You can fish for them at the 100th level of the Mines — but fair warning, they’re one of the most difficult fish to catch in the game! Although with a bit of strategizing, you’ll be swimming in lava roe and magma geodes in no time.
Where To Find Lava Eels
Lava eels can be found in the 100th floor of the Mines — so if you haven’t unlocked the 100th floor yet, get your pickaxe and sword and get to it! Once you arrive at the 100th floor, you’ll want to make your way to the furthest edge of the dock. You can use your fishing rod to start fishing. It might take some time — and a lot of trash — but eventually you’ll hook in a lava eel.
Fishing Strategies
According to the Stardew Valley wiki, the lava eel is the second most difficult fish to catch in the game. Here are some strategies to maximize your chances of catching it:
Head down to the Mines during a Lucky day. Luck is determined by the Fortune Teller in the TV: make sure the spirits are “very happy” Bring some food that will increase your luck! The best options are: Magic Rock Candy, Lucky Lunch, Pumpkin Soup, or Shrimp Cocktail Once you have the iridium fishing rod, you can equip a Cork Bobber to increase the size of your fishing bar. Cork bobbers can be bought at Willy’s Fish Shop or crafted A Trap Bobber can also be equipped to reduce the speed of the fish’s escape, which is measured by the progress bar decreasing. Trap bobbers can be bought at Willy’s Fish Shop or crafted
Common Uses for Lava Eels
Tailoring
You can use a lava eel to make a cute pink Logo Cap for your Stardew Valley avatar! Bring a piece of cloth and one lava eel to Emily’s house and use the sewing machine to create it.
Fish Pond
With just one lava eel, you can create more by using the Fish Pond, which can be constructed at Robin’s house through the Carpenter’s Shop. This makes lava eels very profitable, as they have the highest sell price for fish in the game. And it’s not just the process of selling lava eels that make them great money-makers. Because their produce at Fishing Ponds are also highly valuable:
Lava roes have the highest sell price among all other fish roes. By aging lava roes with a Preserves Jar, you can earn even more gold, especially with the Artisan profession Magma geodes, which sell for 150g and have a chance to spawn iridium ore, can be great for either selling or processing, especially if you have the Gemologist profession Gold ores and spicy eels can also be produced at the Fish Pond — both of which are great items to collect for your playthrough
Despite being quite difficult to catch, lava eels prove to be worth the effort as they are easily one of the most profitable items in Stardew Valley. Not just because of their base sale price, but also because of their produce. So get fishin’!
