BITFISH
Hollow County — an 8-bit fishing game
Everything the signs on the banks know, in one place. How the game works, what each water holds, and how to catch the fish that won't come easy.
Walk to the water's edge with the D-pad and face it. The action button reads CAST. Tap it, and wait: the bobber sits on the water while something decides whether it's hungry. When the text box says BITE!, tap anywhere — you have 2 seconds to set the hook. Miss it and the fish takes your bait and goes.
Once it's hooked, the fight begins.
Three bars. Tension climbs while you hold the reel and falls when you let go. Reeled in is how close the fish is. Line is how much of it is left.
Push tension into the red — it starts 48% of the way across the bar — and the line starts to fray. It never mends. A long fight with a lot of time in the red will part the line even if you never spike it. A short fight almost can't.
When the fish runs, holding on costs you tension fast and gains you almost nothing. Let go, let it run, and reel when it settles. Big fish that run hard are the ones that break lines.
Heavier line resists wear and recovers tension faster when you let off. If a water keeps breaking you off, the answer is almost always line before it's rod.
You fish one of two ways, and you choose in the BAG.
Every species page below says what each fish takes. Matching it is the single biggest thing you control.
A full day in Hollow County lasts about 25 real minutes. Dawn runs 5–9, day 9–17, dusk 17–21, and night the rest. Plenty of fish only move in one of those windows — the catfish and the gar after dark, the crappie at first and last light. If a water seems empty, it may just be the wrong hour. Check the species tables.
Every landed fish is logged in the Fishdex, with your personal best beside it. The first of a species pays 3×. Anything over its trophy weight can go in the Trophy Tank; everything else goes in the bucket and sells at the shack. Coins buy tackle, and tackle is what opens the harder water.
The tank starts with 4 slots and can be expanded three times, to 24.
Each water opens once you've logged 80% of the species at the water before it — ten of twelve. It counts different species, not fish landed. The Trench, at the end, also wants the best rod and a high rank.
| Water | Species | Difficulty | Toughest fight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willow Pond Shallow farm pond. Weed line on the south bank, rowboat tied at the dock. |
12 | ●○○○○ | Golden Bass |
| 2 | Cedar Creek Cold, clear and knee-deep. Riffles, cut banks, and one pool worth the walk. |
12 | ●○○○○ | Hellbender |
| 3 | Granite Lake Cold, rocky, deep. Trout and pike water. Boat launch on the north end. |
12 | ●●○○○ | Lake Sturgeon |
| 4 | Blackwater Bog Tea-dark water under the cypress. Everything here has teeth and waits for dark. |
12 | ●●○○○ | Ghost Gar |
| 5 | Copper River Heavy water off the glacier. The run comes through in numbers, and it does not wait. |
12 | ●●●○○ | White Sturgeon |
| 6 | Harbor Pier Stone jetty and pilings. Tidal, structure-heavy, busy with other anglers. |
12 | ●●●○○ | Red Drum |
| 7 | Tidewater Marsh Spartina grass and oyster bar, cut by tidal creeks. Fish the moving water. |
12 | ●●●○○ | Tarpon |
| 8 | Coral Shallows Gin-clear water over coral heads. You can see them refuse you. |
12 | ●●●●○ | Goliath Grouper |
| 9 | Kelp Forest Cold green canopy over rock. Hook one and it goes straight down into the stalks. |
12 | ●●●●○ | Pacific Halibut |
| 10 | The Trench Charter deck over the drop-off. Nothing here is small. |
12 | ●●●●● | Yellowfin Tuna |
Your rank is simply how many species you've logged, across every water. Some tackle won't sell to you until you've earned it.
| Rank | Species logged | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Rank 1 | 0 | |
| Rank 2 | 5 | |
| Rank 3 | 12 | Circle Hook |
| Rank 4 | 20 | Surf Rod |
| Rank 5 | 30 | Big Game Hook |
| Rank 6 | 42 | 130 lb Big Game |
| Rank 7 | 54 | |
| Rank 8 | 68 | Deep Rig |
| Rank 9 | 82 | |
| Rank 10 | 96 | |
| Rank 11 | 108 | |
| Rank 12 | 120 |
Power is how hard you can pull before tension spikes. Control is how forgiving it is.
| Rod | Power | Control | Coins | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Caster | ▮▮▯▯▯▯ | ▮▮▮▯▯ | starter | 1 |
| Glass Rod | ▮▮▮▮▯▯ | ▮▮▮▯▯ | 1,500 | 1 |
| Surf Rod | ▮▮▮▮▮▯ | ▮▮▯▯▯ | 3,200 | 4 |
| Deep Rig | ▮▮▮▮▮▮ | ▮▮▮▮▯ | 6,000 | 8 |
The most important thing you'll buy. Heavier line frays slower and recovers faster.
| Line | Strength | Coins | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 lb Mono | 6 lb | starter | 1 |
| 12 lb Mono | 12 lb | 400 | 1 |
| 20 lb Braid | 20 lb | 1,100 | 1 |
| 50 lb Braid | 50 lb | 2,800 | 1 |
| 130 lb Big Game | 130 lb | 7,500 | 6 |
| Hook | Size | Coins | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bait Hook | 1 | starter | 1 | Plain and small. Panfish take it all day. |
| Baitholder | 2 | 250 | 1 | Barbed shank. Holds a worm through a cast. |
| Circle Hook | 3 | 700 | 3 | Sets itself in the corner of the jaw. |
| Big Game Hook | 4 | 2,400 | 5 | Forged. Nothing straightens it. |
| Lure | Coins | Draws |
|---|---|---|
| Red Spoon | 120 | 12 species |
| Jig Head | 150 | 18 species |
| Spinner | 260 | 14 species |
| Frog Popper | 340 | 4 species |
| Big Spoon | 520 | 13 species |
| Trolling Lure | 900 | 4 species |
| Glow Lure | 1,400 | 6 species |
| Bait | Coins | Taken by |
|---|---|---|
| Worm | 4 for 20 | 29 species |
| Cricket | 5 for 20 | 10 species |
| Minnow | 9 for 15 | 31 species |
| Dough Ball | 6 for 20 | 3 species |
| Sweetcorn | 5 for 25 | 2 species |
| Crayfish | 12 for 15 | 4 species |
| Stinkbait | 10 for 15 | 4 species |
| Cut Bait | 14 for 15 | 24 species |
| Squid Strip | 16 for 15 | 24 species |
| Green Crab | 18 for 12 | 15 species |
| Clam | 12 for 15 | 3 species |
| Shrimp | 15 for 15 | 15 species |
| Salmon Roe | 20 for 12 | 10 species |
| Live Eel | 34 for 8 | 4 species |