Animal Crossing: New Horizons isn’t just about having the most fashionable things to wear. It’s also about filling Blathers’ museum with a bunch of cool things, bugs included, and fish. If you want to add some rarer varieties to your exhibitions, you’ll need patience. Here are some tips on catching Barreleye in Animal Crossing New Horizons.

Tips on Catching Barreleye in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

If you’re someone who’s looking out for the Barreleye, we’ve got your back. Maybe you just want an eerily cute fish that has alien-looking googly eyes to call your own. Maybe you think it’d make a good present for Blathers. Maybe you just want to fish up pretty much anything that isn’t some sort of Water Egg (more on that here if you’re interested, I guess?). Anyway, regardless of your motivations for wanting to pick one of these up, the method of getting it is going to be evergreen. The price tag on the Barreleye should be your first clue that this bad boy is rare – it’s worth 12,000 Bells if you can fish one up, so feel free to flog it off to Nook’s Cranny instead of giving it to everyone’s favorite owl. 

The rarity of the Barreleye means that it probably has some eccentric spawn hours. Well, you’d be partially right on that. To catch a Barreleye in Animal Crossing New Horizons, you’re going to want to be up and about on your beach between 9 PM and 4 AM. If you’re playing in real time and not time-skipping then we realize this is a bit of a commitment, but you know, we think the Bell payoff might be worth it. The Barreleye has a small fish shadow, so ignore anything that looks bigger than a minnow. We reckon that Bait will help out here, so make sure that you’ve got that in your pockets too. If your own island is Barreleye-barren, try fishing within the same times on Mystery Islands! Barreleye are active all year round, so it’s not like you only have a few months to get one. 

Now that you’ve got our tips on catching Barreleye in Animal Crossing New Horizons, you too can round out your aquarium with this pint-sized addition. We reckon it’s pretty cute even though its eyes are literally the size of its tiny body, but hey, there are far weirder things for you to fish up when it comes to your deserted island. If you don’t yet own Animal Crossing: New Horizons then what are you waiting for? You can pick it up via this Amazon link and also support Prima Games at the same time. Once you’re used to being an Island Representative, come crack into our dedicated guides hub for the title and check the variety of tips and tricks that we’ve prepped for players like you:

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons Kicks – How to Get
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons Small Fry – How to Get
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update Addresses Egg Drop Rate for Bunny Day