All fish - Animal Crossing: New Horizons

An in-depth list of all the fish that you can catch, what times you can catch them, and more in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

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Fishing is one of the most basic tasks in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. But if you want to master the seas, rivers, and lakes, you’re going to need to know what you can catch and when you can catch it. Thankfully, we’ve put together this friendly fish guide which will break down everything you can catch, the best times to catch them, and even what time they are available.

All fish – Animal Crossing: New Horizons

all fish - animal crossing: new horizons
With 80 types of fish to catch, you're going to be busy most of the year!

There are 80 different species of fish for players to catch in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, each of which will be available at different times of the day, year, and even in different bodies of water. We’ve taken all of the guess work out of the process, and below you’ll find a full list of all the fish and the other info you need to know about them.

Before you get started, make sure you know how to get a fishing rod.

Note: Below you'll find that some months include the words Northern and Southern in parentheses. This indicates that these fish are available during those months in that particular hemisphere as Animal Crossing: New Horizons can be played in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. 

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

Now that you have all of the info you need, be sure to check out the rest of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons guide for even more helpful content.

Guides Editor

Joshua holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has been exploring the world of video games for as long as he can remember. He enjoys everything from large-scale RPGs to small, bite-size indie gems and everything in between.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    March 26, 2020 7:21 PM

    Josh Hawkins posted a new article, All fish - Animal Crossing: New Horizons

    • reply
      March 27, 2020 6:37 AM

      Good list, won't be using it unless I end up having a real hard time finding a fish or two but it's exactly the kind of thing I'd want.

    • reply
      March 29, 2020 3:24 PM

      Thanks for the guide! It helped me catch a stringfish by teaching me which fish are what size. The stringfish sells for 12,000 bells, by the way—not 15k.

      For anyone else trying to catch this fish (or any specific fish), just run around your island scaring anything that doesn't meet the description or location. Took me about 45 minutes of bothering every fish I could see. I didn't care about my successful cast streak, so I just used a cast to get the attention of small fish beyond the range of getting startled by my sprint and then pulled the line back so the little guys would despawn and I could go back and check for the big guy up in the mountain stream. Good luck out there!

      • reply
        March 30, 2020 8:22 AM

        I just learned that Nook's Cranny only pays 80% of value after closing! So the price you have is correct and I'm running out of clown makeup.

        • reply
          March 30, 2020 12:59 PM

          Yeah, this is all based on the price that they are purchased for during opening hours.

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