selfOne of the most important activities in Stardew Valley is fishing but the process isn’t as simple as it seems, but you can make the task easier by using specific fishing tackle and bait.
A great way to make money early on in Stardew Valley is by selling the fish you catch. It’s a handy get-rich-quick method that will also help you clear certain quests in the game, such as completing the Community Center.
Fishing can be quite tricky to master, however, but if you use certain fishing tackle and bait you’ll be reeling in even the most difficult creatures in no time.
Using the best tackle and bait is especially important if you want to get your hands on rare and legendary fish in the game, so we’ve got a full rundown of every lure and type of bait available in Stardew Valley below.
Fishing Tackle in Stardew Valley
Tackle is useful for a multitude of reasons, as it can help make catching fish easier and even make treasure a bit less of a task to reel in with the fish.
Here are all of the types of Tackle available in Stardew Valley.
| Tackle Name | What it does | How it helps | Crafting recipe | Purchase Price from Willy |
| Barbed Hook | Makes your catch more secure, causing the “fishing bar” to cling to your catch. Works best on slow, weak fish. | -Unlocks at Fishing Level 8. -This will help “lock on” to the fish and make the fishing process much easier. -Though it locks onto the fish, the player can still manually move the Fishing Bar, but it will be much more difficult to handle with this tackle attached. -Fish that move more rapidly may not stay “locked in” to the hook. | -x1 Copper Bar-x1 Iron Bar-x1 Gold Bar | 1,000 Gold |
| Cork Bobber | Slightly increases the size of your “fishing bar”. | -Unlocks at Fishing Level 7.-This bobber will increase the size of the Fishing Bar by exactly 24 pixels, making the fish slightly easier to catch. | -x10 Wood-x5 Hardwood-x10 Slime | 750 Gold |
| Curiosity Lure | Increases your chance to catch rare fish. | -This lure can only be found by breaking open boxes or barrels in the Quarry, Mines, Skull Cavern, or Volcano Dungeon OR will be dropped by Mummies and other special monsters in Skull Cavern.-Makes catching Ice Pip, Lava Eels, Mutant Carp, and Legend fish slightly easier/more common. | N/A | N/A |
| Dressed Spinner | -Unlocks at Fishing Level 8 but can be discovered in Fishing Treasure Chests starting at Fishing Level 6. -Reduces the maximum delay between nibbles by 7.5 seconds, increasing the number of bites you get per day. | -This lure can only be found by breaking open boxes or barrels in the Quarry, Mines, Skull Cavern or Volcano Dungeon OR will be dropped by Mummies and other special monsters in Skull Cavern.-Makes catching Ice Pip, Lava Eels, Mutant Carp, and Legend fish slightly easier/more common. | -x2 Iron Bar-x1 Cloth | 1,000 Gold |
| Lead Bobber | Adds weight to your “fishing bar”, preventing it from bouncing along the bottom. | -Unlocks at Fishing Level 6. -This will stop the Fishing Bar from bouncing along the bottom, but it really isn’t much of a useful tool. | N/A | 200 Gold |
| Quality Bobber | Boosts the quality of the fish you catch. | -Can only be crafted once the player has completed Willy’s request “Juicy Bugs Wanted”.-This will increase the quality of the fish caught by one level, so it helps reel in Iridium quality fish without the need to get a “Perfect Catch”. | -x1 Copper Bar-x20 Sap-x5 Solar Essence | N/A |
| Spinner | The metal tab and colorful streamers create an enticing spectacle for fish. Increases the bite rate when fishing. | -Unlocks at Fishing Level 6.-Similar to the Dressed Spinner tackle, this will reduce the maximum delay before a nibble by 3.75 seconds. | -x2 Iron Bar | 500 Gold |
| Trap Bobber | Causes fish to escape slower when you aren’t reeling them in. | -Unlocks at Fishing Level 6.-One of the best types of tackle to use, as it makes it harder for fish to escape. The progress bar on the right side of the fishing bar will decrease 33% slower when the fish is outside of the bar with this tackle attached. | -x1 Copper Bar-x10 Sap | 500 Gold |
| Treasure Hunter | Fish don’t escape while collecting treasures. Also slightly increases the chance to find treasures. | -Unlocks at Fishing Level 7.-Increases the chance to find Fishing Treasure Chests by 5%.-When attempting to collect the treasure chests, the progress bar will remain static and steady when the fish is outside of the Fishing Bar. -If the fish is still within the Fishing Bar, the progress bar will continue to rise. | -x2 Gold Bar | 750 Gold |
Types of Bait in Stardew Valley
Bait is a great way to get a fish to bite in Stardew Valley, but it also can make fishing slightly easier when paired with the right Tackle.
Here are all of the types of Bait available in Stardew Valley.
| Bait Name | What it does | How it helps | Crafting Recipe | Purchase price from Willy |
| Bait | Causes fish to bite faster. Must first be attached to a fishing rod. | -Unlocked at Fishing Level 2.-Decreases the time it takes for a fish to nibble by 50%.-Decreases the chance to catch trash items. | -x1 Bug Meat | 5 Gold |
| Magic Bait | Allows you to catch fish from any season, time, or weather, from whichever type of water you cast into. | -This recipe and bait can only be purchased from Qi’s Walnut Room on Ginger Island, so it will take a while to obtain it. -While the bite rate is the same as standard bait, it makes catching fish that are out of season much easier. | -x1 Radioactive Ore-x3 Bug Meat | -Unlocked at Fishing Level 9.-Increases the player’s chance to catch Fishing Treasure Chests by 15%. -Even though it states the fish don’t like the taste, the bite rate is in fact the same as standard Bait. |
| Magnet | Increases the chance of finding treasures when fishing. However, fish aren’t crazy about the taste. | -Unlocked at Fishing Level 9.-Increases the player’s chance to catch Fishing Treasure Chests by 15%. -Even though it states the fish don’t like the taste, the bite rate is in fact the same as standard Bait. | -x1 Iron Bar | 1,000 Gold |
| Wild Bait | A unique recipe from Linus that gives you a chance to catch two fish at once. | -Unlocked by obtaining 4 Friendship Hearts with Linus. -Decreases the time between nibbles by 62.5%.-You cannot catch two legendary fish at once with this bait, but you still have plenty of other types of fish to reel in two at a time while using this. | -x10 Fiber-x5 Slime-x5 Bug Meat | N/A |
There you have it! That is all of the bait and tackle available in Stardew Valley. Read below for more tips and tricks on the popular farming sim.
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