With the beginning of April comes many new creatures for Animal Crossing: New Horizons players to catch. The majority of these are various fish and bugs, but among them is a reptile with a bite: the snapping turtle. Fortunately, you don’t have to rush to catch this critter before the end of the month. Here, we’ll go over when and where to catch the snapping turtle in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as well as how to increase your chances of reeling it in.
Snapping Turtle Active Time
For players in the northern hemisphere, the snapping turtle can be caught from the beginning of April to the end of October. Players in the southern hemisphere, though, will need to wait until the beginning of October for this reptile to appear on their island, and have until the end of April the following year to catch it.
Like its real-world counterpart, the snapping turtle is nocturnal. Its active hours are between 9 pm and 4 am.
Where To Find Snapping Turtle
Snapping turtles can be found in any river, both high and low. It will cast a large shadow, much like that of the black bass. If there aren’t any large shadows in your rivers, you can toss in some fish bait until a large shadow spawns. However, with the snapping turtle and black bass having such similar silhouettes, this may take a few tries.
Tips For Angling Optimization
If you have large shadows mixed in with smaller ones in your rivers, you can scare away the smaller shadows by vaulting over them using the pole vault. Alternatively, you can quickly pull your lure away from smaller shadows as they approach to make them disappear. This can help you avoid attracting the wrong catch - and accidentally scaring away what could have been the snapping turtle.
You may also want to avoid fishing in clifftop rivers, as they host a wider variety of fish than those in the lowlands. However, there are a few rare fish swimming around your island’s highest rivers, so you could pull in some rather lucrative catches if you choose to fish there.
Once you finally catch the snapping turtle, you can donate it to the museum, sell it for 5,000 Bells, or - in the case of this Reddit user - keep it as a pet! Despite its aquatic inclinations, snapping turtles can be placed anywhere around your island without a tank.
