Released in 1999 by the same publishers that developed Grand Theft Auto, the game features options like male or female avatars, whether to fish for fun or in a tournament, and which rod, reel, and lures to use.
February 14, 2025
By Josh Bergan
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Who here remembers the In-Fisherman video game? Not me (I was more of a “The Black Bass” for the original NES kind of guy). But a friend recently gave me a retro video game emulator, and I was shocked to find that an In-Fisherman- branded video game was created for Nintendo 64 called In-Fisherman Bass Hunter 64 .
According to Editor-in-Chief Doug Stange, it was originally developed as a partnership with Rapala, which made several attempts at fishing video games for many different consoles over the years (including one for the Xbox 360 that had a fishing-rod controller ).
But before you get excited, let me tell you a little about it.
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Released in 1999 by the same publishers that developed Grand Theft Auto, the game features options like male or female avatars, whether to fish for fun or in a tournament, and which rod, reel, and lures to use. It features a Garmin Fishfinder and real Rapala lures , and players can earn upgrades as they progress. There are initially two lakes to fish (more become available), and a variety available fish species. The goal is to catch a tournament-winning weight of five largemouth bass .
Once you motor to your honey hole, anglers select a percentage of the power bar to cast, then retrieve fast or slow while tempting fish to strike. Once a fish is on, you reel while putting side pressure on the fish. Here’s where the problems start–it’s nearly impossible to land fish. Any and all fish, including bluegill, will tear line from your reel and there’s little you can do to gain ground. Eventually, fish will pop off or break your line. To date, I’m fully skunked (though I’ve never had the most athletic thumbs). For your best shot at landing something, cast short, like within 20 feet. So I’ve read.
The game does offer a built-in section to add cheat codes which can easily be found on the Internet. Some cheats allow all the lakes to become available, others give you more money, and others make the fish easier to catch (still never landed a fish). The best cheat code is the one that creates Al Lindner’s head on all the fish (seriously).
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This is real. Reviews for fishing video games are rarely stellar, and this holds true for Bass Hunter. A GameSpot review concludes, “You'd be better off actually experiencing fishing in real life than trying to replace it with this game,” which is actually great advice for young anglers about any video game. There is also plenty of YouTube content about Bass Hunter–watch the one entitled "Worst fishing game…" if you want a good chuckle (NSFW) .
For those interested in playing, you can find it on many downloadable retro video game emulators . But I’m tellin’ ya, it’s much better to get outside a wet a real line.
