Bait & Chum: What Each Bait Catches

Short answer: a confirmed bait-to-fish matchup table for How to Fish does not exist in public sources yet, so this guide will not invent one. What is verified: Bait is a dedicated item category in the game (listed on Game8 alongside Items and Weapons), the game features roughly 50 catchable species spread across 5 islands, and the boss-tier Pufferfish (복어) is the catch most bait-hunters are searching for. Below is everything reliably known about baits, chum terminology, and which fish exist to catch — plus clear notes on what remains unconfirmed.

How Bait Works in How to Fish: What Is Confirmed

How to Fish is a 1-4 player physics-based fishing simulator by Dazed Games, released on August 20, 2026 for Windows (Steam AppID 4001890). In it, Bait is a standalone item category: the Game8 wiki lists 'Baits' as its own section, side by side with Items, Weapons, Weapon Attachments, and Upgrades. This structure confirms that bait is a real, distinct system in the game rather than a cosmetic detail — but the specific bait names, prices, and unlock conditions have not yet been published in any verifiable source.

The game's economy loop supports the classic buy-bait-catch-fish-sell-fish cycle: Game8 maintains a dedicated 'How to Make Money Fast' guide, which indicates that selling your catch is the core way to earn money. In practice, this means bait is an investment — you spend money on bait to target fish worth more than the bait cost. Until an itemized bait list is documented, treat bait purchases as part of that money loop rather than chasing rumored 'best bait' claims from unverified sources.

• Bait is a confirmed standalone item category (Game8 wiki 'Baits' section)
• Selling fish for money is the core economy (Game8 'How to Make Money Fast' guide exists)
• Specific bait names, prices, and shop locations: NOT yet documented in any verified source
• Beware of guides claiming exact bait-to-fish matchups — no public source currently backs them

What Does Chum Mean? (Terminology Explained)

In real-world fishing terminology, 'chum' refers to ground-up fish, bait scraps, or attractant material thrown into the water to draw schools of fish toward your position. Chumming is a technique used before or during fishing to increase bite rates in a specific spot — it does not hook fish itself, but concentrates them near your line.

Important: it is currently UNCONFIRMED whether How to Fish includes a chum mechanic at all. No verified source — including the Game8 wiki structure and the Steam store page — mentions chum as an in-game item or system. If you searched 'how to fish chum' expecting an in-game chum item, know that the game's confirmed attractant system is simply its Bait category. We will update this section if a chum mechanic is documented after further community testing.

• Chum (real-world term): ground bait scattered in water to attract fish schools
• Chum as an in-game mechanic in How to Fish: UNCONFIRMED — no source verifies it exists
• The game's only confirmed attractant system is the Bait item category

Every Fish You Can Catch: Full Species List

According to the Game8 wiki, How to Fish features roughly 50 catchable creatures. Knowing the full roster matters for bait planning: once bait data is documented, this is the pool of species each bait will map to. The list ranges from familiar species like Cod, Salmon, and Bass to game-original creatures with exact spellings you should search by name: Sengarat, Voxelfish, Dripper, Bowlfish, and Superdwarf Fish.

Location is the other half of the 'what catches what' equation. The game has 5 islands — Island 1: Lighthouse, Island 2: Forest, Island 3: Palm Trees, Island 4: Casino Barn, and the Final Island (a volcanic island) — and different islands host different fish populations. This means that even with the right bait, you must be at the right island to catch a given species. When targeting a specific fish, confirm its island first, then worry about bait.

• Crustaceans & bottom dwellers: Brown Crab, Rock Crab, Lobster, Shrimp, Sea Urchin
• Freshwater species: Piranha, Gar, Pike, Perch, Catfish, Bluegill, Bass, Goldfish, Eel
• Saltwater species: Mackerel, Cod, Goby, Salmon, Triggerfish, Clownfish, Yellow Boxfish, Needlefish, Angelfish, Seahorse, Red Snapper, Halibut, Tigerfish, Flying Fish, Parrotfish, Blobfish, Oarfish, Anglerfish, Stonefish, Sunfish
• Game-original species (exact spellings): Sengarat, Voxelfish, Dripper, Bowlfish, Superdwarf Fish
• Islands: Lighthouse, Forest, Palm Trees, Casino Barn, Final Island (volcanic)

Pufferfish (하우투피시 복어) and the 12 Boss Fish

The Pufferfish (복어) is one of the most-searched catches in How to Fish, and here is the key fact: Pufferfish appears in both the regular fish list and the Boss list on Game8, meaning it is a boss-tier creature, not an ordinary catch. This matches the game's dual fishing-and-combat design — the game is categorized as Action + Simulation on Steam, and Game8 documents Weapons and Bosses alongside Fishes and Baits, so expect boss encounters to involve the combat system, not just a rod.

The full boss roster is 12 creatures: Spider Crab, Sunfish, The Old Pike, Giant Piranha, Bing Bong, Blue Shark, Pufferfish, Tuna, Albatross, Goblin Shark, Bowhead Whale, and Mutated Bowhead Whale. As for which bait (if any) is required to trigger or catch the Pufferfish — that information is NOT yet documented in any verified source. Do not trust unsourced claims about a specific Pufferfish bait; what is confirmed is only its boss status and its presence in the catchable roster.

• Pufferfish (복어) is a boss-tier creature — it appears in both the fish list and boss list
• All 12 bosses: Spider Crab, Sunfish, The Old Pike, Giant Piranha, Bing Bong, Blue Shark, Pufferfish, Tuna, Albatross, Goblin Shark, Bowhead Whale, Mutated Bowhead Whale
• Boss fights tie into the game's combat system (Weapons and Weapon Attachments are documented categories)
• Bait requirements for the Pufferfish: UNCONFIRMED — no verified source documents them yet

Endangered Fish and What This Means for Bait Choice

Game8 maintains a dedicated 'How to Catch Endangered Fish' guide page, which confirms that How to Fish includes an endangered or rare fish mechanic as a distinct challenge beyond ordinary catches. In fishing games generally, rare-fish mechanics are often tied to specific conditions such as location or bait — but for this specific game, the exact requirements (bait type, island, time, or method) are not yet publicly documented, so treat any specific claim with caution.

Practical advice while data is incomplete: focus on what is verifiable. Work through the 5 islands in order, since fish populations differ by island; use the money loop (catch and sell fish) to fund bait purchases; and check the in-game Baits inventory descriptions yourself, as the game may state bait effects directly. With 1,811 active topics on the Steam community forums, community-tested bait data is likely to emerge quickly — cross-reference any bait claims you find there against multiple threads before spending your in-game money on them.

• An endangered/rare fish mechanic is confirmed to exist (dedicated Game8 guide page)
• Exact catch requirements for endangered fish: NOT yet documented
• Progress island by island — fish populations differ across the 5 islands
• Fund bait experiments through the catch-and-sell money loop
• Verify community bait claims across multiple Steam forum threads before trusting them