Stardew Valley Fishing Guide

Fishing is one of the five main skills in Stardew Valley and an excellent way to make some money. However, the fishing minigame involves a bit of skill and the type of fish you can catch changes each season. Combine that with a few different fishing locations, bait, and tackle, and the fishing can become a bit overwhelming. Here’s everything you need to know about fishing.

How to fish

To successfully catch a fish, you need to keep the green bar on it.

Using a fishing rod, you can cast it into a body of water by holding the action button to determine cast strength. Once the bobber is in the water, you need to hit the action button again when an exclamation point appears, which will hook your catch. If it was a fish biting your line, this will start the fishing minigame.

The fishing minigame puts a fish icon on a large bar, moving sporadically up and down the bar. You need to keep your green bar on the fish to reel it in, feathering the action button to keep it in the same place. The best technique is to hold the button to move the green bar and to let go to let its momentum hold it in place. When the fish isn’t in your green bar, the catch meter goes down and the fish escapes if it bottoms out. The rarer the fish, the more frantically it moves during the minigame.

While your first fishing rod can’t have any attachments, at fishing level 2 and 6, new rods are for sale in Willy’s Fish Shop, which can hold bait and tackle.

Bait makes fish bite faster, so you can catch more fish in a single day. Bait is made from bug meat or from a bait spawner, which will produce bait every day. There are a few specialty types of bait, like targeted bait, which helps you catch specific fish.

Tackles on the other hand impact the fishing minigame or the type of fish being caught in different ways. Below is a table of every tackle type, what it does, and how to obtain it.

TackleBoostHow to obtainSpinnerReduces maximum delay before a fish can bite by 3.75 seconds.

Fishing level 6

Craft with 2 iron bar or purchase for 500G

Dressed Spinner

Reduces maximum delay before a fish can bite by 7.5 seconds.

Fishing level 8

Craft with 2 iron bar and 1 cloth or purchase for 1,000G

Trap BobberProgress depletes 33% slower when the fish is outside the green bar.

Fishing level 6

Craft with 1 copper bar and 10 sap or purchase for 500G

Cork BobberIncreases the size of the green bar.

Fishing level 7

Craft with 10 wood, 5 hardwood, and 10 slime or purchase for 750G

Lead BobberAdds weight to the bar so it doesn’t bounce if dropped to the bottom.

Fishing level 6

Purchase for 200G

Treasure HunterIncreases the chances of finding a treasure chest and prevents the progress bar from depleting when on the treasure but not the fish.

Fishing level 7

Craft with 2 gold bars or purchase for 750G

Barbed Hook”Hooks” the fish, causing the green bar to stick with it whenever it moves.

Fishing level 8

Craft with 1 copper bar, 1 silver bar, and 1 gold bar or purchase for 1,000G

Curiosity LureIncreases the chances of catching a rare fish.Random drop in the Quarry Mines, Skull Cavern, and Volcano DungeonQuality BobberIncreases the quality level of the fish being caught by one tier.Unlock the recipe from Willy for completing the town board quest “Juicy Bugs Wanted!” crafted using 1 copper bar, 10 sap, 5 solar essenceSonar BobberReveals what fish in on the line whenever you hook a fish.

Fishing level 6

Crafted using 1 iron bar and 2 refined quartz or purchase for 500G

Ocean fish

There are three primary places to catch fish: the ocean, river, and mountain lake. Depending on which location you cast your line at, different fish will be available to catch. The Ocean can be found to the south of town.

FishAvailability (time)WeatherAvailability (season)Pufferfish12pm to 4pmSunnySummerAnchovyAnytimeAnySpring/FallTuna6am to 7pmAnySummer/WinterSardine6am to 7pmAnySpring/Fall/WinterRed Mullet6am to 7pmAnySummer/WinterHerringAnytimeAnySpring/WinterEel4pm to 2amRainSpring/FallOctopus6am to 1pmAnySummerRed Snapper6am to 7pmRainSummer/Fall/WinterSquid6pm to 2amAnyWinterSea Cucumber6am to 7pmAnyFall/WinterSuper Cucumber6pm to 2amAnySummer/FallFlounder6am to 8pmAnySpring/SummerTilapia6am to 2pmAnyFallAlbacore6am to 11pm and 6pm to 2amAnyFall/WinterHalibut6am to 11am and 7pm to 2amAnySpring/Summer/WinterCrimsonfishAny (East Pier on The Beach, requires fishing level 5)AnySummer

River fish

The river is the water running through town and through the Cindersap Forest. The “lake” in Cindersap Forest counts as river fishing. If you choose the fishing farm layout, the water on the farm counts as a river as well. There is also a lot of crossovers between river fish and lake fish, so some of these fish will appear on both lists.

FishAvailability (time)WeatherAvailability (season)Bream6pm to 2amAnyAllSmallmouth BassAnyAnySpring/FallRainbow Trout6am to 7pmSunSummerSalmon6am to 7pmAnyFallWalleye12pm to 2amRainFall/WinterPerchAnyAnyAllCatfish6am to 12amRainFall (Spring and Summer in Secret Woods Pond)PikeAnySun/WindSpring/SummerSunfish6am to 7pmSun/WindSpring/SummerMidnight Carp10pm to 2amAnyFall/Winter (Cindersap Forest pond)Tiger Trout6am to 7pmAnyFall/WinterChubAnyAnyAllDorado6am to 7pmAnySummer (Cindersap Forest)Shad9am to 2amRainSpring/Summer/FallLingcodAnyWinterAnyAnglerAny (North of Joja Mart on the wooden plank bridge, fishing level 3)FallAny

Mountain Lake fish

Mountain Lake fish can only be caught in the water outside the mines.

The Mountain Lake refers exclusively to the lake outside the mine in the northeast section of Stardew Valley.

FishAvailability (time)WeatherAvailability (season)Largemouth Bass6am to 7pmAnyAllRainbow Trout6am to 7pmSunSummerWalleye12pm to 2amRainFall/WinterPerchAnyAnyWinterCarpAnyAnyAllMidnight Carp10pm to 2amAnyFall/WinterSturgeon6am to 7pmAnySummer/WinterBullheadAnyAnyAllChubAnyAnyAllLingcodAnyAnyWinterLegendAny (Mountain Lake near the log, fishing level 10 required)RainSpring

Special fishing locations

There are a few special fishing locations in Stardew Valley. Each of these is typically only home to one type of fish that can only be found there. This includes small ponds inside the mines, the pond in the desert, and other special locations

FishAvailability (time)WeatherAvailability (season)LocationGhostfishAnyAnyAllMines floors 20 and 60StonefishAnyAnyAllMines floor 20Ice PipAnyAnyAllMines floor 60Lava EelAnyAnyAllMines floor 100 and Volcano CalderaSandfish6am to 8pmAnyAllCalico Desert pondScorpion Carp6am to 8pm (requires fishing level 4)AnyAllCalico Desert pondWoodskipAnyAnyAllSecret Woods pond and Forest FarmVoid SalmonAnyAnyAllWitch’s SwampSlimejackAnyAnyAllMutant Bug LairStingrayAnyAnyAllPirate Cove on Ginger IslandLionfishAnyAnyAllGinger Island oceanBlue DiscusAnyAnyAllGinger Island pond and riversGlacierfishAny (requires fishing level 6)AnyWinterSouth end of Arrowhead Island in Cindersap ForestMutant CarpAnyAnyAllThe Sewers

Crab Pot

There are also a handful of fish that can be caught by Crab Pots overnight. These fish can be caught year-round and are only split by being either in the ocean or in freshwater (rivers and mountain lake.) Crab Pots can be crafted at fishing level 3 using 40 wood and 3 iron bars. Bait must be placed into the Crab Pot for it to catch anything.

FishLocationLobsterOceanClamOceanCrayfishFreshwaterCrabOceanCockleOceanMusselOceanShrimpOceanSnailFreshwaterPeriwinkleFreshwaterOysterOcean