Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley Fishing Guide: All Catchable Fish, Fishing Rods, & Leveling Guide

Posted on Jun 29, 2023 by justin

Aside from planting, harvesting, and selling crops to earn money, you can also take advantage of fishing in Stardew Valley to increase the return on investment ROI. But some beginners might find this mechanic quite challenging. So, keep reading, and let us help you make the most of this system with this guide.

Stardew Valley Fishing: The Basics

The main requirement of fishing in Stardew Valley is for you to have a fishing rod. You don’t need bait to fish in the game, but fish bite faster with it on. Next, equip your fishing rod and bring your character to a body of water. Hold the Tool button (the left mouse button on PC by default) to start the casting gauge. Release this button to cast your line, and its distance will be based on your timing. Once you've cast, it's just a matter of waiting for the fish to bite. You’ll know if you have a bite when you see an exclamation point over your character’s head. A notification sound will also play. Once you notice these indicators, press the Tool button again, and the fight begins. A reeling gauge will appear, wherein your objective is to keep the green bar on the moving fish icon. The longer the green bar stays on the fish icon, the higher the gauge on the right rises. Once that gauge on the right is full, you’ll catch the fish. On the other hand, the fish will escape if you fail to keep the green bar on the fish icon when the gauge on the right depletes. If your coverage never falls off of the fish during the fight, it'll be considered a Perfect catch, and the quality of the fish rises as a result. Here's a quick video from developer ConcernedApe highlighting the fishing mechanic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFF-eBrzusM

Types of Fish

Stardew Valley classifies its fish roster into four different categories: by season, weather, body of water, and time of day. But there are some exceptions to these classifications. In particular, some fish are event-exclusive catches, such as during the Night Market.

Fishing Bubbles

You’ll sometimes see bubbles in various fishing spots. Fishing in these bubbly areas grants two benefits:

Fish bite 4x times faster, and
The effective fishing zone (green bar) increases by one.

Bear in mind that only one bubble spot can exist per biome at any given time. Also, some bubble spots that appear may not be possible for players to reach, even with the highest fishing level or the best fishing rod used.

Fishing Poles

Training Rod: Buy from Willy’s Fish Shop for 25 gold pieces.
Bamboo Pole: Buy from Willy’s Fish Shop for 500 gold pieces. Willy also gives this pole to you on Spring 2 after receiving his invitation in the mail.
Fiberglass Rod: Buy from Willy’s Fish Shop for 1,800 gold pieces. Must be at least Fishing Level 2.
Iridium Rod: Buy from Willy’s Fish Shop for 7,500 gold pieces. Must be at least Fishing Level 6.

Fishing Skill

Like other skills in Stardew Valley, your character’s fishing prowess ranges from Level 0 to 10. Each level unlocks different benefits and perks for fishing. Stardew Valley uses the following formula to calculate the XP rewarded upon catching fish:

XP = ((Fish Quality + 1) * 3) + (Fish Difficulty / 3)

Note that fish quality can range from 0 to 4. On the other hand, fish difficulty ranges from 5 to 110. So, if you caught a regular sardine at difficulty 40, you’d net 13 XP. But if you caught a gold-quality Crimsonfish and a treasure chest at difficulty 95, you’ll earn a whopping 970 XP. Below is a list of experience points needed to reach specific fishing levels in Stardew Valley:

Level 1: 100 XP
Level 2: 380 XP
Level 3: 770 XP
Level 4: 1,300 XP
Level 5: 2,150 XP
Level 6: 3,300 XP
Level 7: 4,800 XP
Level 8: 6,900 XP
Level 9: 10,000 XP
Level 10: 15,000 XP

Also, here’s a list of unlockables from each fishing level:

Level 1: +1 to casting distance.
Level 2: Unlocks the Bait crafting recipe. Bait and Fiberglass Rod items are unlocked in Willy’s Fish Shop.
Level 3: Unlocks the Crab Pot and Dish O’ The Sea cooking recipes. Willy’s Fish Shop will now sell Crab Pots.
Level 4: Unlocks the Recycling Machine crafting recipe. +1 to casting distance.
Level 5: Lets the player choose between the Fisher and Trapper professions.
Level 6: Unlocks the Spinner and Trap Bobber crafting recipes. Will’s Fish Shop now sells the Lead Bobber, Trap Bobber, Spinner, and Iridium Rod.
Level 7: Unlocks the Cork Bobber and Treasure Hunter crafting recipes. These items are also now available for purchase at Willy’s Fish Shop.
Level 8: Unlocks the Worm Bin, Barbed Hook, and Dressed Spinner crafting recipes. Willy’s Fish Shop now sells the Barbed Hook and Dressed Spinner. +1 to casting distance.
Level 9: Unlocks the Seafoam Pudding cooking recipe and Magnet crafting recipe. The latter is also now available for purchase at Willy’s Fish Shop.
Level 10: Lets players choose between the Angler and Pirate professions (if you chose the Fisher profession from Level 5) or the Mariner and Luremaster professions (if you chose the Trapper professions from Level 5).

Foods That Boost Fishing Stat

Some cooked dishes in Stardew Valley can increase your fishing stat temporarily. These food items are the following:

Maple Bar: Farming +1, Fishing +1, and Mining +1
Chowder: Fishing +1
Trout Soup: Fishing +1
Shrimp Cocktail: Fishing +1 and Luck +1
Escargot: Fishing +2
Fish Taco: Fishing +2
Dish O' The Sea: Fishing +3
Fish Stew: Fishing +3
Lobster Bisque: Fishing +3 and Max Energy +50
Seafoam Pudding: Fishing +4

Tip: Apply Qi Seasoning to cooked food to enhance its perks.

Treasure Chests from Fishing

Sometimes, you’ll see treasure chests along your fishing excursions. If so, you can focus the green bar on the chest temporarily during a fight with a fish. Then, a small gauge will appear, and the item will be yours once it fills up completely. However, trying to retrieve a treasure chest while fishing risks letting the fish escape. So, be selective with which treasure chest you’d want to salvage or leave behind. Retrieving treasure chests can give you random items, ranging from ordinary stones to rare items like a Prismatic Shard. Below is a list of items you can get from treasure chests while fishing:

Amethyst Ring
Amethyst
Amphibian Fossil
Anchor
Ancient Doll
Ancient Seed
Ancient Sword
Aquamarine Ring
Aquamarine
Bait
Bone Flute
Broken Trident
Chewing Stick
Chicken Statue
Coal
Combat Boots
Copper Ore
Dark Boots
Diamond
Dinosaur Egg
Dressed Spinner
Dried Starfish
Earth Crystal
Elvish Jewelry
Emerald Ring
Emerald
Fire Quartz
Firewalker Boots
Frozen Geode
Frozen Tear
Genie Shoes
Geode
Glass Shards
Glow Ring
Gold Ore
Golden Egg
Iridium Band
Iridium Ore
Iron Ore
Jade Ring
Jade
Leather Boots
Lost Book
Magma Geode
Magnet Ring
Mixed Seeds
Nautilus Fossil
Neptune's Glaive
Ornamental Fan
Prehistoric Tool
Prismatic Shard
Qi Bean
Rare Disc
Rice Shoot
Rubber Boots
Ruby Ring
Ruby
Rusty Cog
Rusty Spoon
Rusty Spur
Skeletal Tail
Small Glow Ring
Small Magnet Ring
Sneakers
Stone
Strange Doll green
Strange Doll yellow
Thermal Boots
Topaz Ring
Topaz
Treasure Chest
Tundra Boots
Wild Bait

Gift Boxes from Fishing

Introduced in version 1.5, gift boxes are now catchable while fishing, though they contain different items entirely. The items you can get from fishing gift boxes are the following:

'Boat'
Decorative Trash Can
Foliage Print
Frog Hat
Gourmand Statue
Iridium Krobus
Lifesaver
'Physics 101'
Pyramid Decal
Squirrel Figurine
'Vista'
Wall Basket

Most Valuable Fish to Catch in Stardew Valley

It might be a waste of time and energy to try and fish all over Stardew Valley. Instead, you may want to focus your attention on specific fish, like the following valuable options below.

Ice Pip

Only found in the Mines on Floor 60, the Ice Pip has a fairly high selling price. You can also increase its rate of appearing by using a Curiosity Lure. Even though its selling price is relatively high, other fish in Stardew Valley give more value. Nonetheless, the Ice Pip is reasonably easy to catch, provided you can access Floor 60 of the Mines.

Selling Price

Regular: 500 gold pieces
Silver: 625 gold pieces
Gold: 750 gold pieces
Iridium: 1,000 gold pieces

Note: Selling prices increase by 25% with the Fisher profession and 50% with the Angler profession.

Spook Fish

The Spook Fish is a Night Market-exclusive fish, and the event only takes place at The Beach in Winter 15 to 17. During this event, take the submarine to dive into the special fishing spot. Once here, use any lure to try and catch the Spook Fish. Although its selling price isn’t as high as the Ice Pip, the Spook Fish spawns more than its Mines'-native sibling. So, if you have the time, you can spend most of your in-game hours during the Night Market catching and selling this fish.

Selling Price

Regular: 220 gold pieces
Silver: 275 gold pieces
Gold: 330 gold pieces
Iridium: 440 gold pieces

Note: Selling prices increase by 25% with the Fisher profession and 50% with the Angler profession.

Lava Eel

If you have access to the Enchanting Forge on the Volcano’s 100th Floor on Ginger Island, you can catch the Lava Eel. Here, cast your line to a lava pool to have a chance to catch this special sea creature. Thankfully, you don’t have to wait for a special time to try and catch this fish. It also has the highest selling price out of all the non-legendary fish in Stardew Valley. But prepare for a fight because the Lava Eel is also fairly difficult to land.

Selling Price

Regular: 700 gold pieces
Silver: 875 gold pieces
Gold: 1,050 gold pieces
Iridium: 1,400 gold pieces

Note: Selling prices increase by 25% with the Fisher profession and 50% with the Angler profession.

Crimsonfish

You can only catch the Crimsonfish at The Beach, and it must be Summer. Plus, it’s a legendary fish, which means you can only catch it once. Once caught, you can sell it for a hefty sum.

Selling Price

Regular: 1,500 gold pieces
Silver: 1,875 gold pieces
Gold: 2,250 gold pieces
Iridium: 3,000 gold pieces

Note: Selling prices increase by 25% with the Fisher profession and 50% with the Angler profession.

Legend

As its name implies, the Legend is one of five legendary fish in Stardew Valley. That means players can only catch this fish once per save file. It also has special requirements before you can land it, which are the following: