Fishing

This article is about how to fish. For list of fish, see Fish.

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Fishing is a large part of Animal Crossing series. It has appeared in all the games yet. Fish appear in the museum after donating, along with bugs, fossils and paintings. 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: frogs, crawfish, octopuses and lobster, for example. Fish can be found in all bodies of water, the pond, the River Pool, the river, the waterfall, the Ocean and the fish can only be caught using any of the two (in Animal Crossing and Animal Crossing: Wild World) to three (in Animal Crossing: City Folk and Animal Crossing: New Leaf) types of available fishing rods. If the player catches a fish and a villager sees them, the villager will clap.

Catching Fish

Fishing rods

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All fish in Animal Crossing

To catch fish, the player will first need a rod. There are 3 kinds of fishing rod: the generic rod, the silver rod and the golden rod.

• Fishing Rod: This is a common tool found in Tom Nook's store, sold for 500 Bells each.
• 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.
• Golden Rod: The golden rod can be obtained only when the player catches all 40 (AC), 56 (WW), 64 (CF), or 72 (NL) fish. Without time traveling, it will take, at the very least, around eleven months to catch them all. This rod makes catching fish even easier than with the silver rod.

Where can I find fish?

Fish can be found in all bodies of water throughout the player or players' town.

Ocean

This 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.

Oceanic fish

For a list of all oceanic fish, go to List of saltwater fish.

River

This 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).

River mouth

The river mouth is the acre in which the river meets the ocean. The river mouth is special since Salmon and King Salmon can be caught here.

River fish

Unless stated, all fish in the List of freshwater fish are river fish.

River Pool

The river pool is where the river widens. It is not where the river splits in two.

River pool fish

• Catfish
• Giant catfish (AC only)
• Gar
• Giant snakehead
• Pond smelt
• Herabuna (Animal Forest only)

Waterfall

This area is where the water cascades over a cliff. There is one waterfall in an Animal Crossing: Wild World town, but two in Animal Crossing, Animal Crossing: City Folk and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Waterfall fish

• Char
• Large char (AC only)

Pond

The pond is a small pool of water. The average town has about 3 scattered around.

Pond fish

• Frog
• Crawfish
• Killifish
• Tadpole (NL only)

What does a fish look like?

• 

  This is a shadow of a regular fish.

• 

  This is a shadow of a member of the shark group.

For a list of fish by shadow size, see here.

How to catch the fish

The player must not run when going after the fish or throw a snowball on water. This will scare it away, and they 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 tapping the player or by 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. Some fish nibble once then swim away, in this case you must recast the line. Otherwise, do not press (A) (or tap the screen) yet. Some Animal Crossing players keep their eyes shut and wait for the 'plop' noise, signaling a bite. When the player hears the 'plop' noise, the player must press (A), shake the remote, or tap the screen as soon as possible after the plop. In City Folk, the fish can only nibble 5 times, so if the fish has nibbled 4 times, the next nibble will be a bite. It is possible to draw the line too early, or too late. Regardless, the fish is now gone. Common fish like the Sea Bass do not need good timing, although it must be alright, in order to catch it. However, rare/expensive fish like the Blue Marlin require exact 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 shout a catchphrase about the fish, then stuff the fish in their pockets.

The player should practice on the island, if the player is playing on Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and closes their eyes whenever the fish sees their bait. This way all the fish the player catches on the island, preferably on tours, are either all rare or the player must release them after. Also, when the player closes their eyes it helps the player concentrate more on the bait, and wait for the louder bobbing sound. After following this advice, the player should be able to catch every fish they see.

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If the player pulls the line in too early, they will miss the fish.

Other Information

Fish that aren't fish

As stated in the first paragraph, not all fish are actual fish. These are:

• The frog, which is an amphibian.
• The crawfish, which is a crustacean.
• The lobster, which is also a crustacean.
• The octopus, which is a mollusc/mollusk.
• The squid, which is also a mollusc/mollusk.
• The Sea butterfly, which is another mollusc/mollusk.

Times and dates

Most fish appear all day or all year, and there are some, like the sea bass that appear 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 a.m. and 9 p.m., between 4 p.m. - 9 a.m. or 9 a.m. - 4 p.m..

Other Aquatic Creatures/Items

Diving Beetle and Pondskater

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The shadow of a submerged diving beetle compared to a fish shadow.

These are not fish, they are bugs. However, the Diving Beetle will dive under the surface of the water sometimes, creating a shadow similar to one of a small fish. The pondskater darts around on the surface of freshwater. It can sometimes be mistaken for a fleeing small fish. The Diving Beetle only appears in Animal Crossing: City Folk or Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Trash

There are three items of trash. The can and boot are caught in the river, while the tire is caught in the river or the ocean. They serve no purpose. They cannot be sold to Tom Nook for a price, but he will dispose of them for free. In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, trash must be disposed of at Re-Tail for a fee of 80 bells, unless the Trash Can public works project is built.

Keys

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.