Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Fishing Guide

Fishing is one of the main pastimes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and gives players a relaxing activity they can do daily. With 80 different species of fish to catch, players can spend a ton of hours angling and hoping to land a big catch. Although it’s not terribly difficult to fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons – you simply need to toss a fishing line in the direction of one of the fish-shaped shadows that appear in ponds, rivers, and the sea – there is actually a lot of nuance to where and how fish appear in the game. Here are a few things that you need to know about fishing in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Location

One of the most important parts of fishing in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is choosing where you plan to fish. Generally speaking, fish appear in one of three different habitats: the sea, rivers, and ponds. Different fish spawn in different bodies in water, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re fishing in all three areas in order to maximize the number of species you catch. Keep in mind that ponds are fully enclosed bodies of water, so if you’re crafting a pond using your Landscaping Tools, you’ll need to make sure it’s fully split off from a river.

Additionally, some fish also spawn in specific spots, such as the mouth of rivers, the river on the top of your cliffs, or off the pier in the sea. For instance, salmon and sturgeon only spawn at the mouths of rivers, while tuna and marlin only appear off the pier.

Weather and Timing

Another important consideration when it comes to fishing is what time you fish. Like bugs, some fish only appear in the morning, while others only appear in the afternoon and night. Many fish are also seasonal, so they only appear during certain months depending on whether you live in the Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere. While there aren’t any fish that are exclusive to one Hemisphere or another, some fish only appear for a couple of months before disappearing, so you’ll have to wait until next year, unless you have a friend who lives in the opposite Hemisphere.

There are also a handful of fish (such as the coelacanth) that only appear when its raining. Other fish also have increased chances of appearing while it rains. 

Shadow Sizes

You can often get a hint about what what fish has appeared in the water based on the size of the fish’s shadow. There are six different sizes of shadows – extra small, small, medium, large, extra large, and giant. Eels and sharks also have distinctive shadows – eels have skinnier shadows than normal fish, while sharks have a fin. Sharks, in particular, are usually rare and require a faster reaction time than normal fish, but they sell for a lot more Bells than normal fish. 

Fish That Appear All Year

Here are a list of fish that appear all year round, along with their locations and times.

• Pale chub (9 AM – 4 PM, river)
• Crucian carp (All Day, river)
• Dace (4 PM – 9 AM, river)
• Carp (All Day, pond)
• Koi (All Day, pond)
• Goldfish (All Day, pond)
• Pop-eyed Goldfish (9 AM – 4 PM, pond)
• Ranchu goldfish (9 AM – 4 PM, pond)
• Freshwater goby (4 PM – 9 AM, river)
• Bluegill (9 AM – 4 PM, river)
• Black bass (all day, river)
• Anchovy (4 AM – 9 PM, sea)
• Horse mackeral (all day, sea)
• Sea bass (all day, sea)
• Red snapper (all day, sea)
• Olive flounder (all day, sea)

Seasonal Sea Fish

Here are all the fish that spawn in the sea that only appear during parts of the year. 

• Dab (All day, October – April in Northern Hemisphere, April – October in Southern Hemisphere)
• Football fish (4 PM – 9 AM, November – March in Northern Hemisphere, May – September in Southern Hemisphere)
• Blowfish (6 PM – 4 AM, November – February in Northern Hemisphere, May – August in Southern Hemisphere)
• Barred Knifejaw (All day, March – November in Northern Hemisphere, September – May in Southern Hemisphere)
• Saw shark (4 PM – 9 AM, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Hammerhead Shark (4 PM – 9 AM, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Great white shark (4 PM – 9 AM, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Whale shark (All day, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Suckerfish (All day, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Ribbon Eel (All day, June – October in Northern Hemisphere, December – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Puffer fish (All day, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Ocean sunfish (4 AM – 9 PM, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Napoleonfish (4 AM – 9 PM, June – August in Northern Hemisphere, December – February in Southern Hemisphere)
• Oarfish (All day, December – May in Northern Hemisphere, June – November in Southern Hemisphere)
• Sea Butterfly (All day, December – March in Northern Hemisphere, June – September in Southern Hemisphere)
• Squid (All day, December – August in Northern Hemisphere, June – February in Southern Hemisphere)
• Moray Eel (All day, August – October in Northern Hemisphere, February – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Ray (4 AM – 9 PM, August – November in Northern Hemisphere, February – May in Southern Hemisphere)
• Clown fish (All day, April – September in Northern Hemisphere, October – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Surgeonfish (All day, April – September in Northern Hemisphere, October – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Butterfly fish (All day, April – September in Northern Hemisphere, October – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Sea horse (All day, April – November in Northern Hemisphere, October – May in Southern Hemisphere)
• Zebra Turkeyfish (All day, April – November in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)

Here are all the fish that appear only at the pier.

• Tuna (All day, November – April in Northern Hemisphere, May – October in Southern Hemisphere)
• Giant trevally (All day, May – October in Northern Hemisphere, November – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Mahi-mahi (All day, May – October in Northern Hemisphere, November – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Blue marlin (All day, July – September, November – April in Northern Hemisphere, January – March, May – November in Southern Hemisphere)

Seasonal Pond Fish

Here are all the fish that spawn in ponds that only appear during parts of the year. 

• Catfish (4 PM – 9 AM, May – October in Northern Hemisphere, November – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Frog (All day, May – August in Northern Hemisphere, November – February in Southern Hemisphere)
• Tadpole (All day, March – July in Northern Hemisphere, September – January in Southern Hemisphere)
• Gar (4 PM – 9 AM, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Giant snakehead (9 AM – 4 PM, June – August in Northern Hemisphere, December – February in Southern Hemisphere)
• Crawfish (All day, April – September in Northern Hemisphere, October – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Killifish (All day, April – August in Northern Hemisphere, October – February in Southern Hemisphere)

Seasonal River Fish

Here are all the fish that spawn in rivers that only appear during parts of the year. 

• Mitten Crab (4 PM – 9 AM, September – November in Northern Hemisphere, March – May in Southern Hemisphere)
• Pike (All day, September – December in Northern Hemisphere, March – June in Southern Hemisphere)
• Yellow Perch (All day, October – March in Northern Hemisphere, April – September in Southern Hemisphere)
• Bitterling (All day, November – March in Northern Hemisphere, May – September in Southern Hemisphere)
• Nibble fish (9 AM – 4 PM, May – September in Northern Hemisphere, November – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Angelfish (4 PM – 9 AM, May – October in Northern Hemisphere, November – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Betta (9 AM – 4 PM, May – October in Northern Hemisphere, November – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Rainbowfish (9 AM – 4 PM, May – October in Northern Hemisphere, November – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Loach (All day, March – May in Northern Hemisphere, September – November in Southern Hemisphere)
• Pirahna (9 AM – 4 PM,  9 PM – 4 AM, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Arowana (4 PM – 9 AM, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, November – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Dorado (4 AM – 9 PM, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Arapaima (4 PM – 9 AM, May – October in Northern Hemisphere, November – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Saddled Bichir (4 PM – 9 AM, June – September in Northern Hemisphere, December – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Talapia (All day, June – October in Northern Hemisphere, December – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Sweetfish (All day, July – September in Northern Hemisphere, January – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Pond Smelt (All day, July – September in Northern Hemisphere, January – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Soft-shelled turtle (4 PM – 9 AM, August – September in Northern Hemisphere, February – March in Southern Hemisphere)
• Snapping turtle (9 PM – 4 AM, April – October in Northern Hemisphere, October – April in Southern Hemisphere)
• Guppy (9 AM – 4 PM, April – November in Northern Hemisphere, October – May in Southern Hemisphere)
• Neon tetra (9 AM – 4 PM, April – November in Northern Hemisphere, October – May in Southern Hemisphere)

Here are the fish that appear in rivers on clifftops.

• Cherry Salmon (4 PM – 9 AM, March – June, September – November in Northern Hemisphere, March – May, September – December in Southern Hemisphere)
• Char (4 PM – 9 AM, March – June, September – November in Northern Hemisphere, March – May, September – December in Southern Hemisphere)
• Golden trout (4 PM – 9 AM, March – June, September – November in Northern Hemisphere, March – May, September – December in Southern Hemisphere)
• Stringfish (4 PM – 9 AM, December – March in Northern Hemisphere, June – September in Southern Hemisphere)

Here are the fish that appear in river mouths. 

• Sturgeon (All day, September – March in Northern Hemisphere, March – September in Southern Hemisphere)
• Salmon (All day, September in Northern Hemisphere, March in Southern Hemisphere)
• King salmon (All day, September in Northern Hemisphere, March in Southern Hemisphere)