Earning the Master Angler Achievement in Stardew Valley is a simple process. You just need to catch every fish available in the game. Unfortunately, "simple" does not mean "easy". It takes patience, determination, and time to accomplish this task. Certain fish can only be caught in certain seasons, during certain times, and in certain weather conditions. and different fish are available in different locations. So, it takes time to work out a lot of the details.
Never fear dear reader. Yes, it can be a daunting task. However, there are several tips and tricks that will greatly help you on this quest. Here are 10 tips to help you unlock the Stardew Valley Master Angler Achievement.
Get The Iridium Rod
The Iridium Rod is the best fishing rod in the game, allowing the use of bait similar to the Fiberglass Rod, in addition to the use of fishing tackle. It is obtained from Willy's Fish Shop at the beach for 7,500 Gold after you reach level 6 in your fishing skill.
Use The Right Tackle
There is a wide variety of fishing tackle you will now have access to, but not all of them are as useful as some others. The Spinners, Lead Bobber, and Barbed Hook are not really worth using. The Spinners just make fish appear more often, The Lead Bobber prevents the bar from bouncing as much, which you can easily prevent anyway with good timing, and the Barbed Hook doesn't even make sense as an item. It makes slow and weaker fish easier to catch, but that's exactly the problem. The slower and weaker fish are *slow and weak*, they are already easy to catch.
What actually matters here are the Trap Bobber, Cork Bobber, and the Curiosity Lure. The Trap Bobber makes it so the fish have a much harder time escaping when you're not reeling them, giving you much more time to catch the fish in question. The Curiosity Lure makes rare fish appear more often, but it's difficult to get one. It can only be found by smashing crates or barrels in the Quarry Mine, Skull Cavern, or the Volcano Dungeon. Finally, probably the best one of the bunch, the Cork Bobber. It increases the size of your fishing bar just by having it equipped, giving you a lot more leeway when catching fish. It is especially useful if you combine it with a dish that increases your fishing skill and have level 10 fishing, as all of that makes the bar massive.
Have A Surplus Of Bait
Bait makes fish spawn a lot more often, so it's important to have a ton of it. The best and easiest way to gather bait is to go kill the Mutant Grub and Mutant Flies that can be found all over the area every once in a while, and turn their Bug Meat into more bait. You need to have finished either the Community Center or Joja Mart to have access to this area, however. If you haven't done those yet, your next best option is to kill the bugs found on floors 11-29 of the regular mines. Wild Bait also has its uses, but it is slightly more expensive to make. The Burglar's Ring obtained from the Dust Sprites Monster Eradication Goal also helps tremendously here, as it doubles the amount of items monsters drop.
Reach Level 10 Fishing
For every level that your fishing skill increases, so does the bar in the fishing minigame. As such, reaching level 10 fishing is a big component in catching every fish. This really just translates to "fish a lot and fish often", but there is another method of improving your fishing skill. Crab Pots give you fishing experience every time you harvest them, so it's good to have several of them around. It is recommended you have 5-10 crab pots on your farm, Pelican Town's river, and (especially) the beach.
Have Every Location Accessible
It is 100% impossible to get the Master Angler achievement without having access to every location, this comes down to needing to accomplish some of the major goals in the game. You will need access to the eastern beach (repair the bridge with 300 wood), Calico Desert (finish the Vault Room/Joja Mart goal), the Mutant Bug Lair, Witch's Swamp, and Ginger Island (Finish the Community Center/Joja Mart goals), The Secret Woods (Get the Steel Axe), Floors 20, 60, and 100 of the Mines, The Sewers (Donate 60 artifacts), and the Night Market (only available in Winter, starting from the 15th and ending on the 17th.)
The Weather, Season, And Time Of Day Matter
Some fish are only available depending on the weather, season, time of day, or some combination of the 3. For example, the Carp can be caught in any season at any time no matter the weather, but a fish like the Perch can only be caught in Winter, or another fish such as the Pufferfish can only be caught in the ocean, while it's sunny, at 12 PM - 4 PM, only in the Summer.
This means you must experiment with where and when you fish and pay attention to what you haven't tried yet.
Use Dishes
Dishes make fishing a ton easier if you use the right ones. The 2 I want to highlight the most are Trout Soup and the Lobster Bisque. Both of these give you extra fishing levels and are rather easy to obtain in high quantities. The Trout Soup can simply be bought at Willy's Fish Shop for 250 Gold, while the Lobster Bisque and be cooked by combining a Lobster with Milk, which you should have a lot of both if you have Crab Pots at the beach and a barn with at least 1 cow. The recipe for Lobster Bisque can be obtained from either watching the Queen of Sauce channel on the 14th of Winter during an even-numbered year or by having 9+ hearts with Willy, who will send it to you in the mail.
Legendary Fish
The Legendary Fish are some of the hardest fish to acquire in the game, making it necessary you know where they are and how to get them. The Mutant Carp can be found in the sewers, the Angler can be found in the water north of the bridge next to Joja Mart/Movie Theater, requiring level 3+ fishing, the Crimsonfish can be found at the beach in the water at the southeastern dock, requiring level 5+ fishing, the Glacierfish can be found south of the most narrow part of the island with 4 trees on it in Cindersap Forest, requiring level 6+ fishing, and finally, the Legend can be found next to the submerged log in the Mountain Lake during the Spring while it's raining, and requiring level 10 fishing.
The Glacier and Legend fish are rather brutal to catch, so it is recommended that you use Bait, the Cork Bobber, and Lobster Bisque in combination to make them a little easier.
Know What Professions To Pick
Like with every skill, you have the option to pick a specific profession at both levels 5 and 10. The most helpful professions for fishing are Fisher and Angler, as they increase the amount of Goldfish sell for, and having more money makes this game easier in general.
If you did not pick these Professions, the Statue Of Uncertainty in the sewers can change them for you, but it costs 10,000 gold per skill.
Practice
The fishing minigame can feel awkward at first, meaning it's in your best interest to play it consistently so you can get a feel for it. The Training Rod exists for this very reason, it can be bought from Willy for 25 Gold, but it can only catch basic fish. You can also use the "C" button on your keyboard if you find that clicking on your trackpad/mouse too unwieldy.