How to catch a whopper in Monster Hunter Wilds

Fishing is a great way to gather ingredients for cooking in Monster Hunter Wilds, but some fish are more of a challenge to track down. If you’re hunting for a Whopper, we’ve got all the details you need.

You can only catch Whoppers in Monster Hunter Wilds once the Catch of a Lifetime side quest has been accepted from Kanya in the Scarlet Forest Base Camp, unlocking a new type of lure required for catching large fish: the Tuff Joint Bait.

Once that’s done, the hunt for a Whopper begins and will test your ability with the rod in a way that no fish has previously done.

Where to find a Whopper in Monster Hunter Wilds

Whoppers are not a specific species of fish. Instead, they represent huge specimens of aquatic life. As such, you can find them in larger bodies of water, not the small rivers and puddles you regularly find elsewhere in the wild.

The best location for hunting Whoppers is in Area 17 of the Scarlet Forest, the Great Lake Shore. If you’ve already got a camp set up there, fast travel to it. If you don’t, I highly recommend making one for easy access to the Great Lake Shore, especially as you may have to rest in the camp to reset the zone to get Whoppers to spawn.

How to catch a Whopper in Monster Hunter Wilds

Catching a Whopper in Monster Hunter Wilds takes more skill than standard fishing, with the mechanic introducing a minigame to complete to reel in the fish you’re after. Lines can snap in the minigame, resulting in failure, so it takes some practice to get used to.

The first step is to locate a Whopper in the water, which are easy to identify due to their large size and often they will have fins poking out from the top of the water. Cast your rod near their proximity and wiggle the lure to get them on the hook.

With a Whopper on the line, pull the rod in the same direction as it swims. Moving in the opposite direction can result in the line snapping and the fish escaping, so avoid doing that unless the fish swim into an obstacle, as colliding with it will also break your line. When the fish jumps out of the water, move the rod in the direction the fish is jumping.

The fish will tire periodically and stop moving, which is your cue to reel in the line. When this happens, move the rod up and down repeatedly to shorten the line and bring the fish closer to you on the shore. It may take several stages for the fish to tire, so repeat the process above as needed.

Practice makes perfect when hunting Whoppers, so keep at it, and you should be a master angler in no time. Remember, it’s worth catching a Whopper whenever you can as it will get you closer to the a-fish-ionado achievement, awarded for successfully catching 30 Whoppers.