Stardew Valley: How to Catch Octopus + Strategy Tips & Uses

• Octopi can be caught on the Beach, or on the Beach Farm if you selected it.
• If you have access to Ginger Island West or have Magic Bait, you can catch an Octopus during any season.
• Use an Iridium Rod, Trap Bobber, and Fishing buff food to increase your odds of catching an Octopus.

Catching an Octopus

Wait until Summer. Octopus can only be caught in Summer, so if you're in any other season you'll need to wait until Summer comes back around. There are four exceptions, however, though they are not viable if you haven't progressed very far in the game yet: One exception is if you've got Ginger Island unlocked. You can catch Octopus on Ginger Island West during any season. Another exception is the Night Market during Winter 15 through Winter 17. You have a 2.2% chance to get an Octopus during the deep-sea submarine ride. If you have access to Qi's Walnut Room, you can buy Magic Bait that allows you to catch any fish regardless of the weather, time, or season. You can purchase Magic Bait for 5 Qi Gems, as well as the recipe for Magic Bait for 20 Qi Gems. You can also rarely find Octopus for sale in the Traveling Cart for 450 to 1,000 gold.

Go to the Beach between 6am and 1pm. You can only catch Octopi between the hours of 6 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. If you're hunting an Octopus, it's best to go directly to the Beach once you wake up. If you have a Beach Farm, you can also catch an Octopus on your farm.

Go fishing. The Octopus is one of the rarest fish in the game besides the Legendary fish. You have a 4 to 11% chance to hook an Octopus at the Beach. If you've opted to try and catch an Octopus on Ginger Island, you've got a 5 to 18% chance of hooking one.

Octopus Catching Strategies

Level up Fishing to level 10. Each Fishing level makes it a little bit easier to complete the Fishing minigame, and if you're trying to catch an Octopus you may need all the help you can get due to its difficulty. Besides that, each Fishing level gives you access to other items that will help you in your Octopus-catching journey.

Use an Iridium Rod. After getting to Fishing level 6, you can purchase the Iridium Rod from Willy's Fish Shop for 7,500 gold. The Iridium Rod is highly recommended as its the only rod that can equip tackle.

Use a Trap Bobber. Trap Bobbers make fish less likely to escape by making the Fishing progress bar decrease more slowly when the fish isn't within the Fishing bar. After getting to Fishing level 6, you can purchase a Trap Bobber from Willy's Fish Shop for 500 gold, or you can craft one. You can also sometimes find it in the Traveling Cart for 600 to 1,000 gold. You can also use a Cork Bobber (which increases the Fishing bar size) but the Trap Bobber is more helpful when catching the Octopus.

Eat food that gives a Fishing buff. Eating food that gives a Fishing buff can help you get just a little bit more control over the Octopus once you hook it on your line. Below are the best dishes to make as well as what buff(s) they provide and where to obtain the recipe: Dish O' The Sea: Fishing +3 for 5 minutes and 35 seconds. Obtained by reaching Fishing level 3. Fish Stew: Fishing +3 for 16 minutes and 47 seconds. Obtained via mail after getting Willy's relationship to 7+ hearts. Lobster Bisque: Fishing +3 and Max Energy +50 for 16 minutes and 47 seconds. Obtained via the Queen of Sauce on Year 2 Winter 14, or via mail after getting Willy's relationship to 9+ hearts. Seafoam Pudding: Fishing +4 for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Obtained by reaching Fishing level 9.

Use a warp totem to get to the Beach faster. You can use a blue Warp Totem or the Water Obelisk to teleport to the Beach. This will simply get you to the Beach faster, allowing you more chances to catch an Octopus. It's an optional but time-saving step. You learn how to craft Warp Totems once you reach Foraging level 6. Beach Warp Totems are single-use and are crafted with 1 Hardwood, 2 Coral, and 10 Fiber. After finishing the Goblin Problem quest, you can purchase the Water Obelisk farm building from the Wizard. It costs 500,000 gold to build and requires 5 Iridium Bars, 10 Clams, and 10 Coral. Unlike the Warp Totem, you can use the Obelisk to teleport over and over.

Octopus Uses

Three recipes can be made with Octopus. However, these recipes do not require Octopus specifically, so you may want to use your Octopus for other purposes. The recipes you can use Octopus in are as follows: Maki Roll: 1 Fish (any), 1 Seaweed, 1 Rice Quality Fertilizer: 1 Fish (any), 2 Sap Sashimi: 1 Fish (any)

You may need an Octopus for a Community Center Bundle. If you're playing with remixed Community Center Bundles, one of the Bundles for Bundle 6 can be the Master Fisher's Bundle. You must submit at least 2 Fish for this Bundle, and one of the Fish you can submit is an Octopus.

You can use Octopus as a gift. If you want to give an Octopus as a gift, you should give it to Willy (who loves Octopus as a gift) or Elliot (who likes Octopus as a gift). Demetrius, Leo, Linus, and Sebastian all are neutral about getting Octopus as a gift. All other villagers dislike or hate Octopus as a gift, and you should avoid giving it to them.

Octopus can be used to create clothing or dyes. If you put an Octopus in the Sewing Machine, you can make a Blue Buttoned Vest. You can also get orange dye from an Octopus if you put it in the dye pots at Emily and Haley's house.

Villagers may request Octopus for some quests. A villager may randomly request an Octopus during Summer on the Help Wanted board. Demetrius or Willy may also request 1 to 4 Octopi during Summer (though you get to keep the fish).

Octopi can be placed in the Fish Pond, where they will reproduce. You can initially place 3 Octopi in your Fish Pond, but if you complete three quests you can store up to 10. Octopi will reproduce every 4 days. You can harvest Roe from your Octopi, as well as Omni Geodes once you have at least 9 Octopi in your Fish Pond.