Fishing

Fishing has appeared in all of the games so far. Making up a substantial amount of gameplay, it is often an essential skill for those who are not very lucky at the stalk market, because it is based more on skill than luck. 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, octopi 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 and ) to three (in ) types of available fishing rod. If you catch the fish and a villager sees you, they will clap.

Fishing rods
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. It is the easiest of the rods to get and is the usually the first the player will receive. Until you get Nookingtons, they will sell every other day or so.


 * Silver Rod: This rod makes catching fish easier and can also be bought at Nookingtons. Surprisingly, the silver rod can be bought for 500 Bells, the same as the fishing rod, despite being better. However, the silver rod is very rare. This rod is in Animal Crossing: City Folk only.


 * Golden Rod: The most arduously obtained rod, it can only be obtained when the player catches all 40 (AC), 56 (WW) , or 64 (CF) 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.

Tortimer's Remarks
In Animal Crossing Tortimer will congratulate you on obtaining the Golden Rod. ''Well now, young Ai... I do believe I have something for you. Oh, yepper! It's a love letter... Oh, just take 'er easy! It's not a love letter. It's a Golden Rod. I do believe you've caught every single kind of fish, haven't you? Well, I'm here to congratulate you, sprout! I want you to have this rod... Its current owner o longer has any need of it, in a manner of speaking. It's a very fine rod. Yepper! Even the most unlucky of fishermen will find fishing easier with this feller. I don't dare say this too loudly...but you can't get this anwhere else, get me? Take good care of it, sprout! I enjoy a good evening fish, but I don't do it too often. Can't waste my youth a-fishing! Heh hehh hooorf!''

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 1 waterfall (ACWW) or 2 waterfalls (AC and ACCF).

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 spilts 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 1 waterfall in an Animal Crossing: Wild World town, but 2 in Animal Crossing (GCN) and Animal Crossing: City Folk.

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

What does a fish look like?
When in the water, the fish looks like a big dark blob. This is a shadow. Shadows can be all sorts of sizes, for a list of fish by shadow size, try the List of fish by shadow size.

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.



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.
 * The whale, which only appears in Animal Crossing via a glitch. It can not be caught, but during Kapp'n's ferry ride to the island, it is possible to see this beast's shilouette. Although, the whale could be caught with an Action Replay device.
 * Litter, such as empty cans can be caught.

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, only appear at certain times of the day, or at certain times of the year, like the gar. All fish either appear all day, between 4am and 9pm, between 4pm - 9am or 9am - 4pm.

The Coelacanth
The coelacanth is a particularly noteworthy fish as, not only selling for 15,000 Bells, it only appears during snow or rain. Even then, it is still horribly rare, and it is this fish that most people catch last.

Diving Beetle and Pondskater
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 and

Trash
There are three items of trash: the Empty Can, Boot, and Old Tire can all be caught in the river. They serve no purpose, whatsoever.. They cannot be sold to Tom Nook for a price, but he will take them from you to get rid of. You'll never know if it is a real fish or junk, as both share the same shilouettes.


 * Trash might exist to increase awareness of water pollution..


 * The Old Tire might be from Gracie's car, as the player mentions. Gracie is known to illegally park her car in town.


 * No one knows if the boot is from a previous town resident, who is never seen. Same with the can.


 * In the Animal Crossing film, Hopper catches a boot as he is fishing.

Keys
In, 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. The key can only be found in the river.