RDR2 legendary fish: where to catch all 13 for Jeremy Gill and what they bite on

The main count is 13. That’s how many fish you have to send Jeremy Gill to finish the first part of the quest and tick the box for 100%. PowerPyx states plainly that only the first 13 are needed for 100%.

The figure 14 comes from PowerPyx, Shacknews and RDR2.org. The fourteenth is the Legendary Channel Catfish, a giant catfish from the second part of the quest on the San Luis River. You don’t catch it or mail it: it only appears in a cutscene with Gill.

The figure 15 is GTABase’s: it adds the Legendary Northern Pike to the 14. This pike is caught only in the mission "The Veteran – II" with Hamish Sinclair at O’Creagh’s Run (Grizzlies East, Ambarino), and it isn’t part of Gill’s quest.

The Bullhead Catfish near Sisika prison is not an "extra" fish — it’s one of the regular 13.

Jeremy Gill is a well-known fisherman and author who lives in a shack on a pier. His spot is called Gill Landing: the north or northeast shore of Flat Iron Lake, The Heartlands, New Hanover. Look for him on the RDR2 map.

The quest becomes available once Chapter 2 is finished, so in practice from Chapter 3 — that’s what RDR2.org and Fextralife say. Red Dead Wiki names the Chapter 2 mission "A Fisher of Men", where Arthur gets his fishing rod, as the requirement. GTABase says "after Chapter 3", but the other sources don’t confirm this. The order of story missions is in the RDR2 missions section.

Gill gives you a map with the legendary fish locations. It’s in your satchel under Satchel → Documents, and the areas are marked on the in-game map. PowerPyx and Shacknews warn that this map is inaccurate, so it’s better to go by the table below.

Mail every fish you catch from any post office. Small fish can be carried in your satchel. Put big ones on your horse and get them to the post office quickly.

Names are in English, as in the game. The lure listed is the one most guides recommend; brackets show where sources disagree.

The Bullhead Catfish lives in the channel by the island with Sisika prison — a restricted area. The Bluegill on Flat Iron Lake is caught right on the state line: Red Dead Wiki places the spot in Lemoyne, Shacknews in New Hanover.

The Largemouth Bass and Redfin Pickerel live in New Austin, where Arthur can’t go, so these two are John-only in the epilogue. Red Dead Wiki also marks the Rock Bass in Tall Trees as epilogue-only; other guides don’t specify this.

Latin species names: Legendary Bluegill — Lepomis macrochirus; Legendary Bullhead Catfish — Ameiurus nebulosus; Legendary Chain Pickerel — Esox niger; Legendary Lake Sturgeon — Acipenser fulvescens; Legendary Longnose Gar — Lepisosteus osseus; Legendary Muskie — Esox masquinongy; Legendary Perch — Perca fluviatilis; Legendary Smallmouth Bass — Micropterus dolomieu; Legendary Sockeye Salmon — Oncorhynchus nerka; Legendary Steelhead Trout — Oncorhynchus mykiss; Legendary Largemouth Bass — Micropterus salmoides; Legendary Redfin Pickerel — Esox americanus americanus; Legendary Rock Bass — Ambloplites rupestris.

Regular bait doesn’t work on legendary fish. You need three special lures:

• Special Lake Lure — for lakes;
• Special River Lure — for rivers;
• Special Swamp Lure — for swamps.

They are sold at the Bait Shop near Lagras in Bayou Nwa, Lemoyne. They go on sale once Gill’s quest has started. Guides quote different prices: PowerPyx and Shacknews say $20 each, RDR2.org $10 as Arthur and $15 in the epilogue.

The "wrong" lure can still work: any special lure sometimes attracts a legendary fish. The matching one gives better odds and a faster bite, so take the right lure for each body of water. That is exactly why guides disagree on lures for the Bullhead Catfish, Lake Sturgeon, Sockeye Salmon and Largemouth Bass — different options work for them.

A legendary fish fights longer than a normal one, so you land it over several “tire it out → reel in” cycles. The method below follows PowerPyx, GTABase and Red Dead Wiki; buttons are given for a controller.

1. Cast. Equip the rod, pick the special lure for the type of water and cast where you can see fish moving under the surface. The closer the fish is to the shore, the less you’ll have to reel.
2. Reel slowly. Turn the right stick clockwise very slowly so the lure moves through the water.
3. One flick if nothing bites. If there’s no bite within about a minute, press R2/RT once to attract the fish. Flicking too often scares it off. If that doesn’t help, cast again at a slightly different spot.
4. Hook it. The fish nibbles at the lure first. Hook it with R2/RT when it actually bites and pulls the line.
5. The fight. While the fish is struggling and splashing, move the rod with the left stick in the opposite direction to its movement and don’t reel — that’s how the line snaps.
6. The “rod up, reel in” cycle. When the splashing stops and the fish is tired, tilt the left stick down to raise the rod and reel in quickly. Repeat after a second or two. If the fish starts fighting again, go back to step 5.

Big legendary fish have to be tired out several times in a row, especially if they bite far from the shore. Along the way the game may unlock the “It was THIS Big!” achievement for a fish weighing at least 16 lb (7.3 kg) — both PowerPyx and Red Dead Wiki mention it.

According to Red Dead Wiki and GTABase, Gill mails you two rewards:

PowerPyx describes the rewards more vaguely — "money and various items after a few fish" — and some of its readers wrote that they only received the first one. That’s why the Wiki and GTABase version is given here.

There are no separate "legendary lures" as a reward. The Lake Lure is an ordinary lure, while guides call the Special Spinner the best lure there is.

The second part of the quest

After 13 fish Gill sends an invitation letter, but you can only receive it in the epilogue. The Wiki says no earlier than Epilogue Part II, GTABase says after Epilogue 1.

John then heads with Gill to the San Luis River in Río Bravo, New Austin, after the giant Legendary Channel Catfish. The catfish drags Gill into the river and he disappears. His hat and the Special Spinner are left on the bank.

• Start with the Chapter 3 fish in New Hanover, Lemoyne, West Elizabeth and Ambarino — you can hand them in while still playing as Arthur.
• Buy all three special lures at once so you don’t have to go back to Lagras.

Legendary animals are a separate collection with different rules, covered on the RDR2 legendary animals page. For regular fish and wildlife, see the RDR2 animals section.

For 100% you have to send Jeremy Gill all 13 legendary fish. The Legendary Channel Catfish and Legendary Northern Pike aren’t needed for this.

You can’t finish the quest before the epilogue: some of the fish live in the south of the map, in New Austin. The full list of requirements is on the how to get 100% in RDR2 page, and the other collections are in the RDR2 collectibles section: cigarette cards, exotics, dinosaur bones.