Quality of fish caught suddenly very low

[blckstrs]

Hey! I'm quite new to Stardew Valley but I love fishing. I'm usually fishing with Iridium rod, bait and the trap bobber. I'm used to a few easy iridium fish, some gold but most silver, but recently, silver was the highest I could get. I perfectly caught a sunfish on the bridge towards the beach but it didn't have anything. Does this have to do something with the location or am I doing something wrong?

[Huillam]

That's probably related to the Fishing Zone mechanic: https://stardewcommunitywiki.com/Fishing#Fishing_Zone

In short you want for your bobber to land as far as possible from solid ground.

[Adeptguy]

Originally posted by blckstrs:

Hey! I'm quite new to Stardew Valley but I love fishing. I'm usually fishing with Iridium rod, bait and the trap bobber. I'm used to a few easy iridium fish, some gold but most silver, but recently, silver was the highest I could get. I perfectly caught a sunfish on the bridge towards the beach but it didn't have anything. Does this have to do something with the location or am I doing something wrong?

How it works is this: location is key. Especially where your bobber lands when you cast your line. What you want to go for is large bodies of water that have as much distance from the nearest shoreline from where your bobber lands. The town river is mostly very narrow and the land is very close to the water, that wont catch you great quality fish. However, if you follow the river towards the west side of town and even eventually into the forest you will notice the river becomes wider. These parts are better for fishing because it would be the same in real life fishing as well. The bigger the river and the further away from land you cast your line, the better the chance u will get a fish (in real life that is) and a bigger one compared to a smaller one. Ofcourse exceptions exist as always but in terms of the game fishing this is what its trying to "simulate".

In any case, if you want beter quality always try to cast as far as u can from the shoreline. That is the general rule I use personally. Also dont go for small and narrow riverpaths but find large and wide riverpaths and fish in those locations.

[Guts]

The other factor not yet mentioned in this thread is luck, which is random. Check the fortune teller on TV to see how your luck is going to be for the day. If it's bad luck, everything is going to be slightly worse for drops that day. That includes farming, fishing, foraging, etc.

[Adeptguy]

Originally posted by N473:

The other factor not yet mentioned in this thread is luck, which is random. Check the fortune teller on TV to see how your luck is going to be for the day. If it's bad luck, everything is going to be slightly worse for drops that day. That includes farming, fishing, foraging, etc.

What? How does quality of fish get affected by luck? This does not fit in the question OP has.

[Pixel Peeper]

Originally posted by Adeptguy:

What? How does quality of fish get affected by luck? This does not fit in the question OP has.

AFAIK the only Fishing-related thing Luck affects is the odds of getting treasure.

Quality is determined by Fishing Zone, whether or not you got a Perfect catch, and the Quality Bobber (which apparently got fixed in the latest update). Also whether or not you're using the Training Rod.

[Adeptguy]

Originally posted by Tripoteur Ventripotent:

Originally posted by Adeptguy:

What? How does quality of fish get affected by luck? This does not fit in the question OP has.

AFAIK the only Fishing-related thing Luck affects is the odds of getting treasure.

Quality is determined by Fishing Zone, whether or not you got a Perfect catch, and the Quality Bobber (which apparently got fixed in the latest update). Also whether or not you're using the Training Rod.

Yeah exactly, thats why I was super confused when the user I quoted mentioned that. I think they were a bit misinformed or confused. Oh well.

[Hammer Of Evil]

you have to find a place where your hook is the furthest from any shore. in the example you describe, its because in the river, the shores are usually too close to the hook to permit any high grade fish, so you only catch regular fish there.

and you cannot let fish outside of the green bar if you want irridium fish. once the fish drops out of the green catch zone once, it is now a gold quality fish, assuming you have the 'cast bar' in the end part or max during your cast.