I stood on the Lighthouse deck with sea spray in my face and a dead Spider Crab at my feet. You can feel the map of the world tilt the moment the first island pin appears on your radar. I learned fast: the game doesn’t hand out shortcuts — it gives you puzzles and rewards.
The lighthouse still burns at dawn — All islands in How to Fish and how to unlock them
I’ve spent enough hours chasing red and green blips to short-cut the guesswork. You don’t need to hunt every enemy blindly; you need the right trade, the right NPC, and the radar reading. Below I’ll guide you, step by step, so you get from the Lighthouse to the Volcano without wasting time.
How do I unlock all islands in How to Fish?
Start at the Lighthouse — it’s open from the first save. Kill the Spider Crab, take the keys from the Lighthouse Keeper, then buy the radar and climb into your boat. The radar is a private detective: it points to the colored dots that mark each island’s coordinates.
Island 1 (Forest)
After the Spider Crab is down, the Lighthouse Keeper hands you keys. Buy the radar from the shop and head northwest: a green dot will appear roughly northwest of the Lighthouse. That green dot marks Island 2 on my map, but in-game it reads like a swampy mini-forest; there’s a lady by the lake with a task that moves the story along.
Island 2 (Desert)
Beat the Giant Piranha to earn the coordinates for the desert island. You’ll need to feed the skeleton to the lady by the lake to trigger that reward. Once the trade is complete, open the radar and follow the yellow spot west of the Forest island to reach Island 2.
Island 3 (Rocks)
The Puffer Fish is the gatekeeper here. It’s fast, it rolls into you, and if you miss dodges you’ll be forced to camp and grind. Kill it, take its fin to the tourist NPC, and he’ll hand over the red-dot coordinates. Island 3 sits west of the desert island and contains a small shop that’s worth your time.
Where is the Volcano in How to Fish?
The Volcano sits north of Island 3 and dominates the skyline; it’s hard to miss. To reach it you must defeat the Albatross, take its severed head to the shop NPC, and trade for the pink-dot coordinates. The Albatross sprays a brutal poop attack and keeps distance while it strafes you, so use cover and bait its swoops.
The Volcano is the final playable location before the mainland. It’s also the place where the game’s narrative threads knot together — the Volcano is the game’s final drumbeat. Once you’ve traded the Albatross head, the radar will show a pink dot directly north of Island 3; steer there and you’ll find the way forward.
I recommend checking community guides on Steam and browsing threads on itch.io and Moyens I/O if you stall — other players often post boss patterns and exact coordinates that saved me hours. Which strategy will you try first to claim all island coordinates?