What are the best fishing games? Our list of options is the catch of the day when it comes to finding your next trip down to the river. From realistic simulations with a competitive element to cozy campouts with a warm fire and a few friends, there’s a wealth of different experiences waiting for you to cast out, and potentially chill out, by the water.
If you’d prefer to pick up a five-iron rather than a fishing rod, be sure to check out our picks for the best golf games. Or, if you’re looking to farm and forage as well as fish, see our guide to the best games like Stardew Valley.
Here are the best fishing games:
Stardew Valley
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
While Stardew Valley is often thought of as a farming game, there’s just as much depth in the game’s fishing mechanics. With over 100 species to catch, plus a few legendary fish that really dial up the challenge, you can spend season after season angling and increasing your fishing level. Admittedly, it takes a little while to get to grips with fishing in Stardew, but once you do, you’ll be reeling them in like nobody’s business.
If you need a hand getting used to the bodies of water in Pelican Town, check out our Stardew Valley fish guide for some tips. Or check out our Stardew Valley review for more of our thoughts.
Animal Crossing
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch
There’s no shortage of activities to get up to in Animal Crossing New Horizons, but fishing is one of the most engaging. From the moment you find yourself on the island, you can start angling, and there are plenty of different species of fish for you to catch and put on display at the local museum.
Not only that, but the fishing in Animal Crossing is probably the best version of what a non-fisherperson imagines the activity to consist of and is a great way to relax in-game while making friends with CJ the fish vendor. Take a look at our Animal Crossing New Horizons fish guide if you need a little help.
Fishing Clash
Portable platforms: Android and iOS
It might not look like it, but fishing is a very competitive sport, and no other fishing game on this list embraces that like Fishing Clash. It’s more arcade-style than others, but if anything, that means there’s more free-wheeling fun to be had with less difficulty learning the ropes.
With online PvP catching competitions, clans to join with your most trusted tackle-pals, and records to break by landing the fattest fish, if you want to prove that you’re the best there is with a rod in your hands, Fishing Clash has you covered. We’ve got you covered too, with our Fishing Clash codes.
Fishing Star! World Tour
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch
Jump into a colorful world full of lakes, rivers, and open seas in Fishing Star! World Tour. It might be a little cartoony for the stereotypical angler down in their camping chair, but for anyone with a casual interest in angling, this is the perfect fishing game to learn your craft.
With different difficulty levels, joy-con controls, and countless customization options, there’s a lot of fun to be had. Oh, and you can ever get a special reel controller, just to make it feel that bit more like you’re by the side of a lake looking for something that blub-blub-blubs.
Stranded Deep
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
Stranded Deep takes fishing games back to basics with just a simple wooden rod, and the wide expanse of the ocean to contend with. As you might guess, it’s also a fishing game with survival at its core, and anything you catch will end up in your stomach rather than on your mantelpiece.
The longer you can stay alive on the island, the bigger fish you’ll find, and if you can muster the courage, there are sharks in these waters too. We don’t recommend trying to catch them with just a sharp stick, though.
Fishing Food
Portable platforms: Android and iOS
What’s better than fishing for fish? Fishing for burgers. You heard me right. Fishing Food is the downright wackiest title on this list, as you play as a hungry kawaii cat fishing out food from an ocean of pizza slicers, hot dogs, and pink iced doughnuts.
The twist is, that your dinner can talk back, and together you work to find the secrets hiding at the bottom of the ocean of fast food. There’s no realism here, but it’s still a fishing game, and there are some laughs to be had.
Mysteries Under Lake Ophelia
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
Okay, so this is a bit of a weird one. Mysteries Under Lake Ophelia is a moodier fishing sim than most, combining an eerie atmosphere with PS1-style graphics to offer the most unsettling experience on our list of the best fishing games.
With over 30 fish to catch, and multiple lures and rods to add to your collection of fishing equipment, the simulation here is quite relaxing. However, there is something of a dark mystery at play, so be sure to keep your wits about you as you explore the murky Lake Ophelia.
Moonglow Bay
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
Moonglow Bay is a slice-of-life delight underscored by a narrative that is equal parts tragic and uplifting. Better still, it’s full of fishing. You begin as just an amateur fisherman, stricken with grief, before taking it upon yourself to restore a sense of pride and community to the dilapidated seaside town of Moonglow Bay.
While the fishing isn’t as challenging here as some of the other games on this list, there’s a lot of fun to be had exploring the waters of Moonglow Bay and cooking up meals from the fish you find. It’s something of a cozy game, and we’re always up for a cozy time. For more on this one, check out our Moonglow Bay Switch review.
Fishing Planet
Portable platforms: Android and iOS
If you’re looking for a slice of realism for our list of the best fishing games, Fishing Planet has you covered. With in-depth mechanics, countless real-world locations for casting, and some impressive mobile graphics, this one is a delight for any amateur angler or professional fisher.
As many mobile titles are, Fishing Planet is a free-to-play game, so you don’t even need to spend as much as you would on bait during a real-life fishing trip to land some trophy catches in this game. It’s the ideal pick for a Sunday afternoon, allowing you to cast your rod and wait patiently while the world passes you by.
Dredge
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
If you’re looking for something darker and a little disturbing from our list of the best fishing games, Dredge has you covered. This game is full of nightmare creatures from the deep, and it’s your job to go around dredging them out of the water while uncovering the mysteries of the bigger monsters that lurk in the shadows. Yes, it’s as terrifying as it sounds.
Still, at its heart, Dredge is a fishing sim with some of the best fishing mechanics I’ve experienced in a long time. There’s also the game’s engaging narrative, which slowly unfolds to reach cataclysmic proportions by the time the credits roll around. Even if you’re not a horror fan, this one is worth trying out.
Creatures of the Deep
Portable platforms: Android and iOS
With over 100 fish to catch, and countless idyllic locations to launch your rod into the water, Creatures of the Deep is a fantastic mobile experience for fans of fishing games. Better still, it looks absolutely gorgeous, offering the sort of visuals we’d expect from a console game rather than something you can download for free on your phone.
While it might look relaxing, Creatures of the Deep also offers competitive online play, as you take on your friends to see who can reel in the biggest catch. If all that wasn’t enough, these waters also hold some fascinating mysteries to uncover, and they’re not nearly as terrifying as the ones you might find in Dredge.
Dave the Diver
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
The difference between Dave the Diver and almost all the other fishing games in this guide is that with this option you actually get to go underwater. At first, you’re stuck in pretty shallow waters, hunting for clown fish and the occasional seahorse, but before you know it, you’re truly plundering the depths, discovering long-forgotten species, and sourcing specialities for Bancho’s coastal restaurant. Oh, and you might discover an ancient civilization, just your classic deep diving stuff.
Like Stardew Valley, Dave the Diver isn’t just about fishing, but it also has some great crafting, farming, and combat mechanics, so there’s always something to do. If all that wasn’t enough, this game’s cast of characters are a delight to spend some time with, and the story that pins it all together manages to make a pretty serious point about ecology without ever feeling condescending.
There you have it, our comprehensive list of the best fishing games. If you’ve still not found anything you want to play, consult our guides to the best mobile games, the best Steam Deck games, and the best Nintendo Switch games. We can also offer some advice on Roblox Fisch, including where to get your bait.