Fishing in Stardew Valley

Fishing in Stardew Valley is pretty hard and every player knows that. As this game meant to be extremely calm and relaxing, fishing mini game can be called as one of the most intense activities out there. After all, it does not matter whether you enjoy some stressful moments or if you play this game for peaceful and soothing atmosphere – this Stardew Valley fishing guide is a must-see for everyone, plus there is a bunch of bonus tips for you to try out.

Short Stardew Valley fishing guide

You must know the basics of how to fish in Stardew Valley. Your main item is fishing rod. The very first rod is Bamboo Pole, which you receive from Willy for free. After you get it, head to the beach, river or pear and stand next to it. Select Bamboo Pole from your inventory and click your left mouse button, hold it so that your throw-bar could fill up and then release. A notification with a beeping sound means that you got something and a mini-game will be triggered, where the fish icon must stay in a green bar.

You must know the most important features about fishing rods, tackles, baits and fishing spots if you want to not only learn the fishing game, but master it too.

Fishing rod

Stardew Valley keeps the game functional, but not too complicated – there are only 3 different rods available in the game:

• Bamboo Pole – the cheapest fishing rod in Stardew Valley, which is obtained for free from Willy or can be bought for 500g. Actually, it is just a pole with a hook, which does not allow to use any baits or tackles.
• Fiberglass Rod – can be bought from Willy for 1800g. This rod requires a level 2 at fishing, and you can use a fishing bait on it.
• Iridium Rod – the most expensive rod in Stardew Valley comes with a price tag of 7500g. You must be at least at level 6 to get an ability to buy this rod. The main advantage of iridium rod is that you can use not only a fishing bait, but a fishing tackle too.

Many people on the internet are asking whether there are more advantages than using a bait and tackle. The answer is – no. Only benefits are that you will be able to use a fishing bait if you buy a fiberglass rod and both fishing bait and fishing tackle if you buy an iridium rod.

Fishing tackle and bait

7 types of tackles and 3 types of baits are available in Stardew Valley. Each of them has different and very useful features, so that all your needs could be easily fulfilled.

All tackles can be bought at Willy’s and almost all of them can be crafted too.

It is up to you to choose which one is for you:

• Spinner and Dressed Spinner – slightly increases the bite-rate when fishing and decreases the maximum delay before nibble by 3.75 seconds and 7.5 seconds, respectively.
• Trap Bobber – with a help of this tackle, your catching bar will decrease 66% slower.
• Cork Bobber – slightly increases a fishing bar in which a fish must remain to catch it.
• Lead Bobber – the cheapest fishing tackle. It only adds some weight to the fishing bar to prevent it from bouncing.
• Treasure Hunter – increases a chance to catch the treasure by 33%.
• Barbed Hook – makes fishing game much easier by sticking a fishing bar next to a fish while catching it. But a bar sticks only when a fish is in it, otherwise fishing can be even harder. This tackle requires some personal skills to handle it properly.

Like tackles, baits also can be crafted or bought from Willy’s. As we mentioned earlier, only three types of baits are available, but each of them is very unique:

• Bait – takes less time to attract fish and lowers the chance of getting trash items.
• Magnet – increases the chance of getting the treasure by 100%. Fish are not very interested in this bait by the way.
• Wild Bait – this one can be only crafted and you must obtain a receipt from Linus first. To do that, visit his tent at around 8 PM. The wild bait has a slightly higher bite rate than simple bait.

How to choose the right fishing tackle and bait?

The choice of tackle and bait depends on your skills and needs:

• Easy fishing – you should definitely consider using trap bobber tackle, as it slows down the fishing bar decrease by 66%. Barbed hook is also very helpful if used correctly, because if the fish is very quick, the “glued” feature can become a nightmare. Both spinners and cork bobber also can help you, but the advantages are not very noticeable.
• Treasure hunting – if you want to get more treasure, use treasure hunter tackle, as it increases a chance to catch a treasure by 33%. Along with this tackle, use a magnet bait, which increases a treasure chance by 100%. To sum up, the chance to catch a treasure raises up to about 40% instead of 15%!
• Fast fishing – Use simple or dressed spinner for better bite-rate together with a simple or wild bait, which also decreases the time needed for fish to bite.

Every player has his own needs, because of that, experimenting is very important in this game and you also should try various different setups and find out, which of them fits your fishing style the best.

Best fishing spots

Thinking of some better fishing spots with a higher chance of catching something impressive? There are some places with higher valuable fish and treasures rate and we selected some best of the best fishing spots for you:

1. East south of the mine entrance. (People are lucky to catch mostly golden fish here!)
   

   East south of the mine entrance

2. Just south of your house. (Near to your home, great for fishing before sleep)
   

   Fishing spot near your home

3. Below the path of Jodi’s house. (Easy to find, valuable location)
   

   Below the path of Jodi’s house – one of the best fishing spots

4. On the second island in the mini lake. (Very generous, golden rated fishing location)
   

   Golden rated fishing location

5. Mouth of the river. (Accessible from both sides)
   

   Fishing location – Mouth of the river

6. Below the Leah’s house. (Stand exactly like in the picture)
   

   Another great fishing location

These locations are found out to be the best in the whole Stardew Valley. Try them out and you will see for yourself!

Fish locations

Specific types of fish are living in a relevant locations and only show up at the certain time. This super informative table shows everything you need or want to know about all types of fish locations and life in the game.

Fishing level system

Leveling up in fishing is vital in this game. Every level gives new abilities or unlock new items, which makes fishing even more successful. With success comes bigger interest!

You can raise your level by fishing. To see all benefits of each level, take a look at the leveling system table below:

Fishing tips

You probably read a bunch of different articles and watched dozens of videos to find some good fishing tips. To make it easier for you, we took our time to do some in-game and online research. These are the things, which will help you to greatly improve yourself in fishing:

• Track you fishing level, because as soon as you level up, you can get some new useful items and possibilities to catch more expensive fish!
• Cast your line as far as possible from the shore – closer to the shore you are fishing, the higher chance to catch trash items is. (Your casting distance will be improved by 2 tiles by the level 8).
• Cast your line to darker areas – dark areas in the water are the deepest and the best quality fish live there.
• Wild bait is not worth its crafting materials – wild bait only gives a little higher bite rate than a simple bait, but wild bait takes much more resources to make.
• Lead bobber tackle is almost useless – fishing bar will be less bouncy if it reaches the bottom (which almost never happens). Better choose some other tackle instead.
• Easier the catch – easier the leveling up. Go fishing to pond for raising fishing level. There are many easy-to-catch fishes.
• Master the fishing mini game – do not move the fishing bar if the fish is not near the top of the bar. Click it only when you see that the fish is going to get above the bar. Once you get used to that, the fishing game will be as easy and fortunate as it could be. One of the easiest ways to keep the bar floating as you wish is by tapping the button.
• If you are very tight on time, just quit to desktop by the end of the unsuccessful day – progress will not be saved and you will be able to start the same day all over again.
• If you do not like fishing, all you need to do is to reach level 5 in fishing and a trapper will be unlocked. You can place it in a river and just fill with bait daily.

Successful fishing is all about experience – just keep trying and you will surely get to the point.

Fish tank

Stardew Valley has a community center, which is forgotten by everyone and your goal is to revive it. Fish tank is one of a few community center parts, which requires some work to fix.

You need to complete six bundles to get a reward, which is a brand new fish tank and removed Glittering Boulder to the left of The Mines entrance, which gives you an ability to collect metal ores and other various items from bodies of water.

Bundles that are needed for a fish tank:

1. River fish bundle (Sunfish, Catfish, Shad, Tiger Trout. Reward: 30 Bait);
2. Lake fish bundle (Largemouth Bass, Carp, Bullhead, Sturgeon. Reward: Dressed spinner);
3. Ocean fish bundle (Sardine, Tuna, Red Snapper, Tilapia. Reward: Warp Totem Beach);
4. Night fishing bundle (Walleye, Bream, Eel. Reward: Small Glow Ring);
5. Crab Pot Bundle (Lobster, Crayfish, Crab, Cockle, Mussel, Shrimp, Snail, Periwinkle, Oyster, Clam. Reward: Crab Pot);
6. Specialty fish bundle (Pufferfish, Ghostfish, Sandfish, Woodskip. Reward: Dish o’ The Sea);

Fish tank before completing bundles:

Fish tank after completing bundles: