How to fish in Stardew Valley

How to fish in Stardew Valley

As long as you have a fishing rod in Stardew Valley, then you can fish in any body of water you encounter. Fishing itself comes in the form of a mini-game that is divided into two parts - casting and catching.

Casting

Casting begins the moment you decide to use your fishing rod and decides how far you throw your fishing line out across the water.

The length of your cast is determined by the small bar that appears above your hand when you initiate this action. Within this bar you'll find a line moving back and forth, from red to green.

Ideally you want to cast when the bar is as green as possible. This will give you a longer casting distance, with the possibility of achieving a 'Max' cast. You'll know when a cast is 'Max,' because the word will appear on the screen.

Try to have as long a cast distance as possible, because the length of your cast does have a slight influence over the fish you catch and its quality.

You'll also want to keep an eye out for a pool of bubbles in the water. Landing your cast in a pool of bubbles will encourage the fish to bite quicker and increase your chances of catching a rarer type of fish.

Once you've cast your fishing line, all you have to do is sit back and wait for an exclamation mark (!) to appear above your avatar's head. When you see that !, it's time to reel your fish in by pressing the action button (different depending on which platform you're playing on). If you do this successfully, 'Hit' will appear on the screen.

Catching

With your fish on the line, the fishing mini-game will truly begin.

The interface for this mini-game is divided into two important sections - the progress bar on the right and the fish bar on the left.

The progress bar marks how close you are to catching the fish; green means you're nearly there, while red means you're about to lose your prey. This bar can increase and decrease throughout the mini-game, so make sure you keep an eye on it.

The fish bar contains the fish you're trying to catch, which will move up and down by the bar at a speed determined by how difficult it is to catch. This bar also contains a green rectangle, called the 'Fishing Bar,' that you control.

The 'Fishing Bar' is controlled by pressing, holding and releasing the 'Use Tool' button. Pressing will make the 'Fishing Bar' raise, holding will keep it in position and releasing will make the bar fall.

To catch the fish you need to keep it within the 'Fishing Bar', until the progress bar, on your right, is full.

If you manage to catch a fish without having it leave the 'Fishing Bar,' then you'll achieve a 'Perfect Catch!' This will increase both the experience you receive from catching the fish and the quality of the fish itself.

The trick to catching fish in Stardew Valley is to learn the pattern of their movements. Some fish will move very fast, bouncing up and down the bar, while others move more slowly, before making a sudden movement. The more you fish, the more accustomed you'll come to this rhythm and the easier fishing will become.

Sometimes a treasure chest may appear during this mini-game. If you want this treasure you need to make sure it's within the boundaries of the 'Fishing Bar,' until a small, separate progress bar is filled.

Doing this will unlock the treasure chest, but only if you catch the fish. These chests can contain artifacts for the museum to copper ore, so it's always a good idea to try and collect them.

One of the main goals in Stardew Valley is to complete the Community Center bundles or, if you’re corporate minded, you can buy a JojaMart Membership. Fishing is a great way to earn money in Stardew Valley, especially if you decide to use crab pots and ponds. Throughout the year you’ll also be able to take in a variety of festivals, including the Egg Festival, Stardew Valley Fair and the Night Market.

Fishing Rods and Tackle in Stardew Valley explained

You can't go fishing without a rod and, in Stardew Valley, there are four for you to choose from. These fishing rods are:

• Training Rod
• Bamboo Rod
• Fiberglass Rod - can equip bait - requires Fishing Level 2
• Iridium Rod - can equip bait and tackle - requires Fishing Level 6

Even though it's the easiest to use, don't waste your time using the Training Rod, because it can only catch commonly found fish. Instead, use the Bamboo Rod that you receive from Willy after receiving his letter on the 2nd of Spring, until you unlock the Fiberglass Rod or Iridium Rod.

Both of these rods allow you to attach bait, which makes it easier to attach fish when you're casting. The Iridium Rod, however, is far superior, because you can equip it with tackle.

There are 10 different types of tackle that you can attach to the Iridium Rod and each one provides a different bonus. This tackle and the bonuses they provide are:

• Barbed Hook - causes the 'Fishing Bar' to cling to the fish you're trying to catch
• Cork Bobber - slightly increases the size of the 'Fishing Bar'
• Curiosity Lure - increases your chance of catching rare fish
• Dressed Spinner - encourages fish to bite on your line when casting
• Lead Bobber - prevents 'Fishing Bar' from bouncing when dropped
• Quality Bobber - boosts the quality of the fish you catch
• Sonar Bobber - shows which fish you'll catch before catching it
• Spinner - slightly encourages fish to bite on your line when casting
• Trap Bobber - slows down the decrease rate of the catch progress bar
• Treasure Hunter - increases chance of finding treasure chests

Each tackle lasts for 20 uses and, once it's broken, you can either craft or buy a new one from Willy's Fish Shop on the beach.

Tackle can greatly improve your fishing, from making it slightly easier to helping you improve the quality of your catch. The Dressed Spinner, for example, will help you increase your profits, by helping you catch more fish in a day. It's especially essential when hunting down the Legendary Fish, because they can be very hard to reel in. The Trap Bobber is a great choice, because it helps sustain your progress bar.

Fishing Skill, Levels and Mastery in Stardew Valley explained

Every time you use a crab pot, catch an item or fish in Stardew Valley, you're slowly increasing your Fishing Skill and your progress is marked by your Fishing Level.

There are ten Fishing Levels in total and each one will provide you with a new bonus - be it a new crafting recipe or unlocking a new item. The size of the green rectangle in the fishing mini-game increases alongside your level and be able to catch different fish.

At Fishing Level Five, you'll be asked to choose between two professions - Fisher or Trapper. Fisher will provide you with additional bonuses when catching fish with a rod, while Trapper grants you crab pot related bonuses.

When you reach Fishing Level 10, you'll be able to unlock a second bonus for your chosen profession.

Below you'll find the various unlocks for each fishing level, including the profession bonuses:

Fishing Level 1

• Casting distance increased by one tile

Fishing Level 2

• Fiberglass Rod and Bait now purchasable from Willy's Fish Shop
• Crafting recipe for Bait unlocked

Fishing Level 3

• Crab Pots now purchasable from Willy's Fish Shop
• Crafting recipe for Crab Pot unlocked
• Recipe for Dish o' The Sea unlocked

Fishing Level 4

• Casting distance increased by one tile
• Crafting recipe for Recycling Machine unlocked

Fishing Level 5

Choose between these two professions:

• Fisher - fish will now sell for 25% more
• Trapper - resources required to craft crab pots reduced (Becomes 25 wood and 2 copper bars)

Fishing Level 6

• Iridium Rod, Lead Bobber, Spinner and Trap Bobbler now purchasable from Willy's Fish Shop
• Crafting recipe for Spinner unlocked
• Crafting recipe for Trap Bobber unlocked

Fishing Level 7

• Cork Bobber and Treasure Hunter lure now purchasable from Willy's Fish Shop
• Crafting recipe for Cork Bobber unlocked
• Crafting recipe for Treasure Hunter lure unlocked

Fishing Level 8

• Casting distance increased by one tile
• Barbed Hook and Dressed Spinner now purchasable from Willy's Fish Shop
• Crafting recipe for Barbed Hook unlocked
• Crafting recipe for Dressed Spinner unlocked
• Crafting recipe for Worm Bin unlocked

Fishing Level 9

• Magnet now purchasable from Willy's Fish Shop
• Crafting recipe for Magnet unlocked
• Recipe for Seafoam Pudding

Fishing Level 10

At Fishing Level Ten you can pick an additional bonus depending on which profession you picked:

Fisher:

• Angler - fish will now sell for 50% more
• Pirate - chance of uncovering treasure while fishing doubled

Trapper

• Luremaster - crab pots no longer require bait
• Mariner - rubbish items will no longer appear in crab pots

Fishing Skill Mastery

Once you've reached Level 10 in all five Skills, you'll unlock the Mastery Cave in Cindersap Forest. Here you can unlock the Mastery rewards for each of the Skills after gaining an additional amount of EXP points, with all of the rewards costing you 100,000 EXP. These rewards can be unlocked in any order, which means you can unlock the Fishing Mastery rewards first if you so choose!

If this sounds like the right course of action for you, then you'll need to collect an additional 10,000 EXP to unlock your first Mastery. Keep in mind though that the required amount of EXP increases for every Mastery Skill you unlock - going from 10,000 to 15,000 to 20,000 to 25,000 with the final reward requiring 30,000 EXP. It's worth the work through as each Mastery reward includes a bonus and either two recipes or one recipe and an item.

Now you know how to unlock the Fishing Skill Mastery rewards, let's take a look at what they are:

• Advanced Iridium Rod - Can use to two bobbers at once.
• Challenge Bait recipe - Ensure a 'perfect' catch which yields triple fish, but, if every time the fish escapes the catch bar, this yield is reduced.
• Bonus - Can encounter Golden Fishing Treasure Chests.

If you want to learn even more about fishing, then check out our guides on when to catch every fish in Stardew Valley, fish ponds, crab pots and treasure chests!