# Is anyone else having no luck catching sharks?



## Isabella (Jun 13, 2013)

I've only caught one hammerhead shark. It seems like I just happen to have terrible luck at fishing. D:
I see a lot of sharks (fins) in my town and when I try to catch it the shark (or sunfish) gets all sassy and swims away after taking only one bite. I see a shark at a friends town and we're both trying to catch it..of course the shark doesn't pick me. -_- And it's happened multiple times too. All I ever catch are the Sea Bass and Zebra Turkeyfish.. I'm pretty sure my game is cursed. 

Is this happening to any of you?


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## Officer Berri (Jun 13, 2013)

I had bad luck with sharks at the start but it sort of leveled off and now I usually catch them pretty easily.

It helped me to look away after the fish started biting. I had a tendency to press the button before the right time when I was anticipating the bite. Now I shut my eyes and wait for the bite down sound. xD This has worked really, really well for me, surprisingly!


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## Datsu (Jun 13, 2013)

I've caught probably about 30 sharks, of all different types, and I've only lost one.. I have them turn their noses at me all the time, and some of them are really tricky because they apparently can only see directly in front of them, but I've had lots of luck with catching them. Maybe fung shei has something to do with it? I don't know, I just seem to see lots of sharks and catch them. The island is also a good spot for them, but I feel a bit like it's cheating to go there and get 300k bells worth of sharks in a half hour lol.

Edit: Berri, I do that exact same thing haha! I think always psyche myself out when I look at it, so I hold my breath and close my eyes. It's worked every time haha.


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## Isabella (Jun 13, 2013)

Officer Berri said:


> I had bad luck with sharks at the start but it sort of leveled off and now I usually catch them pretty easily.
> 
> It helped me to look away after the fish started biting. I had a tendency to press the button before the right time when I was anticipating the bite. Now I shut my eyes and wait for the bite down sound. xD This has worked really, really well for me, surprisingly!


Yeah, I usually tend to listen to it as well. But for some reason it's like the shark isn't interested in my rod at all D:



Datsu said:


> I've caught probably about 30 sharks, of all different types, and I've only lost one.. I have them turn their noses at me all the time, and some of them are really tricky because they apparently can only see directly in front of them, but I've had lots of luck with catching them. Maybe fung shei has something to do with it? I don't know, I just seem to see lots of sharks and catch them. The island is also a good spot for them, but I feel a bit like it's cheating to go there and get 300k bells worth of sharks in a half hour lol.
> 
> Edit: Berri, I do that exact same thing haha! I think always psyche myself out when I look at it, so I hold my breath and close my eyes. It's worked every time haha.



You're pretty lucky then. I've had the game since release day and it's kind of weird saying that I only have caught one shark since then..everyone else catches them so easily.  Interesting, it might be the feng shui.. well I did attempt to decorate my house in that order and I have a fairly high amount of points from the HRA. Lol, if it were me and I had the luck to get sharks at the island I would..and I wouldn't even consider it cheating xD I have been having decent luck with catching the rare beetles though


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## kcrojas777 (Jun 13, 2013)

*I haven't played too much since I got it but on my second day I caught several sharks. They are more abundant as well it seems. I caught one, walked down the beach and caught another one. Only 3 types though, multiples of those. I thought it was waaaaaaaay easier than WW. I had Katrina in my town second day...maybe my fortune was good luck for a while? I don't know. I also caught a bee my 1st day which took me FOREVER on WW. Also caught a tarantula my 2nd night.*


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## laceydearie (Jun 13, 2013)

I haven't managed to catch one yet, but whenever I see one I keep trying. My luck is mostly with bugs and diving right now.


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## Nami (Jun 13, 2013)

I'm having trouble as well.. I swear I'm not pressing A too early, I know when the darn things bite down, I catch fish no problem. Curious though, isn't it a little weird we will be stuck with the worst fishing rod on the island forever?


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## Lauren (Jun 13, 2013)

I do everything right and they bugger off! I've had 15 and caught 2!


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## Isabella (Jun 13, 2013)

They hardly even show up in my town or island. Is there a certain time that they show up the most? I'm guessing evening/night?
Heck, I'm actually tempted to reset my game for multiple reasons, including having terrible luck with fishing lol.


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## Lauren (Jun 13, 2013)

I was going to re set mine but I've got 23 fish in my museum haha there's nothing to do on your first day


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## Yurusumaji (Jun 13, 2013)

I play with the sound off. Ha ha. Catching Sharks: Hard Mode. I try to tap into my esper powers and anticipate when the shark is going to bite. I get maybe just under 50% of the sharks that I see. I am, however, pretty good at getting Sunfish since they dart away just a tad more slowly than the sharks.


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## ACking (Jun 13, 2013)

Im having terrible luck with ocean fish but I'm getting all kinds of rare river fish. :3 IDK....


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## Isabella (Jun 13, 2013)

Lauren said:


> I was going to re set mine but I've got 23 fish in my museum haha there's nothing to do on your first day



I just visited other peoples towns the first day :3

I did catch a few rare fish though. ;D


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## Zura (Jun 13, 2013)

I caught all sharks! all you need to do is go to the island after 7pm there should be lots of sharks and expensive beetles!


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## Elloriee (Jun 13, 2013)

Officer Berri said:


> I had bad luck with sharks at the start but it sort of leveled off and now I usually catch them pretty easily.
> 
> It helped me to look away after the fish started biting. I had a tendency to press the button before the right time when I was anticipating the bite. Now I shut my eyes and wait for the bite down sound. xD This has worked really, really well for me, surprisingly!



Yeah me too! And now I do the same thing. When i'm not looking at the shark I become less nervous and don't worry about trying not mess up.


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## eyeplaybass (Jun 13, 2013)

They seem easier to catch than in previous games to me. Or maybe it's just because their more abundant that it seems this way. Either way, I don't have much problem catching them anymore. At first I got real jumpy because OHMYGO****'SASHARKCATCHIT. But now I'm pretty well trained and wait them out and then snatch them at the right moment!


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## TomoEGoto (Jun 13, 2013)

Actually I found a neat way to catch them.

1. Locate the shark/Sunfish
2. Attempt to coarse it to bite.
3. Allow it to bite until the bobbing thing falls under.
4. Don't press 'A' until its under the water half-way. 
5. Don't rapidly press 'A', it'll make it flee. 

Then again, I went fishing as a young kid so...


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## Isabella (Jun 13, 2013)

TomoEGoto said:


> Actually I found a neat way to catch them.
> 
> 1. Locate the shark/Sunfish
> 2. Attempt to coarse it to bite.
> ...



I guess I'll try this if a shark/sunfish ever decides to show up lol


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## Aloha (Jun 13, 2013)

Sharks are really fast.Just listen to the plop when the bait goes down.When you do spam click that A button ASAP


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## brewster22 (Jun 13, 2013)

I've been catching sharks like a fiend. I've caught a ton of dorado too. Fishings been going pretty well in my town. Bug catching on the other hand.....


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## Yurusumaji (Jun 13, 2013)

Aloha said:


> Just listen to the plop when the bait goes down.



I turned the sound on and if you can attune yourself to that sound they make when they bite, you can smash that A button down really fast when you hear it and you _should_ get it. I was using that trick on the island earlier today and I caught everything I tried for except for one fish and one shark. I got two whale sharks this way. o.o


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## ben_nyc (Jun 13, 2013)

Ladies & gents-

Sharks & larger fish are tricky because of their quick bite & their size; how sometimes their WHOLE body moves stiffly when they're homing in on your lure ball.  Here are my tips for capturing these larger fish:

The sound effect cues SLIGHTLY before the dip of the lure.  Make sure your arms, hands, & your trigger finger are comfortable.  Raise the volume, & keep your eyes primarily on the lure, not the fish.  It's just wallowing there so always prepare (don't rush) when you're about to reel in a shark or a snakehead!


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## Howl (Jun 13, 2013)

Caught one on first try, lost the second. I find it best to not look anywhere near your screen while fishing and just listen for the "plop" when a fish bites down.


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## spamurai (Jun 13, 2013)

Officer Berri said:


> I had bad luck with sharks at the start but it sort of leveled off and now I usually catch them pretty easily.
> 
> It helped me to look away after the fish started biting. I had a tendency to press the button before the right time when I was anticipating the bite. Now I shut my eyes and wait for the bite down sound. xD This has worked really, really well for me, surprisingly!



This is what I do xD I wait for the sound to change.

I spent an hour Shark Fishing this evening. I saw 12 Sharks and caught 4 of them... They're tricky to get.
Sometimes they nibble once, other times they nibble three or four times :O



Lauren said:


> I was going to re set mine but I've got 23 fish in my museum haha there's nothing to do on your first day



Haha same. I've spent the whole day just fishing xD




Aloha said:


> Sharks are really fast.Just listen to the plop when the bait goes down.When you do spam click that A button ASAP



I just press "A" once :s
Is rapidly pressing it beneficial?


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## McMuffinburger (Jun 13, 2013)

ive caught 3 sharks today...but i have practiced from wild world at fast fishing lol


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## Isabella (Jun 13, 2013)

brewster22 said:


> I've been catching sharks like a fiend. I've caught a ton of dorado too. Fishings been going pretty well in my town. Bug catching on the other hand.....


Maybe the thing about NL is that they made towns better at one thing like.. one town could be better at fishing and the other with bug catching. Haven't caught a dorado yet :/


Howl said:


> Caught one on first try, lost the second. I find it best to not look anywhere near your screen while fishing and just listen for the "plop" when a fish bites down.


Yup a lot have told me that it's better to listen than watch..


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## violetneko (Jun 13, 2013)

I had trouble catching sharks at first too. I psych myself into thinking it's a sea bass in order to calm my trigger finger. Works great with river fish too (except arapaima XD I can never psych myself with it)


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## Isabella (Jun 13, 2013)

Ahhh guys my luck is turning around!!! I caught two sharks today 
Whale Shark and Saw Shark. I was idle looking away from the ds screen and when I looked back, the shark was there. Maybe standing and fishing in one place causes the Shark to appear? 

Edit: on a side note I just caught a Moray Eel which is pretty rare.


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## Savy (Jun 13, 2013)

Practice makes perfect!

First two days in my town and every shark I came across got away. Today I caught 5 sharks.

The thing is with sharks you have to react slightly faster when the bob goes down than with other fish. To practice you should focus on trying to hit "a" a bit faster, even on common fish. Eventually you will have to stop focusing on reacting faster and it will simply happen naturally and then bam! you'll never miss a fish again! 

Also, it seems to me that sharks are much more easy to come by on the island. And another tip is go to your island at night, there are TONS of giant beetles that are worth a nice amount of bells.

Hoped this helped! Good luck!


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## Stupefiant (Jun 13, 2013)

Saw 3 sharks, got all of them.


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## Isabella (Jun 13, 2013)

Savy said:


> Practice makes perfect!
> 
> First two days in my town and every shark I came across got away. Today I caught 5 sharks.
> 
> ...


Lol, when I saw the sharks I actually pretty much just spammed the A button. I now have caught like 5 sharks today :')
Spent a long time on the island. I made about 100k bells from beetles and sharks ;D


Stupefiant said:


> Saw 3 sharks, got all of them.


Yay!!


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## Sleepy (Jun 13, 2013)

I missed the first 6-7 sharks I saw. But now I have a new strategy. I find the graphics and size of the shark is extremely misleading when its biting. I close my eyes, and use only the audio to detect when I need to press A. 

It helps immensely, and I've only missed one shark this way. I've yet to catch a shark with my eyes open!


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## Superpenguin (Jun 13, 2013)

I am not having trouble catching them. The main problem is trying to find them. D:


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## Dreamer (Jun 13, 2013)

Superpenguin said:


> I am not having trouble catching them. The main problem is trying to find them. D:



I was at the island this evening (well, I was there all day...er, but whatever!) and I found at _least_ 5 sharks in 20 mins or so. Otherwise, I've found several on my town beaches around the afternoon/evening. 

I've been shocked to see how easy fishing has been compared to WW. I already have sharks, a dorado, and probably whatever else is considered "rare". I've had my WW town for 4-5 years now and I still haven't completed my collection. I have a hard enough time finding "finned creatures", let alone catching any. I've completed over half of my NL collection in 3 DAYS. DAYS! Completing my fish/bug collections before my fossils? I don't know what I'll do with myself. 

Anyway, I already have all 4 sharks. I've missed several, but it definitely helps to listen. I make sure my volume is at max when I'm trying for a shark. It just takes practice.  Maybe try closing your eyes like Sleepy said.


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## ben_nyc (Jun 13, 2013)

Sleepy said:


> I missed the first 6-7 sharks I saw. But now I have a new strategy. I find the graphics and size of the shark is extremely misleading when its biting. I close my eyes, and use only the audio to detect when I need to press A.
> 
> It helps immensely, and I've only missed one shark this way. I've yet to catch a shark with my eyes open!



The trouble I have w/ this method is sometimes the toss is too accurate & the shark reaches the floaty ball quickly & then takes it on the 1st bite; by the time you look away/close your eyes- you may have missed it.

What I want is some low current electric netting DLC so I can jump in there & walk all the fish back to shore.  (=


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## siderealotion (Jun 13, 2013)

I just saw this thread a couple of hours ago and thought the same thing...until now when I've caught 3 sharks, 2 saw sharks, and a whale shark.


(And closing my eyes definitely helped. I even caught the coelacanth! Thanks, guys! :3)


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## Roknar (Jun 14, 2013)

I missed them nearly every time at first, but now I'm improving.  I've managed to catch about 10 total now.


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## mayorandrew (Jun 14, 2013)

I think it's partly a glitch, perhaps? it happens to me too, but less often now... but it still happens. that or I have a slight trigger finger by a millisecond. c': hang in there! you'll catch them eventually.


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## Isabella (Jun 14, 2013)

Superpenguin said:


> I am not having trouble catching them. The main problem is trying to find them. D:


Exactly. D:


Dreamer said:


> I was at the island this evening (well, I was there all day...er, but whatever!) and I found at _least_ 5 sharks in 20 mins or so. Otherwise, I've found several on my town beaches around the afternoon/evening.
> 
> I've been shocked to see how easy fishing has been compared to WW. I already have sharks, a dorado, and probably whatever else is considered "rare". I've had my WW town for 4-5 years now and I still haven't completed my collection. I have a hard enough time finding "finned creatures", let alone catching any. I've completed over half of my NL collection in 3 DAYS. DAYS! Completing my fish/bug collections before my fossils? I don't know what I'll do with myself.
> 
> Anyway, I already have all 4 sharks. I've missed several, but it definitely helps to listen. I make sure my volume is at max when I'm trying for a shark. It just takes practice.  Maybe try closing your eyes like Sleepy said.


I don't even know what a dorado is lol, it seems way rare. I was NEVER close to completing my collection in WW, and this is me resetting the game like 5 times (once a year pretty much) I wouldn't want to complete the whole catching in just a short amount of time though..that'd be really boring Dx 



siderealotion said:


> I just saw this thread a couple of hours ago and thought the same thing...until now when I've caught 3 sharks, 2 saw sharks, and a whale shark.
> 
> (And closing my eyes definitely helped. I even caught the coelacanth! Thanks, guys! :3)


yes, my luck has been turning around as well :') best time is at night in the island. i have yet to encounter a coelacanth though.


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## Smoke (Jun 14, 2013)

I actually can't seem to stop running into rare fish. Caught two dorados on my first day, and I catch plenty of sharks when on the island. Iunno. Probably just some chance luck.


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## c1gar (Jun 14, 2013)

The very first fish I caught in the game was a shark! a Hammer head shark


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## Peoki (Jun 14, 2013)

Superpenguin said:


> I am not having trouble catching them. The main problem is trying to find them. D:



Ditto. Sharks were spawning every 3~5 minutes on my first day; now I'm lucky to find one every couple days, even on the island! ;_;

I've opted for beetles as my main source for bells during the late nights. Otherwise I play the shark catching mini game to make myself feel better, lol. It's also good practice.


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## froggy (Jun 14, 2013)

I caught a ocean sun fish today


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## Stevey Queen (Jun 14, 2013)

My sister caught a hammerhead shark before I did. It took me a couple of trys to get it. They can be tricky.

Also, if the ocean sunfish counts as a shark, I caught a couple of those.


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## Isabella (Jun 14, 2013)

I've come to the conclusion that it depends on the day for whether you have good or bad luck catching fish. Yesterday was really good for me. Today I'll just have to see ;0


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## Garrett x50 cal (Jun 14, 2013)

I'm 0 for 6 with my catch progress.


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## Dreamer (Jun 14, 2013)

I don't know if anyone's already said this, but the shark mini-game on the island is a great way to practice.


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## PorterBailey (Jun 14, 2013)

Caught two my first day.


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## Isabella (Jun 14, 2013)

I think someone did mention that. :c my problem is they hardly show up much like I said.. it depends on the day


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## SockHead (Jun 14, 2013)

My trick is to not look at the fish, but to listen for the bobber to sink. It really helps my reaction time, and reduces the failure rate or pulling it out too early! I really reccomend this to everyone who's having trouble fishing! (If that's the problem you're having)


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## Lisha (Jun 14, 2013)

Saw my first shark, it took the bait and then decided to disappear. -_-


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## Dreamer (Jun 14, 2013)

I've had the most luck with sharks in the evening. Probably 4 or 5-7PM. I know they stay out all night, but I couldn't find ANY sharks on the island when I was there around 9 or 10PM.


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## StarryACNL (Jun 14, 2013)

caught two on my first day- hammerhead and ocean sunfish.


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## Lyyam (Jun 14, 2013)

I've only seen one shark so far  I caught it though! I guess I've only had the game for today, so hopefully I'll see some more tomorrow!


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## XieXie Antares (Jun 14, 2013)

Lyyam said:


> I've only seen one shark so far  I caught it though! I guess I've only had the game for today, so hopefully I'll see some more tomorrow!



I saw a lot of sharks at around 2 or 3 am in my town. Try night time. Also I notice that they like to show up at similar location (some section of the Ocean don't see any shark at all... I wonder why?)

Ps. I like the shark fishing tour on the island, if you catch 8 or more sharks you can get 15 medals. So far I am only able to get a max of 9 sharks in that tour.... I got problem with my throwing, can't get it accurate enought...


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## Lisha (Jun 14, 2013)

Finally caught a hammerhead.


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## Fox (Jun 14, 2013)

Managed to catch a normal shark and a hammerhead today. Scared 2 off though. 2/4 isn't that bad I guess


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## Chobi (Jun 14, 2013)

On my first day and I saw two sharks. one dissapear but I got the other one! I forgot the name of the shark...


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## Roxer9000 (Jun 14, 2013)

Well I have a problem sometimes

usually its when you are going to catch something you know is rare but you get to worried and mess up


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## Eir (Jun 14, 2013)

If you're still having problems... sometimes the island has shark-catching tours (where catching sharks is the only objective). You can definitely hone your fishing skills playing the mini-games so when it comes time to fish for real - you won't sweat it. :]


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## Stevey Queen (Jun 14, 2013)

Caught all 4 sharks.


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## Stupefiant (Jun 14, 2013)

Lovemcqueen said:


> View attachment 4803
> 
> Caught all 4 sharks.



There's only 4? Got all of them too then.


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## Sleepy (Jun 14, 2013)

I'm curious, just how rare IS a coelacanth? I caught one and I want to know how important that is 

I also have black roses ^_^


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## Isabella (Jun 14, 2013)

Stupefiant said:


> There's only 4? Got all of them too then.



I'm only missing the regular shark then ..



Sleepy said:


> I'm curious, just how rare IS a coelacanth? I caught one and I want to know how important that is
> 
> I also have black roses ^_^



I don't know the exact price but pretty much if there's big text when you first catch it, it's worth A LOT. I recommend donating your first coelacanth because it's going to be really uncommon to get another one again. and black roses are rare *-*


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## Stevey Queen (Jun 14, 2013)

Stupefiant said:


> There's only 4? Got all of them too then.



Don't know for sure but everyone has been saying there's only 4.


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## Caris (Jun 14, 2013)

I caught lots  For some reason, I feel like AC:NL is more easier to catch sharks than the past series.


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## Bubble Pop (Jun 14, 2013)

I caught a Saw Shark today!


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## ben_nyc (Jun 14, 2013)

Sleepy said:


> I'm curious, just how rare IS a coelacanth? I caught one and I want to know how important that is...



I have caught over 30 sharks; I have not seen the coelacanth.  :O


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## Gizmodo (Jun 17, 2013)

Only played my game since yesterday, and after missing two sharks, i caught one, so donated it, i tried the method of closing my eyes and it worked.. is there any way of making sharks spawn faster? i want to sell them now for money


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## Corduroy (Jun 17, 2013)

That happens to me all the time! I think they take a bite, I press 'A', and then they swim away.. :c

I haven't caught a single one! { am I doing it wrong? }


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## Mays (Jun 17, 2013)

Anyone got an ocean sunfish? Their appearance is the same as sharks (large with fin).

Heard they're rare


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## Odette (Jun 17, 2013)

It's definitely easier to catch sharks in New Leaf, I caught 5 tonight.


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## Gizmodo (Jun 17, 2013)

Got the Saw Shark and Regular Shark tonight woo


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## Mays (Jun 17, 2013)

Gizmodo said:


> Got the Saw Shark and Regular Shark tonight woo


How about Hammerhead and Sunfish? (Sunfish looks like a shark in water xD)


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## Hamusuta (Jun 17, 2013)

I caught a great white, then literally STRAIGHT away a hammerhead spawned where i just caught it, I was so lucky.
I'm always lucky with fish and not bugs :C SKRU U BUGZ

- - - Post Merge - - -

edit: and i also have an ocean sunfish which i caught yesterday at the island with a friend.


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## Kitsch (Jun 17, 2013)

Isabella said:


> They hardly even show up in my town or island. Is there a certain time that they show up the most? I'm guessing evening/night?
> Heck, I'm actually tempted to reset my game for multiple reasons, including having terrible luck with fishing lol.



Island at night time, I always get LOADS! Try then


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## lpsruler234 (Jun 17, 2013)

I caught more than 10 !


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