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Bait Items
Item Power Rarity
Apprentice Bait Apprentice Bait
Internal Item ID: 2674
15% Rarity level: 1
Journeyman Bait Journeyman Bait
Internal Item ID: 2675
30% Rarity level: 2
Master Bait Master Bait
Internal Item ID: 2676
50% Rarity level: 3
Black Scorpion Black Scorpion 15% Rarity level: 1
Buggy Buggy 40% Rarity level: 2
Hell Butterfly Hell Butterfly 15% Rarity level: 1
Julia Butterfly Julia Butterfly 25% Rarity level: 1
Monarch Butterfly Monarch Butterfly 5% Rarity level: 0
Purple Emperor Butterfly Purple Emperor Butterfly 35% Rarity level: 2
Red Admiral Butterfly Red Admiral Butterfly 30% Rarity level: 2
Sulphur Butterfly Sulphur Butterfly 10% Rarity level: 0
Tree Nymph Butterfly Tree Nymph Butterfly 50% Rarity level: 3
Ulysses Butterfly Ulysses Butterfly 20% Rarity level: 1
Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly 15% Rarity level: 1
Black Dragonfly Black Dragonfly 20% Rarity level: 1
Blue Dragonfly Blue Dragonfly 20% Rarity level: 1
Green Dragonfly Green Dragonfly 20% Rarity level: 1
Orange Dragonfly Orange Dragonfly 20% Rarity level: 1
Red Dragonfly Red Dragonfly 20% Rarity level: 1
Yellow Dragonfly Yellow Dragonfly 20% Rarity level: 1
Enchanted Nightcrawler Enchanted Nightcrawler 35% Rarity level: 2
Firefly Firefly 20% Rarity level: 1
Glowing Snail Glowing Snail 15% Rarity level: 1
Gold Butterfly Gold Butterfly 50% Rarity level: 3
Gold Dragonfly Gold Dragonfly 50% Rarity level: 3
Gold Grasshopper Gold Grasshopper 50% Rarity level: 3
Gold Ladybug Gold Ladybug 50% Rarity level: 3
Gold Water Strider Gold Water Strider 50% Rarity level: 3
Gold Worm Gold Worm 50% Rarity level: 3
Grasshopper Grasshopper 10% Rarity level: 0
Grubby Grubby 15% Rarity level: 1
Blue Jellyfish (bait) Blue Jellyfish (bait) 20% Rarity level: 1
Green Jellyfish (bait) Green Jellyfish (bait) 20% Rarity level: 1
Pink Jellyfish (bait) Pink Jellyfish (bait) 20% Rarity level: 1
Ladybug Ladybug 17% Rarity level: 1
Lavafly Lavafly 25% Rarity level: 1
Lightning Bug Lightning Bug 35% Rarity level: 2
Maggot Maggot 22% Rarity level: 1
Magma Snail Magma Snail 35% Rarity level: 2
Scorpion Scorpion 10% Rarity level: 0
Sluggy Sluggy 25% Rarity level: 1
Snail Snail 10% Rarity level: 0
Stinkbug Stinkbug 10% Rarity level: 0
Truffle Worm Truffle Worm 666% Rarity level: 3
Water Strider Water Strider 17% Rarity level: 1
Worm Worm 25% Rarity level: 1

Bait is a group of items that is mandatory for fishing. When a fishing pole is cast, at least one bait item must be in the player's inventory; otherwise, nothing can be caught. Fishing poles will cast their lines with no baits, but there will be no "bites" and no catches. The bait item is only consumed once the player reels in the line with a catch on the hook. It is not consumed upon the player casting the line or the line being reeled in with no catch. Even when the player does reel in a fish, there is only a chance that the bait will be consumed.

There are several items that can serve as bait, and they must be obtained in different ways depending on the type.

Bait power[]

Bait power influences the quality of the catch (see Fishing for details and other factors), as well as the chances that the bait item will be consumed upon successfully reeling in a catch: Higher bait powers mean lower chance that the bait item will be consumed.

The formula used to determine the chance if the bait will be consumed is as follows:[1]

, where is the item's listed bait power multiplied by 100 (e.g. 15 for Apprentice Bait).

The Tackle Box, Angler Tackle Bag, and Lavaproof Tackle Bag have a beneficial effect on bait consumption chance. With any of these equipped (they do not stack), the formula is as follows:

The following table lists exemplary chances for some bait items:

Bait type Chance to consume
Regular With Tackle Box (or upgrades)

Monarch Butterfly Monarch Butterfly
5% bait power
54.56*1/1.833 (54.56%) 35.3*1/2.833 (35.3%)
Sulphur Butterfly Sulphur Butterfly
10% bait power
37.5*1/2.667 (37.5%) 27.27*1/3.667 (27.27%)
Julia Butterfly Julia Butterfly
25% bait power
19.35*1/5.167 (19.35%) 16.22*1/6.167 (16.22%)
Buggy Buggy
40% bait power
13.04*1/7.667 (13.04%) 11.54*1/8.667 (11.54%)
Tree Nymph Butterfly Tree Nymph Butterfly
50% bait power
10.71*1/9.333 (10.71%) 9.68*1/10.333 (9.68%)

It can be seen that the effects of the Tackle Box and its upgrades are less useful for items high in bait power.


As of 1.4.4 Gold Worms have an additional hidden reduced chance to be consumed, 1/20 (5%), this does not change the bait power so it does not give higher quality fishing catches compared to other gold baits

Notes[]

  • If the player has multiple bait items in their inventory, they are used from the top-left slot of the inventory to the bottom-right. Therefore, the topmost/left-most bait item will be used first.
  • Bait shares some traits with ammunition:
    • All bait items can be placed in the ammunition slots of the inventory.
    • The number of available bait items will be displayed next to fishing poles placed in the hotbar.
  • Critters spawned by statues cannot be caught with any Bug Net, so statues do not aid in the collection of bait.
  • When wearing Flower Boots, the chance that a critter will spawn after destroying flowers or grass is drastically decreased.

Tips[]

  • While Ladybugs can be used as bait, doing so counts as consuming them, thus decreasing the player's luck. Given that luck affects fishing, this is quite unwise.
  • Fishing itself can be a viable way of obtaining bait: Using Crate and Sonar Potions, and refusing common catches like Bass, the Angler Bait obtained from the crates is generally more than what was used, and Master Bait with its 50% bait power (and thus, durability) will rapidly replace any other kind of bait.
  • However, gathering bait critters is fairly easy in the Forest, Jungle, or Hallow biomes. The options depend on biome and time of day.
    • The spawn rates and spawn caps of critters are affected by many of the same factors as those of hostile enemies, hence Water Candles, Peace Candles, Battle Potions, Calming Potions, and Sunflowers will affect critter spawns. As such, when attempting to farm critters, it is advised to use a Battle Potion and either hold or place a Water Candle nearby.
    • In all cases, nearby NPCs improve the proportion of critters as compared to enemies. Provided enough are nearby, they can even suppress enemy spawns completely, which results in critters being the only creatures able to spawn.
      • When in the Underworld or in Expert Mode, enemies may still occasionally spawn, even when many NPCs are nearby.
  • Worms, Grasshoppers, and Jungle baits (Buggy, Grubby, and Sluggy) can be found while destroying background objects on the surface (see table below). If the number of bait critters on the map has reached its upper limit, no more will spawn. The three types of Jungle baits share a total upper limit of 8.
    • Flower Boots are an excellent means to farm bait. They work on all types of grass whose plants are suitable for spawning critters – regular, Jungle, and Hallowed.
      • A highly effective method is to stand in one spot while wearing the Flower Boots and repeatedly destroy the flowers beneath the player. Firing a Flare at the player's feet works well too. In both cases, the boots immediately cause new ones to grow.
      • Bait can be farmed by running across a stretch of grass with Flower Boots on, then removing the boots and destroying the flowers. This is a bit slow, but it remains the only way to produce bait on demand without relying on natural critter spawns.
Critter spawns from broken tiles
Critter Short grass/plants Tall grass/plants Dirt piles Spawn limit
WormWorms 0.25*1/400 (0.25%) chance per tile 0.5*1/200 (0.5%) chance per tile 16.67*1/6 (16.67%) chance per tile 5
GrasshopperGrasshoppers 1*1/100 (1%) chance per tile 2*1/50 (2%) chance per tile 5
Grubby Sluggy Buggy Jungle baits 1.25*1/80 (1.25%) per tile in the Jungle 2.5*1/40 (2.5%) per tile in the Jungle 8 total

Fireflies and Lightning Bugs[]

  • FireflyFireflies spawn at night. They tend to congregate near NPC houses in the Forest biome and often spawn in very large numbers. In The Hallow, they are replaced by the superior Lightning BugLightning Bugs. Their 20% bait power is modest but sufficient for early fishing, and they are comparatively plentiful.
  • The spawn rate of Fireflies is randomly determined at the beginning of each night.[2] Therefore, on some nights massive swarms will be encountered while on other nights very few will spawn. They tend to spawn in especially high numbers at the new moon.
  • Fireflies will not spawn during rain, however, the Worm spawn rate will increase significantly.
  • The Fireflies' spawn rate can be increased by building a platform in the sky high enough so that the ground is not visible. Because terrestrial critters have nothing to spawn on, more Fireflies will spawn. Remember that nearby NPC houses will help.
  • Wings will speed up the job of catching Fireflies considerably. Lacking those, a network of interconnected platforms will also do the trick.

Worms[]

  • WormWorms spawn in the Forest when it is raining. Spending a rainy day walking around NPCs can result in a lot of Worms.
  • Worms will spawn only where rain falls onto grass, watch out for overhanging buildings.
  • Worms cannot climb even a single-block "cliff". Standard placed blocks being square makes a perfect trap for them. It is possible to catch several dozen in one rainy day, by just collecting them in a hole at the end of a flat area. Note that the hole must be at least 2 tiles wide for the player to stand in and swing a Bug Net.

Trivia[]

  • The names of the three bait types are based on the three ranks of craft guilds, Apprentice, Journeyman (or fellow), and Master (sometimes grandmaster).
  • The Master Bait's name is a double-entendre on the word "masturbate". This is a common joke in the fishing industry, used by real-life fishermen, bait shops, and in numerous hook baiting tutorials.
  • The reason Monarch butterflies have a low bait power is because in real life they are poisonous.

History[]

  • Desktop 1.4.0.1: Added 14 new bait items, including Ladybugs, Dragonflies, Water Striders, Maggots, and Underworld critters.
  • Desktop 1.3.0.1:
    • Bait can now be stored in ammo slots.
    • Apprentice, Journeyman and Master Baits now have new sprites.

References[]

  1. Information taken from the PC version PC 1.4.2.2 source code, method ItemCheck_CheckFishingBobber_PickAndConsumeBait() in Terraria.Player.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current PC version PC version is 1.4.4.9.
  2. Information taken from the PC version PC 1.3.5.3 source code, method UpdateTime() in Terraria.Main.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current PC version PC version is 1.4.4.9.
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