~NOTICE
If you use this in a video/guide/whatever, please give me and anyone else the credit they deserve. Thanks!
~INTRODUCTION
Here's a PSA for anyone who needs help. Fishing is very vague, and is sometimes unclear. This is completely fine, however there are some things the game just doesn't tell you at all. So, me and some other people are gathering as much information as we can, so everyone can have fun fishing. Enjoy!
~HOW TO FISH
To equip bait to your line, hold the fishing rod, and then go to the Item Radial. Where it says "More" there will be another option, "Bait"
To fish, wait till a fish bites on, then pull the rod the opposite direction of the fish. Keep fighting it, and then eventually it will get tired out and you can reel it in. Repeat the process.
~FISH TYPES
Splashtails, Pondies, and Islehoppers don't need bait.
Splashtails are anywhere.
Pondies are ONLY in freshwater (Devil's Ridge. Pan next to the pond)
Islehoppers are ONLY around islands.
Plentifins are ONLY in the Shores of Plenty. Use worm.
Wildsplashes are ONLY in the Wilds. Use worm.
Ancientscales are ONLY in the Ancient Isles. Use leech
Devilfish are ONLY in the Devil's Roar. Use grub
Battlegills are ONLY around Skeleton Ships and active Skull Forts. Use grub
Wreckers are ONLY around Shipwrecks. Use worm
Stormfish are ONLY in the Storm. Use leech
~ISLEHOPPER INFO
NOTE: with very few exceptions, schools of only one subspecies of Islehoppers can be found at each large island.
Stone Islehopper: Cannon Cove, Crooks Hollow, Sailor's Bounty, Shipwreck Bay, Sharkbait Cove, etc.
Moss Islehopper: Wanderer's Refuge, Marauder's Arch, Thieves Haven, etc.
Raven Islehopper: Discovery Ridge, Sharkbait Cove, etc.
Honey Islehopper: Crescent Isle, Sunken Grove, Plunder Valley, Kraken's Fall, Discovery Ridge, etc.
Amethyst Islehopper: Devil's Ridge, Crooked Masts, Smuggler's Bay, Snake Island, etc. (night time only)
You must be fishing in the sea within the title card range of an island to catch them
Thanks to @Alien8theBunny for this info on Islehoppers!
~FISHING TIPS
There are 5 types of each fish, and for MOST fish, the first three seem to be increasingly rare, while the 4th one is the "Super Rare" one, and the 5th one is the glow-in-the-dark nighttime exclusive one.
NOTE "Super Rare" fish are reportedly more common in and around Skull Forts.
Cooked fish & food is worth more, burnt is worth less.
Wiggle the rod around to reel faster.
You can reel while the fish is struggling to get a small bit of
progress, but it is risky. You can only turn it 1/4 turn before it snaps if the fish is not tired.
Use the right bait or you'll just catch Splashtails, with some exceptions.
Sell fish & cooked meat at Seaposts.
You don't need bait to catch trophy fish; they're just rarer versions of the respective normal variants
Unlock different fishing rods for each set by catching & selling different fish. Check the tool shop to see them all.
More hard-to-find fish are worth more. I once got a Trophy Sun Wrecker, cooked it, and it sold for 4.8k. NOTE: Sun Wrecker value has since been swapped with the Snow Wrecker value.
When you can't grab a fish, check if your food is full.
~COOKING TIPS
All the fruits heal you different amounts.
Bananas: 10%
Coconuts: 20%
Pomegranates: 30%
Mangos: 50%
Pineapples: 100% (2)
Pineapples can be eaten twice.
Cooked food gives more health, prevents food poisoning, and fills your regen bar. The regen bar will drain itself, but fill your health if you stop taking damage for a couple seconds.
Fruit doesn't cook. It only burns. It's good for a quick heal, but doesn't give a regen bar.
When meat is cooking, it will go from completely pink, to completely brown. If there's any large pink sections, put it back on the pan.
When a fish is cooked, the skin will go brown and the eyes will go milky. Even if they change color, (ex. Red fish to Blue fish) wait until they go brown.
Sell cooked meat to the Hunter's Call to get a commendation for each animal. You even get a tattoo for the animals, and a Merrick & Derrick themed face paint for the monsters.
Pretty much every single campfire that was in the game now has a frying pan over it, if you have to cook a bunch of stuff, see if you can find one.
Caged animals die from less hits, so if you go hunting, bring some animal crates.
~CONCLUSION
Remember, please, Upvote posts you like so more people can find them. Otherwise it will sink to the bottom of the forums and in this case, we'll have another 1000+ posts saying "how do I catch a fish?"
~CREDIT
Credit goes to:
@Merrick's Family
@KlutchxKing518
@Alien8theBunny