Don't know how to catch pufferfish in Stardew Valley? Whatever the reason for wanting one, we can help. Though initially troublesome to land accidentally, pufferfish aren't too hard to find in Stardew Valley once you know a few key points. Like many rarer items in the game, you just need to be in the right place at the right time.
Used in a bunch of different ways, the humble Stardew Valley pufferfish is a valuable find — not necessarily for its monetary value, but for its versatile uses as a gift, produce, quest objective, and more.
For more Stardew Valley guides before we crack on, check out the character hub to get to know the other villagers, or perhaps the best games like Stardew Valley if you're looking for something new. And did you know you can add Pokemon to Stardew Valley as well?
How to catch pufferfish in Stardew Valley
To catch pufferfish in Stardew Valley, you need to fish in specific areas, in specific seasons, and at the right time of day. Here's a checklist:
- Fishing in the ocean on the Beach or Beach Farm area screens
- Sunny Summer season/weather
- 12–4pm
You can also fish pufferfish regardless of the season by fishing in the Southeast, West, and South areas of Ginger Island, or on the Pirate Cove.
You can skip the time, weather, and season requirements using Magic Bait in the aforementioned areas instead.
Where else to get pufferfish in Stardew Valley
On the very odd occasion, it's possible to find pufferfish for sale at the Traveling Cart. They tend to be for sale at a price ranging from 600–1,000g. They can also be found in garbage cans.
What are pufferfish used for in Stardew Valley?
You can use pufferfish in Stardew Valley as an ingredient in various recipes, as a means of additional produce, a gift, a request item, or even as a source of dye or a dyeable item.
| Place | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Crafting / Cooking | Pufferfish counts as any fish toward the creation of Sashimi, Maki Roll, and Quality Fertilizer. |
| Community Center Bundles | The Fish Tank Bundle requires a pufferfish. |
| Fish Pond | You can place pufferfish into a Fish Pond to produce Yellow Roe. |
| Clothing | Pufferfish can be used with at the sewing machine to craft the dyable Sailor Shirt. |
| Dyeing | Pufferfish can be turned into yellow dye at Emily's house. |
| Quest | The Aquatic Research quest that begins by mail on Summer 6 on the second year requires giving Demetrius a pufferfish. |
| Request | Willy might use the Help Wanted board outside the general store to ask for 1–4 pufferfish. Another request at the board can ask for just one. Both of these can appear during the summer. |
And that's that — how to get a pufferfish in Stardew Valley, and what to do with them. Just getting started? Here's how to check quests, how to restore energy, and how to save manually. Relying on auto-saves isn't always the best thing to do.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Guides and Stardew Valley page.