How to get started with fishing

Fishing in Goodgame Big Farm opens up a whole new line of play alongside classic farming - boats, equipment and crew all have to be bought and upgraded step by step. Before you catch anything you need at least a rod, line and hook, a working boat and an open fishing area with fish in it. The guide below shows you what order to tackle fishing in, so you don't get stuck right at the start on expensive gear you can't use yet.

The bare minimum for heading out on the water

Before you send a boat out to sea for the first time, check that you have at least a rod, line and hook in your inventory - the game calls this the bare minimum and without it you can't start fishing at all. Anything on top of that just makes life easier, but these three are the basics.

• You can swap equipment even in the middle of a fishing trip, so feel free to pack several pieces at once and pick whatever the situation calls for.
• Every item has a limited number of uses before it breaks, so it's good to keep a spare in reserve.
• The Fishing case is what you pack for the trip - everything you're taking along goes into it.

Ideally head out the first time with nothing but this minimum, and only buy more specialized equipment once you see which fish you're catching in the area.

The fishing shop and how to pick your equipment

You buy and restock all your equipment in the Fishing shop. The selection of rods depends on which fish you're after, so it pays to choose based on your current fishing area instead of buying everything at once.

• The basic rod handles herring and is the most reliable choice to start with.
• The fiberglass rod helps against swordfish, the graphite one against cod, and the salmon rod is made for stronger sea fish.
• Experts recommend the carbon rod for deeper waters, so it will come in handy once you get to deep sea fishing.
• Extra equipment such as sonar against sharks, a trawl net for shrimp, ink cartridges against octopuses or a premium reel makes a trip easier, but you don't need any of it for fishing itself.
• A cool box or a fridge gives you more storage space for your catch right on the boat.

So get yourself the basic rod and a cool box first, and buy the rest according to which fish you're chasing nearby.

Which boat to buy first

Boats differ mainly in price, catch capacity, how many fish they land per hour and how much they shorten the trip to your chosen area. Going by the prices in the current game data, it pays to work your way up from the cheapest to the most expensive.

1. Motorboat - 12 000 Dollars, the cheapest and quickest way into fishing.
2. Motor barge - 105 000 Dollars, smaller than the motorboat but with more cargo space.
3. Norfolk punt - 1 500 000 Dollars, a traditional boat with great fishing efficiency.
4. Trawler - 2 000 000 Dollars, built for catching fish in large quantities.
5. Fishing houseboat - 2 500 000 Dollars, a stylish boat with high expedition efficiency.

Each of these boats can also be upgraded through six levels, which raises both its capacity and its catch per hour. Besides them you'll come across other types such as the classic boat, the northern boat, the inflatable boat or the little punt - those work better as an extra or for a specific occasion than as your main working boat. You send a boat out with the Send selected boat button, and bear in mind that it has a limited number of trips before you have to let it rest.

Fishing areas, Oleg and the fish species

In a fishing area you'll run into several species at once, because fish stick together in larger shoals, so on a single farm you can catch oysters, mussels, shrimp, herring, yellowfin tuna, lobsters, cod, salmon and swordfish. Which species turn up varies from farm to farm, which is why it pays to work through several areas instead of sticking to just one.

• On every farm you need to look for Oleg Fisher - he shows you what can be caught in that area and teaches you a bit of the fishing craft too.
• You gain fishing experience mainly by actively fishing, and a little more from Oleg on the side.
• When every fish in an area has been caught, the game lets you know - either wait for the shoal to recover, or move your boat to another farm.

Alongside the starting fishing area you have available right away, you can pay extra for the Sunset area for 15 000 Gold - it's an additional alternative location, not a replacement for the basic one.

The crew that makes your trips better

Besides a boat and equipment you also hire a crew for the sea, and each member is only signed on for a set number of trips, so after a while you have to renew or replace them. The characters have different specialties, and the little story next to each one tells you what they're good for.

• Mechanics like Joe or Carol can squeeze up to 10 % more power out of the engine.
• Experienced northern sea dogs spot ice danger in time and steer clear of it.
• Other crew members like Russell, Gerald, Lisa, Viktor, James, Walter, Roy, Paul, Nancy or Jim bring experience and atmosphere to the expedition, each with a specialty of their own.

At the start it's enough to have at least one crew member on board, ideally a mechanic, and to fill out the crew gradually as you buy more expensive boats.

Deep sea fishing and how to work your way there

Deep sea fishing uses the same boats as ordinary fishing - the motorboat, the motor barge, the Norfolk punt, the trawler and the fishing houseboat - but it only opens up gradually. If you come across a fish that doesn't appear in any of your areas, the game tells you to fish out one of your existing areas first so a new one can show up. You don't buy your way into deep water, then, you fish your way there in the farms you already have.

Before you get into deep sea fishing it pays to have a carbon rod ready, since that one is made precisely for fishing in deeper waters, and to have enough room on the boat for your catch. The list below sums up the recommended way to start.

1. Get hold of the bare minimum of equipment (rod, line, hook) and a fishing case.
2. Buy the Motorboat first, as the cheapest boat.
3. Find Oleg in an available fishing area and see what can be caught there.
4. Fish actively, collect experience and gradually fish out areas so that new ones open up.
5. Put your earnings into more expensive boats (Motor barge, Norfolk punt, Trawler, Fishing houseboat) and specialized equipment such as the carbon rod.
6. Fill out your crew and keep an eye on how worn your equipment is, so an expedition doesn't end early on you.

Buildings and products mentioned in the text

Fishing areaFishing area · 1 × 1MotorboatFishing area · 2 × 6TrawlerFishing area · 4 × 9ShopFlower farm · from level 34 · 15 × 12SwordfishBasic · Fishing areaHerringBasic · Fishing areaShrimpBasic · Fishing areaSalmonBasic · Fishing area

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