I feel like I am never going to finish my museum

[KittenNoir]

I have the Art and Fossil sections of my museum complete but the Fish and Bug section is taking forever I have a checklist of all the fish I need left to get and I follow the time of day, locations and months to find these fish and I am having no luck at all I just keep getting the same fish over and over again

And I still haven't bothered to try looking at what bugs I still need

Does anyone have any tips ?

 

[Pyoopi]

What are the fish/bug you're after? Are they like the rarer ones?

 

[KittenNoir]

What are the fish/bug you're after? Are they like the rarer ones?

I am looking for the following fish

Spoiler: Fish Checklist

• Pop-Eyed Goldfish
• Giant Snakehead
• Char
• Golden Trout
• String Fish
• Nibble Fish
• Angel Fish
• Rainbow Fish
• Arowana
• Gar
• Arapaima
• Saddle Bichir
• Sturgeon
• Sea Butterfly
• Surgeonfish
• Napoleeon Fish
• Blowfish
• Tuna
• Blue Marlin
• Giant Trevally
• Mahi-Mahi
• Saw Shark
• Barreleye

I haven't even gone through with how many bugs I still need

 

[Hsn97]

I give up with trying to complete the fish and bug sections. I spent over 5 hours on 3 days and god knows how many bait trying to catch a golden trout last year. And the reward for completing the museum is that great, just a golden tool that breaks like regular tools anyway. So for me it’s just not worth the stress of trying to complete it.

 

[KittenNoir]

I give up with trying to complete the fish and bug sections. I spent over 5 hours on 3 days and god knows how many bait trying to catch a golden trout last year. And the reward for completing the museum is that great, just a golden tool that breaks like regular tools anyway. So for me it’s just not worth the stress of trying to complete it.

I have noticed that I also spend a few hours looking for these fish and following the guides and not finding any new ones and if I do find new ones its after looking for like 3+ hours

 

[maria110]

I have the Art and Fossil sections of my museum complete but the Fish and Bug section is taking forever I have a checklist of all the fish I need left to get and I follow the time of day, locations and months to find these fish and I am having no luck at all I just keep getting the same fish over and over again

And I still haven't bothered to try looking at what bugs I still need

Does anyone have any tips ?

If you have a northern hemisphere island, it may get easier soon in later springtime. I also feel like I have more luck on the first few days after a fish arrives or rearrives. So, early in the month. I also haven't finished my museum and part of the problem, I feel, is the tree bugs can be hard to see and catch. I tend to scare them away. I will probably try on a mystery island, using the trick where you chop down or pull up almost everything and force tree bugs to spawn.

 

[KittenNoir]

If you have a northern hemisphere island, it may get easier soon in later springtime. I also feel like I have more luck on the first few days after a fish arrives or rearrives. So, early in the month. I also haven't finished my museum and part of the problem, I feel, is the tree bugs can be hard to see and catch. I tend to scare them away. I will probably try on a mystery island, using the trick where you chop down or pull up almost everything and force tree bugs to spawn.

No I have a southern island I keep tt'ing to the months for the certain fish and nothing

 

[meo]

I recommend bait and also using nook miles islands just for the faster spawn/less area to run so it made it somewhat quicker to me. There’s also certain maps that are advantageous with large ponds and etc.

Good luck!

 

[Sheep Villager]

This may seem like a weird piece of advice but don't force it!

Animal Crossing is a marathon, not a 500 meter dash.
The Museum will be complete when it's complete. If you don't feel like working on it then you can save it for later (or just not do it at all!). No-one is going to judge an incomplete museum. I don't TT and I've missed several seasonal fish and bugs just because I simply didn't feel like tracking them down in the moment. Once I feel like catching them I will. Will that be this year or 5 years from now? Who knows. I'm in no rush.​

 

[WaileaNoRei]

This may seem like a weird piece of advice but don't force it!

Animal Crossing is a marathon, not a 500 meter dash.
The Museum will be complete when it's complete. If you don't feel like working on it then you can save it for later (or just not do it at all!). No-one is going to judge an incomplete museum. I don't TT and I've missed several seasonal fish and bugs just because I simply didn't feel like tracking them down in the moment. Once I feel like catching them I will. Will that be this year or 5 years from now? Who knows. I'm in no rush.​

i agree whole heartedly! Half of the rare fish I have caught just when I was wandering by my pier or river, saw a fish shadow and thought, ‘what the heck, I’ll catch this fish, wonder what it is’ - this is what really happened with several of the pier fish, and also with the barrel eye - I spent probably 40-60 baits, maybe more, because I decided I wanted to catch it. And I didn’t. And then one night while I was about to stop playing for the night I saw a small shadow off my pier and just decided to fish. And t

there is really no rush, no competition to finish your museum. It will give you more to do in the game and be more fun in the long run to still have stuff to complete.

this is the tactic I am taking with my art exhibit. I check in with Redd whenever he shows up, sometimes he has all fakes, sometimes he has real art I already have. I could trade for what I need, but I just am not too impatient to finish (there was an article that says it will probably take me 3-4 years to finish this way but oh well).

it is nice having stuff left to accomplish, and also as the quoted post says, no one cares how complete your museum is.

it sounds like trying to catch these fish the way you are is not fun, or helping you enjoy the game right now, so I would just take a break and give to a chance to happen naturally as you enjoy your game.
.
.
.
—But if you really do want to keep grinding, then the mystery islands are your best bet, go to a variety of them, and look into which ones are specialized for different types of creatures!

good luck!

 

[Nooblord]

The game senses your desire. The trick is to not look for them, have them find you.

 

[JKDOS]

I'm the opposite. I've completed everything but art. It's too long to get the art myself, and I'm too lazy to trade for the art online

 

[Rika092]

I have the same feeling... I feel like it’s gonna take me 3 years + to complete my museum because I’m not out there hunting for them seasonal fishes and bugs. While I don’t mind TT at all, I’m too lazy to be bothered with TT just to catch all the fishes and bugs. Bugs I feel like is gonna be a bit easier since I basically run around my town all the time so I probably will run into bugs I haven’t caught at times. The fishing part is really not my fav, and I’m also too lazy to make fish baits just to make the rare fish spawn. (Flashbacks to fishing tourney which I had to make over 100+ Fish baits just so I can get every single piece of the furnitures from chip... ahhh what a nightmare)

 

[Velo]

Unfortunately the only real advice is to follow the times/dates they are available and use bait for fish.
Otherwise, just try and relax and enjoy the journey! Once you've caught them all - it's over and there's no goal left. Try and enjoy the fun of looking for the new critters and don't worry too much about how long it takes.
I'd recommend working on other goals while you fish/bug hunt as well. Like grow hybrids, build friendships, decorate your house or island... Don't stress yourself out too much by hyper focusing.
I don't think there is actually any better chances but maybe try asking if you can visit other islands during the time frames to fish/bug hunt? Sometimes a change of scenery can make things more palatable and of course you can make new friends (people here on Bell Tree are super nice)! Or if you have extra NMT you could always pop over to the random islands and try there, at least it mixes things up a bit.

 

[Moritz]

i agree whole heartedly! Half of the rare fish I have caught just when I was wandering by my pier or river, saw a fish shadow and thought, ‘what the heck, I’ll catch this fish, wonder what it is’ - this is what really happened with several of the pier fish, and also with the barrel eye - I spent probably 40-60 baits, maybe more, because I decided I wanted to catch it. And I didn’t. And then one night while I was about to stop playing for the night I saw a small shadow off my pier and just decided to fish. And t

there is really no rush, no competition to finish your museum. It will give you more to do in the game and be more fun in the long run to still have stuff to complete.

this is the tactic I am taking with my art exhibit. I check in with Redd whenever he shows up, sometimes he has all fakes, sometimes he has real art I already have. I could trade for what I need, but I just am not too impatient to finish (there was an article that says it will probably take me 3-4 years to finish this way but oh well).

it is nice having stuff left to accomplish, and also as the quoted post says, no one cares how complete your museum is.

it sounds like trying to catch these fish the way you are is not fun, or helping you enjoy the game right now, so I would just take a break and give to a chance to happen naturally as you enjoy your game.
.
.
.
—But if you really do want to keep grinding, then the mystery islands are your best bet, go to a variety of them, and look into which ones are specialized for different types of creatures!

good luck!

I got all my pier fish from bait
It took me until like a week ago to catch a pier fish without bait and I've played since the game came out. Had horrible luck with the thing

 

[tajikey]

I'm the opposite. I've completed everything but art. It's too long to get the art myself, and I'm too lazy to trade for the art online

This is where I'm at, too. Granted, I did manage to snag a few through various folks here, but the game should know which ones you need, and have at least one real one for you every other week. There's nothing more frustrating than strolling in to Redd's ship only to find 4 fakes or none you need.

 

[Licorice]

I sympathize with you. The walking stick and giant trevalley are the two things keeping me from completing those sections of the museum. I tried so hard to get the giant trevalley but it wouldn’t spawn for anything.

 

[LuchaSloth]

Kinda funny that you have the art section complete. That's the last thing I need, and I think it's the thing that most people struggle to complete. Redd never comes to my island. Lately I've been getting some art pieces from villagers in the mail...which is awesome. But, yeah...bugs and fish were a cakewalk compared to the art collection. I guess it would be pretty easy if I played online or traded with people...but Animal Crossing has always been a solo act for me. I like to limit things to keep myself honest. I've traded a few things with my brother...but I can't bring myself to fully rely on online trading.

 

[Sara?]

I have only played ACNL and ACNH and i must admit that i feel its much easier to complete the museum in ACNH ( no, i have not finished my museum yet ), I am not sure if it is just cause Bugs and Fishes are easier to get around or if due to COVID i just have too much free time and have all this time to find specific Fishes and Bugs. However i must admit that in ACNL for me catching the tarantula and the scorpion was like real hard, I cant remember if i ever managed, to this day i remember how nervous and also had scared i felt every time i saw one of those around my town back in NL.

Anyways, my tip for catching seasonal bugs/fishes is just to either look in the web for the seasonal available fishes/bugs and focus on getting them or either download an app ( they are many ) on your phone which will tell you the same plus other useful features where you can tract what's seasonal available in your current month plus you can track what you already have caught. I really like the app cause its easier to keep track and i love that it specifies the time spam of each little creature.

PS: I just need 3 bugs and 3 sea creatures that will come in the summer and of course many of the art from the museum i only have like pff maybe 10, since i find the museum so easy and there is no real ceremony or reward for finishing it I am just taking it as it comes, step by step, without rushing it.

 

[The Loyal Rat]

The game senses your desire. The trick is to not look for them, have them find you.

“Somewhere deep beneath the ever shifting tides, exists a museum where the fish display the variety of fishermen they have caught. Their collection, still incomplete.”
-Probably some Junji Ito or Lovecraft story