How to Catch the Old Pike in How to Fish

Where to Find the Old Pike

The Old Pike is a boss-class catch on Island 2 — the forest island (lake). That is the only location any guide database documents for it. It is an optional mini-boss, not a progression gate: the island-2 story chain that unlocks island 3 runs through the Giant Piranha (three-Leeches quest), and the Old Pike's kill unlocks nothing the sources name — it is hunted for the achievement and the catalog.

To reach island 2 you first finish the starter-island chain: beer → Empty Beer Can → Spider Crab → Crab Shell trade → Boat Keys. The full route is in the Spider Crab guide and the island unlock guide.

What You Need

• Beginner Boss Lure — $40 (documented by Game8). This is the boss-class lure tier for island 2; see the lures & baits guide for the full tier list.
• The $150 Shotgun — the documented non-fishing route: buy it and hunt the Old Pike directly (Game8).
• Not needed: the regular Beginner Lure is a different, cheaper item that hooks normal island-2 fish (Pike, Cod, Goby, Perch, Triggerfish…) — it will not hook the Old Pike.

Step-by-Step

1. Clear the starter island and sail to island 2 with the Boat Keys.
2. Buy the Beginner Boss Lure ($40) from a shop.
3. Cast anywhere in the forest island's water.
4. Expect wrong-fish bites first: the Sunfish shares this lure pool and can bite before the Pike does.
5. Keep casting the same lure — the Old Pike hooks from the same pool.
6. Shotgun route instead: buy the $150 Shotgun and hunt the Old Pike directly without fishing. The weapon list is in the weapons guide.

If the Old Pike Isn’t Appearing

• Wrong lure tier: the Old Pike is not in the regular Beginner Lure roster — check that you bought the Beginner Boss Lure ($40), not the Beginner Lure.
• Sunfish first: the Sunfish shares the Beginner Boss Lure pool and can bite before the Old Pike does — that is the documented behavior, not a bug.
• Wrong island: no source places the Old Pike anywhere but island 2 — the first island and the later islands do not document it.

What to Do After Catching It

Eating a mini-boss is the official Competitive eating achievement (“Eat a mini-boss”, 17.3% global unlock). No unique quest or island gate uses the Old Pike — the island-2 gate is the Giant Piranha chain — so after the kill, either return to the mainland progress (three Leeches → Giant Piranha → island 3) or hunt the Sunfish, the second island-2 boss-class catch on the same lure pool. The next mini-boss up the ladder is the Blue Shark on island 3, hooked with the Standard Boss Lure.