How to catch Rainbow Trout in Stardew Valley

Tyler Constable
A screenshot of a character fishing in Stardew Valley.

Catching a Rainbow Trout in Stardew Valley can be a rewarding experience, offering multiple uses within the game. Here’s a detailed guide on how to reel in this valuable fish and what to do with it once caught.

Stardew Valley is rich with diverse items and resources, and fishing is a key component of this. The game boasts an impressive array of over 60 fish types, each with its unique purpose. The Rainbow Trout, for instance, is not only a prized catch but also a useful ingredient in cooking recipes and completing certain game quests.

The Rainbow Trout is particularly handy to have in Stardew Valley as they’re required for a number of community board quests, and they’re also the core ingredient for making Trout Soup.

If you’re wondering exactly how to catch these colorful fish, here’s everything you need to know about Rainbow Fish in Stardew Valley, including location and time details.

An image of the Cindersap forest lake where you can find Rainbow Trout in Stardew Valley.
You can find Rainbow Trout in the Cindersap Forest in Stardew Valley.

Contents

Stardew Valley Rainbow Trout prerequisites

Before you attempt to catch Rainbow Trout in Stardew Valley, it’s important to know they can only be caught during the Summer season between 6AM and 7PM so you’ve got a nice long window of time during the day to find one.

The weather must be sunny in order to find Rainbow Trout, so don’t waste time looking in the rain as the fish won’t spawn. Thankfully as it will be Summer when you’re fishing, there will be plenty of hot sunny days to take advantage of.

Stardew Valley Rainbow Trout locations

An image of Pelican Town where Rainbow Trout can be found in Stardew Valley.
Rainbow Trout can be found at the lake in Pelican Town.

There are a few locations where players can successfully fish for Rainbow Trout in the game. The colorful fish can be found in the Lake in The Mountains, as well as in the rivers in Cindersap Forest, and Pelican Town.

All of these areas are accessible from the very beginning of the game so you don’t have to complete any tasks to unlock them! The Mountain Lake can be found by walking directly East from the Northern part of town, right in front of the Mines. Cindersap Forest is accessible by traveling South from your Farm, and Pelican Town is just to the East of your farm.

What can you use Rainbow Trout for in Stardew Valley?

You’ll need to have some Rainbow Trout on hand to complete a number of quests on the Special Orders and Help Wanted boards, and if you complete the Aquatic Overpopulation quest in particular you will unlock the Farm Computer recipe.

If you want to cook Trout Soup in the game, Rainbow Trout can be used for this, as well as other fish-based meals. They can also produce some helpful, and even rare, resources if you keep them in Ponds including Prismatic Shards, and Rainbow Shells.

Overall, Rainbow Trout can serve many purposes in Stardew Valley and it’s always a good idea to have some.

That’s everything you need to know about how to catch Rainbow Trout! For more Stardew Valley content, check out our guides below:

9 Stardew Valley farm ideas in 2023 | How to use bait | What is the Skull Key | Stardew Valley Barns | Is Stardew Valley cross-platform? | Best games like Stardew Valley | Stardew Valley Barns | Is Stardew Valley cross-platform? | How to catch Catfish in Stardew Valley | How to get garlic in Stardew Valley | How to get Iridium Ore in Stardew Valley | How to get clay in Stardew Valley | What’s the Stardew Valley Fair? | Stardew Valley Scarecrow range

About The Author

Tyler is Dexerto's Gaming Evergreen Specialist. He loves many games but is particularly fond of JRPGs and The Last of Us. When he's not writing about or playing video games, he's probably watching Doctor Who or reading a book. You can contact him at tyler.constable@dexerto.com