Animal Crossing: New Horizons — How to Catch Pier Fish

Angling is a big part of island life. You’ll find plenty of fish in different areas, such as ponds and rivers. However, there are some, such as Blue Marlin and Tuna, that can be found elsewhere. Here’s how to catch pier fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

When Can You Catch Pier Fish in ACNH?

You may be struggling to find pier fish, depending on the season. I — along with many other players — can confirm that these species aren’t available all year round.

• Blue Marlin: November to April and July to September in the Northern Hemisphere and January to March and May to October in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Giant Trevally: May to October in the Northern Hemisphere and November to April in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Mahi-Mahi: May to October in the Northern Hemisphere and November to April in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Tuna: November to April in the Northern Hemisphere and May to November in the Southern Hemisphere.

Where to Find Pier Fish

Pier Fish can be located by your island pier, which will either be located on the west or east side of your beach. You can also use the pier by the airport to catch these fish, as well as the boardwalks you’ll have access to when using a Nook Mile Ticket.

Just because a fish is swimming by the pier doesn’t always mean it will be unique to these areas. You can decipher if it’s one due to its shadow size. The Pier Fish will always have a very large or huge shadow size. During their active months, the fish will be available to catch all day.

Tips for Catching Pier Fish

It can still be pretty hard to catch pier fish despite knowing their times and shadow sizes. The first I suggest doing is crafting a lot of bait so you can keep throwing it in the sea next to the pier until you get your ideal shadow size. You only need one manila clam to craft bait, so the task isn’t too tedious. It’s also a good idea to hunt for these species when others aren’t active, which will increase their spawn rate (i.e., fish Blue Marlin in December, as lots of fish will not be available).

Using Nook Mile Tickets will also help, as it’s easier to spawn pier fish due to being on a small island. If you have no success finding them, it’s worth scaring other fish that you know you don’t need to catch, increasing spawn rates. Scaring fish can be done by running past them, which will cause them to disappear.

That’s how you catch Pier Fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Now you’ll find them in no time. Blathers will be very pleased! For more tips and tricks, check out our other ACNH guides. It’s also worth checking out our fishing guide to get a more detailed explanation about fishing.