Stardew Valley Fishing: A Beginner’s Guide

Fishing plays an important role in maintaining a successful and wealthy farm in Stardew Valley. As soon as you start the game, you will receive a message telling you to get to the beach and catch fish. Your catches serve as your main source of income in the game. You can also cook them and use them as gifts for Stardew Valley NPCs so you can build relationships with them. But like in real life, Stardew Valley fishing is a skill that requires patience.

You can catch fish in Stardew Valley on almost any body of water using rods with bait and tackle. However, many factors can affect the number of your catches. Some locations have a larger variety of fish to catch. Some aquatic lives are also endemic on certain parts of the map and tend to be harder to bait. In addition, changes in the season and weather conditions may or may not give you a bounty catch. Top that with the fishing minigame and Stardew Valley fishing is a lot more work than it should be.

That said, catching Stardew Valley fish could turn stressful than relaxing. Before you lose your last straw of patience, we have put up this Stardew Valley fishing tutorial to keep you company.

Also read: Stardew Valley on Mobile: A Beginner’s Guide

Stardew Valley Fishing Mini-Game: Casting and Catching Explained

There are two stages that players have to go through when fishing on Stardew Valley: the casting and the catching minigames.

Casting Your Fishing Line

The casting, which is the first step, involves throwing your fishing line into the water. As simple as it may sound, casting your rod also requires technique and good coordination.

Once you decide to toss the fishing rod, a bar will appear above your character’s head with an indicator that turns from red to green. Releasing the cast button when the indicator bar is green will land your hook or sinkers at a greater distance. Ideally, you want to get the maximum distance because it will give you a good chance to catch rare species and even legendary fish. If there is, you would also want to aim for a pool of bubbles in the water. Fish in this area tend to be of better quality and take baits quicker. Once you cast your fishing line, all you need to do next is to wait.

Also read: How to Catch Legendary Stardew Valley Fish

Catching the Fish

As soon as an exclamation mark above your head and the word “Hit” appear, the catching minigame will begin. Another interface should appear on your screen that is divided into two parts: the fish bar and the progress bar.

The progress bar, which turns from red to green, indicates how close you are to catching a fish. Green means you are about to catch your prey, while red means you are losing it. Of course, your goal is to keep the progress bar green.

To do this, you have to keep the green bar behind the fish that is on the other half of the interface. The fish will move up and down the catch bar and you need to maneuver the green bar to follow it. Tapping your screen will make the green bar go up while releasing your touch will make it go down. If you manage to keep the fish in the green bar until the progress bar is full, then you will have a successful catch.

This isn’t your only goal, though, because you should also aim for a “perfect catch,” which will increase your experience and the quality of the fish you catch. To do this, you should be able to catch a fish without it leaving the green bar ever.

Helpful Tip When Catching Fish: Know Their Behavior

Every Stardew Valley Fish has unique behavior that will determine how hard, or easy, you can catch them. Getting familiar with their behavior and movement patterns will help you get a perfect catch more often during fishing mini-games.

Stardew Valley Fish are divided into five general classifications in terms of how hard it is to catch them. There are those with “mixed” behavior that show basic movements inside the catch bar. Fish with “smooth” behavior is more subtle and has consistent movements. Sinkers are fish that have faster downward acceleration while Floaters are fish with faster upward movements. On the other hand, Darts are the hardest to catch because of their erratic downward and upwards movement.

Understanding Fishing Rods on Stardew Valley

When fishing on Stardew Valley, there’s nothing more important than a fishing rod. What else do you need for fishing? There are different types of fishing rods, though, and you must understand that one is always better than the other.

Training Rod

The training rod is the easiest fishing rod to use because it has a bigger green bar. However, it can only manage to catch common types of fish. You can obtain a training rod at Willy’s fish shop for 25g.

 Bamboo Rod

On your second day in Stardew Valley, you will receive an invitation from Willy the fisherman to fish. In exchange for accepting his invitation, you will receive a bamboo rod from him. You can also purchase it from his shop for 500g. A bamboo rod is a good tool to get accustomed to fishing while you are waiting for more superior fishing rods to unlock.

Fiberglass Rod

A fiberglass rod is a better alternative than the previous fishing rods because it allows you to attach a bait. It also improves the range of your fishing line that can give you good quality catches — rare types of fish tend to lurk farther from the shore. You can buy a fiberglass rod from Willy for 1800g once you reach level three in fishing.

Iridium Rod

The Iridium rod is the best and also the most expensive fishing on Stardew Valley. Because it allows you to use a tackle and bait, rare might come easily to you. You can obtain an Iridium rod upon reaching level six in fishing for 7500G.

Stardew Valley Bait and Tackle Explained

Bait and tackle are not a requirement when fishing on Stardew Valley, but having them may significantly increase the quality and quantity of your catches.

Stardew Valley Bait

You need either a Fiberglass rod or an Iridium Rod to use bait in Stardew Valley. Using one will encourage fish to bite faster to your fishing line, therefore making fishing easier. You may buy this item from Willie or craft one if you don’t have enough funds.

Stardew Valley Tackles

Tackles are better than bait because they increase the likelihood of you catching rare fish. They also have durability and you can use them up to 20 times. However, you can only attach them to Iridium Rod.

Stardew Valley Fishing Locations and Seasons in Stardew Valley

There are at least 60 species of fish in Stardew Valley. But keep in mind that not all of them are available in every location or in every season. Some fish may not be available during Winter but bountiful during Summer. In the same manner, some fish may be plentiful in Pelican Town but lacking in the Cindersap Forest.

There are 18 fishing locations in Stardew Valley so far. But for brevity, we break them down into Ocean, Lake, River, and Pond. This list won’t also include the Legendary Fish, Night Market Fish, and Crab Pot Fish.

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

Start Fishing on Stardew Valley

Fishing on Stardew Valley can be your main source of income to fend for your flourishing farm. You may find it challenging, especially during catching minigames but the more you do it, the more you’d get used to it. There are Stardew Valley mods that can make fishing easier for you, but where’s the fun in that? If it’s unbearable for you, you may also use a more advanced fishing rod and attach it with baits or tackles. They encourage fish to nibble faster, change the fishing minigame mechanics, and make catching fish significantly less difficult. Who knows, you may even catch a legendary fish.

Looking for an alternative to this game? Here are some mobile games like Stardew Valley to try.