How to catch a Gravid Bowfin in Monster Hunter Wilds

The Gravid Bowfin is one of the rarer variants of the Bowfin in Monster Hunter Wilds, and you’ll need to find it to complete a series of fishing sidequests in the Forest.

While it might feel easy to find at first if you have been fishing long enough, the Gravid Bowfin is increasingly rare. You could be looking around for hours if you don’t choose where to search wisely. While it can appear in every area, we have found that only certain regions and methods have a good chance of capturing one.

Where to find a Gravid Bowfin in Monster Hunter Wilds

Fishing for Flavor side quest – Gravid Bowfin location

You can find a Gravid Bowfin in large bodies of water, but there are some things you can do to make finding one easier in Monster Hunter Wilds.

In the Forest, head to Area 12 and see a large pool of water off to the northeastern part that usually has an active feeding frenzy. This can be distinguished by a circle of water attacked by large creatures. These are pools of water that spawn a ton of fish and where we have had the most luck catching the Gravid Bowfin.

How to catch a Gravid Bowfin in MH Wilds

The Gravid Bowfin is attracted to the Emerald Jig bait, which you should have if you have been completing the other fishing side quests. Press L1/LT on your controller to open up the menu at the bottom right and hit the corresponding button until your bait chances Emerald Jig while holding the Fishing Rod.

It might take you a few attempts, but while the bait is attached, throw the line into the pool of water, and you should start catching various fish very quickly, ranging from Sushi Fish to even large whoppers. But be careful. You are out in the open in this area, so any small Monsters or larger creatures could attack you at any time and force you to deal with them before you can fish again. As such, it’s worth keeping Dung Bombs on your person to eliminate larger Monsters where possible.

There is no guarantee that the Gravid Bowfin will appear. The Feeding Frenzy might also not be there at times too. If that happens, you have a few choices. You can leave the Forest area or change the season to reset the spawns, or you can go to two other regions of the Forest where the Gravid might appear.

You can go to a cave next to the location in Area 12, where a host of rare fish sometimes hang out and can even be caught with the Capture Net. Or you can head all the way to the top of the Forest in Area 16, where there are many more fishing opportunities to get the Gravid Bowfin and rarer creatures like the large squid.

You’ll be coming to the Forest a lot for both Endemic and Aquatic Life side quests, so you might as well get your bearing and look around while you are there.