Fishing is a big part of Stardew Valley, for progressing through the Community Center storyline, making the best dishes, and for turning a huge profit for big hauls of exotic marine life. The most basic step in learning to fish is learning how to use bait in Stardew Valley, so we’ve put this quick walkthrough together to get you started on the path to becoming a legendary angler.
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About Fishing in Stardew Valley
Fishing rods do not require bait to catch fish, but having bait on the hook will cause fish to cut the amount of time it takes for fish to bite by half, which will in turn allow you to catch more fish in any given period of time. By increasing volume, you also increase the chance you’ll catch rare and high-quality fish, which is very useful if you’re trying to fill out the Community Center’s aquarium or compete at the next fair.
How to Use Bait in Stardew Valley PC
To use bait and attach it to your rod in Stardew Valley on a PC, you need to press the right mouse button which is the default “Use Tool” key for PC players.
How to Use Bait in Stardew Valley Switch
If you are trying to attach bait to your rod on the Switch version of Stardew Valley you will need to press the A button to select the correct bait and then hover over the fishing pole and press Y.
How to Use Bait in Stardew Valley on Mobile
For the mobile version of Stardew Valley, bait can be added to the fishing rod by opening the inventory, then dragging the bait with your finger and dropping it on top of the rod.
How to Use Bait in Stardew Valley on Xbox and PS4
- Xbox Controller: Press A on the bait to select the whole stack (or X to pick up a single piece). Then press X to attach the bait to the rod.
- PS4 Controller: Press X to select the whole stack (or Square to pick up a single piece of bait). Then press Square to attach the bait to the rod.
How to Find Bait In Stardew Valley
The following are the ways to acquire bait in Stardew Valley:
- The Fish Shop in the southernmost part of the beach sells bait for 5g each. The first time you visit the shop.
- Bait can be crafted using bug meat once you reach level 2 in fishing. Bug meat is acquired by destroying bug-like enemies in the game’s mines and dungeons.
- Reaching Fishing level 8 allows you to craft the Worm Bin, which automatically creates 2-5 pieces of bait every day in the morning.
- Treasure chests found while fishing will sometimes yield bait.
- Bait is given as a reward for completing the River Fish Bundle in the Community Center.
- It will appear in the inventory of the Traveling Cart on occasion, but since the cart isn’t present every day and its inventory changes, this shouldn’t be considered a reliable source of bait.
When To Use Bait In Stardew Valley
Bait cannot be used in the Training Rod or the Bamboo Pole, the game’s first two poles. Reaching Fishing level 2 unlocks the Fiberglass Pole, which does allow you to attach bait. At level 6 in Fishing, the Iridium Pole is unlocked. To attach bait to a pole, you need only select it and then select the pole while it’s active. Removing bait requires clicking on the pole and pressing whichever button you’ve set to ‘cancel’ (right-click on PC, for example). The rod will continue using one piece of bait each time you cast the reel until it’s empty, and you should notice the increased bite frequency right away.
Bait can also be used in the crab pot; in fact, the crab pot is useless without it. Once you’ve placed a pot in the water you can ‘plant’ the bait into it like you would a seed in fertile ground.
That’s all there is to it; you’ve learned how to use bait in Stardew Valley. Here’s a bonus tip for your time: never give bait as a gift; literally everyone hates receiving dead worms as a present, even Willy the fisherman.
