Animal Crossing New Horizons: All fish spawns, locations, shadows, more

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One of the primary activities in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is fishing. To avoid repetitive catches, it’s helpful to know the spawn rates of different fish in the game.

As a staple activity in New Horizons, fishing is one of the first things you’ll engage in. Being aware of the spawn rates for each fish can make your fishing adventures more varied and rewarding.

Fish can be caught in the sea, in a pond, off the edge of a pier, and in other spots, but it can become quite repetitive if you’re looking for a different catch of the day. Obviously, catching fish means you can earn plenty of Bells, but you could be waiting for months to see something other than a Black Bass. 

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Contents

Nintendo (via Twitter: @triforcemeg)
Fish can be used for Bells or to fill out the Museum.

When can you catch fish in Animal Crossing

For fishing, there are some key decisions that you have to make early on in Animal Crossing. Depending on whether your island is situated in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere will change your spawn rates.

This is because islands in the Northern Hemisphere work on a different timeline than Southern. Summer in the north is Winter in the south, for example. Don’t fret, however, because we’ve broken down the differences.

  • 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 fishing spawns guide

Even though things are slightly different when it comes to the time of year for things to spawn, the amount of Bells you’ll get for selling them to Nook’s Cranny stays the same. This is also the case for the time of day for their potential spawns. Here’s a full list of all the fishing spawn locations in the Animal Crossing New Horizons. 

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Fish Value Location Time Shadow Type Month (Hemisphere)
Anchovy 200 Sea 4 am – 9 pm Small All year (Northern and Southern)
Angelfish 3,000 River 4 pm. – 9 am Small May-October (Northern) / November-April (Southern)
Arapaima 10,000 River 4 pm – 9 am Largest June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Arowana 10,000 River 4 pm – 9 am Largest June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Barred Knifejaw 5,000 Sea All day Medium March-November (Northern) / September-May (Southern)
Barreleye 15,000 Sea 9 pm – 4 am Small All year (Northern and Southern)
Betta 2,500 River 9 am – 4 pm Small May-October (Northern) / November-April (Southern)
Bitterling 900 River All day Tiny November-March (Northern) / May-September (Southern)
Black Bass 400 River All day Large All year (Northern and Southern)
Blowfish 5,000 Sea 9 pm – 4 am Medium November-February (Northern) / May-August (Southern)
Blue Marlin 10,000 Pier All day Largest July-September, November-April (Northern) / January-March, May-November (Southern)
Bluegill 180 River 9 am – 4 pm Small All year (Northern and Southern)
Butterfly Fish 1,000 Sea All day Small April-September (Northern) / October-March (Southern)
Carp 300 Pond All day Large All year (Northern and Southern)
Catfish 800 Pond 4 pm – 9 am Large May-October (Northern) / November-April (Southern)
Char 3,800 Cliff 4 pm – 9 am Medium March-June, September-November (Northern) / March-May, September-December (Southern)
Cherry Salmon 1,000 Cliff 4 pm – 9 am Medium March-June, September-November (Northern) / March-May, September-December (Southern)
Clown Fish 650 Sea All day Tiny April-September (Northern) / October-March (Southern)
Coelacanth 15,000 Sea (raining) All day Largest All year (Northern and Southern)
Crawfish 200 Pond All day Small April-September (Northern) / October-March (Southern)
Crucian Carp 160 River All day Small All year (Northern and Southern)
Dab 300 Sea All day Medium October-April (Northern) / April-October (Southern)
Dace 240 River 4 pm – 9 am Medium All year (Northern and Southern)
Dorado 15,000 River 4 am- 9 pm X Large June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Football Fish 2,500 Sea 4 pm – 9 am Large November-March (Northern) / May-September (Southern)
Freshwater Goby 400 River 4 pm – 9 am Small All year (Northern and Southern)
Frog 120 Pond All day Small May-August (Northern) / November-February (Southern)
Gar 6,000 Pond 4 pm – 9 am Largest June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Giant Snakehead 5,500 Pond 9 am – 4 pm X Large June-August (Northern) / December-February (Southern)
Giant Trevally 4,500 Pier All day X Large May-October (Northern) / November-April (Southern)
Golden Trout 15,000 Cliff 4 pm – 9 am Medium March-May, September-November (Northern) / March-May, September-November (Southern)
Goldfish 1,300 Pond All day Tiny All year (Northern and Southern)
Great White Shark 15,000 Sea 4 pm- 9 am Largest (with Fin) June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Guppy 1,300 River 9 am – 4 pm Tiny April-November (Northern) / October-May (Southern)
Hammerhead Shark 8,000 Sea 4 pm – 9 am Largest (with Fin) June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Horse Mackerel 150 Sea All day Small All year (Northern and Southern)
Killifish 300 Pond All day Tiny April-August (Northern) / October-February (Southern)
King Salmon 1,800 River Mouth All day Largest September (Northern) / March (Southern)
Koi 4,000 Pond 4 pm – 9 am Large All year (Northern and Southern)
Loach 400 River All day Small March-May (Northern) / September-November (Southern)
Mahi-mahi 6,000 Pier All day X Large May-October (Northern) / November-April (Southern)
Mitten Crab 2,000 River 4 pm – 9 am Small September-November (Northern) / March-May (Southern)
Moray Eel 2,000 Sea All day Narrow August-October (Northern) / February-April (Southern)
Napoleonfish 10,000 Sea 4 am – 9 pm Largest July-August (Northern) / January-February (Southern)
Neon Tetra 500 River 9 am – 4 pm Tiny April-November (Northern) / October-May (Southern)
Nibble Fish 1,500 River 9 am – 4 pm Tiny May-September (Northern) / November-March (Southern)
Oarfish 9,000 Sea All day Largest December-May (Northern) / June-November (Southern)
Ocean Sunfish 4,000 Sea 4 am – 9 pm Largest (with Fin) July-September (Northern) / January-March (Southern)
Olive Flounder 800 Sea All day Large All year (Northern and Southern)
Pale Chub 160 River 9 am – 4 pm Tiny All year (Northern and Southern)
Pike 1,800 River All day X Large September-December (Northern) / March-June (Southern)
Piranha 2,500 River 9 am- 4 pm, 9 pm – 4 am Small June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Pond Smelt 500 River All day Small December-February (Northern) / June-August (Southern)
Pop-eyed Goldfish 1,300 Pond 9 am – 4 pm Tiny All year (Northern and Southern)
Puffer Fish 250 Sea All day Medium July-September (Northern) / January-March (Southern)
Rainbowfish 800 River 9 am – 4 pm Tiny May-October (Northern) / November-April (Southern)
Ranchu Goldfish 4,500 Pond 9 am – 4 pm Small All year (Northern and Southern)
Ray 3,000 Sea 4 am – 9 pm X Large August-November (Northern) / February-May (Southern)
Red Snapper 3,000 Sea All day Large All year (Northern and Southern)
Ribbon Eel 600 Sea All day Narrow June-October (Northern) / December-April (Southern)
Saddled Bichir 4,000 River 9 pm – 4 am Large June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Salmon 700 River Mouth All day Large September (Northern) / March (Southern)
Saw Shark 12,000 Sea 4 pm – 9 am Largest (with Fin) June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Sea Bass 400 Sea All day X Large All year (Northern and Southern)
Sea Butterfly 1,000 Sea All day Tiny December-March (Northern) / June-September (Southern)
Sea Horse 1,100 Sea All day Tiny April-November (Northern) / October-May (Southern)
Snapping Turtle 5,000 River 9 pm – 4 am X Large April-October (Northern) / October-April (Southern)
Soft-shelled Turtle 3,750 River 4 pm – 9 am Large August-September (Northern) / February-March (Southern)
Squid 500 Sea All day Medium December-August (Northern) / June-February (Southern)
Stringfish 15,000 Cliff 4 pm – 9 am X Large December-March (Northern) / June-September (Southern)
Sturgeon 10,000 River Mouth All day Largest September-March (Northern) / March-September (Southern)
Suckerfish 1,500 Sea All day Large (with Fin) June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Surgeonfish 1,000 Sea All day Small April-September (Northern) / October-March (Southern)
Sweetfish 900 River All day Medium July-September (Northern) / January-March (Southern)
Tadpole 100 Pond All day Tiny March-July (Northern) / September-January (Southern)
Tilapia 800 River All day Medium June-October (Northern) / December-April (Southern)
Tuna 7,000 Pier All day Largest November-April (Northern) / May-October (Southern)
Whale Shark 13,000 Sea All day Largest (with Fin) June-September (Northern) / December-March (Southern)
Yellow Perch 300 River All day Medium October-March (Northern) / April-September (Southern)
Zebra Turkeyfish 500 Sea All day Medium April-November (Northern) / October-May (Southern)

Animal Crossing fishing shadows guide

The biggest difference in finding the different fish is the shadows that you’ll see in the water. Smaller fish will have smaller shadows while bigger fish might even show their fins above the surface rather than just having a shadow.

TechRaptor
Bigger fish can be seen by the bigger shadows.

Now, if you’ve already set up your island to be in the Northern Hemisphere and you don’t want to time skip in order to get some fish that won’t appear until later in the year, you can travel to a Southern Hemisphere island – provided you know a friend who has one.

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If you catch a fish on an island in a different hemisphere, it will stay in your pockets while you travel back to your own island. This is ideal for filling up your museum or getting a huge number of Bells.

That’s everything you need to know about fishes in Animal Crossing New Horizons! Check out some other guides below:

How to get an Axe in Animal Crossing New Horizons | Best games like Animal Crossing to play on Switch Animal Crossing turnips guide | Animal Crossing flower guide | How to get Gold Roses in New Horizons | How to get Gayle in Animal Crossing | ACNH art guide | Best way to plan your island layout | How to get Ruby in Animal Crossing New Horizons | How to get a villager to move out | How to restart your New Horizons island | Stop villagers moving out | Animal Crossing New Horizons Villager gift guide