Red Dead Redemption 2 Fishing Guide: How to Go Fishing, Get Bait & Lures & Best Fishing Spots

How to Go Fishing in Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 serves as the prequel to Rockstar’s popular wild west game, which originally released for the Xbox 360 and PS3. In this game, players will take control of Arthur Morgan, a trusted member of the Dutch Van Der Linde gang, which should be a familiar name to anyone who’s played the first game. Players will also be able to go fishing, which can be crucial when it comes to taking care of your camp. If you’re wondering how to go fishing in Red Dead Redemption 2, here’s what you need to know.

Getting Started With Fishing in Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn’t actually give you a proper fishing tutorial till you’re a few hours in. However, if you want to get started right away, you’ll first want to find a body of water. Hold the L1 button, head over to your Items wheel, and you should see your fishing rod in the bottom right corner of the wheel. Highlight it with the right stick, then release the L1 button to equip the fishing rod. Next, once you have the rod equipped, hold down the L1 button again to bring up your bait wheel. You can then use the R2 button to cycle through your different bait types to attach to the rod.

Once you’ve got your bait ready, head to the water and get started. You’ll want to hold down L2 to grip the rod, then hold R2 and release to cast the rod into the water. When you get a bite, your controller will vibrate quite heavily. Hit the R2 button to hook the fish, and you can start reeling it in. To reel in the fish, rotate the right stick as fast as you can. However, the fish will also struggle once you hook it. Whenever the fish is struggling, your controller will vibrate.

When this happens, stop reeling, and tilt the left stick in either direction to tire out the fish. If the fish seems to be heading left, tilt the left stick right to tire it out faster. When the fish is tired, your controller will stop vibrating. This is a good time to quickly rotate the right stick to reel it in.

If you’re not careful, and you keep reeling while the fish is struggling, your line could break and you’ll need to reset the cast again. Just take your time, and the fish will be yours in no time.

Sometimes, though, you’ll need a bit of extra help, and that’s where getting better bait and lures comes in particularly handy when fishing in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Getting Better Bait and Lures in Red Dead Redemption 2

When you’re first getting started with fishing, you’ll have only three types of bait: corn, cheese, and bread. These are pretty good for catching small fish, and the type of bait you use will depend on whether you’re fishing in a lake, swamp, or river. The three types of starter bait will do decently in all three water types, but if you want to get bigger catches, you’ll need better bait.

Other types of bait include worms and crickets, the latter of which is especially good for swamp fishing. These can be bought from any general store in the game, and general stores are easily found in towns like Valentine and Rhodes.

If you really want to up your fishing game, however, you’ll need to look into lures. Basic lures can be found in general stores as well, but as you progress in the story and reach chapter 3, you’ll learn of a bait shop found in Lagras. This is where you can get the special lures for the three water types. Basic lures are great for catching both small and medium-sized fish, while the special lures will let you catch medium and large fish. Special lures are also required to catch the legendary fish in the game, so they’re definitely worth getting.

Using Lures in Red Dead Redemption 2

Unlike bait, lures require you to be a bit more active when fishing in Red Dead Redemption 2. To get started, you’ll want to hold L1 to equip the lure like you would a normal piece of bait. Once the line is cast, hold down L2 to grip the rod, then slowly rotate the right stick to try to attract fish. Once you’ve got a bite, just hit the R2 button and you can start reeling in the fish like normal.

The game actually recommends that you hit the R2 button occasionally while waiting for a bite when using a lure, as this can help to attract fish. However, this didn’t really work out for us in our experience. It’s much more reliable to just rotate the right stick and wait patiently for a bite with lures.

Best Fishing Spots and Best Fish for Food in Red Dead Redemption 2

Now, there isn’t really a best fishing spot per sé in Red Dead Redemption 2. During our time with the game, we found that all the water bodies in the game had the potential to give us good catches, depending on the types of bait or lures we were using. You can get a boat, which certainly helps you to find good fishing spots, too. The most important thing is to make sure you’re using the right type of bait or lures. If you’re at a lake, use a lake lure. The same goes for the rivers and swamps.

We found that the lake right next to the Clemens Point campsite was a pretty nice and convenient fishing spot. It’s also home to one of the legendary fish in Red Dead Redemption 2, so it’s a decent spot for fishing. The swamp at Lagras is also decent, and it’s right next to the bait shop if you ever want to sell your catches. Aside from using the right type of bait, you’ll also need to make sure you’re fishing at the right time. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the best times to fish is during the early morning or evening. The afternoon is fine as well, but not very lucrative, from our own personal angling experiences.

Lastly, your camp butcher will take all sorts of fish and meat. However, if you really want to make a solid contribution, medium and large-sized fish will go a long way to keeping your camp fed.

And that’s all you need to know about how to go fishing in Red Dead Redemption 2. Be sure to check our Red Dead Redemption 2 guide wiki for more information on the game.