How to Fish Forest Island is the second of the five main islands in the campaign, and clearing its gate requires the knife-tier weapon plus the basic tackle you finish on Lighthouse Island. This page covers the forest fishing conditions, the Boss encounter that locks the gate, and the weapon upgrade checks you need before you can move on. Specific rare fish drop rates and reward odds for Forest Island are not announced as of 2026-09-01.
Forest Island fishing conditions and routes
Forest Island sits between the starter Lighthouse Island and the harsher Desert Island, so its waters act as a midpoint difficulty in How to Fish. Expect tighter casting windows, denser shoreline vegetation, and stronger fish that pull harder than the lighthouse pool. The Steam store description and gamingpromax's launch review both confirm that each island introduces its own biome-specific fishing conditions, and Forest Island is where the swing toward heavier tackle begins. ### Tackle and timing in the forest waters The default rod is still enough for the smallest catches on Forest Island, but you will struggle with anything that pulls toward the rocks. Bring the upgraded reel from the Lighthouse Island finale if you want a smoother experience, and pay attention to the visual cues the game uses to telegraph a fish's weight class. Pulling too early on a heavy catch is the most common reason anglers lose line on Forest Island, and it is the same pattern reviewers describe for the early game curve on the official store page. ### Where to fish and where not to fish Stay near the marked shoreline pools and the wooden pier. The deep channel that runs along the western rocks is tempting, but it is reserved for the Boss encounter rather than regular catches. Seagulls will still swoop in to steal fish you leave on the surface, so bank your catch quickly and use the slap revive-friendly positioning that co-op players rely on throughout the campaign.
Forest Island weapon tier check and knife upgrade
The forest gate checks your highest weapon tier, not your tackle. By the time you reach Forest Island you should already have left the fists tier behind and unlocked the knife. ### Knife-tier requirement and where the knife unlocks The knife drops as a reward from one of the later Lighthouse Island catches or from the early forest encounters, depending on the order you finish the lighthouse quests. The game does not display an explicit 'tier 2 required' prompt on the gate, but the Boss will one-shot you if you try to fight it bare-handed. Run the [How to Fish weapon upgrade path](/weapons/) page in tandem with this walkthrough so you know exactly which island hands out which tier, and which trick shot bonuses stack with the knife. ### Trick shots on the forest Boss Trick shots count on the forest Boss as well as on regular fish. A well-timed knife throw during the Boss's charge window is the cleanest way to land a trick shot kill, and it sets up the bonus multipliers described on the [How to Fish trick shots](/trick-shots/) guide. If you are playing co-op, have one angler distract while the other sets up the angle for the trick shot; this is the same bait-and-switch combo reviewers highlighted when discussing the early game.
Forest Island Boss encounter and gate unlock
The forest Boss sits at the back of the island near the closed gate, and the encounter is the only thing standing between you and the path to Desert Island. The Steam store description and Game8's launch review both describe Forest Island as a per-island Boss encounter that gates the next island, so treat the fight as a hard checkpoint rather than a regular catch. ### Reading the forest Boss pattern The Boss telegraph cycle is short on Forest Island, so avoid the impulse to spam attacks during the safe window. Two clean knife throws are worth more than five panicked ones, and the second safe window opens after the Boss finishes its lunge animation. Seagull interference is at its worst during the Boss fight, so keep your line reeled in between casts and do not leave a stunned fish on the surface. ### Rare fish variant hints on Forest Island Forest Island is the first place where the rare fish variant system starts showing up. Visual cues like unusual fin coloration, oversized body shape, and a slightly different bite cadence suggest you have hooked a variant, but the exact drop table and the rarity tiers are not announced as of 2026-09-01. Bank anything that looks unusual and revisit it once the developers publish a list, since variant fish cannot be re-caught if you choose to release them. ### After clearing the gate: heading to Desert Island Once the Boss falls, the gate opens and the path to Desert Island unlocks. The [How to Fish weapon upgrades](/weapons/) and [Boss fights](/bosses/) pages give you the context for the desert Boss and the seagull-heavy conditions you should expect next. If you are progressing in co-op, swap your saved loadout for the heavier reel you should have unlocked on the lighthouse finale; the desert catches hit harder than anything you saw on Forest Island.
FAQ
Is the pufferfish the Forest Island Boss?
Yes. The Forest Island gate is guarded by an oversized pufferfish Boss with a smaller pufferfish escort wave.