Fishing Planet - Starter Guides, free fishing online game enjoy with friends

Fishing Planet is an online game that is completely free. You can play the top-notch game without any fees. It attracted me and my friends to play together for many days and nights. I played for 1,000 hours and reached Level 50. My friend was even more addicted. He played for 3,000 hours and reached Level 80. (The current upper limit of the game is also Level 80).

Fishing Planet, a free fishing online game

When I first started playing Fishing Planet, I wanted to find a computer game that I could play leisurely online with my friends. So I thought of going fishing, which is leisurely enough and can also do other things while fishing.

I just saw a free fishing simulation game on the Internet called "Fishing Planet". I first downloaded it to my computer, installed it and tried it to see if it was fun, then invited my friends to join.

Fishing Planet

Fishing Planet download link (need to install and register the free Steam launcher first)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/380600/Fishing_Planet/

At first I thought the free-to-play game must be poorly made, and I might have to pay to upgrade as I play. However, I found this game to be very carefully crafted, especially the online connection part, and almost no one is allowed to cheat, because the fish are distributed through the company's game servers. You will not be able to play this game without a live and  constant internet connection.

The most important thing about a game is the graphic quality. Although it is not the ultimate, it is already very good. There are realistic water ripples on the water surface. Although the water is calm, it is full of motion like real fluid. The green environment around the lake, the small bridges and flowing water, the flying dragonflies, and the special effects of fish swimming are obviously made to feel and be realistic.

Entering the LONE STAR Lake screen

Realistic environment

Fishing at LONE STAR Lake (at noon)

Tackle can be used without complicated settings. The fish was quickly hooked. The game only fishing by rod, no hand-lining.

There are many kinds of fish in the lake. There is a sense of freshness and challenge. The bait is also adjusted based on the condition of the fish, making the game feel more realistic. 

In terms of fishing tackle, you can use in-game currencies: Credits() and Baitcoins() to continuously upgrade and purchase it. Players can have a preliminary understanding of fishing equipment by playing the game.

🐟Lone Star Lake🐟

When the game starts, you will see a globe 🌎with only one location "LONE STAR Lake" available for fishing. LONE STAR Lake in Texas, USA is the starting point, home sweet home🏠 and base camp for all players.

Globe LONE STAR LAKE

Players start with an Advanced fishing license for LONE STAR Lake. Players can fish in LONE STAR's "unlimited" morning, daytime and evening hours without paying any fees, making it easy to save money and upgrade. 

Players start with an advanced fishing license for LONE STAR Lake

Since Texas is our hometown, players do not need to pay expensive travel fees to go fishing in LONE STAR, nor do they need to pay for overnight accommodation, so fishing in LONE STAR does not require any consumption.

No matter which fishing spot you go to, you must buy an Advanced fishing license. Because if you buy a basic fishing license, you will be fined for catching the wrong fish, and the amount will be huge. 

A one-day advanced fishing license at LESNI VILA fishery costs 300 credits

However, purchasing an Advance fishing license does not mean that players will not be fined. The game's one-day fishing license mechanism allows players to fish for one day in real life. A real day can be many days in the game. You can check your license expiration date at any time at below location. So whenever you fish all night long, be sure to note the specific time you purchased your license to avoid getting fined while fishing.

If you decide to continue fishing, you can renew your license before it expires. Fishing after an expired license will result in a fine.

You can check your license expiration date at any time here

Introduction to LONE STAR lake

In the middle of the opposite bank of LONE STAR Lake, there is a small mud pile that supplies red worms for free. Players can save money on buying bait. This special offer is not available at other fishing spots.

Red Worms for free

Red worm collection point

As for other fishing spots around the world, players must pay to travel there, purchase an expensive fishing license before fishing, and pay for overnight accommodation.

Therefore, we sometimes see some high-level players appearing in LONE STAR. They may have violated fishing regulations in other areas and were fined without money.

They may have no money for overnight accommodation or their fishing gear may be broken, so they have to return to LONE STAR to fish to raise travel expenses before setting off to other places.

🎣Fishing basics🎣

To get started and level up quickly, you need to learn some basic fishing knowledge.

First of all, you must learn how to read the weather forecast⛅. The game provides three-day weather forecast. For example, in order to catch fish monsters, we need to fish on a full moon night.

Weather forecast shows time frame for fish eating bait, represented by a curve. The higher the curve, the more likely the fish are to eat the bait. Players can press the button "T" to shift the game time to the appropriate time period.

Fish are not willing to eat bait 24 hours a day. There are high tides and low tides in a day. During the high tide period, the fish eat the bait quickly and the fish are caught quickly and densely. However, during the low tide period, there may be no fish at all. 

Both early fishing and night fishing have different bait eating periods. Sometimes I like to fish at night, but in the early stages, players do not have flashlights to equip. The environment is too dark during night fishing, making movement very troublesome.

Fishing Planet Weather Forecast

Pay attention to weather changes. Fish don’t eat bait when it rains. Even if you stay in the fish pond, if it rains, you won't be able to catch a small fish in a day. In addition, when the weather is particularly cold, fish will not eat bait. Be careful when fishing in colder areas, such as White Moose Lake in Canada.

When the sun is shining, fish like to stay in shaded places, pike like to hide on grassy banks, brown trout and Canadian zander like to hide under stone cliffs, and salmon like to hide in stone rivers.

On windy days, fish like to hide at the bottom of the water. On calm days, fish like to stay on the water surface, which affects the depth at which we set the hook. Most of the big fish hide in deep water, and most of the small fish hide in shallow water near the coast.

Learn about the characteristics of local fish🐟

Before heading to a fishing spot, such as LONE STAR, players can check what fish are available in the fishing spot on the globe page in advance. Once you know what fish are in the area, you will know what kind of fishing tackle to bring at home and what kind of bait to buy.

There are 13 species of fish in LONE STAR, most of which are small fish. The larger and more powerful fish are adult Spotted Bass and Smallmouth Buffalo. Players need more powerful gear to capture them successfully.

Before setting off to the fishing spot, players must first understand the size and weight of the resident target fish, and then equip themselves with fishing rods, fishing reels, fishing lines and fishhooks of sufficient strength. You may find the fish species information at the globe.

The next step is to understand the bait that the target fish likes to eat. I can catch fish using red worms available at LONE STAR. Depending on the species of fish I want to catch, I usually buy all the baits they like to eat and then bring them to the site to test them one by one.

LONE STAR'S FISH

Fishing tackle

When players are on the globe🌎, they can visit the "Fishing Planet Mega Store", which provides the most affordable fishing gear and bait. Then put the purchased fishing gear on your body.

Fishing Planet Fishing Tackle Store

Once players leave the house and arrive at the fishing spot, they can no longer pick up the equipment at home. They can only buy fishing gear or bait at the local fishing gear store at the fishing spot. The price will be relatively expensive, and most of the goods are incomplete or even out of stock.

When you know what your target fish likes to eat, you can buy a lot of bait. In order to level up and save travel expenses, I would stay at fishing spots for a long time. I would not go home so I had to carry a lot of bait with me. Although the price of bait is very expensive, compared to the price of catching a fish, the price of the bait is actually small, so you might as well buy in large quantities to avoid running out of bait.

When the player is not at the fishing spot, fishing gear and bait can be stored in the "Home" column of the player's house and the "Backpack" column on the body. The upper limit of the number of fishing gear that can be stored in the house is 100 pieces (the picture below shows the upper limit after I use Megaslot increased from 100 to 125), which is displayed in the lower right corner of the "Home" column.

As players level up, there will be more and more fishing gear, which will gradually become insufficient to store. At this time, gold coins (also known as Baitcoins ) can be used to purchase Megaslot to expand the storage capacity at Home. Baitcoins can be obtained in several ways, one of which is by completing tasks.

Fishing gear stored by the player in the "Home" column

Use Baitcoins to purchase Megaslot to expand storage space at home

Baitcoins can be obtained as daily bonus

Baitcoins can be obtained by completing tasks.

The tools stored at Home cannot be taken out and used at fishing spots. Only the fishing gear brought by the player can be used at fishing spots. The number of fishing gear a player can carry is limited, and it is displayed in the lower right corner of the "Backpack" column.

Fishing gear stored by the player in the "Backpack" column

As for the player's "Backpack" storage capacity, it can be increased by purchasing new equipment. As players continue to level up, some portable equipment will be unlocked for players to purchase. These portable equipment include vests, rod case and tackle boxes, allowing players to bring more fishing gear or spare parts with them.

Vest

Rod Case

Tackle Boxes

After purchasing the equipment, you must press the human-shaped button on the left in the picture and drag and drop the equipment on your body in the "Home" column before it can be activated and used.

Please note that all equipment in this game will wear out over time (except hats and sunglasses). It uses white oiler and a ring to indicate the durability of the individual tackle. A red ring means the fishing gear is about to be scrapped.

Tackle durability meter

At the end of the trip, go home and then unload the tackle (Sometimes the system will ask for repair after the trip). Then use the wrench icon to repair them. Otherwise, it will suddenly break during the journey, this may result in lost of tackle.

The maintenance cost of the tackle is substantial, sometimes almost like buying a new one, so before upgrading I usually replace it with a new one and sell the old one to save storage space.

When fishing for a long time, be sure to pay attention to the wear and tear of your equipment. If you only carry one set of fishing gear, you must go home and repair it before the gear wears to the end of red circle and is about to break. 

If you plan on fishing for a long time without going home, it is recommended to bring an extra fishing reel and replace it if necessary, as fishing reels usually wear out quickly.

Different types of fishing rods have different fishing methods

There are many types of fishing rods in the game, each with different ways to play:

1) Spinning Rods

A fishing rod specially used for fishing with artificial lures such as bait lures, spoons or spinners. It is necessary to constantly control the fishing reel to retrieve in a manner that allows the lures to imitate a fish’s natural prey to attract fish. It is quite difficult to play well in the game.

Bait lures, Spoons and Spinners
(Source : wiki.fishingplanet.com)

My friend doesn't like using this rod because he can't walk away and do other things while fishing. I rarely use this kind of fishing rod too. But this rod is quite effective for catching pike, trout and salmon. Because these fishes are predators and like to attack really active prey.

Spinning Rods

Spinning rods can only be equipped with spinning wheels (bottom reels) and lures. The assembled fishing rods look as shown below.

Spinning rod with spinning wheel and a crankbait

Catch a Colorado Golden Trout by Spinning Rod

2) Casting Rod

Another fishing rod specifically designed for fishing with lures, it also requires constant control of the fishing wheel to imitate live bait. The difference is that it can only be equipped with a casting wheel.

Casting Rods

The casting rod can only be equipped with a casting reel and lures. The assembled casting rod will look like the following picture.

The casting rod is equipped with a casting wheel and a crankbait

3) Telescopic Rod

At the start of the game, the player defaults to the TeleFloat 250 telescopic rod. This rod is equipped with a float (bobber) as bite indicator, allowing players to experience the most basic still fishing fun. 

The float is an indicator that floats on the surface of the water without being pulled. When waiting for a fish to be hooked, the float will shake and be pulled under the water to signify that a fish has been hooked. 

There are not many telescopic rods in the game, and the fishing weight is not heavy. They are rarely used in the later stages of the game, so they are suitable for beginners to use. 

Telescopic Rods

Telescopic rods are all equipped with spinning wheels (bottom reels), and bait is used. The assembled fishing rods look as shown below.

Telescopic rod with spinning reel and worm bait

The default setting of the game is to throw bait at close range, without aiming function. You can only throw the bait casually near the shore.

Press the "F11" button on the keyboard to switch to long-range casting mode. 

Press the right button of the mouse to select the lake surface as the bait casting location, and then press the left mouse button to cast the bait. The intensity of casting strength needs to be adjusted by paying attention to the straight bar on the right side of the screen.

After casting, it can be seen that the float stays on the water surface, and the hook and bait are suspend at a depth where foraging fish will notice it and in locations near the natural hiding places of fish. If you want to adjust the depth of the hook, you can press "P" and "O" on the keyboard before casting.

4) Match Rod

The function of the Match rod is same as telescopic rod. They are equipped with floats and used with bait. The difference is that the line weight of the match rod is relatively large, which allows them to catch larger fish and the bait can be thrown farther.

Match Rods

The match rods are all equipped with spinning wheels (bottom reels) and use bait. The assembled fishing rods look as shown below.

Match rod with spinning reel and fresh bait

5) Feeder Rods

After mastering the art of bait-casting, most of the game is played with a rod called a Feeder rod, which features a light or heavy trembling tip and is suitable for catching both small and large fish.

When a fish bites the bait, the rod tip will vibrate to show the fish signal, which can be used to recognize when a fish is on the hook.

Feeder rods have the advantage of being able to cast longer distances and are suitable for fishing on larger lakes with large reels. It is recommended that the reel be filled with fishing line as much as possible, for example, 984 feet of fish line.

filled the reel with fishing line as much as possible

On big lakes, it is not a good idea to use a short fishing line, because the bait has been thrown for several dozen to 328 feet. It is easy for the big fish to pull out entire fishing line out of the spool as soon as the fish strikes and drags.

The feeder rod also allows players to attach a feeder cage and play feeder fishing (Feeder is a Groundbait used to attract fish). An alarm bell can be installed on the front end of the feeder rod, and the sound of the bell can be used to determine the timing of pulling the rod.

Feeder Rods

The feeder rod is equipped with a spinning wheel (bottom reel), and bait is used. The assembled fishing rod looks as follows. The green clip is the alarm bell, and the cage like thing in the middle is the feeder cage used to hold the groundbait.

Feeder rod with spinning wheel, bait and feeder cage

If you do not plan to use feeder cage, you can also use a sinker instead, as shown in the picture below.

Feeder rod with spinning wheel, bait and sinker

6) Bottom Rods

In the late game Level 30 onward, the feeder rod with a fishing weight of only 6.5-19.5 lbs is gradually insufficient for use. The bottom rod begins to appear at this time. The bottom rod is actually a reinforced feeder rod with a super-hard texture, specially designed to fight against ferocious big fish. 

Bottom Rods

The bottom rod is equipped with a spinning wheel (bottom reel), and bait is used. The assembled fishing rod looks as shown below.

The bottom rod is equipped with spinning wheel, bait and feeder cage

Catch a huge Siberian Taimen by Bottom Rod at Selenge River

7) Carp Rods

As the name suggests, the carp rod is specially used to catch carp. It must be fitted with carp-specific accessories. The special feature is that the rod cannot be equipped with an alarm bell and needs to purchase an rod holder with electronic bell.

The carp rod is equipped with a spinning wheel (bottom reel), and special bait for carp is used. The assembled fishing rod looks as follows.

The carp rod is equipped with a spinning wheel and special bait for carp

8) Spod Rods

At Level 42, players can drop large quantities of Groundbait to attract schools of fish, utilizing a long-range snare fishing rod to drop the flies into designated locations.

Spod Rods

The spod rod is equipped with a spinning wheel (bottom reel) and uses an extra large spod rocket. The assembled fishing rod looks as shown below.

Spod rod with spinning wheel and extra large spod rocket

Tips for assembling fishing rods

Fish in this game have strong struggles, if you don't have a strong enough rod and reel, the speed of retrieving fish will become very slow, and it will often take more than half a minute to catch a fish. If you want to speed up your retrieve, it is important to utilize the maximum power of your rod and reel, here is my personal experience.

When assembling a fishing rod, the maximum pulling force (drag) of the accessories must comply with the following rules:

Rod line weight > Reel maximum drag > Fishing Line test strength > Leader Line test strength

In addition to this, the set Drag of reel < Test strength of Fishing line test & Leader line

After deciding which rod to use, the maximum drag of the reel should be determined by the line weight of the rod. The line weight of the rod must be greater than the maximum drag of the reel. Because when fishing, the reel and the fish struggle to bend the rod. If the reel exerts more power than the rod, the rod will be overloaded and break.

The maximum drag of the reel must be greater than the test strength of the fishing line. When the resistance of the fish is greater than that of the reel, the fishing line will continue to be pulled out from the spool. When the line is not long enough and is torn out, the reel will be jammed because it can't release the line any more. If it gets stuck, the fishing line must be broken first to protect the reel. If the line is too strong, the reel will be overloaded and break.

The purpose of a fishing reel is to release and retrieve fishing line. At the same time, the reel regulate the tension or force required to take line off the spool via a drag mechanism. 

Depending on the reel model, there are 6, 8, and 12 levels of drag that the player can set (set drag). The drag is simply come from a pair of friction plates inside the fishing reel. The amount of drag on a reel is usually measured in pounds (lbs). If the fish pulls hard on the line, the friction is overcome and the reel rotates to release the line and preventing the line from breaking. Tightening the drag makes it harder for the fish to run and take line, loosening the drag make line easily spool off the reel, and fighting the fish is inefficient.

MiniSpin (left) has 6 level of drag, while Leviathan (right) has 12 level of drag
(Source : wiki.fishingplanet.com)

The set drag of the reel must be smaller than the test strength of the fishing line. When the resistance of the fish is greater than the set drag, the fishing reel will release the line so that the player can fight the fish to ensure that the tension of the fishing line will not be broken due to overloading.

The strength of the fishing line must be greater than that of the leader line, because the fishing line is relatively long and expensive, plus there are accessories such as feeder cage or sinker tied to it. In case the resistance of the fish is much greater than that of the fishing line, the leader line can be torn off first to prevent the fishing line from being torn off and resulting in the loss of feeder cage, sinker and other accessories.

Figure 1 shows that according to the normal assembly sequence, the maximum force of the entire set of fishing rods is 53 pound.

The order of strength of the fishing rod is:

Rod line weight > Reel maximum drag > Fishing Line test strength > Leader Line test strength

59.5 lbs > 57.7 lbs > 57 lbs > 53 lbs

Figure 1

The set drag on the fishing reel is generally divided into 6 levels, 8 levels or 12 levels. You can use the keyboard "+" or "-" to adjust the actual output drag of the fishing reel, which can be seen in the lower right corner of the screen. 

Set drag of the reel show at lower right corner

Fishing reel is generally divided into 6 levels, 8 levels or 12 levels

For example, for the fishing reel in the lower right corner of the picture above, I set the drag at level 11 (1 click below maximum drag), which means the output drag of the fishing reel is set to 57.7 lb/12*11=52.89 lb. That said, the set drag of the reel is below the test strength of both fishing line and leader line.

Set drag at level 11

The upward arrow in the center of the picture above represents the speed of fishing line retrieving, which can be controlled by the scroll wheel of the mouse. The faster the retrieval speed, the faster the fish will be pulled ashore. The purpose of slowing down the line retrieval is mainly to cooperate with lure fishing. In general, full speed can be used.

Key points for choosing fishing rods

(A) Line weight

When purchasing a fishing rod, you mainly look at the “Line Weight” value. Try to choose a fishing rod with stronger line weight. Stronger line weight means the rod can pull heavier fish. Stronger fishing rods usually are more expensive. 

There is no problem in using a fishing rod with strong line weight to catch small fish, but the fish signal will be weaker. The stronger the fishing rod, the faster the fish can be pulled up. If the rod is too strong, the fish will even be pulled directly into the air. 

Line weight of fishing rod

(B) Casting weight

The casting weight value determines the weight of bait that can be attached to the tip of the fishing rod, including live bait or lures. The casting weight here is actually represents a total weight. In addition to the weight of the bait, it also includes the weight of other accessories that will be thrown along with the fishing line, such as sinker or feeder cage. When the casting weight value is low, it means that the fishing rod cannot carry too heavy a bait, sinker or a feeder cage. Casting baits and attachments that are too heavy may cause the line to break. Resulting in loss of bait and accessories. 

Casting weight of fishing rod

(C) Matching reel types

When purchasing a fishing rod, it depends on whether it is matched with a spinning wheel or a dripping wheel. Most fishing rods are matched with spinning wheels, making them easy to use interchangeably. Currently, most of the fishing rods I have are matched with spinning wheels. You can use the green icon to identify the fishing reel that the fishing rod is suitable for.

Illustration of matching spinning reel fishing rod

Illustration of matching casting reel fishing rod
(Source : wiki.fishingplanet.com)

Key points when choosing a fishing reel

(A) Maximum Drag

The purchase of a fishing reel also depends on the "maximum drag" value. The greater the drag, the better it can resist the struggle of the fish and the faster it can pull the fish to the shore.

(B) Recovery

Another thing to pay attention to is "Recovery". It used to determine how quickly your reel retrieves line. The faster the reel speed the better. The faster the retrieval speed can pull the fish to the shore faster, and prevent the fish from decoupling due to insufficient fishing line tension when it swims rapidly towards the player.

(C) Spool Capacity

The fishing reel can accommodate the length of fishing line. The more winding the better, preferably up to 984 feet. In the early days, some fishing reels could only hold 216 feet of fishing line. It will be fine to be used in small ponds such as LONE STAR and ROCKY. Once they reached some large lakes, fish could easily walk more than few hundred feet away. If the length of the fishing line is insufficient, it may be stretched and broken when the spool is empty.

Maximum pulling force, take-up speed, winding amount of fishing reel

Key points for choosing fishing line

The smaller, clearer and stronger the fishing line you buy, the better. The smaller diameter of the fishing line, the less visible it is to the fish and the more line the reel can hold. The length of the fishing line is divided into 150 yards, 300 yards, 500 yards and 1000 yards, depending on the amount of winding of the fishing reel. The stronger the fishing line, the better. 

Once the fishing line becomes thicker, the shorter the line that the fishing reel can store. There is a balance between line length and the size of the lake and the strength of the line, and it is possible to hire a boat to go out to the center of the lake to exchange for extra line length.

The fishing lines in the game are classified by material, diameter and test strength value, calculated by the test strength of the same line diameter: 

Braid > Fluorocarbon > Monofilament.

1) Mono Line (or monofilament line)

The test strength (pulling force, tension) value is low, for example, the diameter is .008" and the test strength is 4 lb. The color is light green and can be easily seen by fish in clear river water. In the middle and later stages of the game, special type of mono line for carp fishing will be introduced.

Mono Line

2) Fluoro Line (or Fluorocarbon line)

The test strength value is medium, for example, the diameter is .008" and the test strength is 6 lb. The color is transparent and difficult to see in clear river water. Its advantage is that the line body is heavier, sinks quickly, and is not easily discovered by fish, making it suitable for lure fishing.

Fluoro Line

3) Braid Line 

The test strength value is extremely high, such as a diameter of .007" and the test strength is 23 lb. The colors are green, red and light blue. Because of the stronger pull, you can use a very thin line even when fishing for big fish, reducing the chance of being seen by the fish. Braid line has low stretch with high sensitivity of strike detection. A excellent choice of fighting big and powerful fish.

Braid Line

Key points for selecting leader lines

First, the thinner, more transparent, and stronger the leader, the better. The thinner the leader, the less likely it is to be seen by fish. However, the test strength of the leader should not be higher than that of the fishing line.

If the target fish has sharp teeth, such as pike, crocodile gar, fish monsters, etc., a metal titanium leader must be used.

The length of the leader is divided into 0.82', 1.64', 1 yd and 2 yd, depending on the type of leader, there are different sizes.

The choice of the length of the leader depends on whether there are any miscellaneous fish near the position where the bait falls into the water. The longer the leader, the larger the range that the bait can drift around along the center point of the lead fall, making it easier to hit fish or catch miscellaneous fish (i.e. non-target fish). 

The shorter the leader, the smaller the chance of catching miscellaneous fish. Whether or not you catch the target fish depends on how accurately you cast the bait into the water. If the player has low casting accuracy or wants to test what fish are near the target location, he or she can use a longer leader to increase the chance of hitting the fish.

The leader in the game are classified by diameter, test value and length, and the test strength is calculated based on the same leader diameter: 

Titanium leader > Monofilament leader > Fluorocarbon leader.

1) Mono Leader

The test value is medium, and the length options are 1.64', 1 yd and 2 yd. Most of the monofilament leader are 2 yd long and transparent in color, which is suitable for testing what fish are near the target location.

Mono Leader

2) Fluoro Leader

The fluorocarbon leader has a relatively low test value and is only unlocked at Level 8. The color is transparent and the length options are 0.82' and 1.64'. After players mature their fishing skills, they can use shorter leader to ensure that they hit the target fish.

Fluoro Leader

3) Titanium Leader

The test value is super strong and the metal wire will not be bitten by predatory fish. The color is black. It is also unlocked at Level 8. The length options are 0.82' meters and 1.64'. Players can use shorter leader to ensure that they hit the target fish. 

Titanium Leader

4) Carp Leader

It is only unlocked at Level 24. The leader specially used for carp fishing is weed green in color. Leaders are classified based on test values ​​only, with a starting test of 27 lb and an unknown diameter. The length is uniformly 1.64'. 

Carp Leader

Key points for choosing fish hooks

Fish hooks are divided into simple hooks, barbless hooks, carp hooks, offset hooks, common jig heads and barbless jig heads. The hooks in the game are very sturdy, so you don't have to worry about them breaking.

The size of the fishhook in the game is classified by number, and the order is as follows:

The smallest fishhook is #16 ➔ #1 is the bigger fishhook ➔ #1/0 is the slightly bigger fishhook ➔ #10/0 is the biggest fishhook

You need to be careful in choosing the size of the hooks. The size of the fishhook should be appropriate. If the fishhook is too small, you won't be able to catch big fish; if the fishhook is too big, the fish may not be able to bite it, and he hooks may also be seen by the fish.

1) Simple Hook

It can only be used with a spinning wheel for float fishing or bottom fishing. The fishhook has barbs, so it is difficult for fish to get rid of the hook after being caught. However, when the tension of the fish line is not sufficient, or when the fish swims back quickly, it will throw the hook. Freshwater fish are mainly suckers, so the hook should be as light as possible and of moderate size.

2) Barbless Hook

Functions are the same as ordinary hooks, the difference is that the hook has no barbs, it is easier for the fish to get out of the hook after being hooked. This tests the skills of angler. The tension of the fish line must be maintained, otherwise the fish will easily escape, it is worth more experience in catching fish in return. This kind of fishhook facilitates the humane release of fish and reduces the damage caused by barbs.

3) Carp Hook

The carp hook is specially designed for use with carp rods and is only unlocked at Level 34. The advantage is that the matte black color is difficult to be spotted by fish. Actual testing did not reveal that it has any particular advantages.

4) Offset Hook

This hook can be used with spinning and casting reels. It is used for lure fishing. The hook mouth is designed to be particularly large and specially designed for catching giant fish. From Level 68 onwards, this hook will dominate the world.

5) Simple Jig Head

This hook can be used with spinning reels and casting reels. It is used for lure fishing. It has a lead head and sinks easily into the water, so it needs to be used with a lure with appropriate buoyancy.

Fishing gameplay

When players first come to LONE STAR Lake, they must first turn on the weather forecast to see if it is the high tide period when fish are eating bait. They can press the "T" key on the keyboard to jump to the high tide period.

Weather forecast

Low tide period

Fast forward to High tide period

When fishing during high tide, since it is the time for fish to eat, they will open their mouths to eat bait. If you cast the bait into the water at this time, it will make it easier to catch the fish.

Each fish has its own nest

When players first come to LONE STAR, they don’t know where the fish nests are. They can observe the water surface and pay attention to whether any fish jump out of the water, or if there are some circle-shaped ripples appear on the water surface. These phenomena mean that there are fish in and out of the location. Players can cast the bait to that position, it will most likely hit a fish.

If a pike jumps out of the water, it means there is pike activity at that location.

There are ripples on the lake, which means there are fish activities below that location.

After fishing for a while, you will find that you often catch small fish such as White crappie. If you want to catch some big fish such as Spotted Bass and Smallmouth Buffalo, you need to have a stronger fishing rod and reel. 

Then press the "M" key to open the map, and you will find some dark blue deep water areas in the center of LONE STAR Lake. Spotted Bass and Smallmouth Buffalo are in these deep water areas.

Dark blue represents deep water areas, where big fish mostly hang out.

If you want to aim at deep water and cast bait, you can press the "+" sign in the lower right corner of the screen to place a buoy (mark) on the map, and a green buoy will appear on the lake.

Click the "+" sign in the lower right corner and choose a place to place the buoy

Buoy appears on the water

Clicking the right button of the mouse will display a blue circle. Move the blue circle to the buoy and then press the left button of the mouse to cast the bait. By controlling the strength, you can control the position where the bait falls into the water.

Move the blue circle to the buoy and click the left mouse button to cast bait

When the fish is caught, you can press the "M" key to open the map, and then press the "+" icon to add a buoy. The buoy then records the details of the fish caught.

After catching the fish

Press the "M" key to open the map, then press the "+" in the lower right corner of the map to add a buoy

At this time, the buoy will record detailed information about the fish.

If you can catch the same fish every time you cast bait to this position, you can confirm that this position is a fish nest (that is, the position where the fish spawns). You can record it for your own fishing, or you can click on the share icon to share the location of the buoy information to other friends.

In order to earn gold coins (baitcoins), players must complete in-game tasks. The most basic task is to catch all 13 types of fish in LONE STAR lake.

It is very difficult to complete this task by luck alone. Sometimes you will get stuck on a certain kind of fish and you will never catch it no matter how hard you try. At this time, we can use a website called FP Collective (click here to open the link), which collects a large amount of players’ buoy information and can help us find the location of the target fish. 

For example, the specific location of LONE STAR's spotted bass has already been marked on the map, so players can see it at a glance without having to spend time trying blindly.

Spotted Bass locations at FP Collective LONE STAR

This is the basic gameplay of the game.

Key Points for set drag of Fishing Reel

Let’s talk about the principle of angling and what needs to be paid attention to when setting up a fishing reel.

Players should first click on the gear in the upper right corner of the screen to open the settings page. In the game settings, Tackle load indicator column, click "Wider" so that the load of each piece of tackle can be displayed more clearly.

Tackle Load Indicator

Tackle load indicators show fishing line, rod and reel loading respectively

As mentioned before, the "Line weight" of the fishing rod is greater than the "Maximum drag" of the fishing reel, and the maximum drag of the reel is greater than the fishing line.  This is easy to understand because when the rod is overstressed, the fishing line is the first thing to break. As long as the fishing line can withstand the least amount of force, the rod and fishing reel will be protected from breakage.

What is more difficult to understand is the function of the fishing reel set drag. Since the struggling force of the fish is usually greater than the fishing line, the player cannot pull the fish ashore at once. Therefore, a drag mechanism like the friction clutch was introduced, allowing the player to use a small amount of power to win a big one. Fishing is fun because players can compete with the fish.

The drag mechanism, press the "+" and "-" keys to adjust the drag of the reel

Fishing is actually similar to tug-of-war, a struggle between a human and a fish. When a fish is first caught, it is very strong and powerful enough to break a very thin fishing line. In order to prevent the fishing line from being torn, the other end of the fishing line is tied to a fishing reel whose tension is controlled by a drag mechanism. The drag of the mechanism can be controlled by the player.

When the fishing reel senses the tension of the fishing line reaches a certain set level, the mechanism of the fishing reel will relax, allowing the fishing reel to release the fishing line. The tension exerted by the fish on the fishing line will be released due to relaxation, and the fish will move further. The harder the fish pulls, the more the fishing line will be stretched out, so the fish will have a tug-of-war with the bended rod while running further and further away from the rod. The purpose is to consume the fish's physical strength. 

When the fish gets tired over time, its strength gradually decreases. When it is no longer able to pull out the fishing line, the fishing reel begins to inhibit the movement of the fish. The player can turn the fishing reel to retrieve the fishing line and pull the fish back to the shore.

For ordinary fish, it will not be able to struggle any more, so you can just pull the line back and land it. If it is a trophy or unique fish, it will regain its strength quickly and pull out the fishing line again. In this case, you may have to tug-of-war two or three times before you can pull it ashore.

Therefore, the drag on the fishing reel must be set lower than the fishing line to ensure that the fishing line will not be broken.

If the fishing reel is set incorrectly, the load indicator of the fishing line will turn red when the fish is struggling. If ignored, the fishing line will break almost instantly. At this time, just press the "-" key to reduce the drag to avoid the fishing line from breaking.

If the situation is very critical and you are afraid of damaging the fishing reel or rod, you can press the "B" button to cut the fishing line directly.

The fishing line's load indicator turn red if set drag is too high

Extended Reading

Why don’t fish eat bait in cold weather?

At White Moose Lake the weather turned cold and the water temperature dropped to 8 degrees. The fish began to disappear and stopped eating bait, and fishing became useless. I wondered why the fish did not eat bait in cold weather.

It turns out that the appetite of fish is affected by the water temperature. Fish are cold-blooded animals. The so-called cold-blooded animals are actually temperature changers. They are not really cold-blooded or do not need heat. Cold-blooded animals do not have a thermostatic system and do not need to maintain body temperature to survive. Their body temperature will change with the ambient temperature. When fish are in the water, their body temperature changes with the water temperature. Even if the water is very cold, they can survive as long as the temperature is within the adaptive range. When the water temperature drops, the metabolism of the fish will slow down and the growth rate will slow down. At the same time, there is no need to eat so much food, so they will eat less bait. 

Since cold-blooded animals do not need to generate heat in their bodies, the amount of food they eat is only 1/10 to 1/3 of warm-blooded animals, so they can grow to such a large size by eating plankton. Although cold-blooded animals can change their temperature, low temperatures will make them feel uncomfortable. When the temperature is too low, their body functions will weaken and their muscles will become stiff and lose their vitality. Therefore, they still like to be close to warm things, such as basking in the sun or finding warm waters to hide in, and so on.

A tripod can help you make money faster

At Rocky Lake, I caught 72 lb of fish in one hour and earned a record of 6,262 credits. My friend's wallet has recovered from the negative balance, and he bought a TripleFeeder Rod Stand for 60 baitcoins according to my idea. Now we can both use four fishing rods to fish together and make money faster. 

My new way of playing now is to focus on making money in Rocky lake and upgrade my tackle. When the storage capacity of the fishing keepnet is small, it is not worth looking elsewhere for money. There is a lack of fishing gear supplies in other places, making it difficult to make money by staying for a long time. In addition, the travel expenses are high. The local fish prices are similar to or even lower than Rocky lake. A trip usually only earns two to three thousand credits, which is less than Rocky lake.

Pike are the most ferocious of freshwater fish

Fishing for pike in Emerald Lake is one of the tasks. I read an article about pike. It turns out that pike are the most ferocious among freshwater fish. They will kill each other when they are hungry or pursuing fish of the opposite sex. Females are more aggressive than males. Because of their ferocious nature, males usually do not dare to approach females. They can only approach during mating. They need to run away immediately after the mating or they will be pursued by the females and killed, it is very crazy. Pike attack quickly and fiercely and specialize in hunting small moving fish, so they must be fished with live bait. If you use lures, you need to increase the speed of pulling the line. Firstly, the pike can catch up with it if it swims fast, and secondly, it can prevent it from seeing the flaw.

Fishing in reality is related to coordinates

Fishing in reality and game are related to coordinates. Knowing where fish like to gather is the key to success. If fishermen want to catch fish, they can dive to the bottom of the water to observe or make use of sonic radar, visually detect the type and location of the fish, and then catch them at any time.

Author: holidaydriver

Release date: 2023-10-16

Update date: