Fishing

This article is about the fishing mechanic. For the list of all fish, see Fish.

Artwork of a player fishing in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Fishing is a large part of the Animal Crossing series, appearing in all the games except for Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. Fish can be donated to the museum, along with bugs, sea creatures, fossils and artwork. They are very diverse in price, ranging from 100 Bells to 15,000 Bells. Not all 'fish' are actually fish, though, but rather mere aquatic species: the frog, crawfish, octopus and lobster, for example. Fish can be found in all bodies of water, including ponds, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and the sea. They can be caught using any type of fishing rod, and if the player catches a fish and a villager sees them, the villager will clap.

In Animal Crossing, if a player leaves behind a fishing rod on Animal Island, the islander may use the fishing rod when it is given to them, though only on the Game Boy Advance. If used, they may catch either a Red Snapper or an Octopus, the latter of which could not be caught in the main game until Doubutsu no Mori e+.

Catching fish

The player must not run when going after the fish, place an item near the body of water. Nor grab the item or disturb the water by dropping a snowball, releasing a fish, tossing beans, causing a tool to break, or swinging a net into the water. This will scare it away, and the player will not see it again. When they see the fish, they must cast the line out using the (A) button. In Animal Crossing: Wild World, it is also possible to fish by using the touch screen, tapping the player or tapping the water. The player should position themselves so that the float comes near the fish when it comes to a stop (change distance from shore, angle of casting, position). The fish, if it sees the bait, will attempt to nibble. Sometimes, however, fish nibble the bait and swim past it (they do not disappear). so the player must recast the bait. If the fish follows and continues to nibble the bait, then the player must wait for the fish to bite the bait to submerge it, making a distinct "plop" noise. Once the bait is submerged, the player must press (A), shake the Wii Remote, or tap the screen as soon as possible. The fish can nibble up to five times, so if the fish has nibbled four times, the next nibble will be a guaranteed bite. If the player draws the line too early or too late, the fish swims away. Common fish such as the Sea Bass do not require quick reflexes to catch them. However, rare or expensive fish such as the Blue Marlin require faster timing, so the player must keep their concentration when catching fish. Once the fish is caught the player will hold up the fish to show off and say something about it, then put the fish in their pockets.

In Animal Crossing, City Folk, and New Horizons, the controller vibrates each time a fish touches the rod, with a stronger vibration occurring when the fish bites. In New Horizons, the strength of the vibration is also based on the size of the fish.

Fishing Rods

To catch fish, the player will first need a rod. There are four main types of fishing rod: the Flimsy Fishing Rod, the normal Fishing Rod, the Silver Rod and the Golden Rod.

• Flimsy Fishing Rod: This rod is only available in New Horizons, and it can be crafted or bought from Nook's Cranny. Its durability is lower than the regular Fishing Rod.
• Fishing Rod: This is a common tool that can be brought for  500 Bells, or in the case of New Horizons, crafted using a Flimsy Fishing Rod and a Iron Nugget.
• Silver Rod: This rod makes catching fish easier and can also be bought at Tom Nook's store. Although it is rarer, the silver rod can be bought for  500 Bells, the same as the fishing rod. However, the silver rod is not very rare in Animal Crossing: New Leaf; the silver rod is available for purchase in the Museum Shop for  600 Bells after the player has donated 50 fish. It is not available in New Horizons.
• Golden Rod: This rod makes catching fish even easier than with the silver rod, and can only be obtained by catching all fish. In the case of New Horizons however, the Golden Rod provides the most durability out of the other rods in the game, and needs to be crafted using a Fishing Rod and one Gold Nugget, with its DIY recipe obtained from catching all fish. For each game in the series, it will take a minimum of eight months (February to September) to catch all the fish without time traveling.

In addition to these four, Animal Crossing: New Horizons adds three stylized fishing rods: the Colorful Fishing Rod, the Fish Fishing Rod, and the Outdoorsy Fishing Rod. These are functionally identical to the regular fishing rod, with the only difference being their design. These rods are available from the upgraded Nook's Cranny.

Fish Bait

Fish Bait is a craftable item in Animal Crossing: New Horizons that will spawn a random fish when thrown into a body of water. Fish Bait can be crafted using one Manila Clam, and it stacks up to 10 in the player's inventory. Additionally, it sells for  200 Bells, double the selling price of a Manila Clam.

Times and dates

Some fish, like the Sea Bass, can be caught all day and all year. Some fish, however, appear only at certain times of the day or at certain times of the year, like the Gar. Most fish either appear all day, between 4 AM and 9 PM, between 9 AM and 4 PM, or between 4 PM and 9 AM.

Fishing locations

Fish can be found in all bodies of water throughout the player's town. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the player can use the Island Designer Construction Permit to create rivers, waterfalls, and ponds on their island.

Sea

The Sea is the largest body of water in the town and is the only saltwater area. This is where most of the very expensive fish are found, including the shark family.

For a list of all sea fish, see List of saltwater fish.

River

The River is the second largest area of water in town. It runs from north to south, going through one waterfall (ACWW) or two waterfalls (AC, ACCF, NL).

For a list of all freshwater fish, see List of freshwater fish.

Lake

A Lake is where the river widens in Animal Crossing only. It is not where the river splits in two.

Waterfall

A waterfall is the area where water cascades over a cliff. There is one waterfall in all Animal Crossing: Wild World towns, and two waterfalls in Animal Crossing, Animal Crossing: City Folk, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

River mouth

The river mouth is where the river meets the sea. Salmon, King Salmon, and Sturgeon can be caught here.

Pond

A pond is a small pool of water. The average town has two or three scattered around.

Shadow / Size

See also: List of fish by shadow size

• 

  The shadow of a regular fish.

• 

  The shadow of a shark.

Non-fish types

Trash

There are three items of trash: the Boot, the Empty Can, and the Old Tire. The Empty Can and Boot can be caught in rivers, while the Old Tire can be caught in either rivers or the sea. Prior to Animal Crossing: New Leaf, they cannot be sold to, but they can be disposed of at Tom Nook's store for free. In New Leaf, trash can be disposed of at Re-Tail for a fee of 80 Bells or thrown away for free if the Trash Can public works project is built. In Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo, the player can also dispose of them without this project if they have a trash can in their home. In New Horizons, trash can now be sold, and it is used in certain DIY recipes.

Lost items

In Animal Crossing: City Folk, villagers may lose the key to their house. When fished out, it can be returned for a reward. If it is not found fast enough, the key will stop appearing, and they will get in by themselves. If the player's pockets are full, the game will not allow them to catch a key, and attempting to do so will always result in failure.

Gallery

Artwork

• 

  Doubutsu no Mori

• 

  Doubutsu no Mori

• 

  Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Screenshots

• 

  Animal Crossing

• AIFishing.png

  Animal Island

• CFFishing.png

  Animal Crossing: City Folk

• 

  Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Trivia

• In WarioWare: Smooth Moves, one of 9-Volt and 18-Volt's microgames involves the player controlling a fishing Wild World character. The player must pull the Wii Remote up in order to catch a fish from the river. All fish from Wild World are potential catches in this microgame. This microgame reappears in WarioWare Gold.

Gameplay elements

Player Player Mayor approval rating Catalog Catch quotes Hairstyle Passport Pockets Photo Reaction Reputation Resident Representative Skin tone Tool Town Pass Card Town Town/island Hemisphere Amenities Animal tracks Rebuild the town Acres Objects Public works projects Town fund Town initiative Town ordinance Lost and found Group Life House Happy Home Academy Balloon Event Fashion check Fêng shui Home loan Letter Luck Moving NookPhone Savings Visit Activities Badges Bug catching Constellation Designing Fishing Mystery Island Tour Part-time job Stalk Market Swimming Tour (Tortimer Island) Character AI Villager Starting villager Special character Catchphrase Compatibility Conversation Episode Friendship Hobbies Scrapbook Memory Nickname Personality Petition Sickness Star sign Quests Ball Favor Hide-and-seek Lost item Time Capsule Minigames NES games Doubutsu no Mori e+: Doubutsu-tachi to Asobou! Desert Island Escape Animal Crossing Puzzle League Currencies Bells Caps Leaf Tickets Medals MEOW Coupons Nook Miles Play Coins Poki Vouchers Vehicles Bus Camper RV Taxi Train Connectivity Multiplayer Dream DS Suitcase Friend Code Happy Home Network Design Contest Nintendo Network Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection NookLink Tag Mode Transfer WiiConnect24 Cheating Cheating device Glitch Gameplay modification Seeds Time travel Fourth Wall • Reset • Secret code • Category