🗺️ How to Fish Island Order - Full Progression Route
The complete island progression route: five islands in unlock order, what to prepare for each, and the boss-loot hand-ins that reveal the next coordinates.
Published August 26, 2026 · Last updated September 21, 2026
Quick Answer: The Best Island Order
The How to Fish islands unlock in a fixed sequence: Lighthouse → Forest → Desert → Rocks → Volcano. Each island requires its boss loot handed to a specific NPC before the Radar reveals the next. The key optimization: unlock Island 3's grill immediately — cooking catches to 1.5x transforms your income for every island after. The order is identical on Easy, default and Hard difficulty.
The Five Islands and Their Tickets
The "ticket" to each island is a task item or award from the previous stage. Defeating a boss is only half the battle — the loot must reach the NPC's hands for the map to update.
| Stage | Island | Unlock Key | Boss / Trigger | Item to Retain | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighthouse | Default at the beginning | Empty Beer Can → Spider Crab | Spider Crab meat / trophy | Ship key + $10 Radar |
| 2 | Forest | Ship + Radar → northwest green dot | 3/3 Leeches → Modified Leech → Giant Piranha | Giant Piranha Skeleton | Island 3 coordinates |
| 3 | Desert | Previous stage coordinates | Needlefish → Carrot → Puffer Fish (+ Blue Shark unlocks the Grill) | Pufferfish Fin / Trophy | Island 4 coordinates |
| 4 | Rocks | Previous stage coordinates | Professional Boss Lure → Tuna → Albatross | Albatross Head | Final island coordinates |
| 5 | Volcano | Previous stage coordinates | Fish Bucket → Bowhead Whale → Mutated Bowhead Whale | Mutated Bowhead fin | Military ship key → ending |
Stage
1
Island
Lighthouse
Unlock Key
Default at the beginning
Boss / Trigger
Empty Beer Can → Spider Crab
Item to Retain
Spider Crab meat / trophy
Result
Ship key + $10 Radar
Stage
2
Island
Forest
Unlock Key
Ship + Radar → northwest green dot
Boss / Trigger
3/3 Leeches → Modified Leech → Giant Piranha
Item to Retain
Giant Piranha Skeleton
Result
Island 3 coordinates
Stage
3
Island
Desert
Unlock Key
Previous stage coordinates
Boss / Trigger
Needlefish → Carrot → Puffer Fish (+ Blue Shark unlocks the Grill)
Item to Retain
Pufferfish Fin / Trophy
Result
Island 4 coordinates
Stage
4
Island
Rocks
Unlock Key
Previous stage coordinates
Item to Retain
Albatross Head
Result
Final island coordinates
Stage
5
Island
Volcano
Unlock Key
Previous stage coordinates
Boss / Trigger
Fish Bucket → Bowhead Whale → Mutated Bowhead Whale
Item to Retain
Mutated Bowhead fin
Result
Military ship key → ending
Unlocking Island 2 (Forest), Step by Step
The first voyage is the most common stumbling block. Complete the Lighthouse starting mission, defeat the Spider Crab with the Empty Beer Can, and hand the trophy to the Lighthouse Keeper for the Ship Key. Buy the Radar (about $10) and hold it in hand — boarding the ship with the Radar equipped shows a green marker roughly to the northwest; sail toward it until the Forest Island renders and docks.
Unlocking Island 3 (Desert)
Kill the Giant Piranha with the Modified Leech and hand the skeleton to the lady by the lake. The Radar then provides new coordinates (usually a yellow dot, west to northwest of the Forest). Killing the boss without delivering the skeleton never unlocks Island 3.
Unlocking Islands 4 and 5
On the Desert, catch a Needlefish (Standard Lure), trade it to the Tourist under the tree for the Carrot, defeat the Puffer Fish and hand in its fin for the Island 4 coordinates. On the Rocks, kill the Tuna, drop its corpse to bait the Albatross, and hand the Albatross Head to the Island 4 NPC — the final coordinates cover the military base and the volcano route. The Volcano finale (Mutated Bowhead Whale) completes the game.
Stuck? Common Unlock-Chain Failures
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No ship key | Spider Crab trophy not delivered | Return to the Lighthouse Keeper and hand it in |
| Ship but no Radar marker | $10 Radar not purchased | Buy it at the Keeper's store |
| Radar but no green dot | Radar not equipped | Hold the Radar in hand on the ship |
| Green dot but no island | Distance or heading off | Keep the green dot centered and keep sailing northwest |
| Next island never appears | Boss killed, loot not handed in | Check the hand-in transaction before buying new gear |
Symptom
No ship key
Cause
Spider Crab trophy not delivered
Fix
Return to the Lighthouse Keeper and hand it in
Symptom
Ship but no Radar marker
Cause
$10 Radar not purchased
Fix
Buy it at the Keeper's store
Symptom
Radar but no green dot
Cause
Radar not equipped
Fix
Hold the Radar in hand on the ship
Symptom
Green dot but no island
Cause
Distance or heading off
Fix
Keep the green dot centered and keep sailing northwest
Symptom
Next island never appears
Cause
Boss killed, loot not handed in
Fix
Check the hand-in transaction before buying new gear
💡 If the Radar still points at the same rock after a boss kill, the hand-in did not happen — fishing more will never unlock the map.
Naming Note: Which Island Is "Island 1"?
Guides number the islands slightly differently: most sources (and this site) treat the Lighthouse as the starting point with Forest = Island 2 and Desert = Island 3, while some articles call the Forest "Island 1". The unlock order itself is identical in every source.
Polskie podsumowanie (Polish Summary)
W How to Fish jest 5 wysp odblokowywanych po kolei: Latarnia → Las → Pustynia → Skały → Wulkan. Każdą wyspę odblokowujesz pokonując bossa i wręczając łup odpowiedniemu NPC. Optymalna kolejność: najpierw odblokuj grill na wyspie 3 (Pustynia) — gotowanie zwiększa cenę sprzedaży o 1.5x na każdej kolejnej wyspie.