Using the joystick the player is able to move the fishing line left, right, up, and down in the water.

Pressing the fire button on the joystick reels in the fish faster.

The shark that roams the water will try to eat hooked fish before they surface.

The more valuable fish sit at the bottom, but they are harder to bring in as they run a higher risk of being eaten by the shark.

In Video magazine's "Arcade Alley" column, Fishing Derby was characterized as "imaginative, colorful, and fun" providing children with "better animation than Saturday morning TV and provid[ing] adults with a subtle game of skill".