Fishing Strategy

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:  

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

The Farm

Standard Farm Riverland Farm
Forest Farm Hill-top Farm
Wilderness Farm Four Corners Farm
Beach Farm Meadowlands Farm

Pelican Town

Cindersap Forest

The Beach

The Mountain

The Desert

The Sewers

The Mines

Secret Woods

 
Mine floors 20, 60, & 100

Night Market

Mutant Bug Lair

 
The submarine ride at the Night Market

Witch's Swamp

Island South

Island North

Island West

Island Southeast

Pirate Cove

Caldera

Location Tables

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

The Beach

Time
  Spring 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
  Sardine
  Flounder
  Anchovy
  Herring
  Seaweed
  Halibut
  Eel Rainy day only
  Summer 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
  Octopus
  Tilapia
  Red Mullet
  Red Snapper Rainy day only
  Tuna
  Flounder
  Seaweed
  Halibut
  Pufferfish Sunny day only
  Super Cucumber
  Fall 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
  Tilapia
  Red Snapper Rainy day only
  Sardine
  Sea Cucumber
  Anchovy
  Seaweed
  Albacore
  Eel Rainy day only
  Super Cucumber
  Winter 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
  Red Mullet
  Sardine
  Sea Cucumber
  Tuna
  Herring
  Red Snapper Rainy day only
  Seaweed
  Albacore
  Halibut
  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 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
  Sunfish River Sunny day only
  Catfish River Rainy day only
  Chub River
  Green Algae River/Pond
  Smallmouth Bass Pond
  Shad River Rainy day only
  Bream River
  Goby Waterfall
  Summer 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
  Dorado River
  Rainbow Trout River Sunny day only
  Sunfish River Sunny day only
  Chub River
  Green Algae River/Pond
  Pike River/Pond
  Shad River Rainy day only
  Bream River
  Goby Waterfall
  Fall 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
  Salmon River
  Tiger Trout River
  Catfish River Rainy day only
  Chub River
  Midnight Carp Pond
  Green Algae River/Pond
  Smallmouth Bass Pond
  Shad River Rainy day only
  Walleye River/Pond Rainy day only
  Bream River
  Salmon River/Waterfall
  Goby Waterfall
  Winter 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1
  Tiger Trout River
  Chub River
  Midnight Carp Pond
  Green Algae River/Pond
  Lingcod River
  Perch River/Pond
  Pike River/Pond
  Bream River
  Goby Waterfall

The Mountain

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

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

The Mines

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

Secret Woods

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

The Desert

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

The Sewers

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

Mutant Bug Lair

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

Witch's Swamp

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

Ginger Island North

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

Ginger Island South & Southeast

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

Pirate Cove

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

Fish Infograph

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

 
Night background
 
Day background