Fishing is one of the many activities in the game, and with it you can collect many different types of fish and loot. Fishing is also important for completing several quests in the game, and can provide you with some interesting treasure and loot. Getting the hang of the fishing mini-game is difficult, so read on for everything you need to know about how to fish in Stardew Valley.
Stardew Valley Fishing Basics
Of course, you need a fishing pole and a body of water. You’ll get your first fishing pole from Willy in the early game tutorials. You can upgrade the fishing pole by visiting Willy in his shop at the Beach on the south end of town.
One of the best places to fish is the beach, but you can also fish in any body of water, including rivers, lakes, and even small ponds. The types of fish you can catch depend on what type of body of water you’re fishing in.
To cast your fishing rod, get as close to the water as you can and then click or tap your main “Use Tool” button (left mouse button in the PC version of the game). A distance progress bar appears. Hold the button until it’s as close to full as possible and then release to cast the line. The longer the distance you achieve with your cast, the better types of fish you can catch.
Once you have cast the line, you need to wait for a fish to bite. When this happens, the fishing bobber wiggles and an exclamation point appears about your head. A short sound will also play. Click/tap the use tool button again to launch the fishing mini-game.
Note: you need to click very quickly once the fish bites, otherwise it will swim away.
The Fishing Mini-Game
Once you click/tap after the fish bites, you’ll launch a fishing mini-game. The basic idea is to keep the sliding green bar always behind the fish, which will move up and down, sometimes very quickly.
Clicking/tapping moves the green bar up, and releasing makes it go back down. Note that clicking repeatedly and holding the button produce different effects. Quick short clicks move the bar up in small increments. Clicking and holding makes the bar go up with increasing speed.
There’s a progress meter to the right of the fish. The goal is to get this bar to rise all the way to the top — keeping the green bar behind the fish raises the progress bar while failing to do so makes the progress bar drop. If the progress bar reaches the top, you catch the fish. If it drops to the bottom, the fish gets away!
Once you catch the fish, you’ll see the type of fish you caught and its size in length. If this is the longest fish of its type that you’ve caught, you’ll get a message letting you know you have set a new record. You can review your Collections menu to see all the fish you’ve caught and your record length for each type.
Getting a Perfect Catch
If you keep the green bar behind the fish the entire time, you will earn a “perfect catch.” Getting a perfect catch earns you extra fishing XP and improves the quality of the fish. Silver level fish become gold level, and gold level fish become iridium level. Normal fish do not improve to silver level with a perfect catch. Note that getting a perfect catch is the only way to obtain an iridium-level fish.
Types of Fish in Stardew Valley
There are many different types of fish you can catch in Stardew Valley, and the available types at any given time are determined by a few key factors:
- The season (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter)
- The weather
- The body of water and area of the maps where you are fishing
- The time of day
Treasure Chests
There’s a small random chance that a treasure chest will appear in the fishing mini-game when you hook a fish. To get the treasure chest, you need to keep the moving green bar under the chest for a few seconds. However, you need to also remember to keep the bar under the fish. If you lose the fish, you also lose the chest!
If you manage to capture both the treasure chest and the fish, then the treasure chest will provide loot. The loot is random, and ranges from Bait, Coal, Rice Shoots and Gold Ore (the most common types of loot) to pairs of boots and rings (the rarest types of loot).
The base chance of seeing a chest while fishing is 15%. You can improve the chances of getting a chest with a Magnet (a type of bait), the Treasure Hunter (a type of tackle), or by having the Pirate Profession, which becomes a choice when you reach level 10 in Fishing.
Fishing with Bait and Tackle
You can use Bait and Tackle to improve your fishing in Stardew Valley. To use bait, you need to have either a Fiberglass fishing rod or an Iridium fishing rod. Both are available for purchase from Willy’s Fish Shop next to the Beach. To use tackle, you must have an Iridium fishing rod. The Iridium rod is available once you reach level 6 in fishing.
Bait
Bait reduces the waiting time for fish to bite or improves your chances of getting a treasure box while fishing. There are three types of bait that you can attach to your rod:
- Bait
This is the basic type of bait, and it reduces the waiting time for fish to bite by 50%. It also lowers the chance of catching trash items instead of fish. You can craft bait using Bug Meat and the recipe is available once you reach Fishing level 2. - Magnet
A magnet doubles your chance of getting a treasure box while fishing. It raises the probability from 15% to 30%. You can craft a magnet using an Iron Bar, and it’s available as a recipe once you reach Fishing level 9. - Wild Bait
This is a unique recipe you can get from Linus. It decreases the time taken for fish to bite by 62.5%. It also gives you a small chance to catch two fish at once. Wild Bait is crafted from Fiber, Slime, and Bug Meat. You are eligible to get the recipe from Linus once you reach four hearts of friendship with him. Once you have the four hearts, approach his Tent at night (between 8 pm and 12 am) on a day when it’s not raining.
To attach bait to your fishing rod, first click on the bait you want to use. Then right-click on your fishing rod. Remember that you can only attach bait to a Fiberglass or Iridium Rod.
Bait can be used several times before it wears out and must be replaced.
Tackle
Tackle can be attached to an Iridium Rod to make it faster and easier to catch fish. There are several types of tackle available in Stardew Valley:
- Spinner
This tackle reduces the maximum delay before a fish bites by 3.75 seconds. You can purchase one for 500g or craft it using 2 iron bars. - Dressed Spinner
This tackle reduces the maximum delay before a fish bites by 7.5 seconds. You can purchase one for 1,000g or craft it using 2 iron bars and 1 cloth. - Trap Bobber
The green bar used to catch fish in the fishing mini-game slows down by 66%. This tackle can be purchased for 500g or you can craft it with 1 copper bar and 10 sap. - Cork Bobber
This tackle slightly increases the size of the green bar in the fishing mini-game, making it easier to catch fish and treasure chests. You can purchase one for 750g or craft one using 10 wood, 5 hardwood, and 10 slime. - Lead Bobber
This tackle adds weight to your green fishing bar, preventing it from bouncing at the bottom. It costs 200g to purchase, and cannot be crafted. - Treasure Hunter
This tackle increases your chance of finding a treasure chest while fishing by one-third (increases likelihood from 15% to 20%). - Barbed Hook
This makes the green fishing bar “stick” to the fish. It automatically moves up and down to try and keep the fish in the middle of the bar. It works best with slower, weaker fish. You can purchase one for 1,000g or craft one with 1 copper bar, 1 iron bar, and 1 gold bar.
To use tackle, make sure you have an Iridium Rod, which you can purchase from Willy’s Fish Shop once you reach level 9 in Fishing. First click/tap on the tackle you want to use and then right-click on the rod. You can use tackle and bait together if you want.
Each tackle can be used 20 times before it wears out and must be replaced.
Bobbers and Bubbles
The distance you cast your line and bobber has an impact on both the quality of the fish you catch and the chance to catch more valuable types of fish. The general rule is you want to cast your line and bobber as far from the shore as possible.
When casting, try to stand as close to the edge of the water as possible. Click/tap to cast and then try to release when the green progress bar is almost full. If you get it just right, you’ll see the word “Max” appear above the progress bar.
If you see bubbles in the water, try to land your bobber in them. Bubbles significantly improve the speed of fish bites on your line, and also improve the types of fish you’ll catch.
Fishing Areas
The types of fish you can catch vary by area, season, and time of day. Here is a look at the main types of fish you can catch in each of the major areas of the map.
Pelican Town
This area covers all of the main buildings in the town. The main fishing spots are along the rivers that flow east-west and north-south through the town.
Spring
- Sunfish (Sunny day only, 6am – 7pm)
- Catfish (Rainy day only)
- Green Algae
- Smallmouth Bass
- Shad (Rainy day only, after 9 am)
- Bream (6pm or later)
Summer
- Rainbow Trout (Sunny day only, 6 am – 7 pm)
- Sunfish (Sunny day only, 6 am – 7 pm)
- Green Algae
- Pike
- Shad (Rainy day only, after 9 am)
- Bream (6 pm or later)
Fall
- Salmon (6 am – 7 pm)
- Tiger Trout (6 am – 7 pm)
- Catfish (Rainy day only, 6 am – 12 am)
- Green Algae
- Smallmouth Bass
- Shad (Rainy day only, after 9 am)
- Walleye (Rainy day only, after 12 am)
- Bream (6 pm or later)
Winter
- Tiger Trout (6 am – 7 pm)
- Green Algae
- Lingcod
- Perch
- Pike
- Bream (6 pm or later)
The Beach
The Beach is located south of Pelican Town and features ocean fishing.
Spring
- Sardine (6 am to 7 pm)
- Flounder (6 am to 8 pm)
- Anchovy
- Herring
- Seaweed
- Halibut (6 am to 11 am, and 7 pm to 2 am)
- Eel (Rainy day only, after 4 pm)
Summer
- Octopus (6 am to 1 pm)
- Tilapia (6 am to 2 pm)
- Red Mullet (6 am to 7 pm)
- Red Snapper (Rainy day only, 6 am to 7 pm)
- Tuna (6 am to 7 pm)
- Flounder (6 am to 8 pm)
- Seaweed
- Halibut (6 am to 11 am, and 7 pm to 2 am)
- Pufferfish (Sunny day only, 12 pm to 4 pm)
- Super Cucumber (after 6 pm)
Fall
- Tilapia (6 am to 2 pm)
- Red Snapper (Rainy day only, 6 am to 7 pm)
- Sardine (6 am to 7 pm)
- Sea Cucumber (6 am to 7 pm)
- Anchovy
- Seaweed
- Albacore (6 am to 11 am, and 6 pm to 2 am)
- Eel (Rainy day only, 4 pm to 2 am)
- Super Cucumber (after 6 pm)
Winter
- Red Mullet (6 am to 2 pm)
- Sardine (6 am to 7 pm)
- Sea Cucumber (6 am to 7 pm)
- Tuna (6 am to 7 pm)
- Herring
- Red Snapper (Rainy day only, 6 am to 7 pm)
- Seaweed
- Albacore (6 am to 11 am, and 6 pm to 2 am)
- Halibut (6 am to 11 am, and 7 pm to 2 am)
- Squid (after 6 pm)
Cindersap Forest
Cindersap forest is a large, wooded area to the south of your farm. It features Marnie’s barn in the north end and the Wizard’s tower on the west side. The forest has two fishing spots: a pond in the middle of the area and a river along the southern end.
Spring
- Sunfish (River only, Sunny day only, 6 am to 7 pm)
- Catfish (River only, Rainy day only, 6 am to midnight)
- Chub (River only)
- Green Algae (Both)
- Smallmouth Bass (Pond only)
- Shad (River only, Rainy day only, after 9 am)
- Bream (River only, after 6 pm)
Summer
- Dorado (River only, 6am to 7 pm)
- Rainbow Trout (River only, Sunny day only, 6 am to 7 pm)
- Sunfish (River only, Sunny day only, 6 am to 7 pm)
- Chub (River only)
- Green Algae (Both)
- Pike (Both)
- Shad (River only, Rainy day only, after 9 am)
- Bream (River only, after 6 pm)
Fall
- Salmon (River only, 6 am to 7 pm)
- Tiger Trout (River only, 6 am to 7 pm)
- Catfish (River only, Rainy day only, 6 am to midnight)
- Chub (River only)
- Midnight Carp (Pond only, after 10 pm)
- Green Algae (Both)
- Smallmouth Bass (Pond only)
- Shad (River only, Rainy day only, after 9 am)
- Walleye (Both, Rainy day only, after 12 pm)
- Bream (River only, after 6 pm)
Winter
- Tiger Trout (River only, 6 am to 7 pm)
- Chub (River only)
- Midnight Carp (Pond only, after 10 pm)
- Green Algae (Both)
- Lingcod (River only)
- Perch (Both)
- Pike (Both)
- Bream (River only, after 6 pm)
Catch all those tips? Now you know better than most how to fish in Stardew Valley!
