Impossible-to-catch fish?

[ConorMuffins]

I've had some pretty weird encounters with fish silhouettes. I found on a few occasions that one would be impossible to catch. For example, a fish silhouette would take the bait (all the way to the full on "blub") but no matter how fast I pressed the A button, each time it would get away. These aren't even challenging ocean fish like the Marlin or Tuna; they are either pond or river fish.
Mentioning ponds, the fish like this I find in ponds are larger than the regular pond fish (about medium sized; bigger than Frogs or Crawfish but only by a bit).
Earlier today I had an encounter with a fish like this in the river (it was about the size of a Black Bass or Carp silhouette) and yet it got away immediately.

I am a pretty experienced fisherman on Animal Crossing since I caught all fish in WW and CF and have only a few river fish left to catch in NL.

I'm not sure if anybody else has had experiences like this but I have multiple times since I got the game on release in the UK (June 14th 2013).

Let me know if you have had similar experiences.

 

[Steelfang]

I haven't found any that are "impossible" to catch, but I've found plenty that I was sure I'd pressed the A button in time, and they still got away. I started closing my eyes and just listening for the sound when I fish, and I've started catching the harder fish a lot more since doing that. I think relying on the visual cue messes my timing up more.

 

[uriri]

Listening to the sound is my last resort when I get too frustrated and pissy to the game

 

[stitchmaker]

Was it in the morning near the waterfall? It could have been a char.
I've had a problem with a regular fish once and awhile. Not sure what happened. I do the close my eyes when I'm trying to catch my first one for the museum or a side player. Last night I found the oarfish for a side player and I shut my eyes. Caught it.

 

[CrazyCat42]

Yup, turn the sound up and close your eyes. Don't try to anticipate when it'll bite (though I do count the nibbles as I'd like to know if it takes until 5.) Somehow it's easier that way. Also, as soon as the silver rod is available make sure to get it as it is a bit more forgiving.

 

[Dom]

I thought I was the only one this happened to! Some fish will bite too quickly, it don't think it's possible to really catch them when they do.

 

[fuzzynumber9]

There are plenty of tricky river fish out there, most rare fish have a shorter window for hooking than more common ones. I forget specifically about this time of year but I know the koi, the gar, the saddled bichir, and the arowana are all medium-large fish (similar size to the carp) that need a quick response

 

[Le Ham]

Oh, I thought I was the only one who closed their eyes while fishing. It's such a stressful thing, lol

Anyways, I don't know if that's happened to me, but I hope it doesn't. My 3DS has a slightly-broken A button that sometimes doesn't work and sometimes registers multiple "clicks" at a time (probably because in my old town I used to spam A to fish, and it took me this long to realize that I only need to press it once to reel the fish).

 

[MightyMunchlax]

I never watch the bulb cause I get trigger happy, so I always go by sound. Which rod are you using? The better your rod, the longer the fish stays hooked.

 

[kikiiii]

yeah the fish are all a bit different. some like to bite right on the first hit while others will wait til the last hit to bite
none are impossible, it just takes a bit of practice since acnl is a bit different from the older games. sharks n river fish can be a bit tricky at times so i totally understand !

its pretty frustrating but you'll get the hang of it. like a few ppl have said already i never watch the bulb, only listen for the bite

 

[Chupidun]

I haven't found any that are "impossible" to catch, but I've found plenty that I was sure I'd pressed the A button in time, and they still got away. I started closing my eyes and just listening for the sound when I fish, and I've started catching the harder fish a lot more since doing that. I think relying on the visual cue messes my timing up more.

This!

There are some fishes very hard to catch indeed. For the most hard ones I have to fish from hearing, not watching. I literally stop looking at the 3DS screen, just turn up the volume and the 3DS slightly vibrates when the big "blub" happens, so I press 'A' then