Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the game loop! I really appreciate the feedback - and I agree that more guidance would've been better.
In terms of your experience, I think it was coincidental that you had just caught a fish when you died. What probably happened is your boat was off, which, you have a limited amount of time to turn it back on (if you're away from home) or you will get killed. I also think I should have made it more clearer what exactly is killing you in those situations.