Going Fishing in Paper Mario: The Origami King

Any good JRPG worth its salt finds a way to let the main character sit back and catch some fish. No matter how ill-fitting that seems, it’s gonna be tucked in there somehow anyway. Paper Mario: The Origami King is absolutely one of those games, with a cute little fishing minigame that offers a few rewards. You don’t get quite as much information as you probably should in the game, so here’s a little guide on Paper Mario: The Origami King fishing, including how it works and what you can get from it.

You’ll first encounter the fishing minigame just outside of Toad Town, when you’re trying to find all the Shell Stones in the Overlook Mountain area. You’ll need to fish here in order to advance the story, but otherwise fishing is generally optional. You’ll be catching Cheep Cheeps in the Outlook Mountain fishing spot, and eventually you’ll pull up a “folded” Cheep Cheep. After you win the fight, you get the blue Shell Stone. But you might want to stick around for a bit after that.

Related: How the Paper Mario: The Origami King Motion Controls Work

First of all, here’s how fishing actually works. It’s pretty simple, especially if you have motion controls turned off. You simply have to aim Mario’s cast left or right, and there’s a little green arrow that shows what direction you’re aiming. Then you hold and release the A button to cast a line, with the distance based on how long you hold the button. If it lands near a fish shadow you’ll see a little “!” pop above its head, and it will start nibbling. If it’s a bad cast you can pull it back with the B button, but it isn’t like some other games that let you move it around first. 

Once the fish bits it’ll continue to nibble as it tries to fake you out into a botched reeling attempt. You can relax though, as the timing window when another “!” pops up to indicate go time is pretty generous. Once you press A at the right time that’s all; Mario will take care of the hard part all on his own. If you get an actual fish/blooper/etc, you’ll get a little note indicating how big it is then get an actual measurement. If you beat your standing record you’ll get some fanfare and unlock a “sheet,” which means a display in the Toad Town museum will update with your biggest catch.

While you need to fish for that Shell Stone to keep the story moving, you can get more than just fish. You can also drag up collectible treasures and even Hidden Toads from fishing spots. It’s totally worth sticking around, even if you don’t care about breaking those fishin’ records, until you get a notification that you’ve found all the bonus goodies in each fishing spot.

Enjoying Paper Mario: The Origami King? If you’re still on the fence about picking it up or not due to Paper Mario’s divisive history, check out some of our previous coverage:

What to Look for to find Paper Mario: The Origami King Hidden Toads

What are Coins for in Paper Mario: The Origami King?

How Combat Works in Paper Mario: The Origami King

What’s the biggest Cheep Cheep you’ve snagged? Have you caught the Legendary Blooper? Let us know how much of a pro Paper Mario angler you are on our social channels on Twitter and Facebook!