Lured In is a highly relaxing game where you take over your grandpa’s old aquarium shop. You travel to different fishing spots, catch fish (sometimes tricky) minigames, put them in tanks and watch passive money roll in while you upgrade everything.
In this Lured In guide, I’ll cover the best fishing strategies, weather tricks, research priorities and tank management, etc. Follow along.
About Lured In:
Lured In Guide to Get Started
When you begin, Grandpa gives you a quick tutorial. Head straight to the first pond and start fishing. Early fish like Goldfish, Bluegill, Carp and Minnows are common.
Catch a few and bring them back. Sell some of them for quick cash. Grandpa hands you your very first tank for free (no need to save up for it) so grab it from the shop right away and move a fish in.
Once fish are in the tank, they start generating passive income, even when you’re not playing. Oh, and make sure to clean the tank with the sponge when it gets dirty; a dirty tank stops customers from admiring your fish properly.
How Fishing Works
Fishing is the main way to get new fish and money early on and here’s the best way to do it:
Cast your rod near lily pads or splashes for better chances. Those visual cues genuinely mark where fish are active.
There’s a surprising amount of minigame variety here: sometimes you time a press when the hook lines up with the fish icon, sometimes you hold-and-drag to keep a bobber inside a moving zone, sometimes you mash a button, and sometimes you rotate a handle in a circle.
Expect somewhere around eight different minigame types across the game, so don’t worry if one style clicks for you and another doesn’t. You’ll get more of the ones you’re already decent at as you keep playing.
A tip I just learned: casting to your maximum distance gives you a 2x bite rate bonus. If you’re struggling to get bites, try fully casting instead of dropping your line close to shore.
Weather Matters
Yes, weather matters In this game. Rain and storms noticeably increase bite chance (storms also increase the chance of rarer catch events), sunny weather decreases both. Cloudy days are currently neutral with no bonus either way.
The weather station, unlocked through research, lets you check conditions at other zones before you spend money traveling there.
Don’t worry if some minigames feel hard at first. You can still make good progress by catching common fish and focusing on upgrades. As you play, you’ll get better and unlock tackle improvements that make everything easier.
Best Way to Progress
Early game, focus on making steady money. Unlock Marketing before Equipment. This is the single most impactful early research decision, since it multiplies how many customers you get and how much each one spends.
Progressing Mid-Game
Your income spike lets you afford more Researchers, which generate science points faster, which unlocks better equipment, new tanks, and new fishing zones like the Lake and, later, the River.
Keep your best fish (higher passive-income ones like Koi) in tanks and sell the low-value ones for quick cash.
Buy new tanks whenever you can afford them. Just know that later tanks scale up steeply in price (from free, to around $100, then into the thousands). As you expand, add decorations and feed your fish for temporary income boosts. The goal is to build strong passive income so you don’t have to fish every minute.
Budget for travel: moving to a new zone costs money (roughly $100 to reach the Lake, more for the River), so don’t blow your whole bankroll right before you’re ready to explore.
Managing Your Aquarium
Tanks are where the real money comes from. Each one holds a limited number of fish based on total weight, not just fish count, so upgrade their capacity regularly. Clean them when they get dirty.
Feed the fish for temporary income multipliers (expect boosts like +50% for a set number of minutes rather than a permanent bump), and add decorations like plants or gravel for small extra benefits. Marketing upgrades help a lot here by bringing in more customers who spend more per visit.
A good rhythm: Fish for new or better fish and sell what you don’t need. Keep upgrading your shop and tanks. Drop Pots, unlocked later through research, are great because they catch creatures passively while you do other stuff.
Things like snails and diving beetles have shown up in dropped pots, and you can research improved pot bait to get better results from them.
Fish and What to Keep
Early on, you’ll catch lots of Goldfish, Bluegill, Carp, and Minnows. Koi are rarer and genuinely worth keeping for passive income rather than selling.
In the Lake you’ll start finding Tilapia and Channel Catfish. Push further and you’ll run into Rainbow Trout, Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, and Sockeye Salmon. The River adds its own mix, and there’s a Saltwater tier beyond that for later game.
Rarer creatures like Crayfish and Snails show up mostly through Drop Pots and legendary-tier fish exist too. They’re genuinely rare, with catch rates as low as 3-4%.
Generally keep fish that give good passive money and sell the rest. Pay attention to weight too because heavier fish take up more tank space and more of your keep net’s capacity while you’re out fishing.
The Fishedia
Once you research it, you unlock the Fishedia. It’s a running compendium of every fish species you’ve caught, showing value, passive income, catch rate and which zone they come from.
It’s genuinely useful once you’re trying to figure out which fish are worth prioritizing, so it’s worth grabbing fairly early.
Research and Ascension
Research unlocks almost everything: new zones, better gear, feeding bonuses, Drop Pots and more.
Prioritize Marketing and tank upgrades early, as covered above. Later you can unlock Ascension, which lets you sell everything and start fresh with powerful permanent bonuses. It’s a big reset but helps you grow even faster on your next run.
Advanced Final Tips
I hope this Lured In guide helps you have a more relaxing experience. I’ll provide the tips below to make sure you know everything you need to:
- Once you have a good income, focus on filling tanks with your strongest fish and keeping everything clean.
- Use the weather station to fish during rain or storms for faster catches, and remember the fullcast trick for the 2x bite rate.
- Feed fish during busy customer times for temporary income boosts. Upgrade your keep net so you can bring back more fish per trip without hitting your weight cap early.
- Don’t be afraid to sell common fish. Better ones come quickly as you progress. Holding onto low-value fish just eats tank space you’ll want for something better.
- Tight lines and good profits! If you discover new tips, the comment section is a great place to share. Have fun!
