Fish/Bug Rumors and Discussion

[Meloetta]

So far I’ve noticed no major source of information regarding catchable bugs and fish besides this thread which covers the fish and bugs of March (in the northern hemisphere). I’m sure many of you recall Thonky’s resource for currently available bugs and fish during the ACNL days which was basically a godsend, but I feel totally lost right now on the rarity of fish and bugs. We don’t know how much has changed and we could be fruitlessly searching for fish based on the conditions they were found in New Leaf. Like, when I found out tarantulas were out in March I was like WHAT.
So this will be a thread to things I’m noticing while playing, and this may not apply to everyone, but that’s what this thread is for: to find consistent patterns.

So, they’re not fish, but have you noticed manila clams’ spawning more common during the rain? I went over to my friend’s island last night since he apparently caught three coelacanths (though I was there for an hour and neither of us found one >_>... I did find two oarfish tho), but I saw a lot more manila clams appearing in the sand during the rain.

I’ve also heard rumors of fish bait attracting rarer fish but this hasn’t been the case for me. I just wasted like 45 fish baits in the rivermouth for that stupid sturgeonfish. It’s ridiculously aggrivating lol. I wonder if any of the deserted islands have a better chance of spawning them.
I’ll be updating with my findings, and I hope to read some of your experiences too. I just hope the site will speed up soon because it’s been so slow that some of my posts get eaten.

 

[Mu~]

Yesterday I spent a lot of hours looking for a spider with no luck. I read they could be found at night all year :/ is it THAT rare?

 

[Meloetta]

Yesterday I spent a lot of hours looking for a spider with no luck. I read they could be found at night all year :/ is it THAT rare?

wow, hours? i don’t think they’re THAT rare. i’ve already caught one so i’m looking at the critterpedia entry. they indeed can be caught all year and their active hours are 7pm to 8am. they’re caught by shaking trees, along with the bagworm.

if worse comes to worst and you can’t find them on your island, my advice would be to go to nook miles island during those hours and make sure it’s an island that can spawn insects. you it can, then use your tools to shape the island to your needs; i think this is specifically works for bugs.

pick all of the flowers to prevent flower-attracted bugs like butterflies and stinkbugs from spawning, eat some coconuts from the palm trees and destroy the rocks so pillbugs and centipedes don’t hide in there, cut down the palm trees and dig up the stumps so beetles don’t spawn. you should just have the trees left, and you should be left with the ground bugs like wharf roaches, tiger beetles, tarantulas, and the tree bugs like spiders and bagworms. if you see tiger beetles and wharf roaches, run by them to scare them and it’ll refresh the spawns. try to catch the tarantulas for an extra few bucks too, but above all, shake the trees for the spider. (just be warned—i believe there’s one tree on each the nook miles islands that has wasps, but i’m not positive).

I think having a smaller island to work with will make these spawns more highly concentrated, which is why the “tarantula island” scheme for making bells is so hot right now. but i think this is just a good scheme for finding bugs that evade you anyway. this is precisely the method people did during NL with tortimer island and the palm tree beetles. cut down the grass trees, dig up the stumps, dig up hibiscus bushes. suddenly all these certain bugs have no way of spawning so you’re limited to the ground bugs and palm tree beetles that sell for 15k bells a pop. all on a TINY, TINY ISLAND! SO THEY CONSTANTLY SPAWN! PROFIT!

the only setback now is that when you want to transform the miles island into a spawner for specific bugs, you have to do it every time and there’s no 100% guarantee the island you visit will be able to spawn bugs until you get there and check it out. but the good part is it’s flexible for when you need to search for different kinds of bugs; you don’t have to replant trees and wait a few days.

 

[Miss Misty]

I spent hours shaking trees for a bagworm for a Miles+ task and I wasn't able to find one, nor did a spider drop at any point either. So they might be that rare, yeah. :/

 

[Eternal]

Hey, just so you know I'm working on a year round guide which obviously doesn't answer your question as to where more detailed resources are, but still. Wanted to let you know since I released mine at about 8am yesterday and the one you linked was at about 1pm! (Both great resources mind) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oOjSLrmQEZt4Y8Fg984peYa5_O1LzA-tgsSIAzFPudk/edit?usp=sharing

 

[Meloetta]

Hey, just so you know I'm working on a year round guide which obviously doesn't answer your question as to where more detailed resources are, but still. Wanted to let you know since I released mine at about 8am yesterday and the one you linked was at about 1pm! (Both great resources mind) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oOjSLrmQEZt4Y8Fg984peYa5_O1LzA-tgsSIAzFPudk/edit?usp=sharing

I saw that! it’s nicely put together and i’m glad you have april too.
btw i think you should also put an indicator on new fish/bugs that month and fish/bugs that will be gone the next month so we know what to look for with a glance.

 

[Hesper]

I am struggling with flies and ants at the moment. Have a trash item (boot) and fruit left out, but the fruit isn't rotting and I see no bugs.

 

[Khaelis]

I am struggling with flies and ants at the moment. Have a trash item (boot) and fruit left out, but the fruit isn't rotting and I see no bugs.

Use rotten turnips. Next time Daisy Mae is around, purchase an extra 10 bundle and don't sell it so it rots the following Sunday.

 

[Xara]

i’m having the hardest time with the golden trout - i hate that they only spawn in an area where the spawn rate is so low lmao,, gonna need lots of fish bait for this one

 

[DJStarstryker]

I’ve also heard rumors of fish bait attracting rarer fish but this hasn’t been the case for me. I just wasted like 45 fish baits in the rivermouth for that stupid sturgeonfish.

As someone who uses fish bait, I am pretty sure this isn't true. It's still up to RNG, the same as regular fishing. What the fish bait DOES do is force a spawn. Waiting for a spawn, especially in a particular spot, can waste a lot of time. The fish bait forcing spawns just means that you are rolling the probability dice, as it were, a lot more often AND in a particular spot. If RNG is on your side, you will get rare fish surprisingly often. But if RNG is not on your side, then you'll just mostly get the cruddy fish.

 

[GreenLeaf]

for me the problems are sea fishes tuna and marlin
never ever seen a tuna or a marlin in the whole game
I should wait at the dock?
this is what I've read but there are no spawns unless I use a bait
and baits always spawn worthless common fishes as others noted
what I'm missing?

 

[DJStarstryker]

never ever seen a tuna or a marlin
I should wait at the dock?
this is what I've read but there are no spawns unless I use a bait
and baits always spawn worthless common fishes
what I'm missing?

Yes, tuna and blue marlin are at the dock. You really need bait in bulk for best results. I would suggest no less than 30. You're not guaranteed to get them, but with a lot, your chances are better (more spawns = more chances for RNG to go your way).

 

[GreenLeaf]

Yes, tuna and blue marlin are at the dock. You really need bait in bulk for best results. I would suggest no less than 30. You're not guaranteed to get them, but with a lot, your chances are better (more spawns = more chances for RNG to go your way).

oh ok then I'll keep trying =_=

 

[Hesper]

i’m having the hardest time with the golden trout - i hate that they only spawn in an area where the spawn rate is so low lmao,, gonna need lots of fish bait for this one

Yes! That's the other thing I'm struggling with.

Use rotten turnips. Next time Daisy Mae is around, purchase an extra 10 bundle and don't sell it so it rots the following Sunday.

Thank you! Ugh, I shouldn't have binned my rotten ones from the one day of TT

 

[TheRealWC]

For the Blue Marlin, I was lucky in that I found one that spawned next to the dock. I have yet to catch the Tuna.

For all clifftop fish, I recommend at least 50 bait. I used about 80-100 and I was able to catch a Golden Trout, Char, and Stringfish. While this is somewhat of a bit of work, remember digging up clams is a good way for some extra Nook Miles, and crafting fish bait also satisfies any crafting Miles+ challenges.

- - - Post Merge - - -

For the Blue Marlin, I was lucky in that I found one that spawned next to the dock. I have yet to catch the Tuna.

For all clifftop fish, I recommend at least 50 bait. I used about 80-100 and I was able to catch a Golden Trout, Char, and Stringfish. While this is somewhat of a bit of work, remember digging up clams is a good way for some extra Nook Miles, and crafting fish bait also satisfies any crafting Miles+ challenges.

 

[cheezu]

According to the game, goldfish can only be caught between 9 am - 4 pm but there have been at least 2 times when I caught one at night. Thought it was kind of weird.
As for the sturgeon fish, I caught it 3 times already with no bait. The bait doesn't seem to attract rarer fish. I think it's just that you're always guaranteed that a fish will spawn with bait so chances of catching something more rare increase with that.

 

[Dewy]

According to the game, goldfish can only be caught between 9 am - 4 pm but there have been at least 2 times when I caught one at night. Thought it was kind of weird.

Goldfish are active all hours of the day

Here's a full bug and fish guide for New Horizons:
https://nookpedia.com/fish