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This is the platonic ideal of a fishing game to me. Great thought is put setting up each shot to ensure the biggest fish may bite, and the inclusion of proper bait types can make all the difference as well. Once a fish bites, the button mashing mini game is a great way to keep the pace frantic and keep you on your toes as you struggle to lift this massive fucking fish. You get to keep or sell all the fish you catch, and you can also fish up bags or suitcases full of money or goodies. I spent like a quarter of my hours in this game just fishing, it might be my favorite Yakuza sub-game.
Also I love all the grandiose that comes with every catch. Feels very arcade-like and coming from SEGA, that isn't surprising, but a welcome style indeed.

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This one is very involved and that makes it super fun. The idea of drawing the fishing line from the rod to the fish is novel, but is dwarfed entirely by the reeling stage. Keeping your meter centered is surprisingly challenging and a ton of fun, and using one final slash to subdue your catch while also getting a sneak peek at what you've been reeling in is a great feature.
There's so much fanfare as each fish does their Smash Bros. render pose in front of the camera when they're caught. There's a fishopedia and the ability to sell fish, and overall this one is a great time.
It loses one star for being a bit frustrating at times, as one slip on the meter will reduce all of your reeling progress and that gets tiring after the fifth slip-up on one fish.

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See? A Bass!
Animal Crossing is known for its fishing so this is no surprise at all. I think covering all the positives would almost be a bit redundant as I think we're all aware, but to summarize, great fun aiming for the fish, wondrous fanfare, a museum for all your fish, and puns!
My only problem with it all is how much it requires you to get up off your ass and relocate to the next big fish. I love plopping myself down and becoming a rock when I fish so I find that this minor pitfall takes it down one star.

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Absolutely brainless. You find any body of water whatsoever, throw your pod into it, and you can bet after a couple of seconds you'll get to press a button and be rewarded with something.
It could be several types of fish, organic or mechanical, it could be garbage, or it could even be new weapons which is so cool, but no matter what it is, you'll be sure to have it in your fishopedia for future observation.
I also love how this works on just about every body of water, meaning you can either fish in the quaint streams of the opening area, or in the desolated city where millions have died, oh look a carp!

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This one is like if Okami's fishing was a bit less clear cut. Less UI certainly helps to provide a more soothing, immersive experience, however it could be argued that this may be a downgrade from Automata due to the extra effort required.
I like it when fishing games take effort though, fish are going to fight so why should it be easy for us? It's also still not too difficult to catch fish in this one, and while I cannot remember if there is a fishopedia, I do know you can sell fish. That individual presence is much appreciated.

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This game pretends to be so cool. It shows you all the fish silhouettes, let's you aim your shot, and you go. Pro-tip, none of it matters, the silhouettes are a lie, you always get a fish, what a sham!
The vaporwave hip hop beats to relax/study to music that plays is so nice, and the arcade fanfare for each fish is glorious. You've got a fishopedia as well, but what may be the most notable are the insane rewards you can obtain. You can buy anything in this game with fish, it is the universal currency. I skipped the entire last island of the game by fishing for two hours it's busted, but I kind of love that about it.

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This one is a guilty pleasure but I don't care, this may be one of Club Penguin's best mini games. Ice Fishing is so simple, you move your line down at the right time to catch fish without letting unsightly things trip your line.
What makes this game great is you can move super fast with the line, meaning you can pull off some slick plays dodging sharks while you rake in the fish. All of the fish appear behind you in a pile as you catch them, making up for the lack of fanfare, and the music is very chill and relaxing.
It does suck that after 60 fish the game ends with a "boss fight" but maybe an endless mode existed at some point and I just don't remember. Anyways maybe this is better than Pizzatron that's my hot take see ya.

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(This will represent the whole Pokemon franchise btw)
Pokemon fishing is a means to an end, and that end is glorious because it represents a Pokemon. Throw your fishopedias in the lake because how about actually making your fish fight?! Easily the best reward system you could get from a fishing game and Pokemon did not even have to try.
The fishing itself? Not much to say honestly. Press a button when the symbol appears and you're golden. There's different rods but it's a sliding scale of objectively better quality, and the only other nuance comes in the form of bullshit gimmicks like Feebas or other encounter rate shenanigans.
Chain fishing was pretty cool though.

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I'm not impressed, sadly. You may be surprised to hear that I was very excited for the fishing in this game, but what makes this fall flat on its face is the homogenization of the whole thing.
You can catch a whole whopping one fish, different sizes mind you but it's the same fish. Every fish is its own button-mashing minigame, which gets progressively more difficult. All you get for your troubles is money, you can't even keep the fish, it's a mini game that outputs reward without thinking about the little things.
It's fun though, I can't lie. I do think that for a Kirby game they probably should've gone down the relaxing route rather than furious, unrelenting button-mashing, but I do like going for the largest fish and getting it every time because this mini game is disgustingly easy.

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This may be a controversial rating, but there are a lot of positive aspects to Minecraft's fishing. Obviously for such a huge game, the available pool of fish is massive, and your reward for obtaining particular fish, enchantment books, or other goodies is insane. It's quick too, very snappy and to the point, badda bing badda boom fish in your hands.
My problem is two-fold. One, the indicator that your line caught a fish is way too subtle, and I find myself squinting at the screen trying to make sure I don't miss the fish getting caught. Two, this may have the least fanfare out of any fishing minigame ever, where the fish zooms into your inventory so fast that you don't even have a chance to see it before it's locked up.
Petty complaints for sure but where else can I be petty but in a ranked list of fishing modes in video games?

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It's difficult for me to be harsh with this one because in terms of what you can fish up, this game's got a pretty nice line-up. You can get money, food for healing, alternative items like music sheets for the soundtrack, and more!
The rewards are high, but the fishing itself is middling at best. It works exactly like Pokemon but with less of an incentive, and there's much less opportunity to fish at all considering how chaotic this game is and how you're restricted to a 2D plane for locations.
You can fish up a fish though, and you would be surprised at how often fishing mini games lack the crucial element of having, well, fish.

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Easy, this is just a worse version of Club Penguin's fishing game. It looks like it was made in a day and you're treated to tunes that are not too dissimilar to mediocre Kevin Macleod songs, but I have a soft spot for these 2D fishing games and all that they bring so it gets one pity star.

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You drive around an underwater box and run into fish to collect them. It is """fishing"""" in the most loose definition of the word. No fishopedia or keeping any fish, and the most you get in terms of a celebration after each fish is an unceremonious "ding" sound effect.
Inoffensive, but not worth any of the gray matter used to remember it.

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Catch of the Day is one of my least favorite games in the Rhythm Heaven franchise. Every fish here follows a particular rhythm, but trying to remember some of these counts on repeated playthroughs is a ghoulish task. I think I always watch the tutorial for this one and I've played Fever more than like five times all the way through.
Of course no fishopedia or selling fish because why would there be. Not even trying to be sarcastic it would just be very out of place.
I will say this game probably feels the worst for when you miss a fish, seeing as you could potentially be ruining a perfect run because one stupid blue asshole waited three and a quarter beats before biting I hate this game.