Animal Crossing: New Horizons continues to be one of the best-selling titles this year, which is hardly surprising, as it gave many players a much-needed outlet into a virtual world when they largely had to stay indoors in the real world.
Players have been busy perfecting their islands, creating custom designs, and terraforming the land to show off their skills to their friends. Nintendo recently added the summer update, which added in deep-sea diving, swimming, and additional sea creatures to catch. However, nothing beats the charm of fishing the old fashioned way and with the fish changing monthly, it's a hobby that players continue to enjoy. Check out these top fishing tips.
10 Don't Scare the Fish
First thing's first, if you're planning on a fishing session, then you need to make sure you're not scaring your fish away. This means no running around near rivers, ponds, or on the shore, as the fish will disappear.
Additionally, do not use vaulting poles near fish, as this will spook them too, so make sure you go to an empty patch of water to cross over. Other actions can scare fish away too, such as catching bugs that are close to them or accidentally hitting the water with your net.
9 Carry More than One Rod
One of the best bits of advice that would-be fishers should heed is to always carry more than one rod. The reason for this is that fish reset when you go inside a building. So, if there's a fish you know you need such as a shark, but your rod has broken, if you go inside to buy or craft a new one, it will disappear.
Alternatively, you can make sure you have a craft station somewhere outside, but this likely means holding onto more than one material for a decent rod, using up precious inventory spaces unless you're willing to just craft flimsy rods.
8 Rain is Your New Best Friend
While most people dislike when bad weather strikes, as a fisherman, you want the rain to fall on your island. Rare fish have a greater chance of spawning in bad weather, as well as the super-rare Coelacanth fish only being catchable during rainy or snowy weather.
Whenever it's raining, be sure to make the most out of it and take your trusty rods to your favorite fishing spots. Additionally, you can also ask your friends if it's raining on their islands and visit them too.
7 Mystery Islands
Mystery islands are great for fishing for a couple of reasons. Firstly, whatever time you arrive on the mystery island becomes locked to that time. So, if you arrive at 15.59, regardless of how long you spend there, you will still be able to catch fish that stop spawning at 16:00.
Additionally, some islands offer up rare fish more readily. For example, some players have discovered a "Fin Island," where all fish at the island are finfish, such as sharks, sunfish, and more.
6 Use Bait at The Dock
There are quite a few fish that can only be caught at the dock, which can be a bit frustrating, as this severely limits catch rates as you only have one small area to fish from. However, there is a way to expedite catching dock fish by using bait.
If you know what size shadow you want, you can simply bait, fish, and scare away any shadows that you don't need, speeding up the process of getting the right size fish. Bait is crafted by using manila clams that you dig up from the shore.
5 Make Sure You Have Plenty of Inventory Space
If you're gearing up for a decent fishing session, you'll want to make sure that your inventory isn't full and that you have a decent amount of space. This is important, as you want as many spaces available to ensure you need to visit the shop less often and with the most fish, to be as profitable as possible.
Additionally, as fish reset when you go inside, you don't want to find that your inventory is full when a nice fin fish spawns.
4 Sell to C.J.
If C.J. is visiting your island, be sure to do his fishing challenge—which is generally very easy—so that you can then sell your fish to him. This is because C.J. offers 150% of the fish's usual value, meaning that you can make a lot more money by selling to him rather than the Nooklings.
Additionally, he hangs around longer than the Nook Shop is open, so, if you're planning a bit of nighttime fishing, C.J. is your guy.
3 Fish With Your Eyes Closed
This might seem like an odd tip, but fishing with your eyes closed greatly reduces the chance of you pulling in your rod too soon. It's all too easy to be deceived into thinking the float is going to go under when it wobbles, so, rather than rely on visuals and risk getting it wrong, you should rely on sound alone.
The sound of the fish taking the bait properly is very evident, and there can be no mistakes made when you're using this as a marker of when to reel in.
2 Fish At Different Times of the Day
Make sure that you mix up your fishing sessions and that you are fishing at varied times of day in the rivers, pond, and ocean. This is because the fish available change depending on the time of day, as well as the season. So, if you want to catch one of everything, then you need to fish at all times of the day.
Fishing at night can be a bit annoying if C.J. isn't around, as the Nook store closes at 10 pm, but, at least there is the drop-off box outside the front that you can sell fish to, though it is at a reduced rate of 80% of the normal value.
1 Do Your Homework
If you're after a certain type of fish, it's important to do your homework beforehand to ensure that you're fishing at the right time of year, right time of the day, and at the right location. After all, you don't want to spend hours trying to catch a fish that is impossible to get at that moment in time.
There is plenty of information online about when fish spawn, or, if it's a fish you've caught before and you're looking to catch more to make some bells, you can find all the info you need in your Critterpedia through your phone.