How to Install Mods: BepInEx, Thunderstore Mod Managers and the Current Mod List

Almost every How to Fish mod is a BepInEx plugin published on Thunderstore. The easiest route is a Thunderstore mod manager (Gale or the Thunderstore Mod Manager): it installs BepInEx for you, handles dependencies and launches the modded game. Back up your save first, and make sure everyone in a co-op lobby runs the same game and mod versions.

Before you mod

Copy your save folder (%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Dazed Games\How to Fish) somewhere safe. Patches arrive often and can break mods, and a broken mod can damage a save. After every game update, check that your mods have been updated too.

The easy way: a mod manager

1. Install Gale or the Thunderstore Mod Manager, both free.
2. Choose How to Fish as the game and create a profile.
3. Search for a mod and install it. The first mod pulls in BepInExPack 5.4.2305 automatically.
4. Launch the game from the manager, not from Steam, so the mods load.

Some mods need another mod to work, and the manager installs those too. Boom Lagoon needs HTF Map Loader, and the custom bosses Devourer of Light and Voltfin need BossMakerAPI.

The manual way

In Steam, right-click How to Fish, choose Manage, then Browse local files. That opens the game folder, the one containing How to Fish.exe.

1. Download BepInEx 5 (the BepInExPack used by How to Fish mods) and unpack it into that game folder, next to the executable.
2. Start the game once so BepInEx creates its folders, then close it.
3. Put each mod's .dll file into BepInEx/plugins.
4. Start the game normally.

If the folders do not appear after the first launch, the loader was unpacked in the wrong place. It has to sit next to How to Fish.exe, not in a subfolder.

Co-op with mods

Some mods only run on the host. AlwaysPremium, for example, does nothing unless the host has it installed. For everything else, keep every player on the same game version and the same mod versions to avoid desyncs and failed joins. Lobbies already hold eight players without mods.

Mod menus, MelonLoader and trainers

Many "how to mod" videos install MelonLoader and a mod menu that spawns items, multiplies money, adds god mode or one-hit kills, or pair the game with Cheat Engine. Those are cheats rather than mods, they are not covered here, and they carry real risks. Trainers from unknown sites can contain malware, and editing memory or saves can break achievements and saves. Never use them in public lobbies.

Current mods worth knowing

These sixteen are updated for 1.1.x, are not deprecated, and have at least 1,000 downloads:

• Stackable Items: stacks identical items in one slot.
• Enhanced HowToFish: a modpack of quality-of-life and gameplay mods.
• RandomCreatureSize: random creature sizes that change look, weight and price.
• HowToFishExtended: upgrades past the cap, fish size variants, a luck system and New Game+.
• OnePunch: a charged punch that deals 9,999 damage.
• Boom Lagoon: a new nuclear test-site island on the radar (needs HTF Map Loader).
• TurretMod and Drone Mod: deployable turrets, and a sentry and FPV drone with weapons.
• AlwaysPremium: every catch is a guaranteed gem (host only).
• BuriedTreasures: floating bottles with treasure maps and random bait.
• Devourer of Light and Voltfin: new Anglerfish and Eel bosses (need BossMakerAPI).
• BetterCorpses: player corpses can be sold, bet or fed to slot machines, with revive options.
• FishGatherer: pulls loose items and fish to you, sells catches with one key, adds a boat net.
• SeagullFishing: bites can bring up a seagull or lit Dynamite.
• MiniMapFix: mini islands stay on the radar from farther away.

Mods that change saves or progression can affect achievements. If you are chasing 100% legitimately, play those runs on a separate, unmodded save.