To catch better fish in Stardew Valley, you’ll need bait.
So, you bought some bait items from Fishman Willy in Stardew Valley, but you can’t figure out how to use them while fishing?
Don’t worry, many new players encounter this problem as well, so to help you, we're covering how to use bait in Stardew Valley.
Stardew Valley offers a bunch of options for earning money, and one of them is by selling fish you caught on the shores around Pelican Town. As long as you’ve got a rod, you can just equip it into your quick slot, reel it in the water, and wait for a bite, play a fishing mini-game, and voila, you just got yourself a catch.
Sometimes, you can encounter fish that are strong enough that you’ll need better rods to make the fishing mini-game much easier. Once you get any of the advanced rods, you’ll get the option of using baits.
This is where things get a bit tricky, since putting the bait and using it from your quick slot won’t do anything.
How to use bait in Stardew Valley
To use bait in Stardew Valley, you need to put it on your rod. The only rods that can use baits in the game are the Fiberglass Rod, Iridium Rod, and Advanced Iridium Rod.
Attaching the bait to a rod is something that confuses many players, but the right way to do it is by opening the game’s menu and following these steps below.
Step 1: Right-click or left-click on the bait
Each right-click will take one amount of the bait, which is ideal if you only want to attach a specific quantity of bait to your rod. On the other hand, left-clicking the bait will instantly take all the amount of that bait in your inventory.
Your mouse pointer should start moving together with the icon of the bait to indicate that you’re holding the item.
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Step 2: Right-click on your rod while the arrow holds the bait
This step is crucial to remember since if you left-click your rod, the bait won’t get attached, and it will replace the position of your rod in your inventory instead. Right-click on your rod, and you should hear a clicking sound.
Step 3: You’re done!
Finally, hover your mouse pointer over your rod, and you’ll see that your bait is inside the rod’s text box. This means you successfully attached your bait. Afterwards, try fishing with your rod again to enjoy the added perks from using the bait.
Note: For non-PC players, the right click is equivalent to doing the do action button, which is the same button for opening doors and talking to people.
Various types of Stardew Valley baits and how to get them
Below is a list of all baits available in Stardew Valley, along with details on how you can obtain each one:
Bait | Effects | How to obtain | Crafting Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bait | Reduces the time to get a bite. | Buying from the Fish Shop Crafting Harvesting from the Worm Bin Random reward for opening Fishing Treasure Chests Buying from the Traveling Cart | x1 Bug Meat |
| Deluxe Bait | Reduces the time to get a bite better than the regular bait and increases the bar size during the fishing mini-game. | Buying from the Fish Shop Crafting Harvesting from the Deluxe Worm Bin Random reward for opening Fishing Treasure Chests | x2 Moss x5 Bait |
| Magic Bait | Allows catching fish regardless of their preferred time, weather, and season. | Buying from the shop in Qi’s Walnut Room Crafting | x3 Bug Meat x1 Radioactive Ore |
| Wild Bait | Can cause the rod to catch two fish and reduces the time to get a bite. | Crafting Random reward for opening Fishing Treasure Chests or Golden Fishing Treasure Chests Finding artifact spots on Ginger Island. | x5 Slime x5 Bug Meat x10 Fiber |
| Magnet | Increases the odds of reeling in treasure chests. | Buying from the Fish Shop or Casino Crafting Random reward for opening Golden Fishing Treasure Chests | x1 Iron Bar |
| Challenge Bait | Can cause the rod to catch three fish in one reel and reduces the time to get a bite. | Random reward for opening Golden Fishing Treasure Chests Crafting | x2 Moss x5 Bone Fragment |
| Targeted Bait | Makes catching a specific fish faster within the area in a time that it’s possible to catch. | Harvesting from the Bait Maker Buying from the Fish Shop | Uncraftable |
Each bait has unique effects that you can use for different situations. For example, if you’re after selling fish for a buttload of money, the best baits you can use are the Challenge Bait and the Wild Bait. To finish quests involving fish, you can consider the Targeted Bait or Magic Bait.
Stay tuned for more Stardew Valley guides and updates here at esports.gg.
