How To Catch Catfish In Stardew Valley
First off, you can only catch Catfish in freshwater, meaning the ocean is off-limits. The game notes that Catfish are a rather uncommon catch. Stardew Valley Catfish will give you a run for your money with a difficulty rating of 75. I suggest getting in plenty of practice on easier fish before attempting to catch catfish in SDV. Make sure to level your fishing skill and use a higher fishing rod with bait to increase your chances.
The Catfish appears in Stardew Valley at multiple places in the game during specific times. You can primarily find Catfish in the river. It can only be caught during Fall or Spring at this location and only if it is currently raining in-game. It can also be found in the Secret Woods during the Spring, Summer, and Fall seasons while it is raining. Catfish can be caught at any time of the day, however, which makes it easy to fit in around other in-game activities.
Catfish can also be caught if you chose the Riverside or Hilltop farming plots, though it still has to be raining. Catfish are also able to be found in garbage cans around Pelican Town. Looking in garbage cans is the only time the Catfish can be acquired in the Winter. Catfish are also available from the Witch’s Swamp later in the game during Fall and Spring.
When To Catch Catfish in Stardew Valley
Catfish can be caught any time of day between 6 AM and 12 AM. Sounds easy right? Unfortunately, there’s a “catch”. Catfish can only be caught in the spring and fall on rainy days. Unless you want to get creative, that is!
The simplest way to find a catfish in Stardew Valley is to head down to the river in Pelican Town or the Cindersap Forest. However, there are several other possible locations to get Catfish too. Some require a little bit of work to uncover. These locations also provide an opportunity to catch catfish in winter, spring, summer, and fall.
Where To Catch Catfish In SDV
Secret Woods:
To get Catfish from the Secret Woods, you will need to first unlock this location. Here’s a quick walkthrough for how to do that! (You’ll steel axe or stronger to complete this quest.)
Head over to the northwest corner of Cindersap Forest where you’ll find a cumbersome log that needs some chopping.
Once you break the log, you can access the Secret Woods and catch catfish, among other Stardew Valley fish, all year round.
Witch’s Swamp:
The Dark Talisman Quest takes a little time and patience but is worth the trouble if you’re also looking to acquire certain void items.
- Talk to Krobus in The Sewers (After you have beaten the game and seen the Railroad Cutscene)
- Go to the Northwest corner of the Sewers and enter the Mutant Bug Lair to collect the Dark Talisman
- Use the Dark Talisman to move the artifact in front of the cave
Now that the cave is open, you’ll need to deal with the witch’s henchman by offering up some void mayonnaise (which you can get after completing the Goblin Problem quest).
While he happily slurps up his sludge, get the Magic Ink inside the Swamp and deliver it to the Wizard in his tower. He’ll finally give you access to the Swamp.
If you’re willing to put in the work, catfish can also be caught here year-round.
Even More Locations For Where To Catch Catfish:
You can also catch catfish from the convenience of your own farm by starting a new game and selecting one of the following maps:
- Hill-top Farm
- Riverland Farm
Purchasing fish ponds from Robin allows catfish to spawn on your farm.
This requires catching at least three catfish to stock your pond. To increase the initial population, you will need to fetch the fish certain items when the exclamation point appears.
- Three fish: 3 Copper Bars, 3 Red Mushrooms, 2 Amethyst, or 2 Topaz
- Five fish: 10 Bat Wings, 5 Mixed Seeds, 2-3 Purple Mushrooms, 2 Earth Crystals, or 2 Earth Crystals
- Seven fish: 3 Iron Bars, 1 Diamond, 1 Mayonnaise, or 1 Pickle
Catfish Value And Uses
The Catfish isn’t a good gift but it’s a high energy snack. At its low point, it gives you 50 energy and 22 health and at it’s best, 90 energy and 40 health. The Catfish also nets a pretty high profit with a 200G base price. With the Angler skill, the Catfish can be worth an amazing 450G per fish at it’s gold star level. If requested on the help wanted board, the fish will net you 600G and 150 friendship points from the villager you deliver it to. If request by Willy, he will reward you 200G per requested Catfish and let you keep the catch to sell as a bonus.
Wherever you choose to go, we hope that one of these rainy days brings you the good fortune of finding a Catfish.
Additional info can be found at https://stardewvalleywiki.com/
