Fishing

Fishing is a new game mechanic introduced in Far Cry 5. After liberating Dutch's Island, players will be able to explore further and locate areas to fish. Unfortunately though, players will not be able to just fish anywhere there's water. They will need to locate (or purchase) a fishing rod, and fish in designated areas. To get a fishing rod early in the game, complete the prologue on Dutch's Island, then head to the east side of the island and locate the dock with a shop vendor on it. He will sell weapons and the first two fishing rods in the game (there are four total). Equipping a fishing rod for the first time will start a short tutorial on how to use it.
Alternatively, a free pole can be gathered in one of two ways. The easiest is to head to Whitetail Mountains and talk to Skylar at Dylan's Master Bait Shop. She will offer the side mission Tools of the Trade that will give the player a free fishing pole. Skylar will also teach the player how to fish. Another way to gain a free pole is to locate any fishing area and look on the ground. There is generally a basic pole somewhere nearby that can be picked up and used.
==Lures==
Once a fishing rod has been acquired, the player will start with the Basic Mayfly bait. This will catch most basic fish. It is recommended that the player unlock the Fishing King perk located under Survivalist in the perks menu if they want to catch harder fish. This will allow access to other types of flies. It will also allow players to catch fish faster. This perk is required to catch the heaviest unique fish which will only be attracted to a very specific lure.
Once the perk is unlocked, four more lures unlock. They can all catch a variety of regular fish, but are required for:
*Bass Popper - heavy Bass
*Hybrid Sturgeon - heavy Sturgeon
*Salmon Egg - heavy Salmon
*Trout Bugger - heavy Trout
==How to Fish==
With the fishing rod in hand and the player standing near the designated water, use the appropriate control to begin a cast.
* For console this is the R and L triggers. Keyboard users will use the mouse.
* The left button will cause the rod to move forward and backwards. The farther back the rod is behind the player when released, the further the cast will land.
* Use the right button to finish the cast.
Since this is river fishing (no bobber is used), the player will need to reel the line back in, a little at a time, but continuously. This will 'jerk' the fly/bait and attract the attention of the fish. Continue this until a fish is hooked or the line is all the way in. When the bait is too close to shore, the rest of the line will be reeled in automatically.
If a fish is hooked, the player will need to tire the fish. This is done by continuing to reel in and dragging the fish with the fishing rod in the opposite direction that it is attempting to swim. Be careful while reeling the fish in though as the line could break. If the line turns red, stop pulling and reeling for a second to soften the tension on the line. The line will again turn back to its original color, and the struggle can continue. If you keep having trouble with the line breaking, stop reeling in as soon as it turns yellow, instead of red.
There are two things you're trying to do, which are sometimes at odds with each other:
* Tire the fish out and
* Get it close enough to pick up
This can result in doing things like:
* If it's coming to you, don't fight its motion ... just reel it closer
* If it jumps out of the water, keep reeling and perhaps whip the rod back
When the fish is close enough, it will be caught automatically and added to the player's inventory. Players can then take the fish to a Shop to vendor it. Alternatively they can feed the fish to Cheeseburger. 
How to Fish - Video Tutorial
==Maps for Fishing==
===Whitetail Mountains===
*Arctic Graylings - Howard Cabin, Gardenview
*Golden Trout - Silver Lake Trailer Park, Gardenview
*Rock Bass - Breakthrough Camp, F.A.N.G. Center
*Largemouths - Loresca Residence, Baron Lumber Mill
*Rainbow Trout - Whitetail Park Visitor Center, PIN-K0 Radar Station
*Chinooks - Dansky Cabin, Elk Jaw Lodge
===Holland Valley===
*Bull Trout - Fall’s End, Kellett Cattle Co.
===Henbane River===
*Paddlefish - Linero Building Supplies, Baron Lumber Mill
*Pallid Sturgeons - Taft Lookout Tower, Drubman Marina
*Smallmouths - Nelson Residence, Lorna's Truck Stop
==Hard Fish Locations==
===Whitetail Mountains===
*Lake Trout - At the most eastern park of Whishbone Lake where it meets the mountain. East of the F.A.N.G. Center.
*Golden Trout - In the river right next to Fort Drubman, east of the F.A.N.G. Center.
*Chinook Salmon - Northwest of the F.A.N.G. Center in the Moccassin River. South of the boat shop.
*Kokanee Salmon - West bank of Cedar Lake, southwest of the small island. Directly west of the F.A.N.G. Center.
*Arctic Grayling Salmon - Southwest of the F.A.N.G. Center at the western edge of the map. Look for a medium-sized horse hoof shaped lake at the mountain edge. The fish are just west of the northern tip of the lake.
===Holland Valley===
*Pallid Sturgeon - River in the far southwest corner of the map, south of the Lamb of God Church.
*Paddlefish Sturgeon - Further south down the same river that the Pallid Sturgeon is in.
*Rainbow Trout - Directly east of Rae-Rae's Pumpkin Farm in the river.
*Bull Trout - South of the Rainbow Trout location, at a bend in the river.
===Henbane River===
*Rock Bass - In the river west of the Hope County Jail just north of the second bend. South of the Sacred Skies Lake marker.
*Largemouth Bass - East of the Moonflower Trailer Park to the edge of the map, then straight north past the fork and slightly past the first bend. Directly east of Ross Bass Lake.
*Smallmouth Bass - Directly east of the Moonflower Trailer Park on the east edge of the map in the cove.
==Fishing Quests==
*Tools of the Trade - Dylan's Master Bait Shop - North of Widow's Creek - Settle a lover's quarrel by shooting up Dylan's stuff. He will toss a fishing rod to the ground. Take it and talk to Skylar who will teach the player about fishing.
*Gone Fishin - requires the Fisher King perk. Return to Skylar and she will mark three locations on the player's map. She will require a bass, salmon, and a sturgeon. Once the fish are acquired, Skylar will radio the player.
*The Admiral - This quest will land players the second best rod in the game - Wonderboy Rod, but it will take a good rod to catch this fish. The one players picked up off the ground probably won't cut it, so purchase the Natural Rod from a vendor. Due to an injury Skylar will ask the player to catch the Admiral. This fish is located in the bay at the border of Holland Valley. The area is filled with cultists and other enemies, so catching it will be a challenge. It's not going to give up easily either and the line will break several times even with the best effort. Once the fish is caught, take it back to Skylar for the rewards.
*Ragnar the Terrible - The quest starts at the Drubman Marina in Faith Seed's region of Henbane River. Liberate the marina to unlock the mission. The quest giver is a female soldier near the docks.
*Old Betsy - In order to obtain the fourth and last fishing rod 'Old Betsy', one has to beat all the existing fishing records. To find them, head to Fall's End, Wolf's Den and the Hope County Jail to find the record board. The records can only be beaten by fishing on the spots marked as Difficult.
==Record Billboard Locations & Fishing Spots==
===County-Wide===
*Bull Trout - 21 lbs | Directly east of Copperhead Rail Yard
*Rainbow Trout - 28 lbs | Southeast of Rae-Rae's Pumpkin Farm, underneath Bridge of Tears
*Golden Trout - 4 lbs | Directly southwest of Rye & Sons Aviation
*Lake Trout - 37 lbs | At the north end of the inlet between Fort Drubman and Linero Building Supplies
===Whitetail Mountains===
*Right behind the general store in the Wolf's Den
**Chinook Salmon - 27 lbs | Directly northwest of F.A.N.G. Center
**Kokanee Salmon - 6 lbs | Directly northwest of Grand View Hotel
**Arctic Grayling Salmon - 3 lbs | Along the northern shore of Snowshoe Lake
===Holland Valley ===
*A small alcove in the back of The Spread Eagle in Fall's End
**Pallid Sturgeon - 55 lbs | Directly south of Lamb of God Church
**Paddlefish Sturgeon - 112 lbs | Directly southeast of Kellett Cattle Co.
===Henbane River===
*Down a left hallway south of the general store in Hope County Jail
**Rock Bass - 3 lbs | Eastern end of the small island under "Rock Bass Lake" at Rock Bass Lake
**Smallmouth Bass - 6lbs | Slightly south of the Clutch Nixon event north of Jessop Conservatory
**Largemouth Bass - 8 lbs | Directly south of Nolan's Fly Shop
==True Fact Notes==
Each fish has a True Note fact that can be found at one of the many marked fishing spots for that fish.
Arctic Grayling
*"Arctic Graylings can be identified by their colorful and very large dorsal fin. Fly that fin loud and proud, you majestic creatures."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot at the lake above Rattlesnake Trail Bridge
Bull Trout
*"Bull Trout are an extremely sensitive species that don't tolerate high levels of sediment in their streams or any other environmental microaggressions."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot on the small island northwest of Henbane River Chalets.
Chinook
*"The Chinook swims from the ocean back to freshwater where it spawns and then dies. It's sad, but you can never go home again."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot at Lansdowne Airstrip spot, on the dock.
Golden Trout
*"Different types of trout are capable of mating and producing viable offspring, but they’ve remained distinct for thousands of years because trout are super racist."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot northeast of John's Security Gate.
Kokanee Salmon
*"The Kokanee are land-locked, and only live in freshwater. Like all salmon they die after spawning, which isn't such a bad way to go really."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot on the dock, north of Elk Jaw Lodge.
Lake Trout
*"Lake Trout can be difficult to find because of their preference for cold, dark, and murky lower depths. You can also find them trolling online forums."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot in the little pond west of Green-Busch Fertilizer Co.
Largemouth Bass
*"The Largemouth Bass is similar to the Smallmouth Bass, only that the mouth is larger. Really, it's all there in the name."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot south of the Feeney Residence.
Paddlefish
*"Paddlefish caviar is a hot commodity, but even if you harvest the eggs yourself, you can't take them out of state. Isn't that just like the government to think they have a say over someone else's eggs?"
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot south of John Seed's Ranch.
Pallid Sturgeon
*"The Pallid Sturgeon has no teeth. It eats by sucking in its food and that's why they're known as the meth heads of the sea."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot east of Sunrise Threshing.
Rainbow Trout
*"Rainbow Trout are the state's number one game fish and they never shut up about it. We get it, you won. Stop reminding us every day."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot on the west sticky out bit from Silver Lake Summer Camp.
Rock Bass
*"Rock Bass are fresh water fish who don't have a problem with being around human activity. They are completely unimpressed by everything we do. Everything."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot on the island in Rock Bass Lake, north of King's Hot Springs.
Smallmouth Bass
*"It is the male Bass that stays back and guards the eggs. They are the stay-at-home dads of the fish world."
*The note location can be found at the fishing spot in the pond down from Dead Man's Mill's waterfall.
Category:Far Cry 5 gameplay