Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Guides

When and where to find Animal Crossing’s rarest fish

Josh Brown
By

The rare fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be the bane of your completionist career. Whether trying to fill out your museum or critterpedia, or to just make stacks of bells from C.J., there’s bound to be a finned friend or two that’ll stop you in your tracks.

Animal Crossing: Tips and tricks, challenge guides, user guides, and more
New Horizons is already the most successful entry in the entire franchise. It’s also the most extensive release by far, adding intricacies on top of familiar challenges.
how to plant money tree animal crossing new horizons glowing spot
Recommended Videos

Animal Crossing doesn’t throw every fish at you at once. They often show up during certain months or even at specific times of the day. Knowing when and where each rare fish spawns can save you a lot of time and frustration. To help, here’s a list of the rarest fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, when and where they spawn, and how many bells you can expect to get for them from the Nook twins.

Related

Animal Crossing hemispheres explained

When beginning your Animal Crossing: New Horizons adventure, you’re asked whether you want an island on the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. The idea is to choose the one to match where you live, but you’re free to choose whichever you like.

Your choice of hemisphere dictates seasonal changes, ultimately affecting the months in which fish and bugs spawn on your island, so it’s important to know which area your island is in.

Here’s a quick reference sheet of which months comprise the four seasons on both sides of the world.

  • Spring: Northern = March, April, May | Southern = September, October, November
  • Summer: Northern = June, July, August | Southern = December, January, February
  • Autumn: Northern = September, October, November | Southern = March, April, May
  • Winter:  Northern = December, January, February | Southern = June, July, August

Animal Crossing rare fish times and locations

Animal Crossing rare fish guide
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Northern Hemisphere

  • Golden Trout: River (Cliffside), March-June/Sept.-Nov., 4 p.m. to 9 a.m.
  • Oarfish: Sea, Dec.-May, all day (9,000)
  • Stringfish: River (Clifftop), Dec.-March, 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (15,000)
  • Coelacanth: Ocean, all year, rain (15,000)
  • Barreleye: Ocean, all year, 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. (15,000)
  • Blue Marlin: Pier, July-Sept./Nov.-April, all day, (10,000)
  • Snapping Turtle: River, April-Oct., 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. (5,000)
  • Tuna: Pier, Nov.-April, all day (7,000)
  • Mahi-Mahi: Pier, May-Oct., all day (6,000)
  • Giant Snakehead: Pond, June-Aug., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (5,500)
  • Giant Trevally: Pier, May-Oct., all day (4,500)
  • Ranchu Goldfish: Pond, all year, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (4,500)
  • Ocean Sunfish: Ocean, July-Sept., 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. (4,000)
  • Saw Shark: Ocean, June-Sept., 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (12,000)
  • Great White Shark: Ocean, June-Sept., 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (15,000)
  • Whale Shark: Ocean, June-Sept., all day, (13,000)
  • Hammerhead Shark: Ocean, June-Sept., 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (8,000)
  • Blowfish: Ocean, Nov.-Feb., 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. (5,000)
  • Napoleonfish: Ocean, July-Aug., 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. (10,000)
  • Koi: Pond, All year, all day (4,000)

Southern Hemisphere

  • Golden Trout: River (Cliffside), March-May/Sept.-Dec., 4 p.m. to 9 a.m.
  • Oarfish: Sea, June-Nov., all day, largest shadow (9,000)
  • Stringfish: River (Clifftop), June-Sept., 4 p.m. to 9 a.m., largest shadow (15,000)
  • Coelacanth: Ocean, all year, rain, largest shadow (15,000)
  • Barreleye: Ocean, all year, 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., small shadow (15,000)
  • Blue Marlin: Pier, Jan.-March/May-Nov., all day, largest shadow (10,000)
  • Snapping Turtle: River, Oct.-April, 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., extra-large shadow (5,000)
  • Tuna: Pier, May-Oct., all day, largest shadow (7,000)
  • Mahi-Mahi: Pier, Nov.-April, all day, large shadow (6,000)
  • Giant Snakehead: Pond, Dec.-Feb., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., extra-large shadow (5,500)
  • Giant Trevally: Pier, April-Nov., all day, very large shadow (4,500)
  • Ranchu Goldfish: Pond, all year, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (4,500)
  • Ocean Sunfish: Ocean, Jan.-March, 4 a.m. to 9 p.m., fin shadow (4,000)
  • Saw Shark: Ocean, Dec.-March, 4 p.m. to 9 a.m., fin shadow (12,000)
  • Great White Shark: Ocean, Dec.-March, 4 p.m. to 9 a.m., fin shadow (15,000)
  • Whale Shark: Ocean, Dec.-March, all day, fin shadow (13,000)
  • Hammerhead Shark: Ocean, June-Sept., 4 p.m. to 9 a.m., fin shadow (8,000)
  • Blowfish: Ocean, May-Aug., 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., medium shadow (5,000)
  • Napoleonfish: Ocean, Jan.-Feb., 4 a.m. to 9 p.m., largest shadow (10,000)
  • Koi: Pond, All year, all day, large shadow (4,000)

Crafting and using bait to catch fish

Animal Crossing manila clam bait
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you were intrigued enough by those little spouts of water coming from your beach to dig them up, you likely pulled up a manila clam and learned how to make bait. Bait, crafted with a single manila clam, is used to spawn fish in nearby waters.

Stand near a body of water and sprinkle the bait from your inventory into the pond, river, or sea. A shadow should spawn almost immediately.

There are no secret spawn rates triggered by this particular item. Not that we can reliably claim with current data, anyway. It’s just a way to speed up random fish spawns.

What it can be used for, however, is to hopefully reduce the amount of time needed to catch something like the stringfish, koi, or golden trout due to their limited spawn points. Toss bait into cliffside pools, and you’ll dramatically speed up the fishing process, hopefully allowing you to reel in a rare fish in less time.

What’s the dock or pier for?

Animal Crossing rare fish dock pier
Image used with permission by copyright holder

You also pick from a handful of island layouts when you first begin the game. These are randomly generated so no two look the same right off the bat. However, there are a few features every island has, even if the exact location varies. The important one for fishing is the pier. The pier can attract unique, hard-to-find ocean fish — namely the tuna, blue marlin, mahi-mahi, and giant trevally.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Josh Brown
Josh Brown
Josh Brown is a UK-based freelancer with devoted interests in video games, tech, film, and anime/manga. Just don't talk to…
Where to find mandrakes in Hogwarts Legacy
Student holding a wailing mandrakes in Hogwarts Legacy.

Fans of the Harry Potter film and books will be familiar with the mandrakes in Hogwarts Legacy. These are one magical plant you certainly don't want to encounter without proper ear protection, but that's not something you need to worry about all that much in the game. Instead, actually finding a source of these screaming plants is the real task. While there are a couple of ways to get your hands on them, none are explicitly pointed out to you. If you're ready for a quick lesson in herbology, here's where you can find mandrakes in Hogwarts Legacy.

And if you're on the hunt for anything else in Hogwarts Legacy, here are guides on all Demiguise Statue locations, all Daedalian Key locations, and how to find Rococo the Niffler.
Where to get mandrakes

Read more
Resident Evil 4 Charms: all Charm effects and where to find them
Leon collecting a teddy bear charm.

Everyone loved the attaché case from the original game and was very excited to see that it would return in the Resident Evil 4 remake. This case brings back the delicate balance of managing your inventory space between healing items, ammo, weapons, and other items that you want to bring with you. What's new are the little keychains you can attach to your case called Charms. These are more than minor cosmetic flair, though, as each Charm has a unique buff that can help turn the tides in your favor. However, being brand new, even veterans of the survival horror classic won't know how to get or use them immediately. Leon needs every advantage he can get in Resident Evil 4 remake, so help him out by checking out all the Charm effects and where to find them.
How to get Charms

Since Charms are a new addition in the remake of Resident Evil 4, the way to get them is also somewhat new. Those who played the original might recall a small shooting range Leon could mess around in. In the remake, this mini-game has been expanded quite a bit. There are now multiple shooting ranges and within them multiple challenges. The first one you can encounter is when you find the Merchant in Chapter 3 after going through the Quarry. Whichever shooting range you pick, enter the ornate elevator to be transported to the range.

Read more
Where to find the wrench in Resident Evil 4
Leon picking up a wrench.

Despite starting off in a rather rustic and quaint village in the Resident Evil 4 remake, you will eventually progress through many more sophisticated areas. When you reach Chapter 4 specifically, you will be navigating a lab with many dangerous monsters lurking about. A number of doors require a specific keycard to open, but there's one that's a bit harder to get through. To access the door's override control panel and give get yourself the level 3 security card to continue on your journey, you will need to remove a grate. Leon's fingers are good for shooting, but you'll need a tool to get this grate out of your way. Here's where you can find the wrench in Resident Evil 4 and escape the labs with your life.
Where to find the wrench

Once you're in the labs and blocked by the door, your only option to move forward is to find the wrench. However, this tool isn't in a place you'd likely think to look for it. From the blocked door, head south into the Incubation Lab, where you can observe several of the Regenerators suspended in tubes. If you take out your newly acquired thermal scope, which you should be well acquainted with after using it against Regenerators, you will notice a strange object inside one specific monster.

Read more