Quick Links
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a remake of the classic farming simulator-RPG hybrid, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town for the Game Boy Advance. The original game featured mechanics that were ahead of its time, including tool upgrades, cooking, mining, NPC relationships, collectibles, events, and choices that have a lasting impact on your playthrough.
The game is also peppered with fun side activities to keep you occupied as you progress through the game. Fishing, for example, is a reliable and convenient way to make money while waiting for crops to grow.
How To Get The Fishing Pole​​​
First things first, you need to grab the fishing pole from Zack.
You can do this by visiting his house at the beach between 10am and 4pm. Just be sure you have an extra slot in your Tool Bag to trigger the event.
To free up space in your Tool Bag, interact with the Tool Box right next to your house.
The beach is in the lower-right corner of the map. Zack's house is the wooden building right next to the shore.
If all the conditions are met, a cutscene should play wherein Zack gives you the fishing rod for free.
Take note that Zack's house is accessible every day except during Holidays.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town Fishing Spots
With the fishing rod in hand, you're ready for your first catch.
Mineral Town has a total of six fishing locations:
- Mineral Beach
- Secret Forest pond
- Waterfall
- Stream (by the farm)
- Mother's Lake
- River (below Mother's Hill Summit)
The types of fish you can catch depending on your fishing location and your fishing rod's upgrade level. Just remember that Mother's Lake is frozen over during the winter, enabling access to the underground Lake Mine (where you can catch the Coelacanth).
How To Use The Fishing Rod
To fish, equip your fishing rod and press the tool button while facing the water.
If you have an upgraded fishing rod, press and hold the tool button before casting your line. Doing so activates your upgrades and enables you to catch bigger fish while also increasing your fish bite chance at max level.
You know you have a bite when the bobber shakes violently. An exclamation point will also appear above your character. Quickly press the tool button again to reel in your catch.
Consider using a controller with a vibration function to help time your tool button presses when fishing.
Upgrading Your Fishing Rod
To upgrade your fishing rod, talk to Saibara in his forge from 10am to 4pm. Saibara's forge is closed during Holidays and every Thursday.
Upgrading the fishing rod requires experience points along with money and different ores from the mines. Higher upgrade levels, namely Cursed, Blessed, and Mythic, also require additional conditions to be achieved.
The best way to gain experience points for your fishing rod is in the Spring Mine (in-game time stops indoors). When you're low on stamina, head outside and hop right into the hot spring--rinse and repeat.
Refer to the table below for the fishing rod's upgrade requirements.
Upgrade Level | Experience | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
Copper | 10% | Copper ore + 1,000G |
Silver | 28% | Silver ore + 2,000G |
Gold | 55% | Gold ore + 3,000G |
Mithril | 100% | Mithril ore + 5,000G |
Once all your tools are upgraded to Mithril level, the Cursed fishing rod can be obtained from the 29th level of the Lake Mine. This transforms into the Blessed fishing rod after 50 uses.
With all tools upgraded to Blessed level, you can upgrade to the Mythic fishing rod at the forge. This requires 50,000G and one mythic ore, which can be found in the Spring Mine.
All Normal Fishes
Below is a complete list of all normal fishes you can catch in Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town.
Fish | Location | Season | Max. Size | Upgrade Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Amur Minnow |
| All | Small | None |
Atka Mackerel |
| Spring, Autumn, and Winter | Medium | Silver |
Beltfish |
| Summer and Autumn | Large | Mithril |
Bighead Carp |
| All | Large | Gold |
Black Bass |
| All | Large | Gold |
Bluegill |
| All | Medium | None |
Blotched Snakehead |
| Spring, Summer, and Autumn | Large | Mithril |
Blowfish |
| Spring and Winter | Large | Gold |
Bonito |
| Spring, Summer, and Autumn | Large | Mithril |
Cherry Salmon |
| All | Medium | Copper |
Chicken Grunt |
| All | Medium | Gold |
Cod |
| Spring and Winter | Large | Gold |
Char |
| Spring, Summer, and Autumn | Large | Gold |
Crucian Carp |
| All | Large | Gold |
Dace |
| All | Medium | Copper |
Dark Sleeper |
| All | Medium | None |
Eel |
| All | Large | Mithril |
Fat Greeling |
| All | Medium | Gold |
Flounder |
| All | Large | Gold |
Flying Fish |
| Summer and Autumn | Medium | Copper |
Goldfish |
| All | Small | None |
Halibut |
| All | Large | Mithril |
Loach |
| Spring, Summer, and Autumn | Small | None |
Longtooth Grouper |
| Spring, Autumn, and Winter | Large | Gold |
Luna Lionfish |
| All | Medium | Copper |
Mackerel |
| All | Large | Gold |
Mahi-Mahi |
| Spring, Summer, and Autumn | Large | Mithril |
Masu Trout |
| All | Small | None |
Needlefish |
| Spring, Summer, and Autumn | Medium | Silver |
Ocean Sunfish |
| Spring, Summer, and Autumn | Large | Mithril |
Pacific Herring |
| All | Medium | None |
Pale Chub |
| All | Small | None |
Pike |
| Autumn | Medium | Silver |
Pike Conger |
| Summer and Autumn | Large | Mithril |
Rainbow Trout |
| All | Large | Mithril |
Red Seaperch |
| Spring, Summer, and Autumn | Medium | Copper |
Salmon |
| Summer and Autumn | Large | Gold |
Sailfin Sandfish |
| Spring, Autumn, and Winter | Small | None |
Sand Smelt |
| Spring and Summer | Medium | Silver |
Sardine |
| All | Medium | None |
Sea Bream |
| All | Large | Mithril |
Seerfish |
| Spring, Summer, and Winter | Large | Mithril |
Silver Carp |
| All | Large | Mithril |
Smelt |
| Spring, Autumn, and Winter | Small | None |
Sweet Fish |
| Summer and Autumn | Medium | Gold |
Thread-sail Filefish |
| Spring, Autumn, and Winter | Medium | Copper |
Tuna |
| All | Large | Mithril |
Yellowtail |
| Spring and Winter | Large | Mithril |
All Guardian Fish
If you have at least a Cursed fishing rod, you will be able to catch guardian fish under special conditions:
Guardian Fish | Location | Season | Special Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
Anglerfish | Ocean | Spring and winter | Between 10pm and 8am. |
Arapaima Gigas | Pond | Summer | Catch 50 fish types. |
Carp | Lake | Spring, summer, and autumn | Sell 200 fishes total. |
Coelacanth | Lake Mine (9th level) | Any | Catch 5+ guardian fish. |
Hot Spring Catfish | Hot Spring | Winter | None. |
Huchen | Stream | Summer and autumn | Unlock Grilled Fish, Sushi, and Sashimi recipes. |
Fish Selling Prices
A fully-upgraded fishing rod allows the player to make gold fast after tending to their crops.
Just bear in mind that the type or rarity of fish doesn't affect the selling price. This is determined by the size of the fish alone.
- Small Fish (less than 24cm): 50G
- Medium Fish (24-49cm): 120G
- Large Fish (50+ cm): 200G
Non-Fish Items
Fishing in Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town has a chance to yield non-fish items. You can also get rare collectibles if you fish in the ocean with a well-upgraded fishing rod.
Other than trash, there are four rare, non-fish items you can get:
- Power Berry - Can be obtained with a Mithril-level fishing rod during the winter.
- Ancient Fossil - Can be obtained with a Cursed fishing rod in autumn and sold for 4,800-5,700G.
- Pirate Treasure - Can be obtained with a Cursed fishing rod in summer and sold for 8,000-17,000G.
- Bottled Message - Can be obtained with a Mithril-level fishing rod during the spring and sold for 58,000-67,000G.