To beat the lava whale in How to Fish, stock up on lava-cooked fish, bring a fully upgraded assault rifle with attachments, dodge its rolls, stomps, lava pools, and meteors, then return the Whale Fin to the scientist to finish the game.
How to Fish is Dazed Games’ physics-based fishing game, and despite the name it is also a shooter — you kill sea creatures with guns, upgrade a boat, and fight bosses across five islands. The lava whale is the last of those fights, and it is the one real wall in the game. This walks you through the prep, the whale-into-volcano sequence that spawns it, how to survive the two phases, and the Whale Fin hand-in that actually rolls the credits.
Where the lava whale fight happens
The lava whale is the final boss on the fifth island, the volcano — this is a boss in the game, not anything to do with real-world fishing. It is tied to the Deadliest catch achievement, “help the military defeat the big creature they located.” The hazmat-suited scientist on the volcano island is your military contact; there is no separate encounter to hunt down.
You do not walk straight into it. First you fish up and kill a regular whale, then throw that whale into the volcano — and that is what spawns the lava whale, a harder, lava-themed version of the same creature. Treat the two as one back-to-back sequence and prepare for both at once.
Gear and food to bring first
| Prep | Use |
|---|---|
| Maxed assault rifle | Your main damage source; kitting it fully also unlocks Fully equipped. |
| Laser and suppressor | Fit these on the AR at minimum — hip-firing with both is strong, steady DPS. |
| Lava-cooked fish | Healing for both whale fights; lava cooks at 1.5x with no timing window. |
| Extra cooked fish on the ground | Leave a pile near the military camp to top up mid-fight. |
| Dynamite | Blows up four or five fish at once — fast food and the bait fish in one go. |
Key The sources are blunt about this: the fight is won in prep. You want a maxed or near-maxed assault rifle with the right attachments, and far more healing than you think you need. Kitting the AR fully also earns you Fully equipped (“apply all attachments to a single weapon”) on the way in, so there is no reason to skimp.
Healing comes from cooked fish, and the volcano gives you the best way to make it. Lava cooks at exactly 1.5x value with no timing risk, so once you reach island five, lava-cook everything — both to sell and to eat. Use dynamite in the water to blow up four or five fish at once; it is the fastest way to gather both your food pile and the bait fish you will hand in. Fill your inventory with cooked fish and drop extra piles on the ground near the military camp so you can refill between phases.
Starting the whale and lava whale fight
Give the scientist five fish
Hand any five fish to the hazmat-suited scientist; dynamite in the water is the fastest way to net them.
Take the whale bait
He gives you the whale bait in return.
Fish up and kill the whale
It charges and launches into the sky to slam down on you — run when it shoots up, then dodge, shoot, and eat to heal.
Throw the whale into the volcano
Dumping the beaten whale into the volcano is what spawns the lava whale.
Drop to the military base and fight the lava whale
Jump back down to the supplies you left behind and take on the final boss.
Surviving and damaging the lava whale
| Attack | Response |
|---|---|
| Roll | Hold your distance and strafe around it. |
| Stomp | Move out from under it the moment it winds up. |
| Lava pools | Watch the floor and dodge the pools as well as the boss. |
| Lava meteorites | Keep moving across the arena so the shots miss. |
| Phase two sky launch | Reposition as it rises, then avoid the stomps it lands with. |
There is no trick here — the lava whale is a stamina test. Keep your distance, shoot steadily with the assault rifle, and heal every single time you take damage rather than waiting until you are low. The ground is as dangerous as the boss: it rolls, it stomps, and it fires lava meteorites across the arena, so you are dodging lava pools while you strafe. Phase two is where runs die — it becomes far more aggressive, stomps almost constantly, and periodically leaps into the sky to rain attacks down, so keep moving and reposition the instant it launches.
Co-op makes this the manageable fight it is meant to be. Spread out — one player can hold the boss’s attention while the other works a firing line, and being able to revive each other means a single mistake no longer loses the run. On the volcano island itself, the army tent makes great cover for one player while the other posts up on the opposite side of the shore. Some players have tried sailing the boss to the red-blip casino island to fight it there, but that stopped working in later runs, so plan to take it right on the volcano.
Finishing the game after the kill
Pick up the Whale Fin
The lava whale drops a Whale Fin when it dies.
Return the Whale Fin to the scientist
Carry it back to the hazmat scientist to trade it in.
Collect the RHIB keys
He hands over the keys to the RHIB in exchange.
Start the RHIB
Board the boat and start it up.
Watch the ending
The credits roll and you earn We are so back for finishing the game.
Getting the Handyman achievement with fists
If you are chasing Handyman (“defeat the final boss with your bare hands”), know that it is not the whole fight unarmed — only the killing blow has to be a punch. Fight the lava whale exactly as above with the assault rifle, chip its health bar down to the thinnest sliver you dare, then swap to fists and finish it with a punch.
You are eyeballing that last bit of health, so expect to overshoot and accidentally kill it with the rifle a few times — just re-run the fight. This is much easier in co-op: one player can hold the boss’s attention while the other lines up the punch, and revives mean a mistimed swing does not cost you the run.
Before you start either whale, lava-cook a large pile of fish and drop extras on the ground near the military camp — you cannot over-prepare, and healing every hit is what wins the fight.
Video help
Frequently asked questions
How do you start the lava whale final boss in How to Fish?
On Volcano Island, give the scientist 5 fish to get whale bait, fish up and kill the whale, then throw the whale into the volcano to spawn the lava whale.
What gear should you bring for the lava whale?
Bring a maxed assault rifle with all attachments and as many lava-cooked fish as you can carry. A fully kitted assault rifle also unlocks Fully equipped on the way.
How do you survive the lava whale fight?
Dodge its rolls, stomps, lava meteorites, and lava pools, then eat cooked fish every time you take damage. In phase 2, keep moving because the lava whale stomps constantly and periodically launches into the sky to shoot down at you.
How do you unlock Handyman against the final boss?
Only the killing blow has to be a punch. Shoot the lava whale with an assault rifle until its health is almost empty, switch to fists, and punch it for the final hit.
What do you do after killing the lava whale?
Killing the boss drops a Whale Fin, but that is not the ending by itself. Take the Whale Fin to the scientist, get the RHIB keys, start the RHIB, and watch the ending.
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