Red Dead Redemption 2 How to Catch Legendary Fish

This guide will teach you how to catch Legendary Fish in Red Dead Redemption 2. Legendary Fish are the hardest to catch in RDR2 and there’s a lot the game doesn’t tell you about. We’ll start with a basic summary and go through each step in more detail.

To Catch Legendary Fish:

1. Accept the Stranger Mission ‘A Fisher of Fish’ (available in Chapter 3).
2. Buy Special Lures from the Bait Shop in the Bayou (only available after accepting the above quest)
3. Go to the Legendary Fishing Spot (see guide below)
4. Equip the correct lure for the water type (River, Lake or Swamp). Don’t use any Bait.
5. Put the Lure in the water, slowly reel in the lure and wait for a legendary fish to bite.
6. Reel it in. Pull the Left Stick down and turn the Right Stick clockwise. Let loose when the fish is “fighting” it and then start reeling it in again.

Step 1: Start A Fisher of Fish Mission

You can start the Fisher of Fish quest at the location shown below, it becomes available in Story Chapter 3:

There you’ll meet a fisherman who wants your help. He wants you to catch legendary fish for him and mail them to him via the post office.

Step 2: Buy Special Lures from Bait Shop

Go to the Bait Shop in the Bayou.

Buy these 3 lures:

• Special Lake Lure – $20.00
• Special River Lure – $20.00
• Special Swamp Lure – $20.00

The Special Lures are needed to hook legendary fish! It won’t work with your default lures. Bait is not needed, just the special lures. Legendary Fish aren’t attracted to bait. The Special Lures only become available after starting the Fisher of Fish quest.

Step 3: Where to Find Legendary Fishing Spots

The quest giver has handed you a map with the rough locations, which can be viewed in your satchel under documents (hold ). Simply refer to the Legendary Fish Locations Guide for the exact spots. There are 14 of them in total (one is only available after catching the first 13 fish).

Step 4: Equip the Appropriate Lure

Here the fun begins. Go to the fishing spots that were linked above and equip your fishing rod.

• Open the weapon wheel, press R1/RB to switch to item wheel, and select Fishing Rod in the bottom right corner.
• Now select the lure. Hold L1/LB and select the lure that fits the water type (River, Lake, Swamp). Refer to the Legendary Fish Locations Guide for what Lure belongs to what Fish. Do NOT select any bait! If you choose bait it will attract the wrong fish, legendaries are NOT attracted to bait, just the lures.

Step 5 & 6: Catching the Legendary Fish

Watch for little water bubbles or “waves” on the water, indicating where the fish are. Put your lure in the water and very slowly rotate the Right Stick clockwise to reel it in. By making the lure move a tiny bit, you attract fish. If nothing bites you can press R2/RT (only once) to attract fish from further away. Do not do it more than once as it will just scare all fish away.

When you get a bite, quickly hook the fish with R2/RT. Never reel it in when the fish is fighting it and quickly swimming left and right, as it will just snap the lure and the fish will get away. When the fish is done fighting it, pull Left Stick down and very quickly rotate the Right Stick clockwise. Rinse and repeat – when the fish is trying to get away, let go and just push the left stick in the opposite direction of where the fish is trying to swim. When the fish is done fighting, start reeling it in again and repeat. With the biggest specimen this can take a while, with each break you can reel it in a little closer to the shore.

Step 6: Delivering Legendary Fish

Keep in mind you must mail the legendary fish back to the quest giver. Small fish go in your satchel but big fish need to be put on the back of your horse and you must ride directly to the post office and mail them. After you caught all 13 of them you can complete the quest and get to fish for a secret 14th fish together with the quest giver. They also count as collectibles for 100% completion.

That’s all there is to know about how to catch legendary fish in Red Dead Redemption 2. For more guides check out our complete Red Dead Redemption 2 & Wiki & Strategy Guide.