Nearly 83 different species of fish exist in Stardew Valley, but only a few can be caught and called "Legendary" creatures. Anyone trying to meticulously collect every fish in the game will have to consider not only where the few Legendaries spawn but also how hard it is to capture them. Many factors affect where and when you can catch Legendary fish, from the time of day to the exact season.

Many new fish in Stardew Valley updates have prerequisites for being caught, including a certain Fishing Level you must meet for Legendary creatures. Rare bites are hard to come by unless you have a Level of 6 and have a powerful tool like the Iridium Fishing Rod. This Rod will let you add Bait and Tackle, allowing you to adjust what bait and other equipment you can craft.

You can get an Iridium Fishing Rod from the NPC Willy for 7500G to have the best tool for Legendary fishing. Trap Bobbers used in fishing can be crafted with 1 Copper Bar and 10 Sap, or you could buy them for 500G each. Good Bait only costs 5G, but you can always craft it with Bug Meat as well.

10 Angler Fish

Deep Water Predator

You can catch the Angler Fish on the rickety wooden bridge above the Joja Mart or in Pelican Town during the Fall season of Stardew Valley. While you need a Fishing Level of 3 needed to catch this animal, you may also boost this skill artificially through an item buff. For example, the Lobster Bisque food can be eaten to restore 50 energy and give yourself a +3 bonus to fishing skills that lasts for 17 minutes.

No specific weather conditions are needed to catch the Angler, nor do you need to fish at a unique time of day. This creature is not one of the best items to sell for money since it only fetches around 900 - 1,800G from local vendors, but this is more about the accomplishment in Stardew Valley.

9 Ms. Angler

First Extended Family

In recent updates to the game, Legendary fish have been given related species that exist as alternate variants for you to catch. The Ms. Angler fish is an example of this and can only be captured through the "Mr. Qi's Extended Family" quest. When this mission is active, you can find this fish in the same spot as the normal Angler, with the same sell price and healing effect as its usual counterpart in Stardew Valley​​​​​​.

Unlike a regular Angler, you can catch Ms. Angler during any season as long as the quest associated with it is active. However, you may only catch one Ms. Angler fish per quest, as you can see in the above video by YouTube creator ezlilyy.

8 Crimsonfish

Red Scaled Summer

The Crimsonfish swims in the Ocean, which you can easily access by fishing from the East Pier. You need a minimum Fishing Level of 5 to capture this creature when it appears during the Summer season in any weather conditions. Since this fish spawns from 6AM to 8PM, you can't expect to find the creature at night after a long day of harvesting your farm's most valuable crops in Stardew Valley​​​​.

Selling the Crimsonfish will give you around 1,500 - 3,000G, making it a far better catch than other creatures found in the Ocean. You have an 18% chance to capture this animal unless you have a Curiosity Lure that boosts your odds to 25%. According to the Stardew Valley Wiki, you must have your bobber in a space at least three or four tiles away from the Pier for a Crimsonfish to appear.

7 Son of Crimsonfish

The Prodigal Child

In the same way as Ms. Angler, the Son of Crimsonfish spawns in the same place as the regular Crimsonfish. This animal sells for the same amount of money and provides the exact same effects when you eat it as its parent. However, the ability to catch a Son of Crimsonfish in whatever season during the "Mr. Qi's Extended Family" quest makes it far easier to obtain than the original Legendary fish.

6 Glacierfish

Ice Cold Catch

The Legendary Glacierfish acts as the opposite of the Crimsonfish in many ways, being only available to catch during the Winter season. Travel south to the edge of Arrowhead Island in the Cindersap Forest during this cold time to find frozen rivers where you can fish. You must have a Fishing Level of at least 6 to capture the Glacierfish, which only shows up during the day before 8PM.

The weather must be sunny for it to appear closer to the small patches of water you can fish in between the frozen edges of rivers in the Cindersap Forest. Selling a Glacierfish will give you around 1,000 - 2,000G depending on the quality of the animal in Stardew Valley.

5 Glacierfish Jr.

Son of a Frozen Father

Once again, the "Mr. Qi's Extended Family" quest introduces a new offspring to an existing Legendary fish, this one being the Glacierfish Jr. As you may expect, this creature spawns in the same location as its predecessor, but without any season or weather restrictions. The limitation of one Glacierfish Jr. per quest will make finding this rare creature even more exciting while the mission is active.

4 Legend Fish

Rarest Creature Alive

The rarest fish to catch in Stardew Valley is the Legend, an aptly named animal who only appears in a small lake in the mountains toward the corner of your map. You have to be Fishing Level 10 to even have a chance at seeing this creature during the Spring season. You have to spend time during the day praying the Legend will take a bite of your bait while it rains, which can be a difficult weather pattern to predict.

You might want to consider building Fish Farms near your house to boost your Fishing Level, as you can see in a video by YouTube creator Wickedy. Implementing certain strategies can inflate your usual 10% chance of getting the Legend, eventually letting you catch one. This fish can be sold for 5,000 - 10,000G depending on its quality, making it one of the highest-selling creatures in Stardew Valley.

3 Legend II

New Challenger Approaches

The Legend II is the successor to the original Legend, showing up once more in the "Mr. Qi's Extended Family" quest for you to find. This creature shares the same sell price and healing effect as usual but has the same difficulty of capture that made the Legend so hard to obtain. Thankfully, this time you don't have to worry about the time of day, season, or weather conditions needed to catch this fish.

The rarity of Legendary fish might make them some of the best animals to keep in Stardew Valley if you already have a good source of money that ensures you don't need to sell the creatures.

2 Mutant Carp

Toxic Waste Animal

The Sewers, one of the worst places to visit in Stardew Valley, holds the Mutant Carp as the last original Legendary fish in the game. As you can see in a video by YouTube creator Pedguin, the Carp has no Fishing Level requirement to catch it, nor any time, season, or weather restraints. The moment you can access The Sewers is the exact time when you can start trying to fish for this waste-ridden animal.

The Mutant Carp has a selling price of 1,000 - 2,000G, around the same amount of money as the Angler. Once again, this depends on the quality of the Carp you catch, which could be determined by its length, weight, or other stats in Stardew Valley. You can only have one Mutant Carp per save file, a rule shared by all the other types of Legendary fish on this list.

1 Radioactive Carp

Nuclear Fallout

The Radioactive Carp is the last alternate Legendary fish you can find during the "Mr. Qi's Extended Family" quest in the same place as the Mutant Carp. Everything about these two fish is shared since both don't have any time, season, or weather requirements. Multiple trips to The Sewers may not be pleasant, but those with a good enough Rod shouldn't have to spend too much time casting for this creature.

Every rare fish you catch acts as a singular trophy to either keep at a place on your farm or sell for hefty prices from many local vendors. No matter what you do with every Legendary fish caught in Stardew Valley, you'll have a great story for each of them as you put in the effort to obtain these extremely rare animals.

Source: ezlilyy/YouTube, Stardew Valley Wiki, Wickedy/YouTube, Pedguin/YouTube