Ripple Lake Guide: Every Fish and Where to Find It

How a catch works

Fish swim in three depth bands: the Shallows, the Middle and the Deep. Tap the water just in front of a shadow, in the direction it is swimming and at its depth, and the lure sinks to where you tapped. A fish only notices a lure in its own band, so a lure in the Shallows will never tempt a bass in the Deep. Your starting line reaches only the Shallows; the Middle and Deep lines come from the shop.

An interested fish swims over and nibbles. The bobber gives a small dip with each nibble. Wait. When the bobber dives right under, the message bar says Bite, and you have about three quarters of a second to tap and hook the fish (a little longer with better bait). Tapping during a nibble scares the fish away, and waiting too long lets it steal the bait. While no fish is interested, a tap somewhere else in the water simply recasts there.

Reeling in without snapping the line

A hooked fish always bolts first, so let it go. After that it takes turns: it rests, gives a quick flick of its tail as a warning, then runs. Hold anywhere on the lake (or the Hold to reel button, or Space) while it rests to bring it closer. When it runs, let go. Reeling into a run makes the tension bar climb fast; at the end of the bar the line holds for a quarter of a second, so a quick release can still save the fish, but holding on snaps it.

Letting go has a cost too: a running fish takes line, and the bar shows how many feet you have left. If it takes all of it, the fish is gone. Every fish tires after a while and stops running, and a tired fish is easy to reel home. Reeling into a run tires a fish faster, so once you have a stronger rod it is worth holding on through short runs while the tension bar is low.

Where every fish lives

Lily Dock, where you start: the Pond Minnow and Bluegill swim in the Shallows at any time, and the Pumpkinseed joins them in the morning and day. The Yellow Perch is the Middle fish, and the Largemouth Bass lives in the Deep. The Golden Koi comes to the Deep only in the evening.

Willow Creek (220 coins to unlock): the Creek Chub is in the Shallows all day, joined by the Brook Trout in the morning and evening. In the Middle, the Rainbow Trout swims in the morning and day and the Smallmouth Bass at any time. The Channel Catfish is always in the Deep, and Grandpa Sturgeon appears there only at night. The current carries your lure downstream, so cast a little upstream (to the left) of the fish you want.

Lighthouse Point (600 coins): the Lake Cisco fills the Shallows. The Middle changes with the clock: the Northern Pike in the morning and day, the Black Crappie and Walleye in the evening and at night. The Lake Trout is always in the Deep, and the Moonlight Muskie comes up only at night. The clock runs through morning, day, evening and night in about four minutes, and it pauses whenever a card or menu is open.

What to buy, and when

Fish sell automatically when you land them, for their base price give or take a quarter depending on size. Your first purchase should be the Middle line for 60 coins, because a Yellow Perch sells for more than twice as much as a Bluegill. The Deep line (200) opens up the bass, catfish and lake trout, the best steady earners at each spot.

Rods hold more tension: the Bamboo rod (90) takes 40% more than the starting Willow rod, the Oak rod (260) 90% more and the Heartwood rod (600) 160% more. Reels bring fish in faster, from 7 feet a second up to 14. Crickets (100) and Glow grubs (320) make fish notice your lure from farther away, nibble less before they bite and give you longer to hook them. A good order is the Middle line, the Bamboo rod, Crickets, Willow Creek, the Deep line, then reels and rods as the bigger fish ask for them.

The journal shows every fish you have not caught yet with its spot, depth band and time of day. When you are not sure what to do next, open it and go where a missing fish is about right now.

The three legendary fish

Each spot has one legendary fish, shown as a shimmering gold shadow in the Deep: the Golden Koi at Lily Dock in the evening, Grandpa Sturgeon at Willow Creek at night and the Moonlight Muskie at Lighthouse Point at night. A message tells you when one appears. Glow grubs make them show up more often.

They need a strong rod. The koi needs the Bamboo rod, the sturgeon the Oak rod and the muskie the Heartwood rod. On a weaker rod a legendary fish pulls three times as hard and never tires, so it always breaks free; the journal lists the rod each one needs. With the right rod, expect a fight of about half a minute: let every run go, reel hard while it rests, and bring it home once it tires.

Controls, saving and accessibility

Touch or mouse: tap the water to cast, tap again to hook, then press and hold to reel. Keyboard: focus the lake, move the aim ring with the arrow keys, press Space or Enter to cast and hook, and hold Space or Enter to reel. Escape reels your line back in. The Shop, journal and spot buttons sit along the top.

Your coins, gear, spots, the time of day and the journal save on this device; a fish on the line does not. Restarting from the toolbar erases the save after asking first. In our simulations a careful angler filled the journal in about 30 to 50 minutes and a more relaxed one in about 50 to 65. We checked the game with automated desktop, phone and keyboard browser runs; these are not tests on physical devices or with real players.