Players are free to fish wherever there is water, and a variety of locales are available, from tropical ocean fishing on the high sea to ice fishing atop the island's mountains. With over 20 fish-related mini-games and over 200 varieties of fish available - not to mention four-player competitive modes and online leaderboards, which show players how they stack up against other anglers around the world - there's plenty of content for both casual players and completionists alike.

Players start out in Fishing Resort by customizing their own unique character and can choose to make a cartoon-style character of themselves, or someone entirely different. Add in over 200 items such as shoes, clothes, sunglasses, backpacks, hats, and much more, and each player is given the tools to create an entirely unique character with which to explore the island. Fishing is accomplished by mimicking real-life fishing motions using the Wii Remote to cast and move the Nunchuk in a circular motion to reel in fish, which range from pond guppies to massive marlins over 10 feet in length!