Ranch Simulator: How to Fish, Select Tackle and Reel In a Catch

Buy the rod and tackle from the marked hut

Start at the fishing hut marked on the in-game map. The hut sells both the rod and tackle, so acquiring only one part of the fishing setup is not the full preparation described by the developer. This guide uses the keyboard-and-mouse controls in the official Fishing Update announcement. [1]

Steps

1. Find the fishing hut on the map and visit it to buy a fishing rod and tackle. [1]

Look for ripples near the water’s edge

After obtaining the equipment, look for ripples near the edge of the water. Those ripples are the developer’s sign for fishing spots. Standing at an arbitrary stretch of water is not the location check supplied by the announcement. [1]

Steps

1. Move to a fishing spot identified by ripples near the edge of the water. [1]

Select the rod and choose tackle

Rod selection and tackle selection use separate controls. Tab opens the action wheel, where you switch to the rod; R then opens the tackle menu. If the rod is not equipped, make that selection before looking for the tackle menu. [1]

Steps

1. Hold Tab and select the rod from the action wheel. [1]
2. Press R to open the tackle menu, then choose the tackle you want to use. [1]

Cast, wait for the bite and pull the fish in

Casting uses a held right click; pulling in the catch uses left click after a bite. The order matters: the announcement identifies the bite as the cue for pulling the fish in. It does not give an additional hidden timing formula or a guaranteed catch size. [1]

Steps

1. Hold the right mouse button to cast. [1]
2. Wait for a bite, then press the left mouse button to pull the fish in. [1]

Know the announced fish and map support

The update names carp, trout and perch, different fish sizes and three tackle types. It does not provide a verified species-by-tackle catch-rate table, so select tackle without treating an invented percentage as a guarantee. [1]

Fishing is also added to the Southwest Ranch & Farm DLC map. That map support is separate from the later 1.36 fix allowing guests without the DLC to join a Southwest-hosted session. [1]