How exactly does the Knife work?

Question

I just bought the Knife item, which has the following description:

Talk about boring! Lets you cut your line mid-fishing and return to the surface.

I accidentally cut it the first time I had it after purchasing it while I was on the way back to the surface. I stopped reeling in and it immediately gave me cash. I want to know the following:

• Will the game give me the full amount of what the fish are worth if I cut it early or is there some sort of "penalty"?
• If I catch a new species of fish and use the Knife, will that fish show up in my Fish-O-Pedia?
• Basically, does this make the game easier by making it so you don't have to worry about missing fish when you're shooting them?

Answer 1

The game will give you the full amount for the fish you killed on your way down. As soon as the fish is 'killed' you will have obtained the species in the Fish-O-Pedia expect for a very specific case.* It will NOT give you money for any fish on the hook. The cash you saw is purely from those that died on the way down.

It doesn't necessarily make the game easier, but it makes it faster as it takes a while to go back up to the surface when you are really deep. The main benefit is that if you feel like you 'screwed up' too early, such as wasting one of your electro shocks within the first 100 feet, you can quickly abort a run to try another deep dive.

Oh, and I recommend getting the auto shotgun, its imo the best gun for fish shooting. You don't have to worry about missing if you use that.

* Spoilers:

There are 4 special fish in home waters you can obtain in home waters that requires you to not kill them with the saw or electricity.