Animal Crossing: New Horizons – How to Catch Sharks

There’s a whole lot of fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but some are much more valuable than others. Sure, the coelacanth is seen as the rarest and most prized thanks to its introduction back in the evry first AC game on Gamecube. More recent additions rival it in terms of value, rarity, and just overall coolness. I’m of course speaking of sharks which first appeared in Wild World but have only gotten more interesting since then. To break them all down, here’s how to catch sharks in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

How to Catch Sharks

First off, some general tips before we get into the specifics for certain breeds. All sharks in Animal Crossing: New Horizons appear in the ocean, often near the pier though it is not required, and feature a unique shadow that you won’t see for other fish. Instead of just the shadow itself you’ll actually see the dorsal fin sticking out as well.

When you see this you know that you have a shark ready to go. The rest remains pretty much the same, just toss your line in front of them to get their attention, then wait for them to bite and pull the bobber underwater. The reward will be in the ten thousand Bell range, or a fancy addition to your museum.

There’s four sharks available in the game: whale shark, hammerhead shark, saw shark, and great white shark. All are valued differently but will appear around the same time. Shark season runs from December to March in the Southern Hemisphere and June to September in the Northern Hemisphere. While the great white shark can spawn at any time during the day, the other three will only appear between 4pm and 9am, so try to stick to night fishing if you want one.

There is one way to get a lot of sharks, but it is unfortunately quite random. Shark Island is out there, and is just a Nook Miles Ticket away. However, there is no way to guarantee that you end up there when you take the trip. If you do, be sure to fill your inventory with them. And for more tips on catching sharks and other rare fish, check out that guide.

In terms of selling price, hammerheads are cheapest at 8,000 Bells, saw sharks are next at 12,000, whale sharks go for 13,000, and great white sharks hit 15,000 Bells tying the coelacanth for the highest grossing fish in the game. So hopefully this helped explain how to catch sharks in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cause you’ll want a lot of them.