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King Salmon: The Big Catch
Copyright 2005, Apathetic Aardvark Email:
[email protected]
All rights reserved Version 1.0 1/12/2005
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i) Disclaimer (Legal stuff)
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Copyright 2005, Apathetic Aardvark
All rights reserved.
The following sites have my permission to post this;
www.gamefaqs.com
Any site, magazine, or other form of media, that is not included on this list
caught hosting this guide without my written consent is in violation of
copyright laws and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the laws.
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ii) FAQ/Strategy Guide
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This section will be divided into a few sections;
1. Finding a Spot
2. Luring the Fish
3. Battles
4. Other Features
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1. Finding a Spot
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There are four competitions in King Salmon. Each is different from the others.
There are several similarities though. In each event, there is a "Big" map and
several "Small" maps. I love using technical terms. The "Big" map is the
entire field of play. It can be a lake or a river, depending on the level.
The only thing which can be done on the "Big" map is search for a place to go
fishing. The fishing day lasts from 7:00 to 16:00 [4pm].
You can move around both maps by pressing the C button. When you find a place
on the "Big" map you think is suitable press the A button. If the locations is
entirely devoid of salmon, you'll get one of several messages telling you that
it is a bad place. Just continue around until you find a good one.
Once on the "Small" map, the action begins. Pressing the A button will return
you to the big map, and the C button again moves you. Try to watch out for
other boats, they seldom work to avoid you, making them quite annoying. You
can hit ten of them in one day, which is a good thing, since hitting them once
ends their day. There do however seem to be an unlimited number of them, so do
not try to ram your way to victory...
Just a small note, after catching or failing in a catch, the "small" map you
are on will not receive many, if any bites for the next 45 minutes or so. This
is to prevent you from hogging the best spot. Of course, since there are
usually three really nice spots, you can just go back and forth between them on
the "Big" Map.
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2. Luring the Fish
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Before I talk about trolling... not the ToS violation, it would be wise to
start with some information on how to attract the fish you are going to troll
near.
The first is which Lure to use. There are six lures in the game. In the first
level, the first five lures can be used.
Spoon - Vancouver Island, Kenai River, Salmon Derby, World Record Challenge
Spinner - Vancouver Island, Kenai River, Salmon Derby, World Record Challenge
Plug - Vancouver Island, Kenai River, Salmon Derby, World Record Challenge
Herring - Vancouver Island, Salmon Derby
Live Herring - Vancouver Island, Salmon Derby
Kenai Tackle [Salmon Eggs] - World Record Challenge
The next important detail is the line length. There are five options. This
option makes little difference for anything other than a battle. If the fish
starts closer, the battle is shorter and there is a lesser chance of something
going wrong. If longer, you risk a fish getting away or the line getting
snagged up.
Line depth is probably the most important feature. On rivers, depth is limited
to the bottom of the river [100 feet] and mid-depth [50 feet]. In the sea, it
is 50 to 250 feet in 50 foot intervals. Salmon take up different depths based
mostly on weather conditions.
Here are my personal preferences of which settings to use based on which
conditions;
To be honest, I love deep fishing with the spoon, so... my selections here are
a bit biased, perhaps the others work too, but I'm not nearly that patient.
At Sea:
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Low Pressure system and the waves are high.
Lure choice: Spoon Depth: 200 feet
This is perfect weather for fishing!
Lure choice: Spoon Depth: 200 feet ... seriously... this setting rocks.
On River:
-----
The low pressure system is passing. The river is a little rough.
Lure choice: Spoon Depth: Bottom of River
It's cloudy. Salmon were early this year and there's not much action now.
Lure Choice: No clue Depth: Bottom of River ... these conditions really
stink, just quit the day and restart, it is not even worth trying.
It's sunny and the salmon are spawning.
Lure Choice: Anything seems to work Depth: Bottom of the River
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That leaves the process of trolling. It works a bit different at sea than it
does on a river, so I may explain some parts twice.
At sea, once you enter the "Small" map, your boat will show a lure. You can
move the boat with the C button and change directions with the D-pad. You will
see some clusters of red or black spots, those are Herrings. Salmon come up
from behind them. Your goal is to keep the boat just in front of these
clusters and the lure just behind them to get a bite. When you get to a bite,
a portrait of a fisherman with his pole will appear somewhere on your screen.
More on this in a moment.
One a river, the process works much the same. Press C to move the boat
forward. Steering is much more difficult, as your boat always has to be facing
against the current. Pressing right will move the boat right, left moves it
left. As such, avoid boats is much more difficult on the river, as is
precision steering. On rivers, salmon often stop to rest in areas just beyond
rapid currents. You can also get some bites if you wait to see a few black
lines come up from the bottom of the screen. I think these are actually
salmon, instead of herring, but, nevertheless, get your lure in there and the
portrait will eventually come up.
Once up, you will need to focus on it. The rod will bob up and down slightly,
every now and again taking a huge dip down. When the dip down occurs, press up
on the D-Pad, if timed correctly, you will enter a battle. If done
incorrectly, the rod will either continue to bob or the portrait will go away
entirely. If you do nothing while the portrait is up, it will eventually go
away. If you hit a boat, it will go away. It is NOT a good idea to try to
enter a battle when another boat is on your screen, especially on a river where
lines can easily tangle with another boat.
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3. Battles
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The action phase of King Salmon. A battle takes place on its own screen as the
fisherman attempts to bring in the fish. Bigger fish are generally stronger
and harder to bring in than weaker fish. Press the C button to reel a fish in.
This is nice, but, the fish can simply turn around and yank the line out. If
the line goes out to 700 feet, you lose the battle!
It is also important not to get tired out. Pressing the A button at any time
will allow the player to flex his hands, which brings back some stamina. Of
course, while flexing, the fish can more or less pull your line out.
Other techniques include thumbing the reel, done with the D pad button to the
right. This can slow a fish down using relative ease and puts little pressure
on the line. D pad left pulls up the rod, bringing the line to high tension in
a position you can no longer reel in during, but, it guarantees the fish will
not pull out on the line. Try quick rod pull/reel combos and remember to flex
your hands, especially if you see the sweating man portrait.
The deeper the line starts, the more difficult it is to reel the fish in. You
get the fish once the line is brought all the way to zero feet. Catching
salmon is not quite this easy though, there are several obstacles which can
occur in the middle of a battle. Some are impossible to avoid or get out of,
others have multiple methods of escape, but with differing degrees of success
based mainly on how much line you still have out in the water. Others, such as
a hook not being properly set, just end the battle after a certain amount of
time, or if you choose a bad hook set option during an obstacle. Normally, a
battle ends after a couple of minutes.
Here is a list of obstacles and success with the options:
"He's heading for the bottom."
1) Free the drag
2) Tighten up the drag
3) Pull up the rod
This is the easiest obstacle, as all three options have a high degree of
success. I generally choose free the drag, as it has the least damaging "bad"
result, the being pulled out a hundred feet or so. On larger fish, pulling up
the rod usually breaks it or the line.
"He's making a zig zag run."
1) Tighten up the drag
2) Pull up the rod
3) Pull the rod back against the direction of his run.
Like the previous obstacle, this one has three options which can work. All
three almost always work against small fish. The last one seems to be the best
overall, its only bad point is if you swing the line into the path of another
boat and cut the line. The first one will fail badly if the hook is not set.
"Be careful. He's making a run."
1) Free the drag
2) Tighten the drag
3) Pull up the rod
"Look, he's running at the boat."
1) Reel in your line fast!
2) Pull up the rod!
A very high percentage of the time, no matter which you choose, you will fall
into the next obstacle. Although, a lot of the time both options work. I tend
to select the second option, as it seems to be slightly more reliable, but both
are very similar in result.
"He's too smart, you fell into his trap, He's hiding and he won't be lured out
easily!"
1) Reel in your line fast
2) Jerk back the pole
3) Swing the rod
Hey now, this ones a toughie. The first option does have the best chance of
succeeding, however, it also has the worst failure option, losing the battle.
The latter two will often say he is too strong, and return you to the same set
of three options. A second chance if you will.
"He's jumping."
1) Free the drag
2) Pull up the rod and reel in your line.
3) Thumb the reel.
As with most of the obstacles, if the fish is small, all three options work
well. If the jumping occurs near the boat, just free the drag, it is not going
far.
"You are caught on some driftwood. You might cut the line."
1) Full speed ahead.
2) Pull up the rod.
3) Swing the rod.
This is the second worst obstacle in the game. Seldom do any of them work.
Full speed ahead and Swing the rod sometimes work, but not very often.
I don't recall the next quote for the next one, but your line gets caught in
another ships prop. You are pretty much screwed if this happens. I have never
had a successful escape from this problem!
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4. Other Features
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Today's Catch
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Once a fish has been reeled in, it will be weighed on a scale. While there are
categories for all types of fish, only King Salmon count towards your daily
weight. The winning weight is usually within ten percent or so of the daily
estimate. I will list those just a bit later in this section. There will also
be some commentary telling you what you may need to change in the event you are
getting nothing but Pink and Silver Salmon. If you keep getting Dogfish, you
may not be doing anything wrong, they like to eat Salmon while they are on the
line.
The Fishing Areas
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Level 1: Vancouver Island
Winning Weight: ~60 lbs
"Small" map areas: 17
This is a great level. In all honesty, you should have no trouble getting well
over 120 lbs worth of King Salmon if you go the entire day. The best spots, in
my opinion, are the one in the bottom middle, the one a bit northeast of that
one, and the furthest spot to the west, in the middle of the screen. Usually
20 pound King's float in these areas. A 24+ pounder will generally win the
heaviest fish of the day here, too.
Level 2: Kenai River Basin
Winning Weight: ~120 lbs
"Small" map areas: 10
This is the most historic site for catching King Salmon. Nine of the biggest
ten King's ever caught, were done here. It is also the most difficult level in
the game. There are only a few good areas here, all near the top of the river.
There's a small island to the right side, the top end and the bottom end are
both great areas, though the bottom is better for king. There's also a spot
between this island and the large divide halfway down the river, located near
the left shoreline. This spot is wonderful, possibly the best in the entire
game. If the weather is bad, you seldom need more than 90 lbs to win this
thing. For the record, in awful conditions I just brought in 278 lbs of King
Salmon using the three spots I explained earlier.
Level 3: Salmon Derby
Winning Weight: ~186 lbs
"Small" map areas: 19
Nineteen places to fish, at least eight of them are great. Almost all of them
border the north shore of the map. This place is great, you will probably beat
the estimate by noon, and that's if you catch eight silvers in addition to the
King's you find. Huge landings of 55-65 lbs are common here. This is my
favorite level, too. If you actually go the entire time, you can nab over 700
pounds of King Salmon easily, a thousand pounds of Salmon altogether. This is
very good for leveling up to give you the stats you may need to do the final
level.
Level 4: World Record Challenge
Winning Weight: A King Salmon 100 lbs or more.
"Small" map areas: 10
This is it. No one cares how much weight you bring in, just bring in a world
record size king! You can use Kenai in this level, and only this level. It is
highly recommended that you do so. While it takes longer than most baits to
get a portrait up, it tends to catch more kings than any other lure, often
larger ones. The "Small" Map entry locations are the exact same as in Level 2,
but I tend to get bigger King's in the areas away from either island and
divide. Thus, the tactics in this level are slightly different, but basically
the same as level 2.
Leveling up
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Like many games, the main character in King Salmon can level up. He starts at
level zero, with the following stats:
Strength: 15
Stamina: 100
Technique: 0
Each level he gains 1 point of stamina and a half point of physical strength.
Every ten levels his technique improves by one. The stats do as follows;
Strength: How powerful you are. Having low strength makes it very difficult to
reel in large fish. This is a rather important stat.
Stamina: Probably the most important of the stats, this determines how long you
can be in a battle. As you get low on stamina, each time you crank your reel
has less and less of an effect. You can regain stamina in battle by holding
the A button to flex your hand, but the fish will run away with your line in
most instances.
Technique: I do not have a clue what this does, nothing visible at least.
Perhaps it gives extra "Luck" in obstacle instances. You certainly do not get
better advice with more technique.
Levels are earned by catching fish. It does not matter which type of salmon
they are, but bigger is better, as levels are determined by the weight of fish.
Dogfish [sharks] do not count towards leveling up. The first ten or so levels
all happen every 4 to 12 pounds of catches, but it increases sharply after
this.
Codes
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Level 2: XDDS VMNQ QS [Level 20?]
Level 3: NJHM MBQC TR [Level 30]
Level 4: PWRX BMDP GZ [Level 50]
If you need any help finding entry points, I hope to submit some maps of them
soon.
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iii) Credits
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GameFAQs - For hosting.
Copyright 2005, Apathetic Aardvark
