How to Fish Mods: BepInEx, Gale Setup and Best Mods
Updated 2026-09-02 · Steam How to Fish
How do How to Fish mods work? Almost every one of them is a BepInEx plugin: you install the BepInExPack for Mono Unity games into the How to Fish folder, then drop mod DLL files into BepInEx/plugins. The easy path is a Thunderstore mod manager such as Gale (v1.22.2, updated 25 August 2026), which installs BepInEx as a dependency and launches the game with your profile. There are 161 packages in the How to Fish Thunderstore community as of 2 September 2026.
Nothing on this page is an official Dazed Games feature. The developers have never mentioned modding in a patch note, so treat every mod as community software that can break when the game updates. The last patch was 1.0.11 on 1 September 2026.
What you need before installing any mod
Two packages do all the heavy lifting. Everything else is optional.
| Package | Version | Downloads | Updated | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BepInExPack | 5.4.2305 | 33,049,978 | 2026-03-17 | BepInEx 5.4.23.5 for Mono Unity games, preconfigured with console and extended logging. Nearly every How to Fish mod lists it as a dependency |
| GaleModManager | 1.22.2 | 515,884 | 2026-08-25 | A lightweight Thunderstore mod manager with profiles, a config editor and profile syncing |
The dependency string you will see on most mod pages is BepInEx-BepInExPack-5.4.2305. A few older packages, including some aim mods, still pin BepInEx-BepInExPack-5.4.2100; a manager resolves that for you.
Gale is not the only option. The BepInExPack README recommends Thunderstore Mod Manager, and several mod READMEs (DynamicCrosshair, ModMenu) name r2modman as an equally supported choice. Any of the three works. Gale's own README warns that its only official download sources are its GitHub releases page and its Thunderstore page, and that other sites claiming to be official ship outdated builds.
Installing mods with a mod manager
This is the recommended route in the BepInExPack README and in most individual mod READMEs.
- Install Gale (Windows: the
.msifrom the Thunderstore or GitHub download; Linux: AUR,.deb,.rpm, Flatpak or AppImage per the README). Windows may show a "Windows has protected your PC" prompt, which the README tells you to clear with More Info and Run Anyway. - Open the manager and pick How to Fish as the game, then create a profile.
- Search for a mod and install it. BepInEx comes along automatically as a dependency, so you do not install it separately.
- Launch the game from the mod manager, not from Steam. That is what injects BepInEx into the profile you just built.
If everything worked, the BepInEx console window appears alongside the game, because this pack ships with the console enabled by default.
Manual install: where the files go
You can skip the manager entirely. The steps below come straight from the BepInExPack, DynamicCrosshair, ModMenu and SuperCreatures READMEs.
- Download the BepInExPack archive and extract it somewhere that is not the game folder.
- Move the contents of the
BepInExPackfolder into the folder that containsHow to Fish.exe. - Launch the game once so BepInEx generates its
BepInEx/configandBepInEx/pluginsfolders, then quit. - Copy each mod's
.dllintoHow to Fish/BepInEx/plugins/. Some packages, such as ModMenu, expect the whole package contents merged into the game directory so theirBepInExfolders combine with the existing ones. - Launch the game normally from Steam.
| Path | What lives there |
|---|---|
How to Fish/BepInEx/plugins/ | Mod DLL files |
How to Fish/BepInEx/config/ | Per-mod config files, for example kalamies.MorePlayers.cfg or howtofish.dynamiccrosshair.cfg |
AppData/LocalLow/Dazed Games/How to Fish/ | Your saves, plus subfolders that mods like NoSharedMoney and SaveBackups create |
Config files are generated the first time a mod runs, so launch once before you go looking for them. Patch 1.0.10 (27 August 2026) also started printing the game version number into player.log, which is the first thing to check when something refuses to load. Full troubleshooting lives on mods not working.
Do mods break achievements or multiplayer?
Achievements: not confirmed yet. No patch note and no Steam guide in our sources says whether BepInEx affects the 28 Steam achievements in How to Fish, so this wiki will not claim either way. What is documented is that at least one cheat menu advertises unlocking Steam achievements directly, which is a good reason to keep a clean unmodded profile if you care about your achievement list.
Multiplayer is better documented, because mod authors state it explicitly. There are three patterns:
| Pattern | Example | What the README says |
|---|---|---|
| Host only | AlwaysWinRoulette | The result is decided on the server, so only the host needs it |
| Host, and clients for correct visuals | KeepInventory | Without it on the host the server still drops items; other players should install it so knockouts look right |
| Everyone | NoSharedMoney | All players including the host need it, or a client's money display sticks on a stale number |
| Client side only | SeaLegs, DynamicCrosshair | Draws or reads only, no network state touched |
Vanilla co-op is 1 to 4 players per the Steam store page, and patch 1.0.4 (21 August 2026) raised lobby support to 8. Mods push it further, covered on multiplayer mods.
Top 15 How to Fish mods by downloads
Download counts and versions are from Thunderstore on 2 September 2026. The list leaves out the aimbot, cheat menu, god mode and money or gambling packages described below, including WhitetailStudios' roulette mod (36,472 downloads), which would otherwise sit second; Thunderstore files them all under the same generic Mods category, so the exclusion is this wiki's editorial line rather than a Thunderstore label. Descriptions are paraphrased from each mod's own README, which is the author's claim rather than a tested result.
| Mod | Author | Downloads | Version | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KeepInventory | WhitetailStudios | 38,958 | 1.0.0 | Stops death and knockout from dumping your items; the held item goes back to your inventory |
| Stackable_Items | AtomicStudio | 30,141 | 0.1.4 | Stacks identical items into one slot, 1 to 100 per slot with 64 as the default. Weapons do not stack |
| MorePlayers | Kalamies | 20,575 | 0.1.0 | Raises the lobby cap to 32 players, configurable via MaxPlayers |
| DynamicCrosshair | PapaSalazar | 18,942 | 1.0.0 | Draws where the gun is actually pointing plus its live spread cone and bullet drop. F8 toggles it |
| ModMenu | evansvl | 18,392 | 0.3.6 | Adds a native Mod Settings screen to the main menu and pause screen that reads BepInEx config entries |
| AmmoCounter | Ice_Box_Studio_HTF | 14,961 | 1.0.4 | Magazine ammo, weapon name, fitted attachments and an optional kill counter. Listed for game 1.0.9 and up |
| FishHP | evansvl | 14,346 | 0.2.2 | Stacked health bars for non-boss creatures you have damaged. Read only, no combat changes |
| NoSharedMoney | hiccup | 12,824 | 1.4.0 | Gives every player a personal wallet keyed to their Steam ID instead of one shared pot |
| SuperCreatures | Ponchik | 12,693 | 1.1.5 | Scales fish from 0.2x to 25x, edits loot weights, and adds an in-game menu on F5 |
| BossHP | evansvl | 11,708 | 0.1.4 | Exact boss health beside the native bar, with configurable fill colour. Read only |
| FairerSlots | welffi | 11,685 | 1.0.2 | Swaps a duplicate slot machine roll for an unowned skin of the same rarity |
| BetterSwimming | Azumatt | 10,594 | 1.0.3 | Hold to swim and dive instead of mashing jump, with wave-accurate buoyancy |
| SeaLegs | Azumatt | 9,539 | 1.0.2 | Restores your own body in first person instead of floating hands. Client side |
| ChumBucket | Azumatt | 8,939 | 1.1.0 | A droppable bucket (J key) that sells your whole catch at once instead of one fish at a time |
| BossTimer | evansvl | 8,649 | 0.1.6 | Shows the full boss departure countdown, which the vanilla HUD only reveals in its last ten seconds |
Curated picks by purpose are on best mods, and the complete 161-package table is on all mods list.
Libraries, modpacks and utilities
Some packages are not mods you notice in play. HowtoFishLocalizationAPI (10,992 downloads) lets compatible mods ship their own language files, and HowtoFishIdentityAPI (9,523) hands server-authoritative mods a verified player key. AmmoCounter depends on both. ModUpdateChecker (6,798) compares your installed mods against Thunderstore and opens the package page, never downloading anything itself.
If you would rather not build a list from scratch, Enhanced_HowToFish (7,530 downloads, v1.0.8) is a Modpacks-category bundle of 20 quality-of-life mods including DynamicCrosshair, BossTimer, BossHP, ModMenu, FishHP, Stackable_Items, SeaLegs, BetterSwimming and ChumBucket. Map and island packages are covered on custom islands mods.
Back up your save first
Two READMEs make the same point independently: Stackable_Items tells you to back up before running it, and NoSharedMoney warns that its wallet file can drift out of sync with the vanilla save. Both point at SaveBackups (v1.4.0), which snapshots on every autosave and adds a Backups tab to the Load Game screen. The game itself gained both a corruption check before loading and automatic save backups in patch 1.0.11 (1 September 2026); patch 1.0.9 (24 August 2026) had earlier listed a fix for save files being corrupted. Either way, those protect the vanilla save, not mod data. See patch notes for what changed and when.
What this wiki does not cover
Thunderstore's How to Fish community includes aimbot, silent aim, cheat menu, god mode and money mods, and some of them are among the most downloaded packages there. This wiki does not write install guides or how-to instructions for any of them. They also tend to be the packages that break first after a patch, and several of them still target the older BepInEx 5.4.2100 dependency.
Sources and last check
Checked 2 September 2026. Install steps, folder paths, version numbers, download counts and multiplayer requirements are taken from the Thunderstore package pages and READMEs for BepInExPack, GaleModManager and each mod listed above, at thunderstore.io/c/how-to-fish. Game facts (1 to 4 player co-op, 28 achievements) come from the Steam store page. Patch details come from the official Dazed Games Steam announcements for 1.0.11 (1 September 2026), 1.0.10 (27 August 2026), 1.0.9 (24 August 2026) and 1.0.4 (21 August 2026), summarised on patch notes.
Everything a mod claims to do is the author's own README description, not a result this wiki has verified, and the same applies to compatibility notes such as "How to Fish 1.0.5" or "1.0.9 and up". No official source addresses whether modding affects Steam achievements, so that question is marked not confirmed yet rather than answered.