You're standing on the pier. It’s 3:00 AM. Rain is lashing down on your digital island, and you’ve gone through twelve fishing rods. You’re looking for that one specific shadow—the massive one that doesn't just sit there but looks like it’s vibrating with pure, unadulterated rarity. If you've played Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you know the pain. Completing the list of fish on Animal Crossing isn't just a casual hobby; for some of us, it’s a grueling test of patience that pits man against RNG.
Most people think catching them all is just about showing up at the right time. It’s not. There is a weird, almost rhythmic logic to how the game decides what spawns and where. Blathers is waiting in that dusty museum, and honestly, he's probably judged you for the amount of Sea Bass you've accidentally handed him.
Why Your List of Fish on Animal Crossing is Probably Half-Empty
The biggest mistake? Sticking to the shore. Most players walk the perimeter of their island, casting at every shadow they see. That’s a rookie move. To actually fill out the list of fish on Animal Crossing, you have to understand the distinction between the river, the pond, the river mouth, and the clifftop.
The clifftop is where the real heartbreaks happen. You want a Golden Trout? You better be prepared to climb. This fish only appears in the rivers on the highest elevated parts of your island. It’s only available from March to June and then again from September to November. If you’re fishing in the river at the base of the mountain, you are literally wasting your bait.
Speaking of bait, let's talk about the Manila Clam. Digging them up is tedious. It's annoying. Your pockets will be full of squirt-holes and sand. But you cannot, under any circumstances, expect to catch the rarest fish without a stack of at least 50 bags of fish bait. When you throw bait into the water, it forces a spawn. It bypasses the natural spawn timer. If you’re hunting the Mahi-mahi at the pier, you aren't waiting for it to swim by. You are forcing the ocean to give it to you.
The Pier Strategy
The pier is a unique biome. It’s not just the beach. You have to be standing on the actual wooden planks. This is the only place you’ll find the Giant Trevally and the Blue Marlin. These fish have shadows that are enormous—Size 6, to be technical. If you see a shadow that looks like a normal Black Bass, don't even bother. Scare it away. Run past it. Pole vault over it. You need to save your concentration for the big ones because the window to hit the "A" button on a Blue Marlin is significantly shorter than it is for a Horse Mackerel. Your reflexes actually matter here.
Seasonality and the Great Hemispherical Divide
Everything in this game is tied to the real-world calendar. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, your June is very different from a Southern Hemisphere player’s June. While one person is catching Great White Sharks, the other is shivering over a Stringfish.
The Stringfish is widely considered the "final boss" of the list of fish on Animal Crossing for many players. It’s a clifftop fish, it only appears from 4 PM to 9 AM, and it’s only around during the winter months (December to March in the North). It has a Size 5 shadow. It is rare. Like, "I’ve used 200 bait and still haven't seen it" rare.
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Shadows and Sizes: How to Tell What's What
Don't just cast blindly. Look at the water.
- Size 1: Tiny. Think Goldfish or Pale Chub. Usually not worth your time unless you're a completionist.
- Size 2: Small. This is where the Crawfish and the Dace live.
- Size 3: Medium. The "Yellow Perch" zone. Total filler.
- Size 4: Large. This is the Black Bass size. In the ocean, it’s often a Red Snapper (which is actually a great way to make bells).
- Size 5: Very Large. This is the Stringfish and the Napoleonfish.
- Size 6: Massive. The Coelacanth, the Whale Shark, and the Oarfish.
If you are looking for a specific fish, you have to train your eyes to ignore the wrong sizes. If you want a Coelacanth, and you see a Size 4 shadow, move on. Don't engage.
The Mystery of the Coelacanth
This thing is a legend. In the real world, it was thought to be extinct for millions of years. In Animal Crossing, it feels just as elusive. The Coelacanth only appears when it is raining or snowing. It doesn't care about the season. It only cares about the weather. It has a Size 6 shadow and it can be found in the ocean.
Many players think they can "cheat" this by going to a Mystery Island. This is actually a solid strategy. Some Mystery Islands have "Big Fish" logic where the game is weighted to spawn larger shadows. If you find yourself on "Big Fish Island 2" (a specific layout with a large central pond and a river), you can clear out the list of fish on Animal Crossing much faster than you ever could at home.
River Mouths and Other Weird Spots
There is a very specific area where the river meets the ocean. It’s usually a sandy area with some rocks. This is the only place you can catch a Sturgeon or a King Salmon.
I’ve seen people spend hours fishing in the river for a Sturgeon. You won't find it there. It has to be right at the transition point. The shadow will be large. It’s a very limited real estate area, so using bait here is almost mandatory because the natural spawn rate for the river mouth is quite low compared to the open sea.
The Pond vs. The River
It sounds simple, right? A pond is a small body of water that doesn't flow. A river flows. But in Animal Crossing, the game checks for "flow" based on whether or not the water connects to a waterfall or the ocean. If you’ve been terraforming and you created a beautiful lake, but it doesn't connect to anything, the game considers it a pond.
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This matters because you will never find a Koi in a river. You will never find a Pike in a pond. If your list of fish on Animal Crossing is missing the Tadpole or the Crawfish, check your ponds. If you don't have a pond on your island because you paved it over for a cafe, you're going to have to rebuild one.
The Financial Side of Fishing
Let’s be honest: sometimes you aren't fishing for the museum. You’re fishing because Tom Nook is a slumlord and you owe him two million bells.
Selling to Tommy and Timmy is fine, but it’s a waste of potential. You need to wait for CJ. CJ is the beaver who visits your island randomly. He will buy your fish for 1.5x the standard market price.
- Standard Great White Shark: 15,000 Bells.
- CJ’s Price: 22,500 Bells.
If you have the storage space, hoard your high-value catches. Fill your basement with Barred Knifejaws and Oarfish. When CJ shows up, you can make a killing. A full inventory of top-tier fish sold to CJ can easily net you over 500,000 bells in a single transaction. It’s the fastest way to pay off a home loan without playing the stalk market.
The Dreaded Sea Bass
"I caught a sea bass! No, wait—it's at least a C+!"
If you have played this game for more than an hour, you have seen this dialogue box. It is the bane of every player's existence. The Sea Bass occupies the Size 5 shadow slot in the ocean. It is the most common large shadow. Because it shares a size with things like the Ray and the Football Fish, you are going to catch a lot of them.
The trick is to watch the vibration of the controller (if you have rumble on). Rare fish often have a more violent "tug" when they finally bite. However, that’s mostly anecdotal. The real trick is simply volume. You have to catch the junk to get to the gems. Or, use the "scare" tactic. If you’re on the beach and you see a Size 5 shadow and you’re sure it’s a Sea Bass, just sprint past it. It will disappear, and a new fish will spawn elsewhere on the map.
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Diving: The Other List
While not technically on the standard "fishing" list (you don't use a rod), sea creatures are part of the museum's aquatic wing. You need a wet suit for this. This is where you find the Giant Isopod and the Spider Crab.
These don't use shadows in the same way. You look for bubbles.
- Slow bubbles: Usually a Sea Star or Seaweed.
- Fast, erratic bubbles: This is the high-value stuff.
- Large shadows that move away from you: You have to corner these against the boundary net of the ocean. If you just swim at them, they’ll outrun you. You have to be stealthy, barely moving the joystick, and then dive right on top of them.
Handling the Rarest Spawns
If you are looking at your Critterpedia and you see that glaring empty spot between the Piranha and the Saddled Bichir, you are likely looking for the Arowana or the Dorado. These are "Amazonian" style fish. They are river fish, they are huge, and they only appear in the summer.
The Dorado is particularly tough because it only appears from 4 AM to 9 PM. If you’re a night owl who only plays at 11 PM, you will literally never see this fish. This is why "Time Travel" is so popular in the community. If you can't play during the day because of a real-life job, you might find yourself changing your Switch's system clock just to catch a glimpse of a virtual golden fish. No judgment here; we’ve all done it.
Practical Steps for Completionists
If you want to finish the list of fish on Animal Crossing by the end of this season, you need a plan. Don't just wander.
- Check the clock: Some fish, like the Barreleye, only show up after 9 PM. They are Size 2 shadows in the ocean. They are tiny and easy to miss, but they are worth 15,000 bells.
- Inventory management: Carry at least three fishing rods. There is nothing worse than having a rare shadow appear and hearing your rod snap.
- Craft in bulk: Spend twenty minutes just digging up clams and crafting bait. Don't craft one at a time as you need them. It kills the flow.
- Watch the water: If the sea is "choppy" or there's a storm, your chances for Coelacanth go up.
- Use your ears: You can hear the "plop" of a fish biting. Many expert players actually close their eyes when the fish starts nibbling. It prevents you from "twitch-reacting" and pulling the line too early. Trust your ears, not your eyes.
Completing the museum is one of the most rewarding feelings in the game. When Blathers finally tells you that the fish gallery is complete, he’ll be ecstatic, and you’ll never have to look at a Sea Bass again.
To get moving on this, check your Critterpedia right now. Sort by "Habitat." If you see a lot of gaps in the "Pier" or "Pond" sections, go grab a shovel and start digging for clams. Focus on one biome per session. Spend tonight only at the pier. Spend tomorrow only at the river mouth. By narrowing your focus, you reduce the burnout that comes with the RNG grind. If you’re missing the Stringfish or the Sturgeon and it’s currently their season, prioritize them—they won’t be back for months once the season rotates.