How to Fish Save Location: Windows and Steam Deck
The Windows LocalLow path, Steam Deck Proton path, and safest full-folder backup procedure before troubleshooting.
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On Windows, the How to Fish save location is %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Dazed Games\How to Fish\Saves. On Steam Deck or another Proton system, look under <SteamLibrary>/steamapps/compatdata/4001890/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/LocalLow/Dazed Games/How to Fish/Saves. Close the game before copying the complete Saves folder. Patch 1.0.11 added save backups and another pre-load check, but the developer has not documented the backup filenames or a manual restore recipe, so preserve your own dated copy before changing anything.
How to Fish stores local progress under LocalLow, not inside the Steam installation directory. Reinstalling or verifying the game therefore does not make the install folder a substitute for a save backup.
This guide covers native Windows and the Windows environment used by Steam Play or Proton. A missing folder does not automatically mean progress was erased: you may be viewing another Windows user, another Steam library, or a different Proton prefix. Work through the checks below before changing anything.
Open the save folder directly
- Exit to the Main Menu, quit How to Fish, and wait for Steam to stop showing the game as running.
- Open File Explorer, click the address bar, and enter %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Dazed Games\How to Fish\Saves.
- Press Enter. If Windows resolves the path, confirm that the breadcrumb includes your current Windows user and the Dazed Games, How to Fish, and Saves folders.
- Copy the complete Saves folder to a dated location outside the game folder, such as a personal backup directory. Keep the folder structure intact.
Browse there when the direct path does not open
Open C:\Users and choose the folder for the Windows account that actually launches Steam. In File Explorer, enable Hidden items from the View menu, then open AppData, LocalLow, Dazed Games, How to Fish, and finally Saves. If Steam is run under another Windows account, check that account rather than assuming the first similarly named profile is correct.
Keep the spaces in Dazed Games and How to Fish. They are normal folder names, not separators. Also make sure you are in LocalLow: Windows has separate Local, LocalLow, and Roaming branches, and searching the wrong branch can make the real save appear to be missing.
Find the save on Steam Deck or Proton
The Proton-prefix pattern is <SteamLibrary>/steamapps/compatdata/4001890/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/LocalLow/Dazed Games/How to Fish/Saves. The number 4001890 is the Steam app ID for How to Fish. On a default internal Deck library, <SteamLibrary> is commonly /home/deck/.local/share/Steam, but another library or storage device changes that prefix.
Switch to Desktop Mode, open the file manager, enable hidden files, and follow the Steam library that actually contains the game. Copy the whole Saves directory somewhere outside compatdata. Do not delete the prefix as a troubleshooting shortcut: doing so can remove the Windows environment containing the local data.
What to back up and when
Treat the whole Saves directory as one unit. Copying only the newest-looking file can miss supporting data, and timestamps can change during synchronization or a normal launch. Make backups while the game is closed so the copy is not captured halfway through a write. Give each backup a date and a short note, then leave its contents unchanged.
A backup on the same drive protects against a mistaken edit but not a drive failure. If the progress matters, keep another copy on a different drive or in a personal backup service. That is separate from Steam synchronization: sync is convenient, but it can reproduce a changed file and should not be treated as versioned archival storage.
Know when recent versions save
Patch 1.0.6 changed save behavior in two relevant ways. The game checks a save before loading it, and a crash no longer triggers an immediate save. Normal writes are tied to the manual Save action, returning to the Main Menu, quitting through the game, and an autosave that runs about once per minute.
Patch 1.0.11 says saves are checked again before loading and backups are now created. It does not name those backup files or give a manual replacement procedure. Treat the feature as added protection, not permission to experiment with the live folder. For a deliberate stopping point, use Save or leave through Main Menu or Quit, wait for the game to close, and then make your own dated copy.
If the Saves folder is empty or absent
- Confirm you launched How to Fish at least once with the same Windows account and reached a point where the game could save.
- Restart Steam and inspect its synchronization status before launching again. Do not casually choose an upload or download side if Steam reports a conflict.
- Search under C:\Users for another active Windows profile, but do not merge two Saves folders without preserving separate backups of both.
- Use Steam Verify integrity of game files for installation problems. Verification is not a save recovery tool and does not replace the LocalLow backup.
- If progress disappeared, stop here and use the dedicated disappeared-save guide before making changes.
Keep location and game files separate
Steam can show the installed game files through its Properties menu, but those files are not the local progress directory described above. Moving, verifying, or reinstalling the application may help a broken installation while leaving LocalLow data untouched; it can also create false confidence if you never copied the actual Saves folder.
For support, record the game version, Windows account involved, exact path you checked, and whether Steam displayed a sync warning. Share screenshots or filenames only if you are comfortable doing so, and keep your untouched backup private. Those details are more useful than experimenting with the contents.
Questions players ask
Why can I not see AppData?
AppData is hidden by Windows. Paste %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Dazed Games\How to Fish\Saves into File Explorer, or enable Hidden items and browse manually. Be sure you are using the Windows profile that launches Steam.
Is the save inside the Steam install folder?
No. The verified Windows location is under your user profile in AppData\LocalLow. Steam installation files and local progress serve different purposes, so back up the LocalLow Saves directory before troubleshooting.
Can I delete a save to make the game recreate it?
Do not use deletion as the first test. Close the game and copy the entire Saves folder first. If official support later asks you to isolate a file, keep the original backup untouched and make only reversible changes.
Does Steam sync replace a manual backup?
No. Sync can keep current data available across machines, but it is not a dependable history of every version. A dated copy of the complete Saves directory gives you a separate recovery point.
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Sources and version notes
This page was checked on 2026-09-04 against patch 1.0.11. Community strategies can change; official patch notes take priority when they conflict.
- How to Fish Patch 1.0.11 Official Steam Deck, GeForce NOW, save backup, controls, selling, explosives, join, attachment, and Drip Parrotfish changes.
- PCGamingWiki: How to Fish game data Cross-check for the Windows LocalLow save folder and the Steam Play Proton-prefix location.
- How to Fish on Steam Developer, release date, base game description, system requirements, and the official count of 28 achievements.
- How to Fish Steam Discussions Problem reports used only to identify troubleshooting scenarios; advice is anchored to official patch notes where possible.