Once Human Fishing guide: 5 tips and tricks for catching fish

In between crafting and surviving, even meta humans need time to relax in Once Human. And for a relaxing experience that also provides plenty of options for food, there’s nothing better than fishing.

Fishing in Once Human isn’t drastically different from fishing mechanics in other games, but it’s a tad tricky to pick up at first. You’ll be a master baiter in no time, though, if you follow our guide to fishing in Once Human.

How to fish in Once Human

Before you start fishing, you’ll need to craft a Fishing Rod first. At your Supplies Workbench, under Tools, you can craft a basic Fishing Rod for 20 Wood and 10 Copper Ingots. The Fishing Rod takes about 30 seconds of crafting time.

Fishing Bait is also crafted at the Supplies Workbench. Your basic starting bait, Dough Fish Bait, is crafted with Corn. If you’re looking for lots of Corn early, search in and around Citrus County in the Dayton Wetlands. An upgraded Fishing skill will unlock new, better versions of both Fishing Bait and Fishing Rods.

To fish, put the Fishing Rod in your hotbar. Hit the R key to select and equip your Bait. You’ll then need to activate the Fishing Rod and throw the hook into a body of water deep enough. The circle will go green once it can be cast.

Tips and tricks for fishing in Once Human

Pick your spot carefully

Once you equip and activate your Fishing Rod, you can’t move until you retract it, so make sure you’re as close to the water’s edge as possible before you take it out. Don’t throw the hook as close as possible, because you won’t have enough room to properly reel in the fish. But don’t throw it too far either, since you won’t have enough time to reel it in before it escapes.

Guide the fish in

Once you’ve caught a fish, don’t just hold down left click and expect it to be caught easily. You’ll need to use the mouse to try and center the fish as you pull it in. If the fish is dragging left, pull it to the right. If the fish is dragging right, pull it to the left. Make sure to space out your left click reel-ins too, otherwise the fish could escape.

Use the bars on the bottom right to help guide your fishing. The first bar shows how close it is to being caught, you want that bar to fill up entirely. The second bar shows how close the fish is to escaping, that bar starts full and you don’t want it to completely empty. Move your mouse to the left and right until you find the sweet spot where the top bar is filling up and the bottom bar is not depleting.

Bring bait

Make sure to craft and bring plenty of Bait with you when you go out fishing. Sadly, you’re not able to craft Bait at a Campsite; it can only be crafted at the Supplies Workbench.

Invest in a Fridge

Invest points in getting the Refrigeration Memetic. A Fridge will keep both caught fish and ingredients needed for Fishing Bait from being spoiled. Additionally, unlocking Refrigeration means unlocking Air-Drying, Electric Stoves, and Cooking II, which unlocks several different fishing recipes.

Stock up on Salt

Salt is crucial to both cooking recipes with fish as well as air drying fish into jerky that does not spoil.