Weapons & Gear
There is no skill tree in How to Fish — every upgrade is something you buy. This page is the complete list of what you can spend coins on: the ten weapons, the fishing rods, the boat, its engine, the radar, weapon attachments, and inventory space. For each one you'll find what it's for, where it comes from, and what to buy before what. The buying order at the bottom is the fastest way to stop wasting your early coins, and the upgrade section explains the trap most players hit later: buying the next gun instead of finishing the one they already have.
Fists, Knife, Brass Knuckles, Bat
Pistol, Rapid Pocket, Shotgun, Sniper Rifle, Assault Rifle
Dynamite
You start with bare fists, and the loadout grows in one direction as you progress — none of it is earned by leveling, only by coins:
Melee is your first fighting style, and it stays relevant the whole game for one reason: every catch that lands on the ground has to be beaten into submission before you can pick it up, so you'll always be swinging at something.
Your free starter, good enough for the first island and for subduing catches. You'll also come back to bare hands deliberately for the Handyman achievement, which needs the final blow on the last boss to be landed unarmed — that's on the Achievements page.
Bought from a shop. Its real value is the upgrade: take it to the Anvil at the Lighthouse and raise it to 20 damage. This upgraded knife is your main damage for the first boss fight, and it's the cheapest big power jump in the whole game.
A melee step past the knife; bought from a shop.
A separate melee weapon, distinct from fists and knuckles, seen in the gameplay trailer. Its exact in-game name isn't confirmed.
The Handyman achievement is detailed on the Achievements page.
Ranged combat becomes the real fighting style once the creatures start fighting back, which is from Island 2 (Forest) onward. All guns are shop purchases, and the better ones unlock as you move through the islands.
The first guns, both available on Island 2. The Shotgun is one of the strongest early buys: in a crowded fight its spread stacks kill-score conditions fast, and it's the practical tool for hitting the 5x multiplier (the Impressive achievement) — pump it into a group of creatures rather than trying to force that multiplier on a single boss.
The name that appears on the weapon menu for a pistol/SMG-class weapon. Its fast fire rate is what feeds the headshot and last-bullet kill triggers for bonus coins.
Long range, and the enabler for the no-scope and 360 trick-shot kills that pay the big kill-score bonuses — which is what makes it the money weapon for shooting catches out of the air.
The endgame gun. Buy it before the final boss, once you're holding around 20,000 coins.
Weapons take attachments, and there are four kinds — the red dot sight you'll see in the trailer is one of the sights:
~41%
of players have "Fully equipped" — put all four on one weapon, an easy one to knock out on the gun you actually use
Dynamite costs 25 coins and is sold on Island 2 (Forest). It's not a normal weapon — it has three distinct uses:
Throw it into the water and it blows up the fish; no lure, no rod, no reeling.
Light it and throw it at your own boat; the explosion sends the boat flying, which is the direct method for the "I'm the bird now" achievement.
A cheap way to put heavy damage into a short window; place it where the boss is about to move rather than throwing it reactively.
Basic Fishing Rod
3 coins, the starter rod at the Lighthouse shop.
Fishing Rod
The main rod for Islands 2–5, and it has upgrade tiers.
Crab Fishing Rod
The rod used for the Lighthouse's crustaceans; it's claimed to drop from a clam boss, though that's unconfirmed.
The full catch list with the right rod per island is on the Fish & Creatures page.
Not bought: the Lighthouse Keeper gives you the keys after you return the Spider Crab Shell.
Bought in upgrade tiers. The first engine upgrade unlocks "Getting an upgrade" and the best engine unlocks "I am speed". The engine also matters beyond raw speed: the best engine is a prerequisite for the boat-fly achievement, since a weak engine can't get the boat airborne.
10 coins from the Lighthouse Keeper, and it shows the next island's coordinates. Before you head to Island 4, buy the boat-mount upgrade for it — that lets you place the radar stationary on the boat instead of holding it.
How the boat and radar fit into travel is on the Islands & Map page; this page is just where they come from and what they cost.
For the first hour or two, buy in this order and skip everything else:
Your backpack starts with limited slots, and you can buy more. More slots mean more you can carry back to sell per trip, which cuts the number of return trips — the efficiency math behind it is on the Economy & Gambling page.
The casino on Island 4, expensive guns before you can use them well, and any rod tier beyond what you can afford. When you do start upgrading guns, follow the one-gun rule — finish a weapon before buying the next.
Most are shop purchases, and the later guns open up as you progress through the islands. Exact shops and prices for most guns aren't published — the confirmed prices are listed in the sections above.
There's no single best — it's a ladder. Control matters more than raw damage: a gun you can keep on target beats a bigger one you can't.
Late in the game, upgrade the one you have. Splitting coins across several half-upgraded guns is the common mistake; one mature build wins.
Three uses: lazy-fish the water, launch your boat into the air for the achievement, and dump burst damage on a boss.
Use the Anvil at the Lighthouse; it takes the Knife to 20 damage.
Buy extra backpack slots.
Buy engine upgrades — the first unlocks "Getting an upgrade", the best unlocks "I am speed", and the best engine is what lets the boat fly.
