Early Fishing Advice?

[ladyunicornejg]

I don't know if it gets easier later, but I can't catch any fish (other than the first one). Anyone have any tips for managing to keep the bar behind the fish? Does it get easier after leveling up off of trash (or getting a better rod)?

[ウィッチ（？）]

Keep up with easy fish. Try fishing at lucky day (check fortune teller every morning).
Once you level up, try to get better rod whenever possible. Then later use good tackle to make it easy.
Also some food helps too.

[Serbz]

Rather than holding the button to raise the bar, I tap it since that stops it from shooting up and bouncing. It'll get easier as you get the hang of it!

[Hextravert]

Many first-timers put the bar under its tail trying to push the fish to the top or something.

Make sure the green bar and the fish overlap; and tap repeatedly — don't hold too long.

Although it gets easier, fishing at the beach or in front of the mine shouldn't be hard now.

Originally posted by ladyunicornejg:

I don't know if it gets easier later, but I can't catch any fish (other than the first one). Anyone have any tips for managing to keep the bar behind the fish? Does it get easier after leveling up off of trash (or getting a better rod)?

[uzze]

It gets so easy at later levels that its boring.

My opinion is that the trapper level 5 and mariner level 10 skill set is a lot better for catching fish if you want food/fertilizer with minimum effort, because you'll most definitely want to do something other than fishing everyday at some point.

Out of the level 10 fishing skills, the one which increases price seems the most useless, as crops and artisan goods are most peoples main source of income.

As for literally fishing, when the fish is at the bottom, try to keep the fish near the bottom of the green bar, when its near the top, keep it near the top of the green bar, when its in the middle, keep it in the middle of the green bar, it'll give you more of a chance to react when it shoots off.

The trapper bobber is the best bobber, people who tell you otherwise are wrong.

[VerboseLamp]

Originally posted by Serbz:

Rather than holding the button to raise the bar, I tap it since that stops it from shooting up and bouncing. It'll get easier as you get the hang of it!

This is honestly the best advice I've seen so far; practicing this one tip will give you way more control over the bobber and and allow you to react much more quickly than just holding/releasing the button. It's also frequently required to avoid bouncing the bobber off the top or bottom of the bar, so it's worth getting down.

Originally posted by Skuzze:

As for literally fishing, when the fish is at the bottom, try to keep the fish near the bottom of the green bar, when its near the top, keep it near the top of the green bar, when its in the middle, keep it in the middle of the green bar, it'll give you more of a chance to react when it shoots off.

Likewise, this. In the end, fishing in this game largely boils down to controlling the bobber by anticipating where it's most likely to go and then leading it with the edge of the bar to pad your reaction time when it starts moving. Those two tips alone will carry you through 90% of fishing, and food/lures will make up the difference.

[Bixxewoschd]

It gets easier later and like all the other people said: TAP your mousebutton. Holding it to long just makes the fish go crazy ;D

[ladyunicornejg]

Does anyone know if you gain xp/can level up from failing to catch fish?

[Hextravert]

No, you do not get rewarded for failing; i.e., you have to successfully catch something.

Originally posted by ladyunicornejg:

Does anyone know if you gain xp/can level up from failing to catch fish?

[gummyonion]

You can get fishing exp from catching stuff in crab pots too.

[ladyunicornejg]

Originally posted by notonion:

You can get fishing exp from catching stuff in crab pots too. :fishbun:

This will be nice once I can make it to that level.

[ladyunicornejg]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the minigame/fishing mechanics in this game either. I've been doing a ton of deliberately fishing up trash to get to level 3. I've made it to level 2 in about half a season...that's something at least. Fishing up trash is simple enough, but trying to actually catch fish is still infuriating at least 80% of the time for me (plus there is no xp for failing this task, so fishing up trash is better than failing to catch a fish). So far I think it might be the most tedius of the skills to attempt to level. I'd probably give up on it, but I want to complete things (including all the bundles at the community center).

[Romz]

Out of all the fishing mechanics across all games ever, Stardew Valley has to have the worst version period, worse than Breath of Fire 3. Thanks for the tips guys.

[Natu]

Originally posted by Romz:

Out of all the fishing mechanics across all games ever, Stardew Valley has to have the worst version period, worse than Breath of Fire 3. Thanks for the tips guys.

I disagree, I think the fishing mechanic in this game is really unique and appropriately challenging. If you're good at it, you get results.

Besides, there are tackles you can get to help make it easier.

[NotThatHarkness]

I hate the fishing mini game mechanics myself. I put off fishing for a long time. I found the trout soup that Willy sells to be quite helpful. That gives you a temporary +1 fishing bonus. I totally exploit that. Later you can use the "Dish O' the Sea" which gives you a temporary +3 fishing bonus. I got 3 of those from one of the community center bundles, I don't remember where I got the recipe.

I also did much of my early fishing at the pond in the secret forest. You tend to catch carp there, and carp are pretty easy to catch.

I just made it to fishing level 6 and got the iridium rod. Now I can finally use tackle. I haven't fished much with the new rod yet, but it feels like I'm mostly over the difficultly hump now.

[VerboseLamp]

Originally posted by Natu:

I disagree, I think the fishing mechanic in this game is really unique and appropriately challenging. If you're good at it, you get results.

Besides, there are tackles you can get to help make it easier.

Agreed. There are more than enough games with pointless fishing systems where you just sit back and auto-catch or "press X on bite to catch". I play games to relax, but I also want to feel engaged. The two things I want most out of a fishing minigame are to have a variety of locations/catches, and for it to feel like my success is a combination of skill and preparation, and I feel ConcernedApe did a decent job on both counts.