Gone fishin’ (on the couch)

If fishing for hatchery trout seems a little too close to the farm, or if your secret spot is really a sofa, the software designers at Natsume want to pump up the challenge. Reel Fishing 3, for Playstation 2, requires application of real-ish fishing skills to advance from the tutorial. I hooked about 30 fish initially but landed only 10, the minimum before the game allows you to try other fishing spots.

You don’t get to fight for big lunkers until you adapt to the tackle and techniques needed, but every fish caught can be toted to the lodge’s aquariums to fatten up for later return to the “habitat.� The fish wriggled as they should, and a bad cast of the rod is still a bad cast. It’s not long before a rank amateur can graduate from lake fishing to rowing the shallows in search of a deep-bodied Crucian Carp larger than 12 inches.

-- Emmett Berg