have caught.

Step 1: Tap the watch icon in the top-right corner of the screen.

Step 2: Select the orange journal icon labeled as your collection.

Step 3: Open the Fish Observation tab to see all fish you have discovered, their star ratings, and any gaps that remain.

This collection ties into fishing achievements that reward badges and, eventually, a special rod once you have found every species.

Money and progression strategies with fishing

Because fish regenerate quickly and scale in value with both rarity and star rating, fishing is a reliable backbone for your in-game economy.

Early on, staying near starter lakes and rivers and fishing constantly to level the hobby is more profitable than chasing specific rare fish you are not yet equipped to land. Once you unlock Level 2 and Level 3, ocean species such as Skipjack Tuna, Rabbit Fish, and eventually Bluefin Tuna and Swordfish become strong gold earners.

At mid- to high-levels, the best payouts come from planning around weather and time. Rainy and Rainbow periods have outsized value because they stack rare species across multiple locations, while night fishing in the sea opens up predators like sharks and large crabs that sell for premium prices.

All of this loops back into Heartopia’s broader progression. Gold from fishing funds repairs, crafting materials, village improvements, and storyline projects like Albert’s rocket, while rare fish feed into cooking recipes and villager gifting preferences.

If you treat each hobby level as a new layer of the island’s ecosystem rather than a grind, the process of completing the fish collection becomes one of the most satisfying long-term projects in Heartopia.