Catfish are found in rivers during rain in Spring and Fall, between 6am and midnight — that is the short answer, and the rain requirement is the part that traps most players. Both the Pelican Town river and the Cindersap Forest river work, but on a clear day you will not see one no matter how long you cast. There are two useful exceptions to that rule, plus a way to force rain on demand, and this guide covers all of it.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Before the fishing specifics, here are eight cozy games worth having alongside Stardew Valley if the farming-and-fishing loop is your genre.
| Game | Platform | Genre | Why It’s Great | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stardew Valley | PC, Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox, mobile | Farming sim | One developer’s decade of free updates made it the genre’s benchmark | 9.7/10 |
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Nintendo Switch | Life sim | Island terraforming and a real-time calendar that rewards daily visits | 9.0/10 |
| Dave the Diver | PC, Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox | Fishing adventure | Diving by day, running a sushi restaurant by night, and it never stops escalating | 9.0/10 |
| Dredge | PC, Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox | Fishing horror | Turns inventory management and night fishing into genuine dread | 8.5/10 |
| My Time at Sandrock | PC, Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox | Life sim RPG | Crafting-focused town rebuilding with a strong cast | 8.3/10 |
| Coral Island | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S | Farming sim | Underwater diving and reef restoration layered onto a farming loop | 8.0/10 |
| Fields of Mistria | PC | Farming sim | Gorgeous pixel art and the most generous early-game pacing in years | 8.5/10 |
| Spiritfarer | PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox | Management adventure | A hand-drawn boat-management game about saying goodbye | 8.7/10 |
Where to Get Catfish in Stardew Valley: Exact Conditions
Catfish spawn in river water only, and only under a specific combination:
- Location: the river in Pelican Town or the river running through Cindersap Forest
- Season: Spring or Fall
- Weather: raining or storming
- Time: 6:00am to 12:00am
Miss any one of those and the fish simply is not in the spawn pool. This is why so many players spend an entire Spring without seeing one — they fish the river on sunny days, which is when the river is full of Sunfish, Bream and Chub instead. When it rains in Spring or Fall, drop everything and go to the river. Those days are your only reliable window on the mainland.
The Best Spots on the Pelican Town and Forest Rivers
Any river tile works, but some are more efficient than others. The stretch of river just south of the bridge in Pelican Town, near Willy’s shop, gives you fast access to the shop for rod repairs and bait restocking. The Cindersap Forest section, especially around the small island reached by the wooden bridge west of your farm, has wide-open water on multiple sides, which means fewer snagged casts on land tiles.
Cast toward the deepest, most open water you can reach. In Stardew Valley, longer casts into open water increase your chance of hooking a higher-tier fish, and Catfish is one of the harder river fish to hook. Standing on a dock or bridge tile and casting into the widest channel available is the practical version of that advice.
How to Force Rain So You Can Catch Catfish
You do not have to wait on the weather. A Rain Totem, crafted from one Hardwood, one Truffle Oil and five Fiber, guarantees rain the following day when used. The recipe unlocks at Foraging level 9, which makes it a mid-game solution rather than a Spring-one-of-year-one fix.
Until then, check the TV weather forecast every single evening. Channel 22 tells you tomorrow’s weather, and knowing that rain is coming lets you plan the day around fishing instead of watering crops. It is the single most underused feature in the game. Marathon fishing sessions are also where input comfort starts to matter — our ergonomic gaming mouse buying guide covers options that hold up to hours of click-timing.
Two Places Catfish Ignore the Weather Rules
There are two important exceptions. First, the Witch’s Swamp, unlocked by completing the Dark Talisman quest after the Community Center or Joja Warehouse is finished. Catfish spawn there regardless of season and regardless of weather, which makes it the single most reliable Catfish location in the game once you have access. The catch is that it takes most of a playthrough to unlock.
Second, the Secret Woods pond in Cindersap Forest, reachable once you have a Steel Axe to clear the fallen log. Catfish spawn there in Spring, Summer and Fall when it rains — the extra season is the meaningful gain. On Ginger Island, the rivers also produce Catfish without needing rain, though getting there requires unlocking the boat at Willy’s back room, which is a late-game project in itself.
Fishing Gear That Actually Improves Your Catfish Odds
Catfish are difficulty 75 with mixed movement, meaning the bar in the fishing minigame darts unpredictably rather than drifting smoothly. That is a genuinely hard catch at low fishing levels. Three things help:
- A better rod. The Fiberglass Rod from Willy at Fishing level 2 lets you use bait; the Iridium Rod at level 6 adds a tackle slot on top.
- Tackle. A Trap Bobber slows how fast the catch meter drains when you miss, which is the single biggest help against erratic fish. A Cork Bobber widens the green bar itself.
- Food buffs. Trout Soup gives +1 Fishing, Dish O’ The Sea gives +3, and Seafoam Pudding gives +4. Eating one before a rainy-day session is a bigger swing than any tackle.
Bait also shortens the wait between bites, which matters more than it sounds when your rain window is a single in-game day. Wild Bait, made from Fiber, Slime and Bug Meat, occasionally hooks two fish at once. If you are playing handheld on a Switch or a portable PC, our handheld gaming controller buying guide and portable gaming monitor buying guide both apply to long fishing sessions.
What Else Bites on a Rainy River Day
A rainy Spring or Fall day on the river is worth more than just the Catfish, because rain changes the entire spawn table. Shad appears in the rivers in Spring, Summer and Fall when it rains, and it is the other rain-gated entry in the River Fish Bundle. Walleye shows up in Fall rain, and Eel switches on in the ocean under the same conditions — so a rainy Fall day can service two bundles if you split your time between the river and the beach.
That is the real reason to check the forecast nightly rather than fishing opportunistically. Rain days are your most efficient fishing days in the entire calendar, and treating them as a scheduled activity rather than a happy accident is what separates a two-year bundle completion from a one-year one. If you play with a controller on PC, our wireless PC controller buying guide covers pads with reliable trigger response for the fishing minigame.
What Catfish Are Actually For
The main reason to hunt Catfish is the River Fish Bundle in the Community Center’s Fish Tank room, which requires a Sunfish, a Catfish, a Shad and a Tiger Trout. Catfish and Shad are the two rain-gated entries, so a single rainy Spring or Fall day can knock out half the bundle if you are prepared.
Beyond that, Catfish is one of the higher-value river fish, which makes it worth putting in a Fish Pond for passive roe production once you have spare pond space. The Traveling Cart in Cindersap Forest also occasionally stocks fish, including Catfish, on Fridays and Sundays — an expensive but season-proof backup if you are one fish short of a bundle and the season has turned. For those long play sessions, a comfortable seat matters more than any peripheral, which is what our gaming chair buying guide is for, and if you play docked on a TV our gaming TV buying guide covers input lag settings worth checking.
Frequently Asked Questions About Where to Get Catfish in Stardew Valley
Can you catch Catfish in Stardew Valley without rain?
On the mainland rivers, no — rain or a storm is a hard requirement in Spring and Fall. The exceptions are the Witch’s Swamp, where Catfish spawn in any weather and any season, and Ginger Island’s rivers, which also produce them without a rain requirement.
Can you catch Catfish in Summer or Winter?
Not in the town or forest rivers, which restrict Catfish to Spring and Fall. The Secret Woods pond adds Summer to the list as long as it is raining, and the Witch’s Swamp removes the season restriction entirely once you have completed the Dark Talisman quest.
Why does the Catfish keep escaping my hook?
Catfish have a difficulty rating of 75 with erratic mixed movement, making them one of the harder river catches. Raise your fishing level, equip a Trap Bobber to slow the catch meter draining, and eat a Trout Soup or Dish O’ The Sea beforehand for a temporary fishing skill boost.
Which bundle needs a Catfish in Stardew Valley?
The River Fish Bundle in the Fish Tank room of the Community Center, which asks for a Sunfish, Catfish, Shad and Tiger Trout. Both the Catfish and the Shad require rainy weather, so a single well-prepared rainy day in Spring or Fall can complete most of the bundle at once.
