The Bean achievement in How to Fish requires you to finish the game in under 1 hour. The timer starts as soon as you create the save, so you need to keep moving from one island to the next.
This route works in both solo and co-op. If you’re playing with friends, invite them immediately after creating the save.
Start the stopwatch on your phone and keep it running during the entire run. Also, make sure you sell almost everything that you don’t need, especially clams, leeches, snails, and fish dropped by dynamite.
The basic strategy to complete the game in 1 hour is simple: make money → buy dynamite → bait the boss → use dynamite to kill it.
How to Complete the How to Fish game in One Hour?
Before doing anything else, open the settings and turn off friendly fire. This prevents accidental damage from ruining your run.
I assume that you may have completed the game earlier and are reading this guide only for the Bean achievement, so I will not go into detail.
This guide will be quick and easy to complete. If you haven’t played the game yet, go and explore the islands first. Take as much time as you need and get familiar with the NPCs, fish, bosses, weapons, guns, and other creatures.
Island 1
You will spawn near the lighthouse. Start picking up clams and take them to the shopkeeper.
Hold Q to throw a clam into his mouth. He will eat it and give you $1.
You can carry four clams at once: one in your hand and three in your inventory. Use the 1, 2, and 3 keys to switch between them.
Keep selling clams until you have around $60.
Watch your health while doing this. If your health gets low, eat the clams instead of selling them.
Spend the $60 on:
- Knife – $45
- Beer Can – $12
- Crab Fishing Rod – $3
Give the Beer Can to the man. This will unlock the beer can bait needed for the crab boss.
Fish for the crab through the boat windows. Try to get the crab stuck there because it makes the fight much easier.
If the crab escapes, just kill it with the knife.
After killing it, sell the crab legs, pick up the radar, and give the shell to the man. The shopkeeper will give you the coordinates for Island 2.
Get in the boat and head to the second island.
Island 2
You need $25 to buy dynamite. If you don’t have enough money, pick up leeches from the ground and sell them.
Once you can afford dynamite, throw it into the water and sell the fish that you got from the blast.
Repeat this until you have around $350.
Whenever you reach a new island, grab the extra inventory slot. Also buy a pistol and upgrade it as much as possible. You’ll use it on both Island 2 and Island 3.
How to defeat the Piranha Boss Easily?
Method 1:
Buy dynamite and place it behind the drip slot machine.
Give the girl 3 leeches to unlock the piranha bait. Fish up the piranha and stand on top of your dynamite.
When the piranha gets close, shoot the dynamite. This will reduce roughly half of its health.
Run toward the small island and circle the piranha while shooting it with your pistol. Try to avoid getting caught on the trees.
By doing this, you can finish the Piranha boss.
Method 2:
If you want to avoid most of the gunfight, save around $500 and buy 20 dynamite.
Place half of the dynamite behind the drip slot machine. Put the other half in a ditch farther away.
Use the 3 leeches to get the piranha, then bring it onto the first dynamite pile and blow it up.
After that, lure it to the second pile and detonate the explosives again.
Two explosions should kill the piranha without needing a long gunfight.
Give the boss drop to the girl and continue to Island 3.
Island 3
Buy the fishing rod and the pink soap-looking bait.
From this point onward, always buy the best regular bait you can afford. Don’t waste money on mini-boss bait.
Sell the drip fish you catch and keep farming until you have around $1,000.
Skip the grill quest. It takes too much time for a speedrun.
If you catch an endangered Needlefish or Seahorse, don’t sell it.
Take it to the homeless guy under the coconut tree. He will give you the carrot bait, which you need for the pufferfish.
How to Kill the Pufferfish With Dynamite?
Use the same two-pile setup as before.
Place half of your dynamite behind the drip slot machine and the other half under a coconut tree farther away.
Spawn the pufferfish and stand on the first dynamite pile.
When the boss gets close, shoot the explosives.
Then run toward the second pile and wait for the enraged pufferfish to reach you. Detonate the second pile.
That should kill it.
If you’re not comfortable fighting the Island 4 fish with only a pistol, buy the SMG now.
Island 4
Buy the professional bait and farm money until you have around $3,000.
Get the SMG if you haven’t already. The Red Snapper and Eel can be annoying, so put a few cheap upgrades into the weapon.
Next, buy the tuna bait, which costs $1,200.
There are two bosses on this island, so prepare both dynamite traps before starting the fights.
- Put $750 worth of dynamite inside the shed where you buy the tuna bait.
- Put another $750 worth in the middle of the grass area in front.
How to Kill the Tuna?
Fish up the tuna and lure it into the shed.
Get the tuna close to the dynamite you placed inside and detonate it. This should kill the tuna.
Take the dead tuna and place it on top of the dynamite pile in the grass.
How to Kill the Albatross?
The albatross spawns in the sky opposite the gambling station.
Watch that area and wait for it to get close to your dynamite.
Shoot the explosives when the albatross is in position.
The explosion kills it and drops its head. Pick it up to get the coordinates for Island 5.
Island 5
Buy the green shrimp bait.
You can now cook fish on the lava for 1.5x their normal sell value. You should also cook the food dropped by dynamite because cooked food restores much more hunger and health.
Upgrade your SMG to 60 damage.
Buy the useful upgrades, but skip the laser and scope. They aren’t worth spending time and money on during this run.
Complete the Scientist’s Quest
Pick up one of the fish dropped by a dynamite kill and use it to start working on the scientist’s quest.
You need to provide 5 creatures.
Don’t waste valuable catches on this quest. Use common creatures whenever possible.
There is also another faster option mentioned by players: you can give the scientist’s quest NPC 5 beers from the nearby shop instead of five creatures. If this option works in your current version, it can save time and valuable fish.
Kill the First Whale
Save around $1,000 and buy dynamite.
Stack the explosives near the shop.
Use the scientist’s bait to spawn the first whale. Lure it toward your dynamite and try to make it jump onto or land on the explosives.
Detonate the dynamite when the whale is in position.
This kills the whale and gives you the item required for the final boss.
While you’re here, use extra dynamite in the water to farm food. Cook the food on the lava so you have plenty of health and hunger supplies for the final fight.
Prepare for the Final Boss
Spend another $1,000–$2,000 on dynamite.
The explosives can deal heavy damage when the magma whale lands on them, but don’t rely entirely on dynamite. Your SMG will still be needed to finish the fight.
Once you’re ready, head up the volcano and spawn the final boss.
Final Boss
Fight the final boss normally with your SMG.
Whenever possible, lure it onto your dynamite piles and detonate them for extra damage.
Keep eating your cooked food if your health or hunger gets low.
The fight is easier than it may look, especially if you prepared enough dynamite and upgraded your SMG.
After killing the boss, take it to the scientist and complete the final step.
Grab the boat keys.
Your run is complete, and the Bean achievement should unlock as long as you finished within the 1-hour limit.
Can’t Complete the Run in 1 Hour?
If you keep going over the 1-hour limit and the BEAN achievement isn’t unlocking, you can use another method instead.
I have a separate guide that shows how to unlock the BEAN achievement by editing your How to Fish save file. It skips the full 1-hour speedrun and spawns you directly on the final Island.
Keep in mind that this is a save-file exploit/cheat method, so use it only if you don’t mind modifying your save.
Check out my guide here:
How to Get the BEAN Achievement in How to Fish?
The guide explains how to create a new save, find the save file, change the required values, and load the edited save to unlock the achievement.
