Fishing Overview

You acquire the base-level Fishing Rod from Cyril during Chapter 2: Light the Way of your quest to restore the lighthouse. Fishing serves multiple purposes on the island. For starters, the fish you catch can be sold to Sam or Bastian (Bastian only buys fish he can serve in his restaurant), they can be cooked and eaten, and they can be used to make bait and Fertilizer. Don’t underestimate this third usage, especially late in the game, as specialty baits and Fertilizers are essential to catching rarer fish and achieving exotic crop mutations.

But before you go worrying about what to do with your catch, you have to land the fish! This section discusses the different Fishing Rods, bait, and techniques needed to get fishing. For information on the Fishing Contests, refer to the Weddings, Festivals, and Contests chapter.

Fishing Rods

There are three Fishing Rods available. Though they all function exactly the same, you can acquire upgraded rods at Gus’s Smithy. Unlike other tools, there is no Expert-grade Fishing Rod. The Master Fishing Rod and Glorious Fishing Rod are capable of catching two and three fish, respectively. Upgraded rods can spell the difference between winning and losing in the monthly Fishing Contests, especially in the Advanced Class.

Fishing Rods

Bait

Though it may surprise you how many fish can be caught with an empty hook, you’ll be hard-pressed to catch anything more valuable than a Mosquitofish or Perch without some high-quality bait. Bait comes in multiple grades, ranging from Regular to Ragnarok, but you must unlock the recipes for bait by completing Cyril’s requests. The types of Cornmeal and fish required for many of the recipes can be substituted (i.e., Sweet Cornmeal in place of Fodder Cornmeal, or Rainbow Trout instead of a Goby). When fishing, use the Shoulder Buttons to toggle through the available bait types.

Bait Types and Recipes

Fishing for Shadows

Fishing in Harvest Moon: Light of Hope is as easy as pressing the Action Button. Approach a body of water (see the following section for valid fishing zones). If a square of water lights up, signaling a viable casting spot, press the Action Button to bring up the Bait Selection box, then press again to confirm your selection and cast.

Once the hook is cast, all you need to do is look for the fish shadows. If no shadows appear, press the Action Button to reel it in, and cast again. Otherwise, wait for one of the fish shadows to swim to the hook and nibble. Fish typically nibble on the bait four to seven times before finally biting the hook. Be patient and wait for the “!” before pressing the Action Button to set the hook. Once the meter appears, rapidly tap the Action Button to reel in the fish. That’s all there is to it!

As you’ll see in the next section, there are a lot of factors that determine which fish you’re likely to catch. The time of day, season, location, and bait type all contribute to the end result. Even then, some fish are a lot rarer than others.