Fishing Basics

Basics

Fishing is an integral part of the game and is also a good way to earn some bells. You can fish in any body of water. It is recommended to turn the sound up or use earphones so you can clearly hear the “bopping” sound when the fish bites the bait.

To fish, you have to get a Fishing Rod first. You can buy it from the Nookling Junction or get it from Elizabeth as one of the options in getting advice on how to live the town. (This option is only available when you just moved into town)

Tip: If the fish nudges the bait for the fourth time, it will surely bite the bait on the fifth.

As explained in the Tools section, there are three different fishing rods. The Silver and Gold Fishing Rods are obviously much better than the ordinary rod. They both have different methods of unlocking. (Refer to this guide’s tool section)

How to Fish:

First, find a shadow of fish near a body of water; be it a stream, pond or the ocean. To cast your lure, simply aim to the direction of the fish shadow you want to catch then press A. The trick here is to allow your bait to land almost in front of the fish. This will get their attention and they’ll make a move.

Sometimes, fishes will immediately bite on the lure while most of the time, they’ll just nudge it until they bite. Timing is important since some fishes, especially the rarer ones, allow you only a split-second to react to catch them. Any moment late and they’ll be gone.

You’ll hear a bopping sound as soon as they bite the lure so using that as a cue to press A again to pull the lure is an effective way of ensuring greater chances of catching your fish.

Tip: For new types of fishes you catch, it will be a good idea to donate them to the Museum first so you can just sell any succeeding fishes you catch of the same type.

If you’re looking for a particular fish silhouette/ shadow and you don’t want the one nearby, just run near the edge of the water to scare the fish away. This will allow a different fish to spawn on the same point. This is helpful especially if you just want to fish those high-valued rare fishes. One good example of deliberately scaring unwanted fish off is when you want to catch the sharks in the Tropical Island. Their silhouettes are the largest and their fins will be protruding out of the water.