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.

• Small Fish: 50 G (normal mode) or 60 G (simple mode)
• Medium Fish: 120 G (normal mode) or 144 G (simple mode)
• Large Fish: 200 G (normal mode) or 240 G (simple mode)

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 to Mithril (level 5) or higher and charging your tool before casting into the water:

• Spring: Bottled Message. This is a one-time catch. The bottle contains the recipe for French Fries, which you'll learn as the moment you successfully reel in the bottle. After that you can store the bottle in your farmhouse bookshelf or you can sell it to Huang. The merchant will offer between 58,000 G and 67,000 G for the bottle. Simply reject his offer until he gives you the price you're looking for.
• Summer: Pirate Treasure. You can catch this item multiple times and sell it through your shipping bin (10,000 G) or sell it to Won (8000 G to 17,000 G). You'll also need a Pirate Treasure for the Summer Sun cooking recipe.
• Autumn: Ancient Fossil. This item can also be caught over and over, though it doesn't sell for as much as a Pirate Treasure. From the shipping bin you'll receive 5000 G. From Huang, you'll receive between 4800 G and 5700 G. This item is also an ingredient used in the Summer Sun recipe.
• Winter: Power Berry. This is a one-time catch that will increase your strength by 15 points.

Normal Fish List

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

There are currently 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.

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.