Island 2 in How to Fish looks like another place to cast. The Leech request is not a fishing job. A woman by the lake wants three Leeches, and she will not give you Father’s Favorite Bait until that counter hits 3/3.
Quick answer: Talk to the woman on the rock on Island 2, pick up three Leeches from the nearby grass with E, then hand all three back to her for Father’s Favorite Bait.
Island 2 NPC starts the 0/3 Leech request
Sail northwest from the Lighthouse to the forest island. The quest giver sits on a rock by the lake, close to the settlement and shop. Speak to her with E before you start walking the grass. That conversation opens the objective at 0/3 and tells you she can turn the Leeches into bait.
I’d like to surprise my father with a special dinner, but he won’t allow me to hunt…
She wants a special meal for her father and cannot hunt it herself. The creature she has in mind likes Leeches. Your job is the collection, not the recipe. If the HUD still shows 0/3, you are still in the pickup phase. You do not need a new lure, a stronger rod, or a boss fight yet.
Leeches sit in the Island 2 grass
Leeches crawl on the ground. They are not a species you hook, and they do not drop from a kill. After the 0/3 request is active, stop staring at the water. Point the camera at your feet and walk the green grass around the NPC, the settlement, and the lake edge.
The models are small enough to miss if you sprint or scan the horizon. Slow down near plants, rocks, and path edges. When the pickup prompt reads Leech, press E. One collected Leech moves the counter to 1/3. That is the only signal that matters at this stage.
Keep sweeping outward from the rock instead of recasting at the same fishing spot. Check the dense grass along the rocky shoreline as well as the turf beside the shop. The counter is exact. One Leech is not enough, and two is not a hand-in.
You will pass other wildlife and wooded campsites while you search. Ignore them for this objective. If you are lining up a shot on a boar, you are looking at the wrong height. The Leech prompt only appears when the camera is low enough to see the ground object.
If the number stays at 0/3, 1/3, or 2/3, you still need a ground pickup. Buying another lure will not move that counter. Leaving the island and coming back is not a required step. Finish one slow loop of the usable grass before you assume a spawn failed.
Hand in 3 Leeches for Father’s Favorite Bait
A raw Leech does not go on the rod. The woman is the conversion step. Collect all three first, then return to the same rock. She takes the completed 3/3 requirement and prepares Father’s Favorite Bait.
She also warns you to bring a gun. That line is the marker that collection is over. The next time you use this bait, you are calling a boss, not landing a normal fish. Hold the bait until you actually want that fight.
Confirm Father’s Favorite Bait before you cast
Use the quest state, not a guess, to decide whether you still need Leeches.
| Quest state | What to do next |
|---|---|
| 0/3, 1/3, or 2/3 | Keep picking Leeches off the grass |
| 3/3, no bait item | Return to the woman and finish the talk |
| Father’s Favorite Bait in inventory | Stop collecting Leeches |
| Giant Piranha health bar on screen | The Leech route already worked |
The hand-in worked when Father’s Favorite Bait appears as an item you can put on the rod. Equip it, then cast into the water on Island 2. A successful bite that reels up the Giant Piranha is the last check. The HUD shows Creature Caught! and a Giant Piranha health bar.
Once that bar is up, stop searching the grass. The Leech problem is finished. What remains is the fight on land, then the later hand-in that unlocks the next island. You do not need more Leeches for that attempt.
The whole route is three ground pickups and one return visit. If the rod is still in your hands and the counter has not moved, you are standing in the wrong place. Look down.
