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Stardew Valley offers a wide variety of activities. From farming to crafting new clothes, there is no shortage of content. While playing Stardew Valley, you will have the opportunity to fish. There are tons of fish available to catch, some more difficult than others. With 9 lures in the game, though, you should have no problem catching a fish! This guide is going to look at each lure, as well as how to obtain them and what they do.

Related: Stardew Valley: All You Need to Know About Fishing

Prior to getting your first lure, you will need to have an Iridium fishing rod. Other rods will not be able to hold a lure. This rod costs 7,500g and will be unlocked once you reach fishing level 6. Your fishing level will increase by fishing, so make sure to fish a little every day! Once you have an Iridium rod, you will be able to equip bait and a lure.

Spinner

two stardew valley players fishing in pond with yellow exclamation point over one player
via Recovery Cantwell/Steam
  • How To Obtain: Fishing Level 6
  • Craftable: Yes
  • Available For Purchase: Yes (Fish Shop, Traveling Cart)

A Spinner will increase the rate that fish will bite. This means that overall, fish will nibble 3.75 seconds faster. With this spinner, you won't be standing around waiting for fish to bite.

Dressed Spinner

Dressed Spinner Lure from Stardew Valley
  • How To Obtain: Fishing Level 8
  • Craftable: Yes
  • Available For Purchase: Yes (Fish Shop, Traveling Cart, Festival of Ice Reward)

Similar to the spinner above, the Dressed Spinner will increase the bite rate for fish. Essentially, this is a better version of the first Spinner. With this, fish will nibble 7.5 seconds faster.

Trap Bobber

leveling up screen for level 6 fishing
  • How To Obtain: Fishing Level 6
  • Craftable: Yes
  • Available For Purchase: Yes (Fish Shop, Traveling Cart)

The Trap Bobber is learned along with the Spinner once you reach fishing level 6.

This tackle will make fish escape slower when you aren't reeling them in. As you fish, you want to keep the green bar on the fish. Sometimes, this can be hard. When the green bar isn't on the fish, the meter on the right will decrease until the fish escapes.

With the Trap Bobber, though, the rate the meter drops will be slower. This will give you more time to catch a fish before they have a chance to escape. This tackle is useful for fish that are more difficult to catch.

Lead Bobber

fishing bar at bottom of meter
via nixse/Steam
  • How To Obtain: Fishing Level 6
  • Craftable: No
  • Available For Purchase: Yes (Fish Shop, Traveling Cart)

The Lead Bobber is one of the few tackles in the game that cannot be crafted. Once you reach fishing level 6 though, you will be able to purchase it. This tackle will add a 'weight' to your fishing bar, so it doesn't bounce on the bottom. When you are reeling in a fish, you may notice that the green bar will bounce when hitting the top or bottom. This can be quite annoying, especially if you are dealing with a difficult fish that darts from the bottom to the top. Equipping a Lead Bobber will ensure that the fishing bar doesn't bounce around.

Cork Bobber

stardew valley player fishing with cork bobber, widening the fishing bar
via The Vampire Fox/Steam
  • How To Obtain: Fishing Level 7
  • Craftable: Yes
  • Available For Purchase: Yes (Fish Shop, Traveling Cart)

The Cork Bobber is an important tool to use while catching fish. It will increase the overall size of your fishing bar. This will help with fish that do small, quick movements. With a larger fishing bar, you do not have to move it around as much.

Treasure Hunter

player with fishing treasure chest opened
via Jxt09
  • How To Obtain: Fishing Level 7
  • Craftable: Yes
  • Available For Purchase: Yes (Fish Shop, Traveling Cart)

Unlike other tackle on this list, the Treasure Hunter doesn't aid in catching fish. Instead, this tackle prevents fish from escaping as you are collecting treasures. In addition, it will increase your chances of finding treasure while fishing. From time to time, you will see a little treasure chest icon appear. If you hover the fishing bar over it, you can collect the treasure chest. It takes a while to lure in, and you may risk your fish escaping. The Treasure Hunter will ensure that this doesn't happen. Some treasure chests may contain useless items, such as trash or stone. With your chances of finding treasure increased, you may find rare items. Above, you can see a player using the Treasure Hunter tackle to obtain Neptune's Glaive.

Barbed Hook

A Barbed Hook Lure in Stardew Valley
  • How To Obtain: Fishing Level 8
  • Craftable: Yes
  • Available For Purchase: Yes (Fish Shop, Traveling Cart, Festival of Ice Reward)

This hook will cause the fishing bar to cling to a fish that you are trying to catch. Although this will help to catch a fish, it is best used on slower fish. When a fish darts around, it's a bit difficult for the fishing bar to cling to them. The Barbed Hook is great if you want to catch a bunch of common fish, but try not to use it when you are catching rare or Legendary fish.

Curiosity Lure

player in shed holding curiosity lure
via Julius_Mo-7503/Reddit
  • How To Obtain: Drop from Quarry Mine, Skull Cavern, or Volcano Dungeon
  • Craftable: No
  • Available For Purchase: No

This is the only hook in the game that cannot be crafted or purchased. The Curiosity Lure increases your chances of catching a rare fish. This is a bit vague, so let's go over what 'rare' means. Below, you can see the rare fish for each area.

Location

Rare Fish

Beach

  • Crimsonfish
  • Sone of Crimsonfish

Mines

  • Stonefish
  • Ice Pop
  • Lava Eel

Mountain

  • Legend
  • Legend II

Sewers

  • Mutant Carp
  • Radioactive Carp

Night Market Submarine

  • Spook Fish
  • Blobfish
  • Super Cucumber
  • Pearl

Town

  • Angler
  • Ms. Angler

In addition to catching rare fish, the Curiosity Lure will increase the chance of a fish biting.

Quality Bobber

player holding an iridium quality fish in stardew valley
via Zero/Steam
  • How To Obtain: Juicy Bugs Wanted! (special order)
  • Craftable: Yes
  • Available For Purchase: No

Finally, we have the Quality Bobber. This unique tackle will increase your chances of catching high-quality fish.

Like crops, fish can be normal, silver, gold, or iridium. The higher the fish's quality, the more they will sell for. To obtain the recipe for this lure, you will need to complete the special order Juicy Bugs Wanted!. This order involves collecting 100 bug meat during a 7 day period. Once you complete it, you will get the Quality Bobber, as well as 3,000g.

Now that you know all the possible tackle available in Stardew Valley, get out there and start fishing!

Next: Stardew Valley: Complete Guide And Walkthrough