Here’s how to catch the most fish during C.J.’s Fishing Tourney in ACNH
Come on and get in the boat. Fish, fish!
If you’ve been playing New Horizons for a while, you might have come across a little beaver named C.J. This guy is obsessed with fish and live streaming and will often issue you challenges for catching specific water dwellers. If you complete his challenges, he’ll give you 1.5x the Bells for any of the fish you wish to sell him. But that’s not all he does. C.J. hosts Fishing Tourneys on your island multiple times throughout the year. Here’s everything you need to know about these special competitions, along with how to catch the most fish while participating in them.
- When is the Fishing Tourney?
- What happens during the Fishing Tourney?
- How to catch the most fish
- What can I buy with the Fishing Tourney points?
When is the Fishing Tourney?
The Fishing Tourney occurs on your island multiple times each year. The next one will be on Saturday, April 11, 2020 from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
What happens during the Fishing Tourney?
On Fishing Tourney days, C.J. will set up a stand in front of Resident Services. The first time you participate in the Fishing Tourney, you’ll be able to do so for free. However, every time after that, you’ll need to pay 500 Bells to enter the competition.
Fishing Tourney Rules
- You must catch as many fish as possible within a three-minute window.
- You’ll receive points for each fish you catch during this time. You get one point per fish. Once you’ve caught a total of three fish, two additional bonus points get added to your total.
- Use the points to purchase special merchandise from C.J’s stand in front of Resident Services.
| Fish caught | Points earned |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 points |
| 2 | 2 points |
| 3 | 5 points |
| 4 | 6 points |
| 5 | 7 points |
How to catch the most fish
If you want to earn the most points during the Fishing Tourney, then you’re going to need to catch a bunch of fish. Here’s how to do that. And yes, it’s going to take some jigs and lures.
- Gather manila clams: Before going up to C.J. and initiating the competition, you need to craft a bunch of bait. Run around the beaches and look for holes in the sand where water comes shooting out. When you find one, use your shovel to dig at that spot, and you’ll acquire a manilla clam. Continue to collect until you have at least 10 manila clams.
- Craft some bait and a rod: Next, run to a DIY workbench and start crafting. One clam can be crafted into one piece of bait. We recommend having at least 10 pieces of bait in your inventory each time you participate in the Tourney. You should also have an extra rod on you in case the one you have breaks.
- Make room for fish: Now, you need to get rid of any unnecessary items in your inventory by dropping them off at your house or somewhere where you’ll remember to pick them up later. You don’t want to get slowed down by choosing which items to drop to make room for a fish you’ve just caught.
- Start the Tourney: Run up to C.J. and tell him you want to participate in the Fishing Tourney.
Run to the nearest body of water: Now run to the beach or the closest river or pond you can find. Don’t waste time looking for a fish. Just immediately toss your bait into the water to make a fish appear if one isn’t already at your closest location.
- Cast your line: Once the shadow of a fish appears, cast your fishing pole line into the water. The bobber needs to land in front of the fish to catch its attention.
- Catch that fish: Press A as soon as the bobber goes down to reel the fish back in.
- Tip: The visual of the fish biting at the bobber tends to make me a little trigger happy. I find I catch fish a lot more efficiently when I rely solely on sound while fishing. Turn the volume way up, look away from the screen, and then when you hear the bobber get pulled under immediately press A.
- Throw more bait in and continue catching fish: Once again, don’t waste your time running up and down the river banks or shores looking for fish shadows. Stay in one location and continue to toss bait into the water. Each time a fish shadow appears, throw your line in front of it.
- Head back to C.J. when time is up: When the countdown finishes, it’s time to head back to that silly little beaver. He’ll tally up your catches and will let you know how many points you’ve received. Now you can turn them in for some Fish Swag.
Fishing Tourney rewards
It seems that you’ll trade 10 Points for a random Fish Swag item. We currently don’t know what items you might get for this trade, but we’ll update when we learn more. At this point, you’ll also be able to sell any fish you’ve caught to C.J. He’ll pay 1.5 x the price that you’d receive from Timmy and Tommy Nook. Cash in to earn a ton of Bells.
Reel in
That’s everything you need to know about C.J.’s Fishing Tourneys. Make sure to craft up a bunch of bait before entering the competition. That way, you’re sure to nab a bunch of fish within the three-minute time limit. I hope you can catch some awesome fish in the process!
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