In How to Fish, the Dazed Games co-op fishing shooter on Steam, catch an endangered fish on Island 3 with the pink Standard Lure, then give it to the tourist to earn the carrot bait for the pufferfish boss.
How to Fish, the physics-based co-op game from Dazed Games on Steam, hides one of its more confusing quest items behind a word it never fully explains: endangered. On Island 3 a stranded tourist wants a very specific kind of catch, and handing it over is what unlocks the bait for that island’s boss. This is the short version of getting that fish and cashing it in.
What an endangered fish actually is
Key An endangered fish is a flagged catch type, not a rarity tier and not a skin. When you reel one in, the game marks it on screen as endangered, and killing it hands you a small bonus. They are specific species rather than a random roll, so you are fishing for a category the game recognizes, not hoping for luck.
The one place this matters right now is the Island 3 tourist quest, Vacation (“Help the tourist swim on his vacation”). That NPC only accepts an endangered fish, which is why it is worth learning to spot the flag rather than selling everything you catch.
Reach Island 3
Progress the story until you unlock the island with the tourist and the grill.
Equip the pink Standard Lure
Buy and load the Standard Lure (the pink one), which reliably pulls the species that get flagged.
Fish until one is flagged endangered
Keep casting and reeling; when a catch shows the endangered tag on screen, that is the one you want.
Kill the flagged fish
Finish it off like any other creature to claim it and its on-kill bonus.
Hold it for the tourist
Do not sell it and do not eat it — keep the endangered fish in your inventory to hand over.
The moment a catch reads endangered, stop cooking, selling, or eating it — carry it straight to the tourist, because a flagged fish is only useful if it reaches him intact.
Which fish count for the tourist
| Fish | Use |
|---|---|
| Needlefish | Give to the Island 3 tourist |
| Bowl fish | Give to the Island 3 tourist |
| Sea horse | Give to the Island 3 tourist |
Several species show up flagged, and the tourist takes any of them. Needlefish, bowl fish, and sea horse are all known to work, so if you land any one of those with the endangered marker, you are done fishing. These are working examples rather than the full list — other species may also qualify — but grabbing one of these three is the fastest way to be sure.
Hand it over and unlock the pufferfish bait
Give the endangered fish to the tourist and Vacation completes. In return he hands you a carrot, which is the bait for the Island 3 island boss — the pufferfish. This is the same pattern every island uses: a quest produces the boss lure or bait, and the boss lure itself is never sold in a shop.
The pufferfish rolls at you and grows larger as the fight drags on, across two phases. At half health it starts trailing a purple poison cloud that chases it around the arena, so treat the ground as a hazard once that appears — dodge out of the cloud’s path, keep shooting, and eat cooked fish to heal. Bring the carrot, summon it, and it is a manageable fight as long as you never run into the poison.
Endangered versus drip
It is easy to conflate endangered fish with drip creatures, but they are separate systems. Drip creatures are rainbow-named rare variants you feed into the Reel of Fortune for skins; endangered is a flag tied to species and the tourist quest. A single fish can be both endangered and drip at once, which is fine — drip variants respawn, so nothing is lost by handing an endangered-and-drip catch to the tourist.
Related How to Fish guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What are endangered fish in How to Fish?
In How to Fish by Dazed Games on Steam, endangered fish are specific species that are flagged on screen when you catch them and give a bonus on kill.
Which endangered fish work for the tourist?
Needlefish, bowl fish, and sea horse all work for the tourist’s Vacation quest.
What lure should I use to catch endangered fish?
Use the pink standard lure to catch endangered fish for the tourist.
What do you get for giving the tourist an endangered fish?
The tourist gives you a carrot, which is the bait for the island boss.
Can an endangered fish also be a drip creature?
Yes. A fish can be both endangered and drip, and drip variants respawn.
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