How to Fish has 28 Steam achievements, ranging from simple story objectives to trick shots, rare creature hunting, gambling challenges, and a demanding one hour completion run.
Most of the achievements are relatively straightforward, and several will unlock naturally as you progress through the five islands. Others are much easier to complete after finishing the main story, when you have better weapons, more money, and unrestricted access to the islands.
This guide explains how to unlock all 28 achievements in an easy to follow order.
Spoiler warning: This guide includes story objectives, bosses, and details about the ending.
1. Getting started
Description: Kill your first creature.
Catch any creature with your fishing rod, then kill it. You can simply punch your first catch to unlock this achievement. It is essentially impossible to miss during normal progression.
2. Drip
Description: Kill a drip creature.
Drip creatures are rare versions of normal creatures. They are easy to identify because they have rainbow colored name text and unusual appearances.
Simply catch and kill one Drip creature. You are likely to encounter one naturally while progressing through the game.
Drip creatures can respawn, so you do not need to worry about permanently losing one.
3. Who stole my beer
Description: Find and kill the culprit, and bring it to the lighthouse keeper.
Use a beer as bait on your fishing rod to catch the Spider Crab boss.
It is worth upgrading the sharpness of your brass knuckles before starting the fight. When the Spider Crab charges, dodge out of the way and move behind it. The boss becomes vulnerable for a short period, giving you time to attack.
Once defeated, the Spider Crab drops a shell. Take the shell back to the lighthouse keeper to complete the quest and unlock the achievement.
This also gives you the boat keys needed to continue your journey.
4. Getting an upgrade
Description: Upgrade the engine on the boat.
On Island 2, visit the shack next to the old man and purchase the engine upgrade for $230.
There is another engine upgrade available later, but the Island 2 upgrade is cheaper and gets the achievement out of the way early.
5. Dinnertime
Description: Catch dinner for the lady in the forest.
Find three leeches lying on the ground in the forest on Island 2. The tall grass can make them difficult to see, so watch for the interaction prompt while searching.
Give all three leeches to the lady in the forest. She will give you the bait required to summon the Piranha boss.
Catch and defeat the Piranha. Once it dies, pick up the tail it drops and bring the tail back to the lady.
Returning the tail completes the quest and unlocks Dinnertime.
6. Grillmaster
Description: Start the grill.
On Island 3, speak with the grill master. He wants you to bring him a shark.
Purchase the Standard Boss Lure for $280, use it to catch the shark, then defeat it.
Bring the shark back to the grill master. He will give you access to the grill and the achievement will unlock.
The grill becomes extremely useful from this point onward. Properly cooked creatures can reach a 1.5x value multiplier, making cooking one of the best ways to increase your profits.
7. Vacation
Description: Help the tourist swim on his vacation.
Find the tourist on Island 3 and give him an endangered fish.
Needlefish, bowl fish, and sea horse are valid options. Using the pink Standard Lure is a good way to search for them.
After handing over the endangered creature, the tourist gives you a carrot. This carrot is the bait required for the island boss.
Complete the interaction to unlock Vacation.
8. I am speed
Description: Buy the best engine for the boat.
Travel to Island 4 and purchase the Dual Motors for $860 from the shack near the grill.
Once the best boat engine has been installed, I am speed will unlock immediately.
9. Terrorizing bird
Description: Defend the scared islanders from the terrorizing bird.
Purchase the Professional Boss Lure for $1,200 and use it to catch the Tuna mini boss.
Defeat the Tuna, then place it on the ground. The giant seagull will come down for the Tuna and the boss fight will begin.
The bird has a diving attack and a ranged attack. Buildings provide excellent protection from both. The casino is particularly useful because you can stay under cover while still keeping track of the boss.
Use a powerful upgraded weapon such as the Uzi or sniper rifle and continue attacking whenever it is safe to leave cover.
Defeat the bird to unlock Terrorizing bird.
10. Fully equipped
Description: Apply all attachments to a single weapon.
Fill every attachment slot on one weapon.
A fully equipped weapon can use an extended magazine, laser sight, an optic such as a red dot or sniper scope, and a muzzle attachment such as a compensator or suppressor.
A fully upgraded assault rifle is an excellent choice because you will also want a powerful weapon for the final boss.
Once all available attachment slots on the weapon are filled, the achievement unlocks.
11. Deadliest catch
Description: Help the military defeat the big creature they located.
On Island 5, speak with the scientist and give him five fish.
He will provide the bait required to summon the Whale.
Catch and defeat the Whale, then throw its body into the volcano. This triggers the final Lava Whale boss fight.
The Lava Whale uses rolling attacks, stomps, and lava projectiles. During its second phase it becomes considerably more aggressive.
Bring a fully upgraded assault rifle and fill your inventory with cooked fish for healing.
Defeat the Lava Whale to progress toward Deadliest catch.
12. We are so back
Description: Finish the game.
Defeating the final boss is not quite enough to finish the game.
After the Lava Whale dies, collect the tail it drops and bring it back to the scientist.
You will receive the RHIB keys.
Enter the RHIB, start it, and complete the ending sequence. Once the game is officially completed, We are so back will unlock.
13. Easy
Description: Kill a boss within 10 seconds.
This is much easier after completing the story.
Return to Island 1 with your powerful end game equipment. Put beer on your fishing rod and summon the Spider Crab again.
Use your upgraded assault rifle and unload on the boss immediately.
With end game damage, the Spider Crab should die comfortably within the required 10 seconds.
14. 360 no scope
Description: Kill a creature with a 360 no scope.
Choose a weak creature that can be killed with a single shot.
Perform a complete 360 degree rotation, then fire from the hip and kill the creature.
Do not aim down sights.
The rotation can be completed across multiple mouse movements, so players using lower sensitivity can perform two fast swipes rather than trying to complete the entire rotation in one movement.
A sniper rifle works well, although a shotgun can also do the job.
15. Noob
Description: Get a kill with no kill score multiplier.
For this achievement, you need to do the opposite of a stylish kill.
Put a creature on the ground and simply shoot it repeatedly with a ranged weapon.
Avoid special conditions such as headshots, airborne kills, spins, or other actions that increase your kill score.
Once you score a kill with no multiplier, Noob will unlock.
16. Impressive
Description: Get a 5x killscore multiplier.
Kill score modifiers stack together, so the easiest approach is to combine several bonuses in a single kill.
One effective method is to shoot a flying seagull in the head from long range while firing from the hip.
Equip a laser sight so you still have an accurate point of aim without using your weapon sights.
An assault rifle is a strong option because its damage can add additional bonuses such as Overkill.
Combining bonuses such as a headshot, range, hip fire, airborne target, one shot kill, and Overkill can comfortably push the final multiplier beyond 5x.
17. Let me go
Description: Get picked up by a seagull.
Die and do not press the respawn button.
Remain where you are and eventually a seagull should arrive and pick you up.
If you want to force the situation, use dynamite to kill yourself and then simply wait without respawning.
The achievement unlocks when the seagull takes you.
18. Yummy in my tummy
Description: Eat a burnt creature.
You can combine this achievement with Competitive eating.
Purchase the Beginner Boss Lure for $40 on Island 2 and use it to summon the easy mini boss.
Kill the creature and take it to a grill.
Hold it over the grill until it becomes completely black. You can inspect the item while cooking and watch its value multiplier fall to 0.
Once it is fully burnt, eat it.
Yummy in my tummy will unlock.
19. Competitive eating
Description: Eat a mini boss.
The easiest solution is the same method used for Yummy in my tummy.
Purchase the Beginner Boss Lure on Island 2, summon the mini boss, and kill it.
Instead of selling the creature, eat it.
If you completely burn the mini boss before eating it, you can unlock Competitive eating and Yummy in my tummy at the same time.
20. GOLD GOLD GOLD
Description: Unlock a legendary skin from the slot machine.
Take Drip creatures to any Reel of Fortune machine and use them to gamble.
Drip creatures act as the currency for this machine.
You need to continue playing until the machine awards a legendary weapon skin.
This achievement is based on random chance, so there is no guaranteed number of attempts.
Fortunately, Drip creatures respawn, meaning you can continue farming them until you receive the legendary reward.
21. I'm the bird now
Description: Make the boat fly.
Place your boat in the water.
Put a bundle of dynamite underneath the boat and detonate it.
The explosion should launch the boat into the air and unlock I'm the bird now.
The explosion does not permanently destroy your boat, so the achievement is easy to retry if the first attempt does not work.
22. Everyone's dream
Description: Kill a seagull with dynamite.
Place a stick of dynamite on the ground.
Put a fish next to the dynamite to attract a seagull.
Move far enough away that you will not be caught in the explosion.
When a seagull comes down to collect the fish, shoot the dynamite to detonate it immediately.
If the explosion kills the seagull, Everyone's dream will unlock.
23. Collector
Description: Find and kill all the creatures.
Press Tab to open the in game encyclopedia. This provides a checklist of the creatures you have already discovered and killed.
Use it to identify anything that is still missing.
An important detail is that your lure determines what you can catch, rather than the island itself. This means you should work through the different lure types and check your encyclopedia after each session.
Do not forget the optional mini bosses.
One particularly easy creature to overlook is the optional Island 5 mini boss summoned with the Scientific Boss Lure, which costs $5,800.
Once every required creature has been found and killed, Collector will unlock.
24. Fishipedia
Description: Find and kill all drip creatures.
Fishipedia uses the same encyclopedia found by pressing Tab, but this time you need every Drip variant.
Continue fishing with the different lure types and check the encyclopedia regularly to see which variants are still missing.
Drip creatures are clearly identifiable when they appear and can respawn indefinitely.
There is no shortcut around the random element here, so this achievement mainly requires patience and repeated fishing.
25. All in
Description: Bet on green and win at roulette.
Visit the roulette table and place a bet on green.
You need the roulette wheel to land on green and award the payout.
Green pays 35x the value of the item you wager, making this achievement particularly useful to combine with Rich! Millionaire.
Island 5 is a good place to prepare because valuable fish can be cooked in lava for an exact 1.5x value multiplier.
Once green wins, All in unlocks.
26. Rich! Millionaire
Description: Sell something worth 100,000 or more.
This can be completed alongside All in.
Because a successful green roulette bet pays 35x the value of your wager, you need to gamble an item worth at least approximately $2,858 to generate an item worth $100,000 or more.
For additional safety, aim for a cooked fish worth around $3,200.
Catch valuable fish on Island 5 and cook them using the lava. Check their value before gambling.
When you have a sufficiently valuable fish, bet it on green.
If green wins, take the resulting high value item and sell it.
As soon as the sale is worth at least $100,000, Rich! Millionaire will unlock.
27. Handyman
Description: Defeat the final boss with your bare hands.
You do not need to fight the entire Lava Whale using only your fists.
The important part is the killing blow.
Fight the final boss normally with your strongest weapon and reduce its health until only a tiny amount remains.
Stop shooting before it dies, switch to your bare fists, move in, and deliver the final hit with a punch.
It can take a few attempts to judge the remaining health correctly, so be careful not to accidentally finish the boss with your gun.
For the safest attempt, do this solo so you have complete control over who lands the final hit.
28. Bean
Description: Finish the game within 1 hour.
Bean is the most demanding achievement because the entire game must be completed within 60 minutes.
Use a separate save specifically for this achievement and attempt it solo. Every optional activity should be ignored so that all available time goes toward story progression, equipment, travel, and the required bosses.
For a challenge this dependent on routing, it is best to follow a dedicated speedrun guide rather than trying to improvise the route during the attempt. Charlie Pork specifically credits Kads' dedicated Bean guide for the route used to earn the achievement.
There is one major warning for current players. Kads' original route is now marked outdated because the ability to reach the final island before properly unlocking it was patched in version 1.0.5.
The guide is still useful for understanding speedrun preparation, money management, equipment priorities, healing preparation, and boss strategy, but the old direct route to the Volcano should not be treated as functional on current versions.
For Bean, practice the full current progression route first, use a dedicated save, and treat the one hour attempt as a separate challenge from your normal achievement run.
