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Rod, Reel & Fist is a Fishing Adventure RPG by Kumada1. It cites Ryuutama and Legend of the River King as inspirations. You take on the role of heroic fishers trying to save their village.

Part of the Bundle for Racial Justice.

• Skimming the table of contents to get to the main body of the book and saw the alternate settings section, which includes: Fish of the North Star, I.C.E. F.I.S.H.I.N.G., Jovian Sleighride, Skyhook, and 40,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
• Also appears to be a lot of example stuff for each of those, as well as some premade scenarios.
• The GM is called the Swamp Being. That makes the section of the table of contents titled "How to be a Swamp Being" make more sense.
• I like how it lays out that if nobody in the group is experienced, the GM could be someone who has more experience with things like improvisation, theater, or freestyle rap. There were a few others but those were the interesting ones, moreso than "Video games and board games".
• Default setting is listed as the vibe of a magical-realism 1980s rural Japan. Vending machines, fast trains, economic trouble, but a place where a small village can exist. The Village doesn't need to be exactly from there, wherever works as long as it has a general vibe of a summer day (editorialized).
• The Village is built out by the players. First step goes to the right from the GM. First player asked by the GM where it's located, next person says what it looks like, third player states an important person in town. Every player will then define an important person in town.
• Going in the opposite order, the GM then asks the player to their left what Tragedy has befallen the Village. Player to the left says who it affects most. Then every player will state a group also affected by it.
• Right again, develop the region, why it's secluded, what region the Fish of Legend is located in.
• Left again, define facts about the Fish of Legend, such as curative or mystical properties, why it's hard to catch, and so on.

I like the communal worldbuilding like this. Let's everyone get attached to a specific aspect of the Village that they created.

• Players typically roll 1d6 when faced with a challenge. They need to meet or beat the Target Number to succeed. Easy tasks are marked as TN3 while Legendary ones are 7+. Equipment, traits, and so on let you roll more dice.
• Failure is less punishing in this game. It's called a Setback. Maybe you're trying to hike up a hill, but the ground is sandy and keeps coming loose under your feet, so you need to take the longer way around. Or you might fall sick from failing to weather a storm.
• Even if you take on a bear, the situation usually would not lead to play death, unless it feels appropriate by both the players. Otherwise, you'll just end up laid out or in the hospital.
• To beat the high TNs, you need doubles or triples. On multiples, you take the face value of the dice that are the same, and then add in the number of times it appears. 2 3s becomes 5 (3 + 2 occurrences), and 3 5s is 8. You don't get to add 1 for the occurrence, nor does the result of the addition add with anything. So 2 2s does not add with your 4.
• Stress and Exhaustion are ways Setbacks can affect your rolls. They each add 1 to your TN to show how you're tired or the situation is bad for you. Allies can help you ignore levels of Exhaustion or Stress by helping you. Stress is generally used in combat.
• Camp removes stress when you rest, and it can also be used to exchange fish for equipment and other benefits, and you can refill your party's Snacks.

I like Snacks. I wonder what those do. I'll find out later.

• Making a character, your first thing is to take care of your character basics, like age, gender, profession (if they're old enough to have a job), and a connection they have to the Tragedy.
• Next, you pick a Type from the list like Angler, Brawler, Entertainer, and so on. These represent the like, inner soul of the person. Your character may be an office worker, but an Entertainer in spirit, the life of the party.
• One of the types is "Pet", which allows you to play as an animal. Another special type is Split, being a generalist who has two Types (some exceptions can't be taken as a Split like Pet), and you change which one is active when camping. None of your checks can be TN3.
• Next is Temperament, which you choose from a list. This describes how you feel about things in general. Just because you're Easy-Going doesn't mean you don't get angry.
• Every player starts with a Rod, Tacklebox, and 3 Snacks (unless the type modifies the starting equipment), then you can pick another piece of Equipment.

Seems pretty straightforward. Some fun Types in there.

• I like how there's Fish Combat and Animal Combat. Treating going for a Fish like a big fight. It's fun.
• There are signature Fighting techniques! These can be taught to you by fish, or NPCs, but one player cannot teach another player. It's like your signature fishing moves.
• They also exist for Animal Combat!
• In Fish Combat, the GM picks a fish appropriate for the body of water, and does not tell the Fisher what it is. GM only reveals facts as they become relevant. (There is an ability that lets you see exactly what fish is on the hook)
• OH! OH FISH COMBAT LOOKS COOL IN THEORY.

Fish Combat

• Every Odd numbered turn, the Fish picks a target number between 1 and 7, during the even number rounds, the player picks a TN between 1 and 6.
• The Fish and the Fisher roll what's called a Stand Firm roll, which is modified by gear and abilities to get extra dice. If you succeed, you move on to the next round, if you fail, you need to Hang On.
• Since you get a level of Stress (in combat) or Exhaustion (carried over from out of combat) for failing a roll, failing this gives you a point of Stress, and you immediately have to make a TN3 Hang On test (which goes up to 4 with 1 Stress). If you succeed, you hang on and the next round starts. When someone fails to hang on, the fish is either caught, your you lose it.
• All Stress gets cleared at the end of Fish and Animal combat. Exhaustion stays.
• If you fail to catch the fish, you suffer a Setback, due to the loss of morale (or your favorite lure), and a level of Exhaustion. The specific fish you faced disappears upon escaping. Others of its species may exist, but that specific one is gone.
• Oh! There are Advanced Fish Combat rules too, that you can mix and match.
• The first, you pick your Gambit (approach) from Cunning, Finesse, and Force. Force beats Finesse, Finesse beats Cunning and Cunning beats Force. You reveal these at the same time as the Fish, and whoever loses, loses 2 dice from the Stand Firm test. You will always keep 1 die, but if you were going to go below 1, you lose the effect of a number of Snacks equal to the number of dice you are unable to lose. If you both select the same approach, you each suffer the effect.
• Next rule is Strain. You willingly sacrifice dice from your pool to inflict the same penalty on the other party, for the rest of the ROUND (Stand Firm and Hold On). Fisher declares first, then Fish declares.
• Third: Yell Encouragement and Using Items. Encouragement allows the other Fishers to help the one doing the Fishing. You can benefit from two Encouragements per round. You can use them both on the same roll or save one for a Hang On roll, should it come to that. Encouragement suppresses a point of Exhaustion or Stress. The helper needs to explain how they're encouraging or helping the other player. Encouragement needs to be declared before the roll because it only works For That Roll.
• Finally, Tagging out! If it's particularly dire, you can have one of your other friends tag in for you. If you tag out, take a point of Exhaustion, clear your Stress, and the fish gets any dice you Strained away back. You can only Tag Out after the Stand Firm roll but before the Hold On roll, so if you lose the first one, you can try to tag out as your stress has mounted, but whoever tags in immediately takes 2 stress. If you tag out, you cannot rejoin the Fish Combat as the one fighting the fish.
• If you win, you get the Fish's Catch Bonus.

I really like these rules in theory. It sounds like a really cool betting game where you have to gauge your skills, abilities, luck and equipment against the Fish, and hope the Snacks you have don't run out. The Catch bonuses on some of these fish are cool, as are some of the Special traits of the fish, such as the Vegetarian Piranha trying to chew through the hook, so catching it is a matter of speed over patience.

• Animal Combat is similar to Fish Combat, except it can be multiple Fishers versus Multiple Animals.

• When the players win, the animal is driven off, and if the Fishers lose, they suffer the animal's Loss Penalty, which could be injury , or other types of Setback.

• Each Fisher picks their Gambits in private still, and for each Fisher gambit, and instead of the Animal losing 2 per loss, they lose 1, because they can lose multiple times. Fishers still lose 2 per lost Gambit. If it's 1v1, it removes 2, like in Fishing.

• Animals Strain first in this combat, because they're usually outnumbered, so they get first opportunity to chunk your dice pool. For players to affect the Animal they need to collectively strain n, where n is the number of Fishers in the combat. For every n dice they collectively strain, the Animal loses 1. This means Straining becomes more powerful the fewer participants there are, as things get more desperate.

• There is also rules for Mixed Combat, such as when a bear wants the Fish you have on the hook.

• THE GAME MENTIONS HOW IT CAN BE USED AS A BEACH EPISODE

• They also include a Default Fish of Legends stat block, as well as a way to build your own. There are also other Legendary Fish that aren't the Game Winning Fish.

Overall, this is a really slick game. I like the ebb and flow of combat. I like how Snacks can be used each round (either your own or an ally can give you one) to either dispel a point of stress or give you a bonus die (2 snacks per round max). I like how this encourages you to catch fish to convert hem to snacks too. This feels like a great game for players of a lot of ages, and might make a really interesting afternoon of play.