Fishing in the Valley

All Photos Are From Stardew Valley Wiki

Last week I shared with you crucial information about farming and foraging in Stardew Valley. This week I am going to now share with you the skill of fishing within the game. Within this post I will talk about how to fish, fishing rods and other tackle, different fish you can catch and when, and locations where you can fish.

How to Fish

If you are new to the game, fishing can be a tad bit confusing, but once you know the mechanics it’s easy to get used to. First, you are going to need a fishing pool. You can buy a basic fishing pole from Willy the fishermen (Ill talk about other types of fishing rods later on). Once you have a rod you can start catching fish. When you are at a body of water first you want to left-click (or press x if your playing on a console). Once you left-click your character will cast out into the water. Once you see the word hit appear above your character then left-click again to hook a fish. Then you will be prompted with a meter on either side of your screen. The meter consisted of a vertical bar with a fish icon and a green brick also known as the fishing bar) and on the right-hand side, there is a  progress bar. Your goal is to keep the fish icon within the fishing bar. To do this you need to hold and or left click to move the green brick as the fish icon moves up and down. If you are successful at doing this the process bar will go up and turn to green. However, if you fail the keep the fish icon within the bar, the process meter will go to red and you will lose the fish.

Treasure Chest

At times when fishing, a treasure chest icon will appear within the meter. If you move the fishing bar to that icon until you obtain the chest. It can be risky at times to get chests because you got to make sure your process meter doesn’t run out while trying to obtain it. Also, if you get a chest but later lose the fish, you will not get the chest. You never know what you will get in the chests, but sometimes it is worth risking it all for.

Fishing Rods

Training Rod

Within the game, there are four different fishing rods. The most basic fishing rod is the training rod. The rod only cost 25 gold, but you cannot use bait or tackle with this rod. It’s a great rod to start out with when first learning how to fish.

Bamboo Rod

The next tier of fishing rods is the bamboo rod. The bamboo rod is similar to the trainer rod because you still can’t use bait or tackle with it. However, with this rod, you are able to catch a little bit more of a variety of fish. This rod cost 500 gold.

Fiberglass Rod

The third fishing rod available to you is the fiberglass rod. This rod is definitely an upgrade from the other two because you can use bait with this fishing rod. The cost of the rod is 1,800 gold, but you cannot purchase it until you are at skill level 2 of fishing

Iridium Rod

The last rod that is available to you in-game is the iridium rod. This rod is the best in the game for multiple reasons. With this rod, you can virtually catch any fish in the game and you are able to use both baits and tackle with the rod. To get this rod you need to be at skill level 6 and pay 7,500 gold for it.

Crab Pots

Using crab pots is a different way to “fish” within the game. You can buy them for 50 gold each or craft them with 40 wood and 3 iron bars. To use these pots all you have to do is place them into a body of water and put bait into them by clicking the pot with bait in your hand. You don’t catch normal fish in these pots, instead, you get things like a clam, cockle, crab, crayfish, lobster, mussel, oyster, periwinkle, shrimp, and snails.

Tackle and Bait

Bait

Within the game, there are three different types of bait that you can use to help you catch fish. First, we have just normal bait. You can create this bait by crafting it with bug meat or you can buy it for 5 gold apiece. Next, there is wild bait. This bait is unique and you need to acquire the recipe for it from Linus. The great thing about this type of bait is that you have the chance to catch two fish at once. The last type of bait is magic bait. This bait allows you to catch fish from any season, time, or weather, from whichever type of water you cast into. To get this you need to buy this bait or the recipe from a character named Mr.Qi. You must go to his Walnut Room on Ginger Island to be able to buy it.

Tackle

There is a variety of different tackle that you are able to choose from in the game. First, I am going to discuss how to put a tackle on your rods. Once you have got tackle, you want to go into your inventory and go to your fishing rod (remember that you must have the iridium rod to have tackle). Once you are at your fishing rod you will see two empty boxes. One of these boxes is where you can put tackle and the other is for bait. All you have to do is drag your tackle or bait into the assigned boxes and you are good to go. It’s also important to note that after time your tackle does break so you will have to buy new ones every once in a while. Now I will discuss the different types of tackle available.

Spinner

The shape of this tackle makes it spin around in the water. It also slightly increases the bite-rate when fishing. You can purchase one for 500 gold or craft it with 2 iron bars.

Dressed Spinner

This spinner has a metal tab and colorful streamers to create an enticing spectacle for fish. It increases the bite-rate when fishing more than a normal spinner. You can buy one for 1,000 gold or craft it with 2 iron bars and 1 thing of cloth.

Trap Bobber

This bobber causes fish to escape slower when you aren’t reeling them in. The process bar decreases 66% slower! You can buy this bobber for 500 gold or craft it with 1 copper bar and 10 things of sap.

Cork Bobber

This bobber slightly increases the size of your fishing bar (or the green bar). You can buy this bobber for 750 gold or craft it with 10 wood, 5 hardwood, and 10 things of slime.

Lead Bobber

This bobber adds weight to your “fishing bar”, preventing it from bouncing along the bottom making it easier to catch fish that move a lot. You can buy this bobber for 200 gold, but you cannot craft it

Treasure Hunter

This tackle makes it so fish don’t escape while collecting treasures. It also slightly increases the chance to find treasures (33% chance of treasure). You can buy this tackle for 750g or craft it with 2 gold bars.

Barbed Hook

The barbed hook Makes your catch more secure, causing the fishing bar to cling to your catch. It works best on slow, weakfish. You can buy it for 1,000 gold or craft it with 1 copper, iron, and gold bar.

Curiosity Lure

This lure is special because it can only be found by breaking crates in either the quarry mine, skull cavern, or the volcano dungeon. The lure increases your chances of catching rare fishes.

Quality Bobber

Last but not least is the quality bobber. This tackle increases the quality of fish caught by one level (e.g. silver → gold). You can buy this bobber for 300 gold or craft it with 1 copper bar, 20 sap, and 5 solar essences (you have to obtain the crafting recipe from Willy)

Types of Fish and Fishing Locations

Now that I have discussed the how-tos and items that help you with fishing, we will now go into the different types of fish available and locations to fish. I will list the different location within the game where you can fish and list what fish you are able to catch at each location

The Ocean/Beach

This location is a very popular stop to do fishing within the game. The ocean is located south of Pelican Town. When fishing at this location you can catch a variety of fish like pufferfish, anchovy, tuna, sardine, red mullet, herring, eel, octopus, red snapper, squid, sea cucumber and super cucumber, tilapia, albacore, and halibut.

Rivers in Cindersap Forest and Pelican Town

In Stardew Valley there are two main rivers. One is in Pelican Town and the other is in the Cindersap Forest. There are also rivers in some of different the farm types. Fish that you can catch from rivers are bream, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, salmon, walleye, pike, tiger trout, lingcod, perch, catfish, woodskip, shad, chub, and carp.

The Mountain Lake

In the mountain region, there is a large lake located by the mines. Here you can find fish similar to the one you would find in rivers. Fish you can catch from the lake are largemouth bass, rainbow trout, walleye, perch, carp, midnight carp, sturgeon, bullhead, chub, and lingcod.

The Desert

When you have gain access to the desert, there are special fish you are able to catch. Fish avalible at this location are sandfish and scorpion carp.

The Mines

In some levels of the mines, there are small ponds available to fish in. Fish that you can catch on different levels are ghostfish, ice pip, lava eel, and stonefish

The Sewers

After gaining access to the sewers that run under Pelican Town you are able to catch the unique mutant carp!

Mutant Bug Lair

This lair is accessed through the sewer when completing the Dark Tailsman Quest. There you can catch the slimejack fish.

The Night Market

Within the game, there is an event where there is a night market at the beach for 3 days (Winter day 15-17). At this market, there is a submarine available to dive deep in the ocean and try to catch exotic fish. The deep-ocean fish you can catch are midnight squid, spook fish, and blobfish.

Ginger Island

With the new island within the recent update came with new fishes also. Fishing at the ocean when on Ginger island you are able to catch blue discus, lionfish, and stingray.

Other Factors That Impact Catching Fish

Location plays a big factor in what fish you will catch; however, there are other factors that come into play. The season, time of day, and weather conditions play a role in if you can catch a certain fish or not. For example, let’s say you want to catch a catfish. This fish is only available in the spring and fall, at the time 6am-12am, but it has to be raining to catch them. Every fish has their own special factors so it is hard to tell you all about them here. However, I have a great resource that lists all fish and where and when you can catch them. The source also tells you the selling prices of fish!

Legendary Fish

Within the game, there is also a hand full of fish know as legendary fish. These fish are caught in specific places and have high difficulty. When reeling them in, these fish are shown wearing a hat on your fishing meter. Legendary fish will not appear again on a save file after being caught once. A tip for catching these fish is to use an iridium rod and using the trap bobber or cork bobber. The link above shows you the list of legendaries and where and when to catch them.

Personally, I find fishing to be an enjoyable activity within the game when I am not working on my farm. It is also a great way to make a lot of money within the game other than selling produce you grow on your farm. If you have any questions about fishing don’t be afraid to ask!