Hello fellow anglers!

Welcome to my attempt at overcomplicating what is supposed to be a simple, relaxing, idle fishing game!

The main purpose of this guide is to give you something to reference quickly when you're trying to maximize your profits and efficiency while either actively or idly fishing. I'm regularly updating the info in this guide to reflect the most recent changes.

I've never created a guide before, but this game seems to be the right pace for a first try. All constructive feedback is welcome.

Enjoy the game and leave the overthinking to me.

(Sorted alphabetically)


*Value per pound diminishes slightly at higher weights

To get these numbers I'm simply taking the rewarded gold of the caught fish from active fishing and dividing it by the imperial units of the associated fish. Some fish are a little harder to nail down due to minimum values for the little nibblers and decreasing values on increasing weights of other fish. The numbers are rough and approximate at this time. Data collection and verification continues...

As of the latest update, Idle Mode now automatically sets your gear loadout to catch the available fish at the current location after trying with your current loadout. This, along with improved fishing spot determination and quicker bite times greatly improves the Idle Mode fishing efficiency. The main drawbacks being that fish caught in Idle Mode yield half the value of actively caught fish and legendary fish will not be caught.

I'll be testing each location with the auto gear option enabled and posting the results below. This may take some time since I would like to get about an hour for each location. Before I turn Idle Mode on, however, I do set my loadout to the preferred bait and rod capacity for the largest fish in the area. (Example: Horizon Caster + Big Spinnerbait, targeting Lake Trout, at Picnic Point) This should make the auto gear option only kick in if those fish are no longer available.

GoldenFork River, The Fork
Gear: Auto
Targeted Fish: Auto
Profit: 750g/hr

GoldenFork River, Beaver Dam
Gear: Auto
Targeted Fish: Auto
Profit: 850g/hr

GoldenFork River, The Mistwood
Gear: Auto
Targeted Fish: Auto
Profit: 1250g/hr

Fawnmirror Lake, Underwater Meadow
Gear: Auto
Targeted Fish: Auto
Profit: 1350g/hr

Fawnmirror Lake, Picnic Point
Gear: Auto
Targeted Fish: Auto
Profit: 1350g/hr

Fawnmirror Lake, Fisherman's Rest
Gear: Auto
Targeted Fish: Auto
Profit: 1000g/hr

Grizzlyridge River, The Rapids
Gear: Auto
Targeted Fish: Auto
Profit: 2600g/hr

Grizzlyridge River, Eagle's Nest
Gear: Auto
Targeted Fish: Auto
Profit: 1100g/hr


With a basic understanding of the in-game fish fighting fundamentals, active fishing should always yield better results than idle fishing. Since the only investment and cost while fishing is your time, profitability will be based on gold earned per hour. Variables like fight time of the fish, and trips to the dock will be important in determining optimal active fishing tactics.

A few fish fighting principles I currently employ are that when I'm choosing a rod, all else being relatively equal, I prefer longer line over line strength. I feel I can control the fight and line stress more than I can control how far that dang fish wants to swim away once my line strength has reached its limit. I prefer to fight a single fish a little longer, rather than having to attempt multiple fights, and the longer line aids in that strategy. I always reel in while the fish is heading towards my boat, but I always stop reeling after the fish "pops" my line 2-3 times or what can be considered engaging the drag if you are fishing savvy. Anymore than that and you run the risk of the fish letting go.

I'll be testing each location with different loadouts similarly to the idle fishing tests stated above and updating this guide regularly. It is likely that going for a combination of the largest fish in the area with a 10-12g/lb value will be the best starting point.

It's still a work in progress, but I like to make updates as I come up with them. Feel free to leave feedback and I'll read and reply when I get around to it.

The most profitable fish is the one on your hook, so get back out there and have tight-lines!