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Fisch’s Valentines bestiary is a limited-time event checklist: a set of event-only fish that only appear while the Valentine’s event is live, each logged in the in-game Bestiary tab with its own spawn location, preferred bait, and reward value. The key thing to know before you start is that the bestiary is tiered, not flat — the bottom two tiers can be cleared in a single session, while the top two are gated behind weather windows, single-bait requirements, and boat access. The quick-reference table below breaks the whole roster down by tier, then the decision rules and bait math show which order to clear it in so you finish before the event closes.
📋 Table of Contents
What actually counts as a Valentines bestiary entry
A Valentines entry is any species that the event’s patch notes flag as event-exclusive and that appears as its own row in the Bestiary tab. It counts as caught the moment it’s logged there — selling it, trading it, or losing it in a later cast doesn’t remove it from the list. Four things decide whether a given entry will even show up on your line:
- Location lock. Some entries only bite in event-decorated freshwater spots, others only in open ocean or deep water that needs a boat.
- Bait lock. A subset of entries will not bite on anything except one specific bait, regardless of how long you sit there.
- Weather and time window. The mid and top tiers typically require a specific weather state, and several also require a night or day window on top of it.
- Quest gating. The final entry in most event runs is not a random catch at all — it’s awarded by completing the event questline.
Because the event roster rotates between runs, the table below describes each tier by its spawn conditions, bait category, and expected value band rather than claiming a fixed per-fish price. Treat the value column as a target band for that tier; the live event’s patch notes and the in-game Bestiary set the exact figure for each entry.
Valentines bestiary quick-reference table
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| Tier / entry class | Where it spawns | Bait preference | Expected value band (in-game cash) | Typical catch rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common event fish | Any public pier or dock, including the starting island | Generic bait — worm or shrimp works | 50–250 | ~1 in 30–50 casts |
| Shoreline / pond event fish | Event-decorated freshwater spots only | Insect-class bait | 250–1,000 | ~1 in 60–100 casts |
| Deep-water event fish | Open ocean and deep zones, boat strongly recommended | Fish-head or squid-class bait | 1,000–5,000 | ~1 in 150–250 casts |
| Weather-locked event fish | Any water, but only during a specific weather state | Event bait | 5,000–25,000 | ~1 in 400–600 casts, weather permitting |
| Single-bait event fish | Any water, one bait only — no substitutes | One exclusive bait, no alternatives | 5,000–25,000 | ~1 in 300–500 casts on the correct bait |
| Quest / guaranteed entry | Event arena or final quest step | Not bait-dependent | 25,000+ | Guaranteed on quest completion |
Catch rates above are planning estimates for a mid-tier rod, not published drop rates — the game doesn’t expose exact per-cast probabilities, so use them to compare tiers against each other rather than as promises.
Which tier to clear first — decision matrix
The order you fish matters more than the rod you bring. Work top-down by how much time you actually have, because the weather-locked and single-bait tiers will burn an entire evening on their own.
| Your situation | Start with | Skip for now | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 hour per session, no boat | Common + shoreline tiers | Everything below deep water | Both tiers are reachable on foot and clear in one or two sessions, banking the bulk of the entry count |
| A few evenings, no boat | Common, shoreline, then single-bait tier | Deep-water tier | Single-bait entries don’t need open ocean — you can grind them from any pier once you own the bait |
| Have a boat and a luck-focused rod | Deep-water tier first | Nothing | Deep water unlocks the highest catch rate of the high-value tiers, so it pays back the fastest |
| Going for 100% completion | Weather-locked tier whenever the weather matches | Nothing | Weather is the only gate you can’t control, so fish that tier opportunistically while grinding everything else |
| Low on in-game cash | Common tier, sell everything, then reinvest in bait | Event bait tiers | Exclusive baits are the single biggest cost in a full clear — fund them from the cheap tiers first |
Bait, rod stats, and the math behind a full clear
Rods in Fisch expose four stats that matter here: Lure, Luck, Control, and Resilience. Lure decides how fast a cast resolves, Luck weights the rarity table, and Control and Resilience decide whether you actually land the fish once it bites. For bestiary completion, Luck and Lure are the two that change your outcome; Control only costs you entries you were already going to hook.
Here’s the worked version. Assume a mid-tier rod resolving a cast in about 8 seconds, which is roughly 37 casts in a five-minute window. If a weather-locked entry sits at 1 in 500 casts and the required weather appears for about 15 minutes at a time, you get roughly 110 casts per window — so you need close to five matching weather windows before the entry is even likely. That’s why the weather tier gets fished opportunistically rather than camped.
Now run the same math on bait. If the single-bait tier consumes one exclusive bait per cast and that bait costs 500 in-game cash, 300 casts is 150,000 spent chasing one entry worth 5,000–25,000. That trade only makes sense if you’re going for full completion or the completion reward itself. For the common and shoreline tiers, generic bait at 10–25 each keeps the cost per entry in the low thousands, which is why they’re the right starting point regardless of your rod.
Common mistakes that stall a Valentines bestiary run
- Fishing the right spot with the wrong bait. Bait-locked entries ignore location entirely. If an entry hasn’t appeared after 200 casts, change bait before you change spot.
- Selling an entry before checking the Bestiary. The log updates on catch, but players routinely dump a fish and then wonder whether it registered. Check the tab before you sell the first one of any species.
- Ignoring the weather forecast. Most maps show upcoming weather. Reading it before you commit to a long grind saves entire sessions.
- Upgrading the rod instead of the bait. A better rod raises cast speed and rarity weighting; the correct bait is what makes the fish bite at all. Bait first, rod second.
- Leaving the questline until the last day. The quest entry is guaranteed, but the steps are time-gated. Do them in parallel with the grind, not after it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to complete the Valentines bestiary?
The common and shoreline tiers typically clear in one or two sessions of an hour each. Adding the deep-water and single-bait tiers usually pushes a full clear to several evenings, and the weather-locked tier can stretch that further because you’re waiting on conditions rather than on your own effort. Players going for 100% should plan for the event’s full runtime rather than a single weekend.
Do Valentines bestiary entries stay after the event ends?
Caught entries stay logged in your Bestiary permanently, and the fish themselves remain in your inventory. What disappears is the ability to catch new ones — once the event closes, the event-only spawns stop appearing, so any missing rows stay missing until the event returns. Completion rewards are normally granted on hitting the threshold, not at the event’s end.
Do I need a specific rod to catch Valentines fish?
No rod is strictly required for the lower tiers — any working rod can land them. A rod with strong Luck and Lure stats makes the high-value tiers meaningfully faster, and a boat is a practical requirement for the deep-water tier rather than a rod issue. If you only have one rod, prioritize bait and location over an upgrade.
Can I buy or trade Valentines bestiary fish instead of catching them?
Event fish are generally tradeable in the same way as other catches, so it’s possible to obtain one from another player. That will not fill the Bestiary row, though — entries log only when you personally catch the fish. If your goal is completion rather than the fish itself, trading doesn’t help.
What happens if I miss an entry before the event closes?
The entry stays blank until the event runs again, and the roster may differ on the next run. If the completion reward is your target, check the requirement count early — most events allow a small number of missed entries, but not many, and the weather-locked tier is the usual reason people fall short.
Is the completion reward worth the cost of the exclusive baits?
Run the numbers before committing. Exclusive bait at a few hundred per cast across several hundred casts can exceed the cash value of the individual fish, so the reward only pays off if you value the completion item itself or the entries feed a broader collection goal. Players chasing raw cash are usually better off fishing the deep-water tier repeatedly and skipping the bait-locked grind.
