Tips for catching eel?

[MogBeoulve]

I am horrifically abysmal at the fishing mini game, and eel is the very last thing I need to complete the community center. I've been stalking the traveling cart with no luck. So I've started trying to catch it on my own, but I cannot seem to pull it off. I've gotten to fishing level 5 with mostly crab pots - should I take a break to level it up more? Or would food buffs be enough? I have the fiberglass rod with basic bait - does wild bait improve my chances enough to make a difference? Do I need the iridium rod with tackle in addition to bait?

I'm in Fall of Year 3 and am about to spam rain totems, but don't want to waste them if I haven't got a chance yet. I play on PC with an Xbox controller (when I tried to play with keyboard and mouse, I couldn't even get the fish to bite in order to start the mini game; also, I kept walking into things). I've even gone around to all of my IRL friends and asked them if they play and would mind catching me an eel. Please help.

 

[Ereo]

Wild bait won't help you, it only makes it possible to catch two fish at once.

Any food buffs you can get will be helpful. The higher your level, the bigger the green bar.

If you can get the iridium rod, there are some tackles that can make it easier, in particular the cork bobber (bigger green bar) and the trap bobber (fish escape more slowly when they're outside the bar).

Also check the trash cans, especially on high luck days. They have a chance to spawn seasonal fish.

Otherwise, fishing is mostly training. If you keep trying, it will click at some point and then it'll be easier.

 

[MogBeoulve]

I did not realize the trash cans were a potential source; I shall be sure to check them from now on.

Thank you for the advice. I'll see if I can crab pot/fish pond my way to level 6 and try again in the spring. Well, that or start downloading mods. I absolutely cannot believe how hard this is.

 

[DJModulo]

Did you get the Sturgeon, Catfish, Tiger Trout, Tuna and Pufferfish from the Cart? All of these are as hard or significantly harder to catch than the Eel.

If you wanna go for fishing it up:
Once you hook one, be prepared to get up the scale in the beginning, then follow it around. It'll cover a lot of ground on the move, but will stay in that place for a bit, giving you good options to fill the bar.

 

[MogBeoulve]

Did you get the Sturgeon, Catfish, Tiger Trout, Tuna and Pufferfish from the Cart? All of these are as hard or significantly harder to catch than the Eel.

Yup, I bought a LOT of fish from the cart and from Krobus.

I don't know HOW, but somehow I leveled up, it rained, and I was able to catch one with a trap bobber. FINALLY, THE RNG GODS HAVE SMILED UPON ME!

 

[DJModulo]

Nice, good job!

The level up was probably due to crab pots (these raise the Fishing skill without needing to fish; you only need fishing 3 or get lucky with beach forage / rock crab drops / cart)

 

[MogBeoulve]

Thank you!

Want to know the best part about this whole saga?

The next week, the cart had an eel for sale.

RAR. Now I know how people looking for red cabbage in year one feel.

 

[NannyO]

I am horrifically abysmal at the fishing mini game, and eel is the very last thing I need to complete the community center. I've been stalking the traveling cart with no luck. So I've started trying to catch it on my own, but I cannot seem to pull it off. I've gotten to fishing level 5 with mostly crab pots - should I take a break to level it up more? Or would food buffs be enough? I have the fiberglass rod with basic bait - does wild bait improve my chances enough to make a difference? Do I need the iridium rod with tackle in addition to bait?

I'm in Fall of Year 3 and am about to spam rain totems, but don't want to waste them if I haven't got a chance yet. I play on PC with an Xbox controller (when I tried to play with keyboard and mouse, I couldn't even get the fish to bite in order to start the mini game; also, I kept walking into things). I've even gone around to all of my IRL friends and asked them if they play and would mind catching me an eel. Please help.

Yoúre not cheating if you`re not competing!
It`s your game so buy a hen call it “[148][148]Name “. When you exit from Marnie you should have an eel!

 

[FilthyGorilla]

Yoúre not cheating if you`re not competing!
It`s your game so buy a hen call it “[148][148]Name “. When you exit from Marnie you should have an eel!

There is no reason to have the item Id twice in the name, a single time will suffice and it’s impossible to get the same item twice from a single named thing twice anyway.


You can always rename the animal too

 

[NannyO]

Yup, I know you won’t get more than one but I believe the game reads all the sections and then uses a percent chance for each one.

 

[qaija]

One of the things I enjoy about this game is that almost everything gets easier as you level up and fishing is a good example. In the beginning it is a pita; you have to wait a long time to catch a fish, and then when you hook it, most of the time you don't land it.

In the first year I usually spend rainy days using all my energy fishing. By the start of winter I have reached at least level 7, sometimes even as high as 9. The only fish I usually buy from the Traveling Cart is a Pufferfish, the others are not that hard to catch once you have fishing skill of 7 or higher, an Iridium rod, and know when and where to catch the fish you want. With a fishing skill of 7+ getting a Stardrop at The Fair on the 16th of Fall is reasonably easy.

 

[SurprisedPikachuBob3]

One of the things I enjoy about this game is that almost everything gets easier as you level up and fishing is a good example. In the beginning it is a pita; you have to wait a long time to catch a fish, and then when you hook it, most of the time you don't land it.

In the first year I usually spend rainy days using all my energy fishing. By the start of winter I have reached at least level 7, sometimes even as high as 9. The only fish I usually buy from the Traveling Cart is a Pufferfish, the others are not that hard to catch once you have fishing skill of 7 or higher, an Iridium rod, and know when and where to catch the fish you want. With a fishing skill of 7+ getting a Stardrop at The Fair on the 16th of Fall is reasonably easy.

Yes that is probably the reason why I like to turn my farms into a massive money machine, to make the game as easy as possible

 

[MogBeoulve]

you're much better at fishing than I am ...

 

[qaija]

you're much better at fishing than I am ...

I bet if you like the rest of the game enough to keep playing it for awhile eventually you will learn to get your fishing skill up to at least 7. I have never tried to get the achievement for catching every different fish in the game, as many players have, but to complete all the fishing requirements for the Community Center and be able to catch everything you need on Ginger Island, level 7 should suffice. And trust me, I'm not all that good at fishing; I like other parts of the game more, but with patience and practice it gets easier.

 

[imnvs]

I'm different than qaija in that I do not enjoy fishing in SDV, but I have caught literally every fish in all of my saves.

 

[qaija]

"I'm different than qaija in that I do not enjoy fishing in SDV"

Errmmmm *cough* *cough* Where did I say/imply that I like fishing?? I like other parts of the game more. Once my fishing is level 7, I am done with it. I do it early in the game in order to get that part behind me........

I will credit Concerned Ape with making fishing in SDV much more interesting, complex, and challenging than it is in other games I have played which contain a fishing component.

 

[MogBeoulve]

Hahaha omg okay I feel better now, thanks guys.

I actually have gotten to level 7 using crab pots and fish ponds. But the eel was so difficult that I'm waiting until a higher level to try again. Several times, I snagged something utterly impossible to catch. Pretty disheartening!

 

[qaija]

Hahaha omg okay I feel better now, thanks guys.

I actually have gotten to level 7 using crab pots and fish ponds. But the eel was so difficult that I'm waiting until a higher level to try again. Several times, I snagged something utterly impossible to catch. Pretty disheartening!

Are you using an Iridium rod with tackle? I usually use the cork bobber but sometimes the trap bobber when fishing for Sturgeon which is the hardest fish I normally try to catch (I will buy this from the Travelling Cart if I see it for sale and have the gold). I usually buy a Pufferfish from the Traveling Cart since they are often for sale. With fishing skill of 7 you should be able to land an eel with a cork bobber.

Good luck!

 

[imnvs]

Errmmmm *cough* *cough* Where did I say/imply that I like fishing?? I like other parts of the game more. Once my fishing is level 7, I am done with it. I do it early in the game in order to get that part behind me........

Oh, I never meant to imply you liked fishing. In that regard we are alike. I do not like fishing.

I am, however, actually pretty good at it, which was the way in which I said we may differ. I have achieved catching literally every fish in literally every save I have played past year 2 (which is also literally all of my solo farms), a way in which we definitely differ.

My spouse plays Riverlands farms because she loves to fish. I find that farm map anxiety-inducing, and don't like fishing that much. I don't even fish much on my Beach farm.