Fishing

Before you can fish, you must acquire the Fishing Rod from Van, which can be bought for 500G. You can also obtain a free fishing pole by raising Galen's friendship during Chapter 1, then visiting his house in Chapter 2.

To use the pole, simply equip it as if it were a tool, stand by a body of water, and press A. Wait until you start hearing little plopping noises and the screen shakes just slightly -- that alerts you that a fish is biting. Wait until the water splashes and you hear a larger plopping noise to press A to reel the fish in. Be careful not to press A too early or you'll lose your catch!

There are four areas where you can fish: Upstream, downstream, the spring, and the swamp. The river that runs through the valley just next to Vesta's farm is home to the upstream and downstream areas -- the upstream area would be the area near the waterfall, or the upper half of the river. The downstream area would be the southern half of the river. As for the spring, it's located up in the forest area where the "lamp" trees thrive, and the Harvest Sprites refer to it as a Goddess Pond. The swamp area is near Cody's house, where the neat little turtle likes to hang out.

The wild animals that you see around the valley are indicators that the particular location is a good spot for fishing. The owl is a indicator for the goddess pond, the lizard for the upstream, the tanuki (raccoon) for the downstream, and if the turtle is out you'll get good fish out of the swamp.

The fishing indicator animals can never become one of your pets.

Fish can be only sold to Van while he's at his shop. They may also be given as gifts.