Fortnite Fish Guide: How to Fish, All Fish Listed

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Fishing is one of the mechanics you can do in Fortnite that set it apart from other battle royale games. Sure, you could go about looting and stressing over fights but why would you do that when you could just fish the entire match? Those types of players are exactly who this Fortnite fish guide is for.

The Fortnite fish guide is going to let you know about all of the different parts of this mechanic. From how to fish to all of the current fish you can collect, we will let you know about each of them. And even if you are just a casual fisher looking to complete some quests, it can be helpful for you, too.

Bottom Line Up Front

Fishing is one of the side mechanics in Fortnite. You do not have to do it and you could go literally years without touching it. But it exists and it is a fun side activity that is available in most game modes. Fishing works pretty simply, involving a fishing rod and some water. Once you have a fishing rod, look for water areas where fish have gathered and begin. When you have a tug on the line, press the correct input for your platform and you will catch it. Some fish are there to throw at enemies to deal damage while others are there to recover health, shields, or apply effects. There is also a fishing collection that you can fill out with all of the current fish there.

Fortnite Fishing Mechanic Explained

fishing

The fishing in Fortnite is a mechanic that allows you to spend your time leisurely by the water. While other players are dealing with the struggles of winning fights, you can totally ignore this and just fish.

There are some players who do wish to win a battle royale match who will take a moment out of their fighting to fish. It is a great little feature that you can use as much or as little as you want. In the Party Royale mode, it is also a main feature there for those who want a more relaxed environment.

The fishing in Fortnite is exactly what you would expect it to be. It involves standing near a body of water on the island and casting a line to collect underwater creatures. There are various benefits to fishing in the game and it can be a solid method of playing the game.

Fishing is also one of the only “minigames” within the battle royale experience. Though there are some that we have seen before like vehicle time trials and jumping through hoops, fishing is the only one that remains a permanent fixture of the game. Here’s everything that you need to know about it.

History of Fishing in Fortnite

Fishing began in Fortnite with the launch of Chapter 2. This was the right time for it, too, since this was a monumental moment for the game. Prior to the launch of Chapter 2, Fortnite had 10 seasons in its first chapter. This meant years and many seasons spent on the same island.

With the end of Season X, Epic Games brought an end to the original island. The destruction of the location happened with the black hole that appeared. With its end, players were then sent to a new island in Chapter 2, Season 1.

This was the fresh start for the battle royale game again. There were plenty of brand new locations and few areas resembling what we once knew. The graphics looked nice and there was a bright and cheery atmosphere to this new island.

There were plenty of new mechanics to enjoy, too, that would come during this season. The battle pass was even handled slightly differently. All in all, Chapter 2 allowed Epic to introduce so many new items and ideas. One of these included fishing, too.

With so much water around and throughout this new island location, it made sense to take advantage of that. Not only were there boats now available but you could fish, too. Entire destinations like Sweaty Sands and others just begged for players to spend some time there fishing. Since Chapter 2, Season 1, fishing has only refined and expanded as a permanent part of the game.

Purpose and Benefits of Fishing

There are many reasons that someone might want to spend time fishing in Fortnite. The first and most important one is that it is chill and fun. There are players out there who just want to have fun in the battle royale game and, therefore, would like to spend their time fishing.

You can join Party Royale and likely see some players who are only there to fish. Beyond that, though, there are some more practical reasons that players should fish. The first of these is the fish itself. There is a collection that you can fill out in the game of all the fish that you have caught.

In addition, you can consume or use the fish that you catch. They are not just there for show. Many of the fish will recover health or shields or even apply a status effect to your character. Some of them can even deal damage to your enemies when you throw them.

This can make fish a useful part of the game, especially after fights. There is still another practical benefit to fish and that is for quests. Some quests will ask you to fish so many times or at a particular location. Completing these quests will grant you the experience to level up the battle pass for the season. This can be helpful for players looking to unlock everything that season.

How to Fish

fishing 1

As for how you actually fish in the game, it is rather simple. What you want to do first is find yourself a fishing rod. Once you have a rod in your hands, what you want to do next is find a main body of water. This can be a lake or even a river that is near you. Chances are, you have somewhere close by on the island.

Once you arrive at this body of water, look for fish in it. Sometimes you can see fish swirling around in the water itself. When you see places like that, you should try to cast your line there. Alternatively, look for the white foam that is bubbling up atop the surface of the water. This can be a great place, too.

After you find the location from which you wish to fish, equip the fishing rod in your hands. Then use the correct button on your platform of choice (like the right trigger on a controller) to send out the line. If you did this right, a fish will start to tug on the line soon enough. Use the button again to bring back the line and, hopefully, you have caught yourself a fish.

Technically, there is an alternate way of fishing in the game. It is possible to blow up or even shoot fish in the water. You can do this with an explosive like a grenade or a gun. Doing so will kill the fish and allow it to be picked up by you. However, this is not super useful, it wastes precious supplies, and it can alert nearby enemies.

Where to Find Fishing Rods

Since it is best to use a fishing rod, you will need one. Thankfully, these are pretty easy to find. You can sometimes find them as ground loot or even in treasure chests. The best way to find one, though, is to head to a named location or landmark that is by water.

Look for a pier there near the large lakes and seas on the island. On just about every pier in the game, you will find some fishing rod baskets. Simply interact with it and you will collect a rod for use. Of course, it could be a regular fishing rod or even the pro version.

Pro Fishing Rod vs Regular Rod

The regular fishing rod will get the job done when it comes to fishing. However, if you really want to collect every fish, you will want the pro fishing rod. You can find it as floor loot or in baskets just like the normal one.

But the difference here is the pro fishing rod has a much higher chance of catching some of the rare fish in the game. This will increase your odds of finding some fish that you want to use to recover shields, for instance, or even to finish off your fish collection. The pro fishing rod was introduced later in the game in Chapter 2, Season 4, and still remains today.

Fish Collection

Fish Collection

The fish collection is the archive of all fish in the game. It allows you to see what fish you have and how many more you have to go. All of the currently available fish in the game are shown there. For completionists and fishing fans out there, the fish collection is going to be your best friend.

You can actually view it in the main lobby of the game between matches or even in matches themselves. This allows you to see what fish you have currently caught and what ones are missing. It will also give you some other interesting details like the biggest size you’ve found and so on. The fishing collection does change regularly with some seasons so there is reason to check it out often.

All Fortnite Fish Explained

There is a lot of fish in Fortnite at this point in time, with more than 40 in total. It can be overwhelming but, thankfully, they are all rather similar to one another. Though they may have different names, they each fall into one of several main categories.

When you have a fish from a particular category, you will automatically know what it does. Be it beneficial or best used against enemies, every fish that is a flopper, for instance, will generally do the same thing. That is why we are going to break down each of the various categories. In addition, you can find the full list of the current fish collection below:

  • Atlantic Hop Flopper
  • Black and Blue Shield Fish
  • Black Slurpfish
  • Black Small Fry
  • Black Striped Shield Fish
  • Blue Flopper
  • Blue Slurpfish
  • Blue Small Fry
  • Chinhook Hop Flopper
  • Chum Hop Flopper
  • Coho Hop Flopper
  • Cuddle Jellyfish
  • Dark Vanguard Jellyfish
  • Drift Hop Flopper
  • Drift Spicy Fsh
  • Green Flopper
  • Green Shield Fish
  • Light Blue Shield Fish
  • Light Blue Small Fry
  • Molten Spicy Fish
  • Orange Flopper
  • Peely Jellyfish
  • Pink Shield Fish
  • Purple Jellyfish
  • Purple Slurpfish
  • Purple Top Small Fry
  • Sky Blue Spicy Fish
  • Slurp Jellyfish
  • Southern Spicy Fish
  • Tan Small Fry
  • White Slurpfish
  • White Spotted Spicy Fish
  • Yellow Slurpfish

Cuddle Fish Explained

Kicking off this list of the different categories of fish in Fortnite, we have the cuddle fish. These fish are not meant for helping you directly but, rather, to damage your enemies. What the cuddle fish are there for is dealing some explosive damage to other players.

How it works is that you can throw a cuddle fish and it will stick to the floor or walls that it hits. When an enemy runs near the cuddle fish, it will blow up almost like a proximity mine and deal some solid damage to them. Cuddle fish is not the most common variety out there but they are useful when available in the game.

Floppers

.Floppers

One of the original fish types and also exceedingly common are the floppers. The times that I have fished before in Fortnite, I find that these are the ones that I normally come across. Floppers are useful, though, as they can restore some of your health points.

In general, most floppers will give you around 40 health points and you can use multiple in a row to reach the max of 100 health. There is no cap on using these and they can be a quick way of replenishing your health when you are low and in the middle of nowhere on the map.

Hop Floppers

Hop floppers may sound like the previous group of fish but they have some different functions to them. Hop floppers do give you back health but they do so much more than just that. In fact, healing is not the main purpose of the hop floppier fish.

After all, it only gives you 15 HP for each hop flopper that you eat. This is far less than the normal floppers give. This is because the hop floppers have the additional benefit of giving you that classic low gravity status effect, similar to hop rocks. You will be able to leap much higher and not deal with fall damage for a little bit after consuming one.

Jellyfish

The jellyfish is one that resembles the real world creature. When you use this item, you do not consume it nor do you throw it like some of the other ones. Instead, you will horrifically smash this jellyfish into pieces to release nature’s own slurp juice found inside.

When you do this, it will give 20 HP or shield points to any players who are in the small radius of its effect. If you know the chug splash item, it works pretty similarly to that. It will first heal any remaining health on your character before then applying shields so it is best to top off your HP first before using this.

Midas Flopper

Midas Flopper

The Midas Flopper is an exceedingly rare fish that you can find in the game in some seasons. As you may know, Midas is one of the main Fortnite-original characters. He is a villain in the battle royale game and is based on the legend of King Midas who was able to turn everything he touched to gold.

This same idea applies to the Midas Flopper. When you catch this fish, it will turn your inventory into gold. What this means in practice is that it will turn every possible weapon and item in your inventory into its legendary version. Of course, if an item or weapon does not have a legendary variant, it will not do anything to it.

Rift Fish

You might be able to tell what the rift fish does just from the name alone. When you eat one of these fish, it will grant you a mere 15 health. That said, the main idea for this item is its other benefit. When you eat the rift fish, it will also put you through a rift in the sky. This will allow you to glide your way wherever you want; great for escaping the storm.

Shadow Floppers

The shadow flopper is a fish item that you can eat to gain a unique benefit. The shadow flopper is similar in practice to the shadow stones in the game. When you eat this particular fish, it will cause you to turn into the transparent ghost-like shadow version.

While you are a shadow for a moment, you can shift through the air and are impervious to most damage. These shadow floppers likely have this effect due to their appearance. We can see that it seems that they have eaten one of the infamous cubes. The shadow floppers are a fish variety that is not available in the game anymore.

Shield Fish

Shield Fish

The shield fish are another group of common fish that you can encounter in Fortnite. These are basically the shield version of the floppers. The shield fish will give you shield points for each one that you consume. They are basically the large shield potions of the underwater ecosystem.

When you eat a shield fish, it will give you 50 shield points. You can catch and eat two of these in a row and you will have full shields already. If you are having a hard time finding those sometimes elusive large shield pots, the shield fish can be a decent alternative.

Slurpfish

The slurpfish is one of the most versatile and useful fish in the game. While other recovery items make you choose between health or shields, slurpfish can do both. What it does is grant 40 health or shield points, depending on which one you currently need.

If you have max health, it will start granting shields. If you have 80 health and 0 shields, it would grant 20 health to get you to 100 and then 20 more to your shields.

Small Fry

The small fry is named as such for a reason. It is a smaller fish so it does a limited amount of healing. In this case, the small fry only grants you 25 health for each one you eat. Furthermore, it is identical in purpose to the bandages so this means it will cap off at 75 health. Given how common bandages are, the small fry is one of the more useless fish types.

Snowy Flopper

Snowy Flopper

The snowy flopper is another type of this fish that does something special. In this case, the item will grant you 15 health, which is standard. That said, what makes it unique is that snowy flopper will turn your feet to ice for a short period. This will allow you to slide around the battlefield at the cost of movement handling. It is a double-edged sword but can be good if you need to run away from the storm quickly.

Spicy Fish

Spicy fish are quite common these days in Chapter 3 so it is best to get used to them. The spicy fish fall into that line of having a dual purpose to them. The first benefit that the spicy fish grant is 15 health points. While not a lot, it also has an extra boost to it. Eating one of these fish will give you a boost to your speed for a short period.

Stink Floppers

The stink floppers are another type of fish that have multiple uses to them. In this case, though, it has the unique placement of being useful for recovery and damage. First off, the stink flopper can function exactly the same as a traditional flopper fish.

In this way, it will grant you 40 health points for each one that you eat. However, there is another purpose to it if you choose to throw it rather than eating it. In this case, it will set off a stink gas cloud that will deal damage over time to everyone within its area of effect. So, you can hold onto these items and use them in whichever situation you need it the most.

Thermal Fish

Thermal Fish

For the thermal fish, you might be able to guess based on its name what it does. This potentially unhealthy fish will give your character a nice boost when you consume it. The first benefit that it grants is the standard 15 health that dual-purpose fish like this one does.

The other benefit, which is the main one, has to do with thermal vision. It will grant you this type of vision briefly, allowing you to see enemies through walls due to their heat signature. This can be great for fights where the enemy is trying to hide from you.

Vendetta Flopper

The vendetta flopper is similar to the thermal fish in its purpose. However, the main difference here is how it is used. For one, the vendetta flopper will not give you any health points when you eat it. But what it will do for you is arguably better than in the case of the thermal fish.

The vendetta flopper’s OP ability is that it will mark the nearest enemy to you. This is massively overpowered in situations where you know someone is nearby but not sure exactly where. Having the item just mark the person for you will allow you to plan out your method of attack.

Zero Point Fish

Zero Point Fish

The Zero Point Fish is infected by the effects of the important Fortnite lore item. Eating one of these will give you 15 points to your health and the Zero Point effect. What this does is effectively make it seem like you are running around in the Zero Point area in the middle of the map when it was around.

If you did not have the chance to explore this area, what you should know is that it allow the player to jump twice. Doing so would allow them to teleport a short distance. By eating this particular fish, you will have this buff for a short time.

Goldfish

The Goldfish is the singular mythic fish item and the most elusive one of them all. You will never see it in the fish collection because of how nearly impossible it is to get it. When it was first introduced, there was a one in a million chance of spawning the Goldfish when you catch something.

That is insanely low and you could fish for hours upon hours every single day and never see it. However, if you are lucky enough to catch a Goldfish, it is particularly special. With the Goldfish, you can throw it at an enemy and it will eliminate that player instantly. It does not matter how much health or shields that they currently have as the Goldfish will tear through all of that and finish them off. Of course, you do need to be able to hit them with it first.

FAQs

Question: How do you catch rare fish in Fortnite?

Answer: Here is the shortened version of what I mentioned above. To fish in Fortnite, you need a fishing rod and a body of water. In the case of rare fish, I recommend grabbing a pro fishing rod if you can find one. It will make it easier to find rare fish than the regular version of the rod.
Once you have your rod in hand, look for foam or fish swimming around in the water. Put the rod in your hands and cast it out. Reel it back in once you have a tug on the line. Since rare fish are, well, rare, it can take several tries to find the one you are looking for. This is where Party Royale comes into play as you can spend hours there just fishing if you want.

Question: What is the fish for in Fortnite?

Answer: The fish in the game are there for numerous reasons. You can get fish just to fill out the collection of them if you want. You could also get them to replenish your health or shield points. They can also be helpful in dealing some instant damage to enemies that you are fighting. Lastly, they are useful in missions that grant you valuable experience and require you to fish.

Question: Where do I find the fish in Fortnite?

Answer: You can find fish in most major bodies of water. These include the ocean, rivers, and lakes. There are places to fish all over the island so just look on the map for a blue area near you and you should be good to go. For the best results, as mentioned previously, look for foam atop the surface or fish swimming around.

Conclusion

The Fortnite fish guide is the first step to mastering this optional but relaxing and highly recommended activity. If you’re like me and have loved fishing in other games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, there is a lot of fun to be had here. That said, fishing is just one mechanic in the massively complex battle royale game.

Quests are another optional area of the game that you can ignore. However, we recommend doing them for the experience benefits that you can get. Check out our Fortnite quests guide for more details on this area which also happens to have fishing objectives occasionally.

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