Where to find a ‘whopper’ in Monster Hunter Wilds

“Whoppers” are a subset of aquatic life in Monster Hunter Wilds. Whoppers are really big fish that require a (frustrating) minigame to reel in. There are (at least) four kinds of fish that qualify as a whopper: gajau, gastronome tuna, great trevally, and speartuna.

You’ll need to fish for them as part of a side quest, “Catch of a Lifetime!,” for Kanya at the Scarlet Forest base camp. This is her fourth side quest after you’ve caught your first fish, a goldenfish, and a gravid bowfin.

Our Monster Hunter Wilds guide will tell you where to find whoppers and how to catch them.

Where to find a ‘whopper’ in Monster Hunter Wilds

Spotting a whopper is the easy part. They are much bigger than the fish you usually see and look a lot more like small monsters than fish. You can usually spot their fins breaking the surface of the water.

Every type of whopper can only be found in the Scarlet Forest. They (usually) only show up in deep water, so there’s two places to look — Area 17: Great Lake Shore and Area 12: Northeast (in the deep water by the waterfall between Areas 12 and 13).

• Gajau can be found in both Area 12 and 17 during the from morning to evening
• Great trevally can be found in both places, but seem more common in Area 17
• Gastronome tuna are only found in Area 17 and we’ve only seen them during a plenty
• Speartuna can be found in both areas (but they seem more common in Area 12) and are only seen during a fallow

How to catch a whopper in Monster Hunter Wilds

In a word, reeling in a whopper sucks. You have to delicately manage the line’s tension, pay attention to how the fish is moving, control the fish when it jumps, and make sure to avoid obstacles, all while still manually reeling it in. You don’t get any redos and failing at any point will make you lose the fish.

Fishing for a whopper starts out the same as fishing for anything else. Select your tuff joint bait and cast in out past and in front of them. Start reeling the lure in slowly by moving the left thumbstick up and down. Pause periodically and mix in a jerk with down on the thumbstick to catch their attention.

When the whopper takes the bait, hit R2/RT like normal.

Now is when it gets complicated (and annoying). The fish is going to start swimming back and forth. Do not reel it in when it’s moving, just move the left thumbstick in the same direction it’s swimming. The game calls this “control the drag.” It will swim back and forth — and occasionally change directions — for a while. Then, it will stop and give a little buck. That’s your cue to start reeling by moving the left thumbstick up and down.

As soon as the fish starts swimming left and right again, stop reeling immediately. Go back to moving in the same direction as the fish is swimming.

If there’s a rock or something in the water and the fish approaches it, you’ll get a warning to keep the fish away from obstacles. When this happens (and only when this happens) it’s okay to move the left thumbstick in the opposite direction as the fish is moving. As soon as the fish changes direction, go back to moving the same direction.

Depending on the fish (and its mood), it might jump. When it does this, hit R2/RT right at the top of the fish’s jump. This will kind of slam it back into the water, and then it will start swimming left or right again.

Just keep tiring it out and reeling it in until you land it.

To also help you understand Monster Hunter Wilds, we explain how to capture monsters, how to change weapons, provide some Seikret tips, and teach you how layered armor works.