How to Really Fish Shotgun Guide: Guns, Axes & Slam Weapons

In How to Really Fish, the ocean doesn't just hand you a paycheck for casting a line — it bites back, and the only way to survive the aggressive sea creatures that close in mid-fight is a real weapon. This How to Really Fish shotgun guide breaks down every gun, axe, slam, and fishing rod option available so you can stop dying on Forest Island and start clearing the Giant Crab encounter with confidence.

The weapon system in How to Really Fish is split across melee and ranged categories, and each one behaves differently against fish, sharks, and boss-tier monsters. Picking the right loadout matters more than grinding for one specific weapon, because the game rewards players who adapt their gear to the encounter. Below, you'll find every weapon family ranked, compared, and mapped to the fights they're actually best at.

Weapon System Basics

Weapons in How to Really Fish let you fight back against aggressive fish and sea creatures that attack while you fish, which is why starting weapons are basic and upgrading matters. According to the official How to Really Fish game page, buying stronger weapons with the cash you earn from catches is the core progression loop — every fish you sell is one step closer to a weapon that actually hurts the things trying to eat you.

The game organizes weapons into four broad families: Shotguns (spread-damage ranged), Guns (single-shot ranged), Slam Weapons (heavy AoE melee), and Fishing Rod Weapons (hybrid cast-and-swing melee). Axes are typically classified as Slam-type weapons in How to Really Fish because of their two-handed overhead arc and short stun window on hit. Each family pulls from a shared stamina pool and shares a common damage formula, but the windup, range, and crowd-clearing capability vary wildly.

How Weapons Damage and Stamina Work

Every swing or shot costs stamina, and stamina regenerates when you stand still for roughly 1.5 seconds. Melee weapons (axes, slam weapons, rod weapons) drain a flat 15–20 stamina per swing, while shotguns drain 25 stamina per blast and pistols drain only 10. Damage scales with the weapon's tier (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary), and each tier roughly multiplies base damage by 1.0x, 1.4x, 1.9x, 2.6x, and 3.5x respectively. Because stamina caps out at 100, the practical DPS difference between a pistol and a shotgun is smaller than the raw damage number suggests — shotguns spike, pistols sustain.

Why You Need a Weapon at All

Early-game fish are passive, but the moment you push past the starter island, every body of water has at least one aggressive species that will ram your boat. Without a weapon, you either run or die. The Crazy Fishing Friends developer group has confirmed that the weapon system was built around co-op boss fights, which is why high-damage AoE options like the slam weapons exist — a single player with a shotgun can threaten a shark, but four players with axes can lock down a Giant Crab.

Shotgun Guide: Tier, Damage & When to Use It

The shotgun is the headline ranged weapon in the How to Really Fish shotgun guide, and for good reason. It fires a five-pellet spread that hits multiple fish in a tight cone, making it the only ranged weapon that meaningfully deals with schools of attackers. Base damage sits at 80 per pellet, meaning a full point-blank blast can theoretically deal 400 damage before armor mitigation. In practice, pellets fall off fast — at 15 studs of range, only the center two pellets reliably land.

The Tidal Blaster is the sweet spot for most players. According to community testing on the Forest Island progression route, it one-shots every passive fish and two-shots the aggressive sharks that swim near the docks. Players who skip straight to the Coral Thunder regret it — the price jump from 1,200 to 4,500 cash is steep, and the Coral Thunder doesn't truly shine until you reach the harder islands where multiple enemies attack at once.

Shotgun Pellets and Spread Mechanics

Each shotgun fires a fixed cone of pellets, and the cone widens as you move. Standing still gives the tightest spread (roughly 8°), while jumping or running opens it to nearly 20°. This is why experienced players crouch before blasting a Giant Crab — the tighter spread means more pellets connect with the boss's head hitbox, which takes 1.5x damage. The Legendary Abyssal Boom's 8-pellet spread is the only shotgun in the game that can clear a full school of aggressive fish in a single blast, but the 38,000-cash price tag means you'll be fishing for a long time before you can afford it.

When NOT to Use a Shotgun

Shotguns are terrible against single high-HP targets at long range. If a Giant Crab is sitting at 30 studs and strafing, your pellets will scatter and only two will land per shot. Against that scenario, a slam weapon or an axe is a better choice because the melee arc connects regardless of spread. The general rule: shotguns for groups, melee for single targets. If you want a broader look at how shotguns compare to other ranged options, the broader How to Really Fish gun guide treats shotguns as one branch of the full ranged weapon tree.

Gun Guide: Pistols, Rifles, and Sidearms

Pistols and rifles fill the sustained-DPS slot in the How to Really Fish gun guide, and they work very differently from shotguns. Instead of burst damage, they trade at range and reward tracking moving targets. The base pistol deals 35 damage per shot at 10 stamina, and the best-in-tier rifle (the Tidepiercer) hits for 95 damage at 15 stamina with near-perfect accuracy out to 40 studs.

The Marksman is the workhorse for solo players who want to keep their distance from aggressive fish. Its 35-stud range and 2.5 shots per second mean you can kite most encounters while landing consistent damage. The Marksman also synergizes well with fishing rod weapons because you can swap between casting and shooting without breaking stamina regeneration. If you want a deep dive into loadout building, the How to Really Fish best loadout guide covers how to pair ranged and melee for every island.

Pistol vs. Shotgun: The Real DPS Question

At point-blank range, a shotgun blast deals roughly 5x a single pistol shot's damage, but it costs 2.5x the stamina and 4x the time to recover. Over a 10-second window, a pistol user lands 30 shots for 1,050 damage at 300 stamina spent, while a shotgun user lands 4 blasts for ~1,600 damage at 100 stamina spent. The shotgun wins the damage race, but the pistol wins the consistency race — and against a single boss target, consistency often matters more than burst. This is why most late-game builds pair a pistol in the off-hand with a slam weapon in the main-hand.

Slam Weapon Guide: Axes, Hammers, and Heavy Hitters

Slam weapons are the How to Really Fish slam weapon archetype, and the axe is the most iconic example. Slam weapons trade range for raw single-target damage and a built-in stagger effect. A fully charged slam swing from the Tidal Crusher (Rare tier, 5,800 cash) deals 280 damage in a 270° arc and stuns any non-boss enemy for 1.2 seconds. The Tidal Crusher is also the recommended weapon for solo players attempting the Giant Crab because the stun windows let you reposition between hits.

The Reef Axe is the slam weapon most players buy first, and it carries them through Forest Island comfortably. Its 220° arc lets you hit two enemies side-by-side, which matters when sharks attack in pairs. Players who want a dedicated deep dive on axe progression and the axe weapon comparison table will find the Reef Axe covered as a transitional pick before the Tidal Crusher.

Slam Weapon Charge Timing

A charged slam swing takes 1.8 seconds to wind up, and the charge cancels if you take damage. This means slam weapons are risky against fast, multi-hitting enemies, but devastating against slow, telegraphed bosses. The Giant Crab has a 2.5-second attack windup, which is just enough time to land a fully charged slam and reposition. If you mistime the charge, you eat the crab's pincer for 180 damage, so learning the timing is the actual skill check.

Axes vs. Hammers in the Slam Family

Both fall under the slam weapon umbrella, but the axe has a slightly faster charge (1.6s vs. 1.8s) and a narrower arc, while the hammer has a slower charge and a full 360° swing. The hammer is the panic button for when you get swarmed, while the axe is the precision tool for boss fights. Most players end up carrying both and switching based on the encounter.

Fishing Rod Weapon Guide: Hybrid Cast-and-Swing Builds

The fishing rod weapon is the How to Really Fish fishing rod weapon archetype, and it's the only weapon that doubles as a fishing tool. The rod has two modes: cast mode (which works exactly like a normal fishing rod for catching fish) and melee mode (which swings the rod like a whip for 45 damage per hit at 8 stamina). This makes the rod the most stamina-efficient weapon in the game, but it has the lowest per-hit damage outside of common-tier gear.

The rod weapon's real strength is the lifesteal scaling. At Legendary tier, every swing heals 25% of damage dealt, which means the Leviathan's Thread effectively makes you unkillable in drawn-out fights. According to player reports on community guides, the rod weapon is the preferred pick for solo runs against the Giant Crab because the sustain lets you outlast the boss's damage spikes without burning consumables.

Rod Weapon Build Synergies

The rod weapon pairs exceptionally well with high-cost, high-reward off-hand weapons like the Tidepiercer rifle. The play pattern is: cast rod to start a fish fight, switch to pistol to finish low-HP enemies, switch back to rod for the next cast. Because the rod's melee swing is so cheap on stamina, you can weave in attacks between casts without ever starving your stamina bar. If you want to see how this fits into a full beginner progression route, the catching and selling fish guide walks through the cast-and-sell loop that the rod weapon is designed around.

Why the Rod Weapon Isn't a Top Pick for New Players

The rod weapon is stamina-efficient but slow. Its 8-stamina-per-swing is great, but its 45 base damage at Uncommon tier means killing a shark takes 4–5 hits, during which the shark is hitting you back. New players who try to use the rod as a primary weapon often die because they're used to the shotty's one-shot potential. The rod is a mid-to-late game weapon that shines once you have Epic or Legendary tier and the lifesteal starts to matter.

Fight Fish Weapons: Matchups and Loadout Builds

The "how to really fish fight fish weapons" question comes down to matching your loadout to the encounter. Aggressive fish, sharks, mini-bosses, and the Giant Crab all demand different setups, and trying to force one weapon to do everything is the most common mistake new players make. The table below maps the most common encounters to the recommended primary and off-hand weapons.

The "Panic Loadout" Most Veterans Actually Run

If you ask experienced players what they carry into a new island, the most common answer is Tidal Blaster shotgun + Tidal Crusher slam + Phantom Reel rod. The shotgun handles groups, the slam handles single targets, and the rod keeps you alive between fights. The total cost of this trio is roughly 10,700 cash, which is achievable by the time you reach mid-game Forest Island. Once you have this loadout, you can clear every encounter in the game except the late-game leviathan hunts, which require at least one Legendary weapon.

Co-op vs. Solo Loadout Differences

Co-op players can specialize. One player runs shotgun for trash clear, another runs slam for boss damage, a third runs rifle for range, and the fourth runs rod for healing. Solo players can't specialize, which is why the trio above is the safest general-purpose setup. If you want a deeper breakdown of weapon stats and damage numbers, the upgrade weapons stats reference catalogs the exact damage numbers for every tier of every weapon family.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the best weapon for the Giant Crab boss fight in How to Really Fish?

The Tidal Crusher slam weapon is the best single-target pick for solo Giant Crab runs because its 280 charged damage and 1.2-second stun let you control the boss's attack windows. In co-op, the Legendary Abyssal Boom shotgun outperforms it because the 8-pellet spread chews through the crab's phase-transition invulnerability frames.

Should I buy a shotgun or a pistol first in How to Really Fish?

Buy the Uncommon Marksman pistol first because it costs 900 cash (cheaper than the 1,200 Tidal Blaster) and its 35-stud range lets you kite aggressive fish without taking damage. Save up for the Tidal Blaster shotgun second, since shotguns are the best answer to group encounters once you reach Forest Island.

Is the fishing rod weapon any good for combat?

Yes, the Legendary Leviathan's Thread rod is one of the strongest weapons in How to Really Fish because of its 25% lifesteal, which makes solo players effectively unkillable in long fights. Lower-tier rods are weaker, but the Epic Spectral Strand with its 15% lifesteal is already a strong mid-game option for players who prefer sustain over burst.

How much do weapons cost in total to fully upgrade a loadout?

A fully upgraded loadout — one weapon from each family at Legendary tier — costs 145,000 cash (38,000 shotgun + 35,000 rifle + 42,000 slam + 30,000 rod). Most players achieve this around the 25–30 hour mark, depending on how efficiently they sell fish and which islands they farm.

Can I use a slam weapon and a shotgun at the same time?

No, How to Really Fish only allows one primary weapon at a time, with no off-hand weapon slot. The "off-hand" recommendations in loadout tables above refer to quick-swap behavior — you can carry a second weapon and swap to it, but there's a 1.5-second swap cooldown during which you can't attack or cast.