Fishing in ACNH is one of the greatest pastimes. It’s also a very rewarding activity because you will make a good amount of Bells Animal Crossing by fishing. But some people are getting frustrated when losing so many fish. In this guide, GosuNoob, ConCon, and Minipa show you how to fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Getting a Fishing Rod
The first
thing you need to do is craft a Fishing Rod. Once you've set up your tent and
have a chat with Tom Nook, he'll give you a free DIY tutorial and teach you how
to craft a Flimsy Fishing Rod using his DIY workbench. You'll need 5 Tree
Branches to craft it, and you can find Tree Branches on the ground or by
shaking trees.
How to Fish
You have to
spot a dark shape floating in a pond, river, or sea to catch a fish. Stand on
the shore, looking towards the fish, press “A” to throw the line. It has to
drop in front of the fish. If it drops too far from the fish, it won’t attract
its attention.
The fish will poke the bait, and when the fishing rod's floater
submerge and a "plop" sound is heard, that is when you must rapidly
press “A” button to catch the fish. You have to do this a few times to get used
to it. The fish will poke the bait by one to four times before biting, so you
need to be careful and only press “A” when you hear the bite. If a fish pokes at
your reel four times without biting, it will always bite on the fifth
time. In GosuNoob and ConCon’s videos, you will see when
is the exact time to press “A” button.
You can also craft a Fish Bait once you dig a Manila Claim. If you can’t find
any fish, use the bait, and one fish will appear right away.
Shadow Analysis
The most
significant time-saver and hardest trick of all is Shadow Analysis. You can
estimate what the fish is with Minipa’s methods:
Size 1-3:
Same Shape
Large Size =
Slower Tail Swerves
During idle position (when a fish is stationary and moves its tail
in a set pattern), the fish's shadows behave differently for each size. Smaller
shadows swerve their tails at a much higher frequency than the larger ones.
Size 1-3 shadows are just enlarged versions of each other, and there's no
distinct differences other than the size. The only thing is that the frequency
of its tail swerves lower as the size increases. Once you hit size 4, you will
notice that his tail has a greater angle, and compared to size 3, this makes
the swerve more like a whip instead of a bounce-like movement.
Despite the tail differences, size 1-5 have the same shape, it being top-heavy
that drastically becomes thinner towards the tail. However, size 6 is different
from every other size. Not only is it bigger and of a different shape, but also
swerves at a lower frequency. The size 5 fish has the same whippy tail swerves
as the size 4 and the same top-heavy head as the previous sizes, while the size
6’head is rounder than a size 5. A size 6 has a thicker and longer body. Its
girth is more evenly distributed, and its shape doesn't become thinner
drastically towards the tail.
Behavioral Differences: for a size 6, its tail moves at a slower frequency than
a size 5. But when you look at the peak of a swerve, you will also notice that,
for the size 5, you will see a blocky texture and a more whiplike tail. But for
size 6, the tail swerves much smoother, more methodical, and you don't see that
blocky texture at the peak of its swerve. This is very useful for hunting a
Coelacanth because a Coelacanth only spawns in the rain. In the river, a size 6
shadow is pretty easy to tell from a size 5, but when it's raining and in the
ocean, the waves and the raining particle effects can obscure the shape of the
size 5 and size 6, making this more difficult to discern. But, if you look at a
tail swerve, it's still pretty obvious compared to the size 6, even with this
visual handicap.
Casting Optimization
Many of you
may have trouble judging the angle to cast the rod properly. I blame the
controller for not having the sensitivity to make micro-adjustments. If you
can’t make those turns, I suggest walking backwards and holding the control
stick in the fish's direction. Slowly walk towards it then cast your rod. It
takes a little more time for cast, but I found that a casting significantly
improves doing this than trying to make tiny adjustments. Also, to prevent the
fish from moving the moment you cast your rod, you should only cast your
rod right after the fish has moved. Remember, despite the technique, it will
still take practice.
Shadow Refreshing
Some people
will call it Scaring away Fish. Sometimes, running can reach the fish you're
trying to scare, but here's two methods that will accomplish what running and
pole vaulting can’t.
Rod Pulling
The first
method is called Rod Pulling. You’ll want to cast your rod and get the
attention of the fish you want to scare away. The moment you grab the fish's
attention, instantly retract your rod, and the fish will disappear. You don't
have to worry about the fishing rod losing durability because you will only
lose durability if you successfully caught something.
Dumping
The second
method has the best range and an area of effect. Sometimes, you will get
unwanted fish in your runs. Instead of releasing them right away, you can keep
them and use them to scare away fish that are not in reach. This is useful for
mystery islands because many fish you don't want could spawn in close
proximity. So, dumping a single fish could scare them away, saving time
compared to trying to scare them by foot or rod.
Keep in mind
that other actions like digging up anything, using a ladder or a Pole Vault can
scare away fish as well. This won’t help you scare away fish efficiently, but
it can prevent yourself from accidentally scaring away rare fish.
Force Spawning (This can ONLY be done with Island #1 and #10)
First, you
have to know that fish shadows can’t spawn in water that is on your screen.
Knowing this, you can use the Force Spawning technique on mystery islands No. 1
and No. 10, according to Ninji's
Datamine.
To scare
away every fish in the area from the clifftop to the river, you’ll want to open
your camera app and position yourself so every part of the rivers and clifftop
is in your view, while the river mouth is not. Run around and scare away any
fish left on the screen. You won't be able to pole vault or use any tools, so
sometimes, if the fish is a little bit further, or it spawns outside of the
screen, you have to wait for them to get closer before you can scare them away.
Once this is done, stand for about 45 seconds before turning off the camera.
Most of the time, at least one Sturgeon will spawn.
Keep in mind
that this is impossible to accomplish in September for the Northern Hemisphere
and March for the Southern Hemisphere, because Salmon and King Salmon, which
only spawn one month of the year, spawn in a river mouth. They will compete for
the river mouth's spawning pools with the Sturgeon!
That is how
to fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. If you find these videos helpful, hit
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For players who don’t have time to farm materials or Nook Miles Ticket, it is a good idea
to buy Animal Crossing items online, and this
is the fastest way to build up your island with no effort…Read the post on
MmoGah: How
to catch fish in ACNH