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Stardew Valley, the hit indie farming RPG from solo developer Concerned Ape, remains one of the most popular titles in its genre. Having inherited their grandfather’s run-down farm, players must revitalize the land as they farm, mine, and fish their way to riches. Fishing can be an extremely lucrative activity inStardew Valley, though a lot depends on which kind of fish is caught.
TheLava Eelis one of the most difficult, non-legendary fish inStardew Valley, but also one of the most valuable. Unfortunately, the difficulty in catching the Lava Eel isn’t just in its jerky, unpredictable behavior inStardew Valley’s fishing minigame, but also in reaching its home in the first place.
Updated July 15, 2025, by Usama Ali:Along with a bunch of new content, Stardew Valley’s Update 1.6 brought in some quality of life improvements and tweaks that make your farm life more enjoyable. When it comes to Lava Eels, their fiery nature has been subtly changed in a couple of interesting ways that affect how you approach catching them and using them. We’ve updated this guide to reflect all the new changes and included more tips to help you catch the Lava Eels more easily.
How to Catch a Lava Eel in Stardew Valley
Unlike the vast majority offish inStardew Valley, the Lava Eel doesn’t actually live in water. Instead,it can only be found on level 100 of the Mines and the Volcano Caldera on Ginger Island.This means that new players looking to catch one will need to descend all the way through the Mines dungeon before they find the lava pool where the Eel can be caught.
However, to catch Lava Eels in the Volcano Caldera (Forge), you need to reach Fishing Level 7.
The base chance of hooking a Lava Eel in the Mines is relatively low (1.8%). You can increase it by using aCuriosity Lure
or a Lava Eel Bait. Introduced in the 1.6 update, targeted baits significantly increase your chances to 8%, specifically for Lava Eels in the Mines. You can craft it using theBait Maker inStardew Valley.
A higher Fishing Level directly improves your chances of catching rarer fish like the Lava Eel.
How To Use Lava Eel in Stardew Valley
The Lava Eel would be wasted if used in any of the recipes that can use any fish, like theMaki Roll, Quality Fertilizer, orSashimi.Instead, the Eel is best either sold directly, or used in a Fish Pond.
Lava Eels are one of themost valuable non-legendary fish, making them a goodsource of income inStardew Valley. Their base sell price ranges from700g to 1400g, depending on quality, andwith the Angler profession, this increases by 50%.
Besides this, you can raise Lava Eels in a Fish Pond. They will produceRoe, and with a higher population, they can also produceGold Ore, Magma Geode, Spicy Eel, and Cave Jelly.They may also request items likeFire Quartz, Mega Bombs, or Iridium Bars to increase the pond’s capacity.
While other villagers generally dislike or are neutral towards Lava Eels,the Dwarf loves them.This makes Lava Eels a great way to quickly increase your friendship with the Dwarf.
