Fishing Tactics: Defeating the Pufferfish

You’ve taken down the Spider Crab and turned the Giant Piranha into fish sticks, but the Pufferfish boss battle in How to Fish cranks up the challenge. This bloated, buoy-like fish had me retrying multiple times in both solo and co-op modes, but with some SMG upgrades and a lot of patience, I finally managed to take it down.

On the third island in How to Fish, you’ll find a few quest options, but kick things off by chatting with the swimmer in yellow floaties to start the quest for Pufferfish bait. This swimmer needs help dealing with a menacing fish and has some snacks to use as bait, but he won’t part with them until you agree to help him out first.

It’s a bit odd that we have to repay him for tools to complete a task he initiated, but you’ll need to track down an endangered creature before he’ll hand over the snacks.

The Pufferfish is no easy target, and it took me several attempts to finally fillet this beast. I never managed to take it down with the shotgun; I had to invest in the SMG (with a few upgrades) to get the job done.

And let me emphasize this: Do not stop shooting at the Pufferfish. I only found a few moments to stand still when the boss got stuck on trees while trying to chase me around the area, but you’ll want to keep moving and firing until it’s defeated. Some lucky players might bypass the previous two boss fights, but if you haven’t mastered using the terrain in How to Fish, now’s the time to learn.