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All the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fishing Tourney rewards you can unlock

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Trade your points for prizes in the New Horizons fishing tourney today!

animal crossing new horizons fishing tourney rewards
(Image credit: Nintendo)

That time of year is here again, yes it's time for the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fishing Tourney! It's a day where you can unlock a tonne of nautical themed goodies in the form of Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fishing Tourney prizes and rewards.

You can enter the Fishing Tourney by speaking to CJ in the Plaza in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. He'll explain the rules but basically, it's as many fish as you can catch in 3 minutes. You can use bait, but you're just limited to that time constraint. 

Any fish you catch will be automatically transferred to the cooler box next to him, which you can then sell to him later for some extra Bells. 

For every fish you catch you'll earn points. It's these that you can swap for 'swag' aka the full range of Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fishing Tourney rewards. It's 10 points per prize, as far as we can tell.

Points work like this:

Swipe to scroll horizontally
1 fish caught1 point
2 fish caught2 points
3 fish caught5 points
4 fish caught6 points
5 fish caught7 points
6 fish caught8 points
7 fish caught9 points
8 fish caught10 points
9 fish caught11 points
10 fish caught12 points

Your first entry into the Fishing Tourney will be free but after that it's 500 Bells a pop. However, if you're remembering to sell your caught fish to CJ after each round, you'll be raking in the Bells regardless.

All the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fishing Tourney rewards you can unlock

(Image credit: Nintendo)
  • Anchor statue
  • Bronze Fish Trophy (100 points total)
  • Fish Doorplate
  • Fish-drying Rack
  • Fish Pochette
  • Fish Print
  • Fish Print Tee
  • Fish Rug
  • Fish Umbrella
  • Fish Wand
  • Fishing-rod Sand
  • Fresh Cooler
  • Gold Fish Trophy (300 points total)
  • Marine Pop Wallpaper
  • Silver Fish Trophy (200 points total)
  • Tackle Bag

Top Fishing Tourney tips

Before you get started here are our top Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fishing Tourney tips for making sure that you get the most points.

Don't run!

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Don't forget, running scares the fish, so despite how tempting it might be to save time by sprinting, you could be forcing precious points to flee.

Craft yourself some bait

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Even though it might feel a little bit like cheating, you can use bait during the fishing tourney. You can craft it by collecting Manila Clams by digging on the beach where little blow holes appear, and then heading over to a crafting table. 

We'd advice 10 packets of bait per round.

Always carry a spare rod

(Image credit: Nintendo)

There's nothing worse than your rod breaking mid-Fishing Tourney, so make sure you've already got a spare in your pocket in case of tragedy.

Sam Loveridge
Sam Loveridge
Brand Director, GamesRadar+

Sam Loveridge is the Brand Director and former Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar. She joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.