In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you’ll be able to engage in all sorts of fun activities including fishing. If you’re new to Animal Crossing, or are having a particularly hard time getting yourself a fish, we’re here to help. Below, we’ll show you how to catch a fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons!
How to catch fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
© Nintendo
Before you can learn how to catch a fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you’ll first need to craft yourself a Flimsy Fishing Rod. If you haven’t done this yet, be sure to read through our guide where we explain how to craft a Fishing Rod in Animal Crossing: New Horizons!
With your Fishing Rod crafted, open your inventory and select the Fishing Rod, then select the option to Hold it. With your Fishing Rod in hand, head over to a watery area and look for the shadow of a fish. You can use fishing bait if there are no fish near you, so learn how to craft it. Cast your line in front of the fish by pressing the A button and wait for the fish to start nibbling. The line has to be in front of the fish or it won't notice it.
If the fish doesn’t notice, you can reel your line back by pressing A again, then try moving and casting it in a different spot. With your line cast, you’ll need to wait for the fish to take notice and approach the line. This is where things get a little tricky. You’ll need to make sure the fish isn’t just testing the line first by bumping into it and backing away.
© Nintendo
Instead, wait, and when you feel your Joy-Cons give a more distinct rumble and see that the fish has pulled the bait underwater, press A to reel it in. You’ll know you’re successful when you see the fish circle around and ripples course through the water around it. You don't need to tap or hold the button, all you need to do is wait for the fish to pull the bait underwater and tap the A button to reel in.
It can take a few tries to get the timing right, but once you do, you’ll be on your way towards becoming a fishing expert in Animal Crossing: New Horizons!
Now that you know how to catch fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, we’ve got a few other guides for you to read that you may find helpful including how to get a Slingshot in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a list of all the fish you can catch in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and how to get the Pocket Camp rewards in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
