How To Get Bait in Terraria

Like the real world, Terraria is a universe containing life forms similar to ours, plus some fantastical ones. Some creatures can only be caught by luring them out with bait, but you must find them first. Bait will help increase the chances of catching better fish.

Many types of bait can only be found in the wild, and you have to talk to the Angler to get three of the best bait items. Read on for all the details.

Finding the Bait You Need in Terraria

This section will cover all bait items except the Apprentice Bait, Journeyman Bait, and Master Bait. We’ll get to them later.

Here are some creatures you can catch as bait. We’re excluding animals exclusive to older versions of Terraria or only found on specific releases.

Part 1

• Black Scorpion
  
• Julia Butterfly
  
• Monarch Butterfly
  
• Purple Emperor Butterfly
  
• Red Admiral Butterfly
  
• Sulphur Butterfly
  
• Tree Nymph Butterfly
  

• Ulysses Butterfly
  
• Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly
  
• Firefly
  

Part 2

• Glowing Snail
  
• Grasshopper
  
• Blue Jellyfish (Bait)
  
• Green Jellyfish
  
• Pink Jellyfish
  
• Lightning Bug
  
• Scorpion
  
• Snail
  
• Truffle Worm
  
• Worm
  

Every bait creature has a value called “bait power.” Bait power and rarity are signs of high-quality bait, with higher numbers and orange being the best.

• White, approximately 10%
• Blue, approximately 20%
• Green, approximately 30%

Orange bait is at least 50% and thus vastly improves your catch quality.

Higher bait power doesn’t only give you a chance boost. It cuts the probability of the bait being consumed as you fish too. You can further prevent them from being eaten by equipping a Tackle Box or the upgrades present in some versions.

To catch the animals listed above, players must equip a Bug Net or a similar item such as the Lavaproof Bug Net or Golden Bug Net. Critters used for bait can only be obtained this way.

Critters spawn in different environments, meaning you must travel far and wide to get the particular bait you want. The process will go somewhat like this.

1. Equip your Bug Net.
   
2. Look for any critters.
   
3. Use the Bug Net on them.
   
4. Travel to look for more critters.
   
5. Repeat the catching process.

The time of day will affect the spawns of some creatures. Take note of their habits to ensure you catch them.

Truffle Worm

The Truffle Worm is a unique bait item that isn’t used for fishing. It only spawns in Hard mode and is solely used to summon Duke Fishron. When Duke Fishron appears, the bait will be consumed even if you use items that prevent bait from being eaten.

If you spot a Truffle Worm, you must approach carefully, as it burrows away after detecting you. However, your Bug Net will catch it if you sneak up on it.

Truffle Worms are detectable by the Lifeform Analyzer and its upgraded versions if your version of Terraria has this item.

Head to the Cavern layer of the Glowing Mushroom biome. These creatures won’t spawn on the surface mushroom area.

Once you get it, you can summon Duke Fishron.

1. Bring the Truffle Worm to an oceanic area.
   
2. Attach the bait to a fishing rod.
   
3. Wait for Duke Fishron to appear.
   
4. Prepare to fight.

How to Get Master Bait

The Angler NPC will spawn in the Ocean biome, and his location is random. He first appears as the Sleeping Angler, but you can wake him up, and he’ll move. Once you find him again, he’ll assign you various quests.

The quests are usually simple, involving catching specific rare fish. He’ll reward you, and you can wait until 4.30 a.m. the next day before talking to him again. That’s when the day’s quest is handed out.

The more quests you do for him, the higher the chances of getting his powerful bait. It starts with a 50% chance and eventually reaches 100% after completing 50 quests. Bait quality and quantity both increase the more you help him.

These are the bait rewards he may give you.

• Apprentice Bait, 15% bait power
• Journeyman Bait, 30% bait power
• Master Bait, 50% bait power

As the name suggests, the Master Bait is the best bait item you can get in most versions of Terraria. Only the Truffle Worm has better bait power, sitting at 666%. But as detailed above, this item is only used for summoning a boss.

With the help of a Tackle Bag, the Master Bait only has a 9.68% chance of being consumed. This makes it highly reusable and well worth doing quests for.

Terraria How to Get Lava Bait

The Lavafly is a bait item with 25% bait power. It only appears in these Terraria versions below.

• PC
  
• Console
  
• Mobile
  
• tModLoader Version
  

You can find them in the Underworld at night, but a standard Bug Net won’t catch them. Trying to get Lavaflies with one will result in players taking one point of damage and getting the Burning status for five seconds.

Instead, you need to upgrade your Bug Net first. A Lavaproof Bug Net or Golden Bug Net both work for catching Lavaflies. Using them will save you from damage and a Burning status.

However, that’s not the only thing you need for fishing with the Lavafly. You must upgrade the Tackle Box into a Lavaproof Tackle Bag too. Besides reducing bait consumption chances, this item will prevent fishing lines from breaking, so you can finally fish in lava.

The Magma Snail and Hell Butterfly are other lava bait critters. They have bait powers of 35% and 20%, respectively.

Magma Snails don’t have a specific spawn time, but players will only find Hell Butterflies in the daytime. Therefore, time your visits to the Underworld for the best results.

Players can catch these fish in lava.

• Flarefin Koi
  
• Obsidifish
  

Attracting Bait

While there isn’t a specific way to make a bait farm in Terraria, there are some ways to increase your yields as you look for critters. The easiest one is farming Fireflies since they spawn in more significant numbers.

1. Equip a pair of Flower Boots.
   
2. Sprint across any grass or animal-producing plant life.
   
3. Kill the flowers that grow.
   
4. Repeat.

Running through the grass on a rainy day will help you get worms instead. Fireflies don’t spawn when it rains.

This method is natural but slower. Nevertheless, you can combine it with the following farming technique.

1. Develop a town in the Forest biome.
   
2. Invite NPCs to live in your new buildings.
   
3. Wait until nighttime.
   
4. Use your Bug Net to catch them.

During a new moon, Firefly spawns increase immensely. That’s your best chance of getting plenty of bait. On regular nights, you can get from 20-40 of them.

Regardless of these methods, there still isn’t an authentic way to make a bait farm. You’re mostly understanding these critters’ habits and spawn information and making the most of it.

When exploring, try to catch every bug you see unless you only have eyes for rarer bait. These can be found in deeper or more dangerous areas, but remember only to travel there when you’re prepared.

Additional FAQs

How do you get bait fast in Terraria?

The best way to farm for bait is to explore the world and know when and where the critters spawn. You can get lots of bait items and start fishing with the correct information. You can also make a town, and prompt Firefly spawns.

Why are Truffle Worms not spawning in Terraria?

The only answer is you’re not playing in Hard mode. While you can bring a Truffle Worm into a standard save file from your Hard mode file, they won’t spawn outside the challenging game difficulty.

Fishing Adventures

Having extensive knowledge of fishing bait in Terraria is essential to getting some rare catches or even weapons. While it’s easy to find low-level critters, there are great items to get if you complete the Angler’s quests. Make sure to stock up on bait before fishing.

What bait do you usually farm for in Terraria? Which weapons did you get by fishing? Let us know in the comments section below.