Catching Fish

Catching fish is an easy way to earn money while you're waiting for your crops to mature. To begin your fishing adventure, you first need to obtain a fishing pole. Go to Zack's house at Mineral Beach on between 10:00 am and about 3:30 pm to find the shipper digging through his belongings. He'll find a Cheap Fishing Rod and give it to you for free. You will need to have space in the Tool section of your rucksack to trigger this event.

Fishing can be done at any of the waterways around Mineral Town. Equip the Fishing Pole, press the Y Button to cast your hook into the water, and then wait until you see a "!" bubble appear above the farmer's head. To reel in the caught fish, press the Y Button again. Pressing the action button over and over isn't necessary for the Switch version of Friends of Mineral Town.

There are 6 fishing areas around Mineral Town:

  1. the Lake on Mother's Hill, which is frozen over during winter;
  2. the small waterway between the lake and the Bridge that leads to the mountain summit;
  3. the Waterfall next to the hot spring;
  4. the long-flowing Stream that runs past your farm, the poultry farm, and Yodel Ranch;
  5. the small Pond in the Secret Forest (a new area in the GBA remake); and
  6. the Ocean at Mineral Beach.

Many fish can't be caught until you upgrade your fishing pole at Saibara's Forge. Upgraded tools can be charged by holding down the Y button and then releasing it to cast. The charge level required for the fish to appear is listed in the chart below.

Though there are a variety of fish, the fish you do catch will be categorized into either a Small Fish (24 cm or less), Medium Fish (25 cm to 49 cm), or Large Fish (50 cm or more). The same species of fish can come in one or two sizes, and you won't know what you'll get until you reel it in. The profit you earn will depend on the size of the fish and not the type of fish caught.

Non-Fish Thingies

Other items can be pulled out of the water too. You can catch junk like Boot, Fishbone, Empty Can, and Branches. This garbage cannot be tossed back into the water, but you can either put it in the trash can in Rose Plaza or sell it via your shipping bin for 1 G each.

There are other special items you can catch in the Ocean after upgrading your fishing pole (see minimum required levels below) and charging your tool to the appropriate power level before casting into the water:

Normal Fish List

There are 50 normal fish you can catch; the original GBA game had 45 fish.

Fish NameSeasonsLocationCharge LevelMax Size
Fat GreelingAll YearOcean340 cm
Horse MackerelAll YearOcean340 cm
Amur MinnowAll YearLake, Bridge, Pond115 cm
Masu TroutAll YearLake, Bridge, Pond125 cm
Chicken GruntAll YearOcean340 cm
SardineAll YearOcean125 cm
CharNot WinterBridge, Pond450 cm
DaceAll YearWaterfall, Stream, Pond235 cm
EelAll YearStream5100 cm
You can also catch Eel at the Ocean during Spring using a level 6 charge and during Summer using a level 5 charge.
Pale ChubAll YearStream115 cm
BonitoNot WinterOcean590 cm
FlounderAll YearOcean460 cm
Thread-sail FilefishNot SummerOcean230 cm
GoldfishAll YearWaterfall, Stream120 cm
Crucian Carp*All YearWaterfall, Stream230 cm
Longtooth GrouperNot SummerOcean470 cm
Bighead CarpAll YearLake, Stream5100 cm
SalmonSummer, AutumnStream470 cm
MackerelAll YearOcean450 cm
Fish NameSeasonsLocationMin. LevelMax Size
NeedlefishNot WinterOcean340 cm
SeerfishNot AutumnOcean5100 cm
PikeAutumn onlyOcean340 cm
Mahi-mahiNot WinterOcean5180 cm
Sea BreamAll YearOcean5100 cm
CodSpring, WinterOcean450 cm
LoachNot WinterStream, Pond112 cm
Dark SleeperAll YearStream, Pond125 cm
Rainbow TroutAll YearLake, Bridge, Lake Mine5100 cm
Pacific HerringAll YearOcean130 cm
Silver CarpAll YearStream, Pond5100 cm
Sailfin SandfishNot SummerOcean120 cm
HalibutAll YearOcean580 cm
BlowfishSpring, WinterOcean450 cm
Black BassAll YearEverywhere but Ocean450 cm
YellowtailSpring, WinterOcean5100 cm
BluegillAll YearEverywhere but Ocean125 cm
Crucian Carp*All YearLake, Waterfall450 cm
Atka MackerelNot SummerOcean340 cm
TunaAll YearOcean5250 cm
Fish NameSeasonsLocationMin. LevelMax Size
Ocean SunfishNot WinterOcean5250 cm
Luna LionfishAll YearOcean230 cm
Red SeaperchNot WinterOcean230 cm
Cherry SalmonAll YearBridge230 cm
Blotched SnakeheadNot WinterWaterfall, Stream, Pond580 cm
SmeltNot SummerWaterfall, Stream, Pond115 cm
BeltfishSummer, AutumnOcean5200 cm
SweetfishSummer, AutumnBridge, Stream330 cm
Sand SmeltSpring, SummerStream, Ocean330 cm
Pike CongerSummer, AutumnOcean5150 cm
Flying FishSummer, AutumnOcean230 cm

*There are TWO fish in the EN game that are called "Crucian Carp".

Guardian Fish List

There are 7 king fish in the game that you can only catch using a cursed/blessed or mythic fishing pole, charged up to level 6 or level 7. These fish are rare and some have special requirements to complete before they can appear.

Once you catch a guardian fish, it will be tossed back into the water. You can't keep or sell the river kings, but their portraits will be noted at the bottom of the Fish Memo inside of the farmhouse bookshelf.

Fish NameSeasonsLocationRequirements
HuchenSpring, Summer, or AutumnStreamKnow the Grilled Fish, Sashimi, and Sushi cooking recipes
AnglerfishSpring or WinterOceanGo fishing between 8:00 pm and 8:00 am
Hot Spring CatfishWinterHot Spring(No additional requirements)
CarpSpring, Summer, or AutumnLakeShip at least 200 fish
CoelacanthAll YearLevel 9 of the Lake MineCatch 5 or more Guardian fish
SquidSpring or WinterOceanGo fishing between 9:00 am and 12:00 am (midnight)
Arapaima GigasSummerPondCatch at least 50 species of fish

In the original GBA game, the Squid could be caught by tossing a small fish into the ocean before casting. Since the updated edition doesn't permit players to throw objects, the criteria was changed.

The Arapaima Gigas was added to the remake. You'll know when you've caught the necessary types of fish when the Goddess sends you a congratulatory mailbox letter. The other guardian fish will count towards the 50 unique types found.

The requirements for Huchen are the same as the GBA game, but the recipe for Sashimi is in your cookbook as part of the kitchen. Grilled Fish can be learned by cooking a recipe that requires Medium Fish as a cooking ingredient, and Sushi can be discovered by cooking recipes that use Onigiri, Small Fish, Medium Fish, and Large Fish.

Catching All Fish

Zack will greet you in the morning after you catch the last type of fish. He'll congratulate you on catching all of the fish available. Good thing he gave you that Fishing Pole! He won't give a reward, but it is worth 1 Event Farm Degree point for being a random event.

You'll also receive a congratulatory letter from the Harvest Goddess and complete the Master Angler in-game achievement.