Checked on 21 October 2026 against GONE Fishing 1.0 (20 October 2026, with the 20 October hotfix). Steam app 3645890 by GONE Studios. Forum dates are UTC.

Short answer. Nessie is a legendary fish tied to the Lake map [S3]. Early Access patch notes say shallow water is no longer viable for Nessie, so fish deep [S5]. Rhizo is the new mythical fish of the full release: it lurks in deep waters on the Lake map, and defeating the boss and acquiring the MOBY rod is required [S1]. Colossal Squid is the Arctic mythical fish [S11] and Megalodon is the Canyons one [S13].

Legendary and mythical fish by map

GONE Studios added a mythic tier on 17 January 2026, during Early Access, writing that "you can now catch a mythic ranked fish" [S18]. Nessie is listed in the legendary tier [S3]. The table collects the fish the sources place on a map. Rhizo comes from the full-release post [S1]. Every other row comes from Early Access patch notes or a video made before the full release, so treat those rows as the last published word rather than a re-check against the full release.

FishTierMapWhat the source saysSource
Nessie (Loch Ness Monster)LegendaryLakeThe 19 February 2026 patch made legendary fish map exclusive and lists the Lochness Monster for the Lake[S3]
OrcaLegendaryArcticListed for the Arctic in the 19 February 2026 patch[S3]
DunkleosteusLegendaryCanyonsListed for the Canyons in the 19 February 2026 patch[S3]
Giant SquidLegendaryOcean on the Jungle map26 March 2026 patch: "Rod lvl 7+ Recommended"[S11]
RhizoMythicalLake, deep waters20 October 2026 release post: "one of the most challenging to catch yet"[S1]
DakosaurMythicalSwampZanarkan13, video of 21 September 2026: swamp mythic catch is "the Dak" at [4:51][S15]
Colossal SquidMythicalArctic26 March 2026 patch: "Exclusively caught in the Arctic", Rod "The Moby" recommended[S11]
MegalodonMythicalCanyons28 August 2026 patch: "Catchable only on The Canyons Map", Moby Rod recommended[S13]
Sperm whaleMythicalOcean on the Jungle mapZanarkan13, video of 21 September 2026, at [16:18][S15]

Dakosaur was a bigger and harder fish by the 1 July 2026 patch, which says "Dakosaur is now larger and more elusive making it now a Mythical tier Catch" [S12]. The same video lists Glass Snapper as the swamp legendary at [4:51] [S15].

The Jungle row needs a caution. On 19 February 2026 GONE Studios wrote that the Jungle had mythic fish and no legendary fish [S3]. The Giant Squid row is a "New Legendary Fish" in the Jungle ocean [S11], so the Jungle list moved on after that note.

How to catch Nessie

Use the Lake map. The 20 February 2026 patch notes read "Nessie Spottings only on The Lake map now." [S4] Before that note, ToothlessBahamut posted a video on 8 February 2026, "GONE Fishing - Arctic, New strategy for a new map", in which the creator is surprised to meet Nessie at [7:02] [S16]. Treat that as Early Access behaviour that the later patch narrowed [S4].

Fish deep. The 7 February 2026 patch notes say "Fishing in shallow water will no longer be viable if your goal is to catch Nessie or any other legendary fish." [S5] On 3 May 2026 GONE Studios wrote that terrain updates would "increase the number of fishing hotspots that exceed 2500 depth for catching legendary fish" [S6]. Zanarkan13 describes a deepest spot on the Lake map in the 4,000 plus range at [2:53] in the same video [S15].

Meet the bait score. The 3 October 2026 Early Access patch "Changed the minimum bait score for legendary fish from 200 -> 175" [S7].

Add the extras that raise the odds.

  • Heart bait: the 13 September 2026 notes introduced the heart, the first tier 6 bait, with a bait score of 99 [S8]. They give an example where a 1 in 50 chance at a legendary or mythic fish becomes 1 in 25 [S8]. The full-release post says "Players now get two hearts (tier 6 bait) after defeating the boss and upgrading the butcher table" [S1]. The hotfix fixed a bug where players received one heart from the upgraded butcher table [S2].
  • Instruments: the 7 July 2026 notes say instruments "increase the chance of catching a legendary fish IF you first meet the conditions to catch a legendary fish" [S9].
  • Siren's Conch: the trinket line in the full-release post reads "Increases odds of catching legendary and mythic tier fish" [S1]. Trinkets are covered on the trinkets page.

Expect a decoy strike. The 7 February 2026 patch says a decoy strike event "will be played first and then the real quick time event must be completed second" [S10]. GONE Studios wrote that this was meant to stop players resetting their line when the first event showed no legendary fish was on it [S10].

Expect a hard fight. On 30 January 2026 GONE Studios made Lochness and Nessie "a bit stronger" in down and up strength [S17].

How to catch Rhizo

Rhizo is the mythical fish of the new full-release season. GONE Studios wrote that "The Rhizo can be found lurking in deep waters on the Lake map" [S1]. The same post calls it "one of the most challenging to catch yet" and says "Defeating the boss and acquiring the MOBY rod is going to be required for this fish" [S1]. The ending and the MOBY unlock are explained on the ending page.

The Steam achievement list names Rhizo with the text "This fish preys on Nessie" [S14]. The achievements themselves are listed on the achievements page.

The other mythical fish

For Colossal Squid and Megalodon, the Early Access notes recommended the Moby rod: Rod "The Moby" for the Colossal Squid [S11], and Moby Rod for the Megalodon [S13]. The full-release post says "Once you defeat the boss, you will unlock the MOBY" [S1], which makes the boss the route the full release names. Dakosaur and the Jungle sperm whale have no stated rod in the sources read here.

What a catch gives you

GONE Studios wrote that catching Nessie unlocks the Nessie hat and "This now applies to each and every legendary and mythical fish" [S1]. The 20 October 2026 hotfix changed the achievements: "Now when someone catches a legendary/mythical fish, all players in the lobby will earn the achievement." [S2]

Sources and version

Checked on 2026-10-21 against GONE Fishing 1.0 (20 October 2026, with the 20 October hotfix).