The lingcod is one of the hardest non-legendary fish in Stardew Valley to catch and has been a major headache for many a Stardew player. In fact, outside of the legendary fish the lingcod is rated as 5th hardest fish to catch behind such rage quit inducing names as the Scorpion Carp, Lava Eel, and others.
The lingcod is found throughout the entire day during winter. This sounds good at first, you don’t have to rush early morning or wait until mid-afternoon, but because of the difficulty catching lingcod in Stardew, this actually becomes an annoyance to many players looking to catch a decent number of fish only to suddenly have the fishing bar jumping up and down before the line snaps.
All morning, all day, and all night.
And amazingly…it always seems like there are more of these when you don’t have the upgraded fishing rod or fishing level to actually catch them. Imagine that, right?
Let’s talk about everything you need to know about the lingcod while fishing in Stardew Valley.
All You Need to Know about Stardew Lingcod
The lingcod are a challenging fish and if you are at the level where you can consistently land these then you are at the level where you can start chasing all the legendary fish. The good news is since lingcod only show up in the winter, you have the in-game time and access to the equipment to get good enough to potentially land them when they first show up.
- Where to catch lingcod in Stardew: In the river or the mountain lake.
- When: Winter is the only season that lingcod are active.
- Difficulty: Extremely difficult. The lingcod is one of the hardest fish to catch in the game.
- Best For: Liked gift for Willy, also can fulfill a year 2 quest from Willy for 550g and a friendship heart
- Value: 31-43 xp
- Spawn: [707]
Lingcod have some pretty neat qualities, though they are not a major important fish as they show up in very few quests and rarely play a big impact in crafting or gifting.
So what are the base stats? How much do lingcod sell for? Are they good for eating/healing while getting attacked in the mines? Well…
| Lingcod Quality | Energy | Health | Base Price | Fisher Price | Angler Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | +25 | +11 | 120g | 150g | 180g |
| Silver | +35 | +15 | 150g | 187g | 225g |
| Gold | +45 | +20 | 180g | 225g | 270g |
| Iridium | +65 | +29 | 240g | 300g | 360g |
How to Use Lingcod in in Stardew?
Lingcod does have a few different uses compared to some other fish, though it doesn’t appear in any Community Center bundles whether normal or remixed.
Sell for Decent Gold
The lingcod isn’t going to light your pocketbook on fire, but it is a decent seller as far as fish goes and a few of them can quickly push you over a grand for a day. While by winter you likely have enough farm animals and artisan goods that pure money for action things like fishing might just not matter as much, lingcod are one of the more valuable fish for selling.
They’re at least one way to get the shipping numbers up during winter.
Gift for Willy / Quest for Willy
Most fish don’t have anyone who likes them as a gift, but the lingcod counts as a Liked gift for befriending Willy. This is an excellent way to gain some hearts with Willy if you don’t have his friendship maxed out.
Crafting Food & Quality Fertilizer
Some would say that the difficulty of catching a lingcod makes them a terrible choice for fish. Or fertilizer. However, if you have a bit of the vindictive streak like I do, this might be the perfect reason for slicing them up and eating them. Or planting them in the soil.
Tailoring Ingredient
The lingcod is one of 11 fish that can be used in the sewing machine to produce the Fishing Vest item of clothing. While I would probably use one of the much easier to catch options for this, to each their own. Lingcod can also be put in the dye pots to produce orange dye.
Aquatic Overpopulation Big Board Quest
Sometimes Demetrius will put up a quest in winter about the aquatic overpopulation of a certain type of fish. In winter, this can be the lingcod. Personally, if the quest is to catch 10 lingcod I would just pass unless I was doing heavy fishing all winter because it’s not worth chasing for the reward, but it is another place where lingcod can come up as important in Stardew.
How to Catch Lingcod in Stardew Valley
The lingcod is a challenging fish in this game, rated as an 85 difficulty out of 100 and with mixed behavior, meaning it can go nuts from the moment its hooked or lull you into a false sense of security before going nuts just before that moment when you thought you had it set to be reeled in.
Important steps to catch a lingcod:
- Upgrade to the Iridium Fishing Rod
- Level up your fishing skill to high levels, preferably maxing it out all the way at level 10
- Buy or make trout soup for that +3 fishing bonus (this is HUGE if you have your fishing level maxed out)
- Some players like the hook, I actually believe it’s counterproductive against the hard to catch fish that move a lot, in my experience
If you follow all of these, dealing with the occasional lingcod bite in winter will become much more manageable.
How can I get a lingcod without fishing?
There actually are ways to get the lingcod without fishing in Stardew Valley. Players who just can’t stand the heavy difficulty fish, or simply don’t want to bother, have two main options available to them.
To get a lingcod without fishing for it, a player can:
- Sometimes find the lingcod in Krobus’s shop on Wednesdays for a mere 200g (occasional occurrence)
- Sometimes find the lingcod in the Traveling Cart for between 360g to 1,000g
As of the latest update, these are the only two ways to acquire a lingcod without fishing for it, though it can definitely be worth it to avoid that particular headache especially if you find the lingcod just beyond the reach of what you can consistently deal with when it comes to Stardew fishing challenges.
Is Lingcod rare in Stardew Valley?
The lingcod isn’t rare but many fish are two or three seasons, so it can seem like it since these only occur in winter – a time when many players aren’t fishing but are finishing community center bundles, tending the greenhouse, or exploring Skull Cavern.
Is Lingcod hard to catch in Stardew Valley?
Yes. These are one of the hardest non-legendary fish to catch in the entire game.
Stardew Lingcod, In Conclusion
The lingcod is a fish that causes a lot of emotional reactions from Stardew Valley players. Not a lot of them positive, although the rare times you guess that initial strike right and get a relatively low trouble lingcod in (and this is a rare, rare occurrence) it is a sweet feeling once you reel it in.
Other Stardew Valley Articles You May Enjoy
- Rainbow Trout Stardew
- Stardew Shad Fishing Guide
- Rare Seeds Stardew Valley
- Why Did My Crops Die Stardew
- Are Gaming Screenshots Copyrighted?
Proud to embrace the locally created moniker of “Corrupt Overlord” from one of the all time great Lords of Waterdeep runs, Shane is one member of the Assorted Meeples crew and will be hard at work creating awesome content for the website. He is a long-time player of board games, one time semi-professional poker player, and tends to run to the quirky or RPG side of things when it comes to playing video games. He loves tabletop roleplaying systems like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Werewolf, Fate, and others, and not only has been a player but has run games as DM for years. You can find his other work in publications like Level Skip or Hobby Lark.