Along with fishing, one of my other great hobbies is video/computer games, along with raising poison dart frogs, but that's another subject. There are quite a few fishing games out, and I've played most of them. I thought I would kind of give a mini-review of some of the more recent ones. I'm hoping that people will find this list useful for killing a few hours where you can't go fishing for real.
I always get asked, "Why are you wasting time in front of a TV when you could be fishing?" First thing to note is: These games are NOT meant to replace fishing in real life. They are meant to give you a fishing experience when conditions aren't right for fishing in real life. Like for instance if it's late at night, the wrong season, or you don't have enough time to go out. Most fishing games focus on bass fishing, but there are exceptions. They generally fall into two catigories:
1.) 'Simulation' games which try to replicate the experience as closely as possible, including weather, season, time of day, temperature, lure choice and color, ect. Finding and hooking the fish is half the battle.
2.) 'Arcade' games which focus on the excitement of hooking and landing the fish. Getting the fish to bite in these games is often rediculously easy because almost the entire game is focused on the fight.
I'll break the titles down by console.
Dreamcast: The now defunct Dreamcast is probably the best console for fishing games. There are only 3, but they are some of the best titles, and there is a fishing controller that resembles a baitcasting reel available. These consoles are also cheap, I recently bought another one at a local game store that trades in used games and consoles for $30, including controller, console, and memory card. The reel controller and 2 of the fishing games set me back another $18 on ebay.
Sega Bass Fishing 1 & 2: Like the title says, these games focus on bass fishing. They are arcade style titles, which means that they focus is hauling in as much fish as you can as soon as possible. You can unlock new lures and upgrade your gear. Visually, they look very good. The fish are modeled correctly and are very lifelike in their movements. Did I mention that all the fish are bass? No trout, no sunfish, no catfish, just bass. SBF2 came out a few years later, so it looks nicer and has more features. Of the two, SBC2 is by far harder to find, but it is worth the look. Like most of the games on this list, once you cast the camera switches to just ahead of your lure. Think of trolling one of those Aqua-Vue cameras. You can actually see the fish approach and take the bait. And oh, except for one game, all of the games on this list are lure-only.
Sega Marine Fishing: This is basically a version of SBF that takes place in the south Atlantic. It is based off an arcade game of the same name, and has two modes: arcade which sets pound limits of fish you can catch in a certain amount of time, and original mode which I'll go into more detail on in a minute. There are many different kinds of fish you can catch, including stingrays, mako sharks, marlin and tuna.
In original mode, it has three sections: a mini-game mode where you can play up to 5 mini-games to unlock items, the free fishing mode where you can get the items, and an aquarium mode where you can view your museum-sized aquarium. As you catch fish in the free fishing mode, you can get new lures, new clothing, and new stuff for your aquarium, such as fish, rocks, divers, even whales. There is an online tournament ranking, but it requires the modem and since the DC is dead, I'm not sure if it's still up anyway.
Playstation 2: The PS2 is kind of shafted as far as fishing games go. This is by far the most popular console, but it has a very small selection of fishing games, and an even smaller selection of once that are worth playing. There is also no dedicated fishing controller, you have to use the PS2's Dual Shock 2. There are a few good ones, though. Here they are:
Reel Fishing III: This is by far the best of the fishing games for the PS2. It atually has a storyline to it. The story is that a friend who owns a cabin has had to take a trip, and has asked you to look after it while he's gone. When you first get there, you're approached by his black lab, which you get to name. This is a sim game. You can control a lot about the environment, have many different types of lures, and you can even go flyfishing. This is also the only game that has bait. You can pick several different settings, including rivers (the only game in the list that has them) and fish for many different types of fish such as carp, trout, and bluegills. Like SMF, it has an aquarium mode, where you can feed and view the fish that you've caught. The difference is that you can fee them and after they've grown, you can release them back into the lake to catch them again.
This game is unsual also in that the camera doesn't switch to the underwater view. You cast out, work your lure/bait and when a fish approaches it switches to an overhead view from above the surface. Once you've met certain goals, your friend will send you letters (which are delivered by the dog) that have notes and tips about the fish and fishing, and sometimes new lures. This is the game that comes closest to the real fishing experience, IMHO, and as budget title, it can be had for around $20.
Sega Bass Fishing Duel: This is basically the same game as SBF2, with the addition of a two player mode. Except for the fact you can't use the fishing controller.
Xbox: There is only one fishing game out for the Xbox, so there's not a lot of choice. I wrote a reader review on Gamespot, so I'm just going to C&P my review for the game here, rather than trying to re-invent the wheel.
Pro Cast Sports Fishing: Fishing games generally fall into two catigories: 'sim' games that try to replicate everything about the actual fishing experience as closely as possible, and 'arcade' games that focus on hooking and bringing in as many fish as fast as possible. This game is one of the latter, and bears a strong resemblance to Sega Bass Fishing 1 & 2. You have a decent selection of lures and equipment, but emphasis is on the action. Most of the major classes of lures are represented, and they all behave for the most part like their real world counterparts. The 'simulation' mode of this game isn't like other fishing games where you have a livewell where you can keep a certain number of fish, and only their weight is ranked. Rather, in addition to measuring the weight and length of your catch, all bass count for points, which can be used to upgrade your gear, get tips, and enter tournaments. When in tournement mode, the total weight of all the bass that you catch is ranked against computer players. You go on if you get in the top 10, and there are large point bonuses for getting in the top 3. There's also an arcade mode, which lets you play one tournament after another at no cost with no points awarded for either the fish caught or winning, and a free fishing mode where there is a longer time limit, but the only points you get are from the fish you catch. There are 8 different fishing areas, and all of them are distinctly different. The graphics are decent, but there is some pop-up, and clipping is noticable on the fishes' fins as they move. The water effects are really good, though.
There are a few minor issues that I have with the game, though. For one thing, you can't adjust the distance of your cast. An arrow shows your casting spot, and if you happen to be too close to shore, then you have to move your boat, which is kind of a pain. And while the equipment is good, there's too many upgrades that negate previous upgrades. Why bother to buy the next best line when you can just get the best line instead? Another thing that's kind of annoying is that there's no depth meter. The game tells you how much line you have out, but you have to guess how deep your lure is. There's also no stamina meter for the fish. One more thing that I would have changed is that the tournaments are far too short. The free fishing mode gives you about half an hour, but the tournaments literally last about 5 minutes. That's barely enough time to motor around the area, and I would have preferred them to be longer. The last niggle is that the controller vibrates whenever you have a fish on. Since that's about 80% of the game, it's practically enough to make your hands go numb. Overall, this game isn't bad for Capcom's first fishing game, and it's still worth a look.
. I haven't played it in years but used to rent it all the time. It was called "King Salmon" I believe. You basically trolled around looking for schools of salmon and you had to pick the right bait and depth, was funny cause you could use squid and herring and some other baits that I don't remember. Wasn't the most entertaining game but at least you were fishing for salmon 
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