Fishing Strategy

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For a list of fish and their locations, see Fish.
For information about the Fishing Skill and Mechanics, see Fishing.
For an index to the completed fish collection, see Collections.
See also: Tackle, Bait

This page provides fishing strategy information for Stardew Valley.

Basics of Strategy

The availability of many types of fish can depend on various factors: the location of the fishing spot, the season, the time of day, and the weather. Match the fishing location to current conditions as necessary to get a chance to catch certain type(s) of fish.

Locations

Fishing spots are commonly broken up into ocean, lake, and river types. However, while most fishing spots in a similar body of water will share catches, the map also plays a role. For instance, the river in Cindersap Forest is not the same as the river in Pelican Town. Ponds usually have a smaller selection of fish, if any, compared to larger bodies of water and the selection is usually specific to the map where the pond is found. Note that generally, the less fish there are in a certain location, the more likely it is that trash will be caught.

The Sewers

The Sewers are an easy and productive fishing location, especially to level up the fishing skill or farm treasure. Carp is the least difficult fish to catch in the game and it is the only fish in the sewers (except for a legendary fish). Therefore, almost every cast of the line results in either an immediate item reward or a quick Carp catch.

Bobber Position

In general, it is optimal to cast the bobber as far from land as possible to maximize the Fishing Zone. Longer casting distances are important, but also casting east/west instead of north/south can improve the fishing zone, as can fishing in wide-open water. In addition to affecting the quality of the fish, Fishing Zone also affects the chances of catching certain fish over other ones. While all non-Legendary fish can be caught in tiles that have a zone of 1, a lot of the more difficult and profitable fish have a higher chance to be caught at higher-zone locations.

Bubbles greatly increase the rate at which fish bite and can also alter the relative chances of each fish type at the location. Careful placement of the bobber on the edge of the bubbles allows the bubble bonus to be used in any of the adjacent tiles, providing some ability to optimize the Fishing Zone.

Fishing Skill

Fishing level is important because each increase in the fishing level increases the fishing bar size by 8 pixels. The longer the fishing bar is, the easier it is to catch fish. The fishing bar will continue to increase by this amount even as the player goes beyond level 10 (with buffs). This means the bar can get much bigger than it naturally would be even at fishing level 10. Using a fishing rod with the Master enchant will also increase the fishing bar size by 8 pixels. Each Cork Bobber used will increase the fishing bar size by 24 pixels. Using Deluxe Bait increases the fishing bar size by 12 pixels.

Catching Difficult Fish

This concept of the fishing bar getting bigger is especially useful when trying to catch extremely hard fish such as the Legendary Fish and the Octopus. Reaching Fishing level 10, using an iridium rod with a Cork Bobber and with the Master enchant, and eating food (better prepared with Qi Seasoning) that provides a temporary fishing buff (e.g., Seafoam Pudding) will all help make catching these difficult fish much more manageable.

The Trap Bobber is also a great combination with a large fishing bar, as it significantly reduces the speed at which difficult fish escape. The Blessing Of Waters can also be used to make catching the fish easier, as it decreases the difficulty of Legendary Fish by 25% and non-Legendary Fish (except Carp) by 50% and causes the progress bar to decrease 50% slower when the fish isn't being reeled in.

Fishing Zones

The following images show the Fishing Zone based on the location where the bobber lands, color coded as: DistanceKey.png

Note that these maps are not valid on iOS and Android because of a bug.

The Farm

Standard Farm Riverland Farm
StandardFarmDistances.png
RiverlandFarmDistances.png
Forest Farm Hill-top Farm
ForestFarmDistances.png
Hill-topFarmDistances.png
Wilderness Farm Four Corners Farm
WildernessFarmDistances.png
4CornersFarmDistances.png
Beach Farm Meadowlands Farm
BeachFarmDistances.png
Farm RanchingDistances.png

Pelican Town

Cindersap Forest

TownDistances.png
ForestDistances.png

The Beach

The Mountain

BeachDistances.png
MountainDistances.png

The Desert

The Sewers

DesertDistances.png
SewerDistances.png

The Mines

Secret Woods

Mine floors 20, 60, & 100
SecretWoodsDistances.png

Night Market

Mutant Bug Lair

The submarine ride at the Night Market
MutantBugLairDistances.png

Witch's Swamp

Island South

SwampDistances.png
IslandSouthDistances.png

Island North

Island West

IslandNorthDistances.png
IslandWestDistances.png

Island Southeast

Pirate Cove

IslandSouthEastDistances.png
IslandCaveDistances.png

Caldera

CalderaDistances.png

Location Tables

Axe.png
Article Stub

This article is marked as a stub for the following reason:

  • Update to 1.6, include the new fish and locations, and include the 5 Legendary Fish as they are now in Data\Locations.xnb

Note that the 5 legendary fish are not included in the tables below. The following tables are based on Data\Locations.xnb in the game files.

Pelican Town

Time
Spring.png Spring 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Sunfish.png Sunfish Sunny day only
Catfish.png Catfish Rainy day only
Green Algae.png Green Algae
Smallmouth Bass.png Smallmouth Bass
Shad.png Shad Rainy day only
Bream.png Bream
Summer.png Summer 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Rainbow Trout.png Rainbow Trout Sunny day only
Sunfish.png Sunfish Sunny day only
Green Algae.png Green Algae
Pike.png Pike
Shad.png Shad Rainy day only
Bream.png Bream
Fall.png Fall 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Salmon.png Salmon
Tiger Trout.png Tiger Trout
Catfish.png Catfish Rainy day only
Green Algae.png Green Algae
Smallmouth Bass.png Smallmouth Bass
Shad.png Shad Rainy day only
Walleye.png Walleye Rainy day only
Bream.png Bream
Winter.png Winter 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Tiger Trout.png Tiger Trout
Green Algae.png Green Algae
Lingcod.png Lingcod
Perch.png Perch
Pike.png Pike
Bream.png Bream

The Beach

Time
Spring.png Spring 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Sardine.png Sardine
Flounder.png Flounder
Anchovy.png Anchovy
Herring.png Herring
Seaweed.png Seaweed
Halibut.png Halibut
Eel.png Eel Rainy day only
Summer.png Summer 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Octopus.png Octopus
Tilapia.png Tilapia
Red Mullet.png Red Mullet
Red Snapper.png Red Snapper Rainy day only
Tuna.png Tuna
Flounder.png Flounder
Seaweed.png Seaweed
Halibut.png Halibut
Pufferfish.png Pufferfish Sunny day only
Super Cucumber.png Super Cucumber
Fall.png Fall 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Tilapia.png Tilapia
Red Snapper.png Red Snapper Rainy day only
Sardine.png Sardine
Sea Cucumber.png Sea Cucumber
Anchovy.png Anchovy
Seaweed.png Seaweed
Albacore.png Albacore
Eel.png Eel Rainy day only
Super Cucumber.png Super Cucumber
Winter.png Winter 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Red Mullet.png Red Mullet
Sardine.png Sardine
Sea Cucumber.png Sea Cucumber
Tuna.png Tuna
Herring.png Herring
Red Snapper.png Red Snapper Rainy day only
Seaweed.png Seaweed
Albacore.png Albacore
Halibut.png Halibut
Squid.png Squid

Cindersap Forest

Note that there are three fishing spots in the forest: the pond in the middle, and the river and waterfalls to the south.

Time
Spring.png Spring 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Sunfish.png Sunfish River Sunny day only
Catfish.png Catfish River Rainy day only
Chub.png Chub River
Green Algae.png Green Algae River/Pond
Smallmouth Bass.png Smallmouth Bass Pond
Shad.png Shad River Rainy day only
Bream.png Bream River
Goby.png Goby Waterfall
Summer.png Summer 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Dorado.png Dorado River
Rainbow Trout.png Rainbow Trout River Sunny day only
Sunfish.png Sunfish River Sunny day only
Chub.png Chub River
Green Algae.png Green Algae River/Pond
Pike.png Pike River/Pond
Shad.png Shad River Rainy day only
Bream.png Bream River
Goby.png Goby Waterfall
Fall.png Fall 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Salmon.png Salmon River
Tiger Trout.png Tiger Trout River
Catfish.png Catfish River Rainy day only
Chub.png Chub River
Midnight Carp.png Midnight Carp Pond
Green Algae.png Green Algae River/Pond
Smallmouth Bass.png Smallmouth Bass Pond
Shad.png Shad River Rainy day only
Walleye.png Walleye River/Pond Rainy day only
Bream.png Bream River
Salmon.png Salmon River/Waterfall
Goby.png Goby Waterfall
Winter.png Winter 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Tiger Trout.png Tiger Trout River
Chub.png Chub River
Midnight Carp.png Midnight Carp Pond
Green Algae.png Green Algae River/Pond
Lingcod.png Lingcod River
Perch.png Perch River/Pond
Pike.png Pike River/Pond
Bream.png Bream River
Goby.png Goby Waterfall

The Mountain

Note that this refers to the lake outside of The Mines.

Time
Spring.png Spring 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Largemouth Bass.png Largemouth Bass
Bullhead.png Bullhead
Carp.png Carp
Chub.png Chub
Green Algae.png Green Algae
Summer.png Summer 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Largemouth Bass.png Largemouth Bass
Rainbow Trout.png Rainbow Trout Sunny day only
Sturgeon.png Sturgeon
Bullhead.png Bullhead
Carp.png Carp
Chub.png Chub
Green Algae.png Green Algae
Fall.png Fall 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Largemouth Bass.png Largemouth Bass
Bullhead.png Bullhead
Carp.png Carp
Chub.png Chub
Green Algae.png Green Algae
Walleye.png Walleye Rainy day only
Midnight Carp.png Midnight Carp
Winter.png Winter 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Largemouth Bass.png Largemouth Bass
Sturgeon.png Sturgeon
Bullhead.png Bullhead
Chub.png Chub
Green Algae.png Green Algae
Lingcod.png Lingcod
Perch.png Perch
Midnight Carp.png Midnight Carp

The Mines

Time
All Seasons Icon.png All 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Ghostfish.png Ghostfish Floors 20, 60
Stonefish.png Stonefish Floor 20
Green Algae.png Green Algae All
White Algae.png White Algae All
Ice Pip.png Ice Pip Floor 60
Lava Eel.png Lava Eel Floor 100

Secret Woods

Time
All Seasons Icon.png All 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Carp.png Carp
Woodskip.png Woodskip
Catfish.png Catfish Rainy day only

The Desert

Time
All Seasons Icon.png All 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Sandfish.png Sandfish
Scorpion Carp.png Scorpion Carp
Green Algae.png Green Algae

The Sewers

Time
All Seasons Icon.png All 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Carp.png Carp
Green Algae.png Green Algae
White Algae.png White Algae

Mutant Bug Lair

Time
All Seasons Icon.png All 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Carp.png Carp
Slimejack.png Slimejack
Green Algae.png Green Algae
White Algae.png White Algae

Witch's Swamp

Time
All Seasons Icon.png All 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Void Salmon.png Void Salmon
Catfish.png Catfish Rainy day only
Green Algae.png Green Algae
White Algae.png White Algae

Ginger Island North

Time
All Seasons Icon.png All 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Blue Discus.png Blue Discus
Midnight Carp.png Midnight Carp
Tilapia.png Tilapia

Ginger Island South & Southeast

Time
All Seasons Icon.png All 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Flounder.png Flounder
Lionfish.png Lionfish
Pufferfish.png Pufferfish Sunny day only
Super Cucumber.png Super Cucumber
Tuna.png Tuna

Pirate Cove

Time
All Seasons Icon.png All 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Flounder.png Flounder
Pufferfish.png Pufferfish Sunny day only
Stingray.png Stingray
Super Cucumber.png Super Cucumber
Tuna.png Tuna

Ginger Island West

Note that there are two types of water in Ginger Island West: freshwater and ocean. The southern-most plank bridge in the river is the divider between the two. The ocean is to the west and south; the pond and river north of the southern-most plank bridge are freshwater.

Time
All Seasons Icon.png All 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
Flounder.png Flounder Ocean
Lionfish.png Lionfish Ocean
Octopus.png Octopus Ocean
Pufferfish.png Pufferfish Ocean Sunny day only
Super Cucumber.png Super Cucumber Ocean
Tuna.png Tuna Ocean
Blue Discus.png Blue Discus Freshwater
Midnight Carp.png Midnight Carp Freshwater
Tilapia.png Tilapia Freshwater

Fish Infograph

Note that the only difference between the two images is the background.

Night background
Day background