Overview
Fish traps are a passive fishing method in Starsand Island that let you collect fish and shrimp without standing at the water's edge. You place a trap in any active body of water, load it with bait, and return the next in-game day to collect your catch. This frees up your time for farming, building, mining, or any other activity while the traps work in the background.
How to Unlock Fish Traps
The Fish Trap blueprint becomes available at the Intermediate Angler profession level, which is the third tier in the five-stage Angler progression (Apprentice, Junior, Intermediate, Senior, Expert). To reach Intermediate Angler, you must complete the following steps.
Apprentice Angler: Accept the "Finny Roommates" quest from the Bulletin Board outside the Community Center. Catch 10 fish and deliver them to Solara at the Community Center.
Junior Angler: Complete the ship dock quest by speaking to Marston on the beach, then acquire your own boat.
Intermediate Angler Trial: Speak to Bruce about finding Glowfish in the Moonlit Forest. Catch a Glowfish (found near the waterfall west of Dreamfall Garden, between Life Gate and Dreamfall Garden, or underneath the Waterwheel at Darkwater Shore) and deliver it to Bruce.
After completing the Intermediate Angler certification, the Fish Trap blueprint becomes available for purchase at the AquaBlue Outpost (also called Dive & Reels), the fishing supply shop run by Delphin at Half-Moon Bay. The blueprint costs 5,000 coins. The shop is open from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
Other items unlocked at the Intermediate Angler tier include the Solar Rod, Cube Aquarium (M), Medium Fish Pond, and Chopper III.
Crafting Materials
Fish traps are crafted at Worktable II. The following materials are required for each trap.
Material | Quantity | How to Obtain |
|---|---|---|
Rubber | 4 | Found through Moonlit Forest exploration and dismantled equipment |
Magnet | 3 | Mine Uncommon Ore Chunks, analyze them for Magnetite, then process into Magnets |
Alloy | 3 | Crafted at Furnace II using processed Gold, Copper, Iron, and Coal |
The materials place fish traps solidly in the mid-game. You will likely have access to Worktable II and these resources around the same time you reach Intermediate Angler.
How to Place and Use Fish Traps
Craft the Fish Trap at Worktable II using the materials listed above.
Open your Bag, go to the Equipment tab, and select the Fish Trap.
Approach any body of water with visible fish shadows or active fish-spawning activity.
Place the trap in the water at a valid spot.
Walk up to the placed trap and press F to open its information panel.
Open the bait menu and insert Advanced Fish Food. The trough holds up to 500 units, so you can load it in bulk.
Return the next in-game day to interact with the trap and collect your catch.
The trap must be placed in water bodies that have active fish spawning. Decorative water features and stagnant ponds without visible fish movement will not work. A trap without bait will not generate reliable catches, so always use Advanced Fish Food for best results.
Advanced Fish Food
Advanced Fish Food is the primary bait used in fish traps. It dissolves slowly over time while attracting fish and shrimp into the trap. The recipe is processed on the Chopper III (also unlocked at Intermediate Angler).
Ingredient | Quantity | Source |
|---|---|---|
50 | Made from vegetables in the Separator | |
1 | Made from fruit in the Separator | |
1 | Made from wheat in the Separator |
Processing takes approximately 19 in-game minutes per batch on the Chopper III. Since the trap holds up to 500 units of bait, you can produce fish food in bulk and load up a trap for multiple days without needing to refill.
Recommended Placement Locations
Location | Notes |
|---|---|
Half-Moon Bay (beach) | The most consistently reliable spot; near Delphin's existing trap setup |
Ocean and beach water | Works well across most shoreline areas |
Bridge near the General Store | Take a left down the stairs after crossing the bridge from Hopeland |
Dreamfall Garden waterbed | Chance to catch Glowfish passively, though success rate is low |
Locations to avoid: Rivers, especially near Hopeland and the homestead area, are prone to a terrain-clipping bug that causes traps to fall underground and become irretrievable. Shallow streams near the home can trigger the same issue. If a trap disappears, the quest marker may show it 20 meters below the ground. The safest workaround is sticking to ocean and beach placements. Place traps slightly apart rather than clustered together to avoid overlap in fish attraction zones.
Fish Traps vs. Active Fishing
Aspect | Fish Traps | Active Fishing |
|---|---|---|
Activity type | Passive (set and forget) | Active (requires direct attention) |
Speed | Results appear the next in-game day | Immediate catches per cast |
Species variety | Catches a subset of fish and shrimp | Access to all 105 sea creatures |
Rare fish | Low success rate for rare species | Better for targeting specific rare fish |
Energy cost | No energy required to operate | Costs energy per cast |
Unlock timing | Intermediate Angler (mid-game) | Apprentice Angler (early game) |
Best for | Passive daily income, cooking ingredients | Quests, aquarium filling, specific targets |
The most effective strategy combines both methods. Set fish traps in the morning, spend the day doing active fishing when you need specific species, and collect trap catches the following day. Traps provide steady baseline income while active fishing handles targeted goals like the Senior Angler aquarium quest, which requires 20 different species.
Tips and Strategies
Buy the blueprint as soon as you reach Intermediate Angler. The 5,000-coin cost pays for itself quickly through passive fish income.
Always use Advanced Fish Food. Basic feed produces noticeably weaker results.
Pre-load 500 units of bait to avoid frequent refill trips.
Build multiple traps and spread them across different water bodies. Each trap operates independently.
Integrate trap collection into your daily routine: load traps each morning, collect the previous day's catch, sell fish at Zerine's General Store, or use them in cooking recipes.
For the Senior Angler aquarium quest, combine trap catches with rod fishing to fill the 20-species requirement faster.
If a trap disappears underground, craft a replacement and place it in an ocean or beach location instead of a river.
Known Issues
During Early Access, fish traps have a known terrain-clipping bug. Traps placed in rivers or shallow streams near the homestead can fall through the ground and become invisible and non-interactive. The quest tracker may show the trap's location as 20 meters underground. The development team has acknowledged the issue, and patch v0.2.1185 included partial fixes for fish trap placement. The community recommends placing traps exclusively in ocean and beach water as a reliable workaround until the bug is fully resolved.