How to Fish: Puffer Fish Boss Bait
Get the Carrot bait from the Tourist on Island 3, prepare your loadout, and beat the Pufferfish boss using tree cover and a ranged weapon.
Goal: Get the Carrot bait from the Tourist on Island 3 so you can summon the Pufferfish boss. The Carrot is consumed on each attempt. Fail the fight and you start over by catching another endangered fish. The bait step is where most players get stuck because the game does not spell out that you must inspect the fish before selling and that any catch with the Endangered tag works.
1Get the Carrot Bait
- 1Reach Island 3
The tropical/desert island with palm trees, Grill Master, and Tourist.
- 2Find the Tourist.
Orange life preserver, hat, sitting or leaning against a palm tree. Talk to him. He wants an endangered creature in exchange for the Carrot.
- 3Buy the Fishing Rod (cheap) and Standard Lure (pink, around $15) from the island vendor
If you do not already have them.
- 1Equip the Standard Lure and fish in the waters around Island 3.
- 2After every catch, inspect the fish (F key) before selling it.
You are looking for the Endangered Species tag.
- 3Confirmed working fish: Seahorse (including drip variants), Needlefish/Needlenose, Bowlfish.
The tag matters more than the exact species. Any Endangered-tagged fish works.
- 4Hand the tagged fish to the Tourist.
He gives you the Carrot.
2Prepare Before Casting
- 1Do not cast the Carrot yet.
The bait is gone whether you win or lose.
- 2Eat to full health and hunger.
- 3Stock ammo and upgrade a ranged weapon (SMG/Uzi is the most commonly mentioned) at the ammo box.
Upgrade until the island max-upgrade message appears.
- 4Buy cheap dynamite ($25 each) and pile it in the fight area.
Optional but helps with burst damage.
3Fight the Pufferfish
- 1Stay near 1-2 palm trees so the trunk interrupts the Pufferfish's straight rolling charge.
- 2Circle the trunk, shoot while it turns or gets stuck, then move before the next charge.
- 3Widen the circle once it grows and starts leaving purple poison.
The poison expands the safe-zone requirement over the fight.
- 4Watch the white escape timer under the health bar.
If it empties first, the encounter resets and the Carrot is gone.
- 5Pick up the fin/tail piece (the one with the bone) after the kill.
That is the hand-in item for the next island coordinates.
Key Decision Points
- Which fish to keep? Any with the Endangered tag. Do not over-farm one specific fish if others appear first.
- When to use the Carrot? Only after you have food, ammo, and a weapon you can fire while moving. The bait is gone whether you win or lose.
- Fight location: Trees vs open beach. Players consistently say stay near palm trees so the trunk interrupts the charge. Open sand means you eat every roll.
Common Mistakes
- Selling the fish before inspecting it. You lose the tag and have to catch another.
- Using the wrong lure. Standard/pink is required for the endangered pool.
- Casting the Carrot unprepared. Dying means grinding another endangered fish from scratch.
- Standing still to dump damage or running in a straight line across open sand. The boss rolls predictably; trees break that line.
- Ignoring the white escape timer. If it empties first, the encounter resets and the Carrot is gone.
- Forgetting to pick up the fin/tail piece after the kill. That is the hand-in item for the next island coordinates.