Quick answer
The supplied walkthrough calls the Shotgun one of the game’s best weapons and recommends saving for it on Island 2. Early on, a sharpened knife is a cheaper bridge. No verified patch-wide damage table was available.
Best sourced pick: Shotgun
The Destructoid walkthrough buys only the Shotgun from the Forest island’s first weapon selection and calls it one of the best options in the game. That is a practical recommendation from a completion run—not an official tier list.
Its real value is focus: saving for a dependable main weapon avoids scattering money across several half-finished setups.
A sensible weapon route
| Stage | Pick | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Lighthouse | Knife or brass knuckles | Both bridge the starter loop; the walkthrough favors a sharpened knife. |
| Forest / Island 2 | Shotgun | The walkthrough’s preferred investment for tougher catches and bosses. |
| Later game | A weapon you can fully equip | Reliable handling plus attachments supports the Fully Equipped achievement. |
Buy for the problem in front of you
- Low damage: improve one controllable weapon.
- Unsafe reloads: create space before chasing a higher damage number.
- Slow campaign pace: reserve money for the boat engine.
- Achievement goal: finish all attachments on one weapon before branching out.
Logbook note: Exact DPS, prices and a complete weapon roster were not verified in the supplied archive. This guide does not invent a statistical ranking.
Attachment shop changes in Patch 1.0.11
Patch 1.0.11 removed Iron Sight as a purchasable attachment and makes it impossible to downgrade a Suppressor to a Compensator. Older shopping routes that buy Iron Sight or swap backward from a Suppressor are obsolete — buy and upgrade against the current shop list.
Logbook note: The official note does not say which weapon these attachments belong to. This page does not attach them to a specific weapon.
Patch 1.1.2: downgrading to ironsight is available again
The official Steam News post “SMALL BUGFIXING PATCH 1.1.2” (September 29, 2026) says the option to downgrade to ironsight was added again. That partially reopens a path the Patch 1.0.11 note had closed: if you already run a later sight and want to go back to ironsight, the current upgrade flow allows it again.
The same post does not say Iron Sight is purchasable again, does not restore the Suppressor-to-Compensator downgrade, and names no weapon. Read the live attachment list before buying or downgrading.
Logbook note: Unconfirmed: whether Iron Sight is purchasable again, and which weapon these attachments belong to. Source: Steam News official announcement, 2026-09-29. Review date: 2026-10-05.
The Islet Update 1.1.0: a new weapon, unpublished
The Islet Update 1.1.0 (September 28, 2026) adds a new weapon. The official announcement does not name it, price it, place it on an island or describe its damage, so no row can be added to the progression table above yet.
The sourcing rule on this page does not change either: the Shotgun is still the only weapon a completion walkthrough explicitly recommends. Any 1.1.0 claim about tier placement, best-in-slot status or a damage number stays unverified until you read the current shop and test the weapon yourself.
Logbook note: As of The Islet Update 1.1.0 (September 28, 2026) the new weapon’s name, price, stats and island are unpublished.
Source ledger
Sources
- Destructoid complete walkthrough — Island order, boss steps and equipment observations.
- Steam global achievements — Official achievement names and requirements.
- How to Fish beginner guide — First-hour route, upgrade priorities and trophy handling.
- How to Fish Patch 1.0.12 notes — Official change list for Patch 1.0.12: Steam Cloud saves, piranha rebalance, slight tuna nerf, item velocity limit, MetaVoice 4.3 voice chat update, FishNet max-FPS fix, music preload and final-boss explosives fix.
- How to Fish The Islet Update 1.1.0 notes — Official “THE ISLET UPDATE 1.1.0” announcement, published September 28, 2026 — the game’s first content update. It adds a bundle with PEAK!, a new weapon, multiple mini islands, more creatures, a new mini-boss, more items, a new bait, a new NPC, new achievements and a new outfit, and adjusts the volume of some sound effects and the distance between each island. The post publishes no names, numbers or prices for the new content.
- How to Fish Small Bugfixing Patch 1.1.2 notes — Official Steam News announcement “SMALL BUGFIXING PATCH 1.1.2”, published September 29, 2026. New: rebinding for reload; two new bow skins. Changes: new bait spawn on the new mini island raised from 2 to 3; shiny fishing rod skins made shinier; adjusted wishbone upgrade pricing; larger mini island dots on the radar; the option to downgrade to ironsight added again. Fixed: Tench not spawning from the new bait; triangles facing the wrong direction on the new mini-boss.