Fishing Is impossible

[Milky Joe]

Anybody else find fishing in this game impossible? Maybe its my old age but im finding it really difficult to fish in this game, does anyone know of any way to make it easier, maybe a mod or a tip? i've attempted fishing many times and failed every time, i either get relly close or the fish just moves wayyyyy to much for me to keep ontop of it, a few of my attempts have literally been just wrestling with the fish for 5 minutes before giving up.

[OX4]

Old guy here. Yea fishing sucks. The only thing I can say is I absolutely hated it in the beginning and now at level 4 my hatred has decreased to annoyance. After reading through a bunch of posts I learned the easiest fishing is at the lake near the mines. In the beginning I waited till a good luck day, headed up to the mine lake, and spent all day fishing. At level 2 you can buy the fiberglass rod that helps some.

Besides 3 crab pots, I only fish when I super bored. I'm buying most of my fish from the gyspy to fulfill the community center bundles.

PS -- if you fish long enough at the mine lake you'll get a really easy fish that basically sits at the bottom of the bar. I used those to move up to level 2. The other fish, especially the ones that jumped a lot, I immediately gave up on and recast the line.

[Greedy_Gamer_Guy]

I personally find the mechanic to be enjoyable. I've started to notice a pattern in certain species of fish, it may just be me though. Certain fish like chubs for example have a slow an easy pattern and then something like an eel has a more bouncy and unpredictable pattern.

[Kettobase]

I thought fishing was difficult at first but it's actually not bad. The fish that are more challenging are the ones you want as they obviously give you more of a profit and some are needed for recipes. Just going for the easy ones would be a waste of time imo. Honestly what helps is practice with the really jumpy fish and ..TACKLES ! Personally catching the legendary fish would be impossible for me without the Trap Bobber, that's the one I find most helpful.

[haviocthewolf]

i ended up finding a mod to make is some what easer but still enjoyable
http://stardewmods.com/resources/easier-fishing.39/

[+Elektrik Barbrella+]

Originally posted by Greedy_Gamer_Guy:

I personally find the mechanic to be enjoyable. I've started to notice a pattern in certain species of fish, it may just be me though. Certain fish like chubs for example have a slow an easy pattern and then something like an eel has a more bouncy and unpredictable pattern.

There are fish that do have patterns, usually i can tell when i sit for a whole day just fishing and get similar fish four in a row.

Once you get to the best rod, which does take a while - you can buy hooks and bait that make the bar on the rod MUCH easier. When i went to do a new character, having to go back to the old rod was a pain - but i knew what to expect and was still able to catch em.

[OX4]

Originally posted by Kettobase:

Just going for the easy ones would be a waste of time imo.

I hear you but I think the trouble with fishing is that you can catch fish that you're not leveled up properly for. For instance, as you go down the mines, you find boots and buy swords that let you take care of the higher level monsters. Fishing seems to be random (for the most part, I realize that time of day, location, and rain are factors) so that you can easily hit a fish that you can't catch because you're not leveld up well enough. That's what makes it so incredibly discouraging at first.

[di eshor ribly]

Originally posted by OX4:

Originally posted by Kettobase:

Just going for the easy ones would be a waste of time imo.

I hear you but I think the trouble with fishing is that you can catch fish that you're not leveled up properly for. For instance, as you go down the mines, you find boots and buy swords that let you take care of the higher level monsters. Fishing seems to be random (for the most part, I realize that time of day, location, and rain are factors) so that you can easily hit a fish that you can't catch because you're not leveld up well enough. That's what makes it so incredibly discouraging at first.

The main issue with fishing (at least for me, also new player) is that as a player, it's imperative that I get a max distance cast as close to every time as I can manage. The fish patterns and difficulty are higher the farther you cast, and the higher your chance to find a Legendary fish becomes.

Fishing only sucks when you're new, as your skill gets higher the fish move slightly slower and your tackle bar gets bigger. It gets easier over time, and even failures will increase your skill. However, fishing is mainly a player skill. The character skill, while helpful, doesn't make or break a fishing expedition. After my save file got corrupted and I had to start over fishing was super easy. Even with the tiny bar, crappy fishing rod, no bait, and no tackle, I still managed to catch over 90% of what took a bite.

If you still need a little help keep an eye out for the fishing foods like Dish O' The Sea. The skill buff will make it a little easier to start getting level ups.

[SilentCaay]

How old is "old"? Because unless you're like 80 with glaucoma and crippling arthritis, you shouldn't have a problem with tapping the mouse button every once in awhile. 50% the fish in this game don't even move much and basically catch themselves, another 40% move a bit but they move in rather predictable patterns that you get used to and only about 10% require a decent amount of skill/luck. Just yesterday I caught two of the legendary fish on my very first attempt. EZPZ

[Forever_Lona]

I wonder if you might be having the same issue I had when I first played. I got it in my head that you had to constantly and quickly click to raise the bar, where in reality clicking and holding works far better.

Its really just a case of practice. Click, hold, release. I sort of do it in half second bursts, if thats of any help.

[sxe_spanky]

so far, fishing is my cash cow, almost done with furst summer. best place to fish was at the tip under the mines, you can bring anything that needs to "cook" for a few minutes, like smelting. between casts smelt more copper, iron or gold. also keep a recycler nearby. i also dropped a chest there. at fishing 5 ish, you can make a boober with 1 copper and 10 sap that makes the up and down fish bar drop slower when not catching. lastly, i beleiev there is a mod that lets you use the mouse mving up and down, instead of clicks. i hope this helps. (if the fish has a hat on it, hes legendary, and near impossible to catch anyways, all fish have a patern, after a few days of fishing, you kinda get the hang of them if you stay in one spot - like that pond island under the mine!)

[Vroomi]

''Fishing is hard''
Go fish for some Carp then.
http://stardewvalleywiki.com/Carp

[Diana]

I hear ya! I'm on my 5th playthrough. Have all of the achievements, except the 'Prairie King' ones which I've just given up on because they just aren't going to happen -- for me. 8/

It took me quite awhile to learn to fish. For me, fishing was the most frustrating part of the game (with exception of Prairie King). Finally got a mod which allowed me to turn on/off everything from 'instant catch' to 'always treasure', etc. After much practice, and slowly turning off one by one of the inclusive parts of the fishing part of the mod --- I learned to fish all by mysef. (yay!) What greatly helped me was upgrading the pole (purchasing from Willy) and using a "Lead Bobber" which you can only purchase from Willy. The Lead Bobber allows much greater control over catching the fish. Doesn't bounce around. And I can catch almost any fish now while unticking the mod completely. In fact, I now find fishing enjoyable! (go figure!!)

My advice? Try the Lead Bobber!! Practice, practice, practice! DON'T frantically keep clicking the mouse -- which was my mistake for quite awhile until I learned how to control the green bar and keeping said fish within its confines -- again, the Lead Bobber was/is my invaluable favorite bobber!!

Hope this helps!

P.S.: Have done everything the game has to offer ... presently. Hoping for new content soon. One thing I have NOT yet been able to get is those mushroom trees!! I want a mushroom farm only because it looks cool from other's screen captures and I've personally never gotten one. At present, have half my farm as a raging forest -- hoping against hope that just ONE mushroom tree will sprout. Presently on my last season of first year (again) ... and not one single mushroom tree. *sigh*

[Azkan]

From the beginning of the game, fishing was pretty simple (for me). But if you really make money with them, you gotta practice

[Milky Joe]

Thank you all for your helpful replies, and massive thanks haviocthewolf, hopefully this will make my fishing life easier, and as for your comment SilentCaay i found rather rude, you don't need to be 80 to have joint problems thats just steryotypical for you to say.

I would lock this thread now if i could as my question is answered but i can't.

Thank you all again for you help. :) - Gregg

[Captain Blud]

Don't you dare nerf fishing. It started out easily enough, unless you hooked some big fugger. As your real life XP grows and your game XP grows, you start to notice the patterns and when you finally hook and reel in a legendary it is so satisfying. This game ties Breath of Fire 3 for best fishing. Well, maybe a bit under, but still, I love the fishing in here. I just wish there were more fish or a hard mode for xtra money or something. Maybe some new lake area with super tough fish? It sux you can only catch a legendary once.