Once Human fishing guide: Fish locations, best bait, and all fishing spots

Any title that decides to include a fishing minigame is a good one in my book. Once Human has wisely decided to add fishing to their open-world survival game, with multiple locations, a variety of bait, and many types of fish.

All Fishing Locations in Once Human

Pretty much any body of water can be used to start fishing in Once Human, but they won’t all yield the same fish. If you’re looking to start reeling in whoppers, there are a couple of outstanding fishing locations you should gravitate towards. These are where you can catch the rarest and largest fish. One spot even has a chance of grabbing another Deviant for your collection.

All of these locations are prime fishing spots in Once Human. However, a number of them also have a chance of much harder-to-find fish. The numbers dictate the fish that can be found.

Fishing and the best bait in Once Human

The first thing you need to get nailed is mastering the fishing mechanic in Once Human. Honestly, most games use pretty much the same one I remember from the Ocarina of Time back on the N64. It’s a case of “Ain’t broke, don’t fix,” I guess. Nobody’s looking to break the mold.

How to catch fish in Once Human

The first thing you need is a rod to catch the fish. This can be easily crafted at any Supplies Workbench. You need the following resources:

• 20 x Logs
• 10 x Copper

Once you have yourself a rod, you need some bait. You will find the vendor Margerie on one of the many docks around the game. She will sell many types of bait. Making a Dough Fish Bait at your Supplies Workstation using four corn is also possible. I suggest buying yourself the regular bait from the vendor, though.

Now, equip your rod and whip it out with the left mouse button. Hold down on R to equip your bait, and cast with the right mouse button. Hold it down to see where it will cast to, and release it to throw your hook out. Leave the line cast until something bites. This will be signified by the float sinking in the little window on the screen.

Reeling in a fish

When a fish bites, click the left mouse button to reel in the hook. Hold down on the button and pull your rod away from the fish. Ensure you don’t reel in too much, as you will snap the line. The reel meter will start to go red when the line is close to snapping. Release the mouse button at this point, and let it lose some tension.

As you reel in the fish, you will have to counteract its movements. On either side of the reel symbol, prompts will appear on the left or right. Press the A or D button as they appear to keep reeling in the fish. This will add tension to your line, so be careful it doesn’t snap.

The fish only has so much stamina. Your goal is to wear the fish out without breaking your line. If your line snaps and the fish still has stamina left, you will lose both the fish and your bait in Once Human. The bigger the fish, or more rare, the harder it will be to reel in. However, with a little patience and practice, they can all be caught.

Once the meter fills, you will pull your fish in, and it’s straight into your backpack. Gross. The plan is to essentially tire out the fish enough for it to give in to its fate.

The best bait in Once Human

I have had a fair amount of luck catching most fish simply using the basic green bait you can buy from Margerie. However, when fishing in Once Human, you can increase your chances of catching those hard-to-get electric eels and Northern pike by using one of these baits.

Universal bait is a great one to use if you’re looking to catch all types of fish. It has an impressive catch rate and can be acquired by having one of the Frog The Leaper deviants in your display cases. You can catch Frog The Leaper by heading over to the Iron River at coordinates (6133, 3363). Here, you must jump onto some lily pads and fish. It won’t be long until you catch it.

There are many things to collect, harvest, fish, and mine in Once Human. Each of them has its own use in the game, so make sure you know how to find them all.