More so than any other, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a game that values and rewards collection. Whether it be furniture, villagers, or fish, the game seeks to reward the player for their foresight.
Fish and Insects/Bugs make up a sizable portion of the collectible items in the game at around 200 critters, and beyond donating them to the museum or filling your Critterpedia, they can also net you a nice profit if you sell them to the right person!
Some of these creatures are worth tens of thousands of bells a piece if you sell them to CJ or Flick, and catching certain amounts or different varieties can also get you Nook Miles.
To start off with, you’ll need the right materials. The Flimsy versions of the Net and Fishing Rod can be easily crafted with different amounts of tree branches, but it’s well worth it to just buy the upgraded versions at Nook’s Cranny which are purchasable after you reach a certain point in the game.
If you’d like to, you can always craft the upgraded version, assuming you’ve obtained the DIYs necessary, but iron can be hard to get. The 2500 bells needed to buy one of the upgraded tools are much easier to obtain and you don’t have to waste materials that you might need elsewhere.
Now, onto actually catching the critters. The best piece of advice is to never, ever sprint anywhere if you’re trying to catch a bug/fish. They’re easily startled and the spawns are mostly random so it can be difficult to catch a creature you’ve already scared away.
Sneaking is the best way to catch insects, especially ones such as tarantulas and scorpions, which will bite and sting you. Some insects are even more skittish than others and will fly/jump away if you get too close without sneaking.
Something that doesn’t seem like it bears mentioning is the fact that your net can miss. If you get too close to a bug and try to catch it, you will miss, especially if the bug is resting on a tree or rock. You’ll definitely want to practice.
Fish are a different matter. It’s going to take some practice learning how to catch them. They’ll only take the bait if it’s directly in front of them, and certain fish can only be caught with bait. Other fish can only be caught on the docks on your island, so you’ll want to do your research before attempting a catch.
There are also 6 sizes of fish shadows in the game, and certain fish can only be of a certain size. For example, Whale Sharks can only be size 6, and have a fin poking out of the water. A clown fish can only be size 1, so you’ll want to know what sizes your target fish can appear in.
Both insects and bugs also have certain times of year and times throughout the day they can appear as well. Moths only appear during the night, but dragonflies appear during the day. Sharks can only be caught in the summer in the ocean, and cherry trout can only be caught during the spring in your mountain creeks.
