Another month, another shift in the ever-changing wildlife of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The arrival of December gives players the chance to catch new fish, bugs, and sea creatures all across their Animal Crossing islands.
For those looking to do a little angling between their Holiday preparations, the seas and rivers of New Horizons have been restocked. They have also become a little more diverse, with many more fish arriving than leaving this month. While this does introduce some variety, it may make it tricky for players to catch the fish they're missing.
New Fish in the Northern Hemisphere
December is set to be a quiet month for Northern Hemisphere anglers in New Horizons, with only five new fish added in the monthly update. However, this is balanced by only a single departing fish, giving players another chance to catch anything else they're missing from November. The five new fish range from river to sea, tiny to huge, but most can be caught at any time during the day:
Pond Smelt
- Location: River
- Time: All Day
- Shadow Size: Small
- Price: 500 Bells
Stringfish
- Location: River (Clifftop)
- Time: 4pm - 9am
- Shadow Size: Large
- Price: 15,000 Bells
Sea Butterfly
- Location: Sea
- Time: All Day
- Shadow Size: Tiny
- Price: 1,000 Bells
Squid
- Location: Sea
- Time: All Day
- Shadow Size: Medium-small
- Price: 500 Bells
Oarfish
- Location: Sea
- Time: All Day
- Shadow Size: Huge
- Price: 9,000 Bells
All but the Stringfish are returning, having been available at various times since Animal Crossing: New Horizon's release. To balance these new arrivals, the Pike has left player's rivers this month, set to return next September.
New Fish in the Southern Hemisphere
While it may be a quiet month for fishing in the Northern Hemisphere, things are quite the opposite down south. Southern Hemisphere players fishing in Animal Crossing: New Horizons in December will find 14 new additions, with only two departing.
Giant Snakehead
- Location: Pond
- Time: 9am - 4pm
- Shadow Size: Large
- Price: 5,500 Bells
Tilapia
- Location: River
- Time: All Day
- Shadow Size: Medium-Small
- Price: 800 Bells
Piranha
- Location: River
- Time: 9am - 4pm & 9pm - 4am
- Shadow Size: Small
- Price: 2,500 Bells
Arowana
- Location: River
- Time: 4pm -9am
- Shadow Size: Medium-Large
- Price: 10,000 Bells
Dorado
- Location: River
- Time: 4am - 9pm
- Shadow Size: Large
- Price: 15,000 Bells
Gar
- Location: Pond
- Time: 4pm - 9am
- Shadow Size: Huge
- Price: 6,000 Bells
Arapaima
- Location: River
- Time: 4pm - 9am
- Shadow Size: Huge
- Price: 10,000 Bells
Saddled Bichir
- Location: River
- Time: 9pm - 4am
- Shadow Size: Medium-Large
- Price: 4,000 Bells
Ribbon Eel
- Location: Sea
- Time: All Day
- Shadow Size: Thin
- Price: 600 Bells
Saw Shark
- Location: Sea
- Time: 4pm - 9am
- Shadow Size: Huge with Fin
- Price: 12,000 Bells
Hammerhead Shark
- Location: Sea
- Time: 4pm - 9am
- Shadow Size: Huge with Fin
- Price: 8,000 Bells
Great White Shark
- Location: Sea
- Time: 4pm - 9am
- Shadow Size: Huge with Fin
- Price: 15,000 Bells
Whale Shark
- Location: Sea
- Time: All Day
- Shadow Size: Huge with Fin
- Price: 13,000 Bells
Suckerfish
- Location: Sea
- Time: All Day
- Shadow Size: Medium with Fin
- Price: 1,500 Bells
Balancing the huge amount of fish coming to New Horizons in the Southern Hemisphere this month, there are two fish on their way out. Players will be saying goodbye to the Cherry Salmon and Char, both of which will return in Animal Crossing's update next March.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.