When Does C.J. Visit In Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

Like Flick, the chipper C.J. is one of the many special visitors who will periodically stop by your island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Whereas Flick will buy your bugs and craft bug models for you, C.J. is all about seasports, and he'll purchase any fish you're willing to sell at a higher price than you'd normally get at Nook's Cranny, making his visits a great chance to earn bells. But when exactly does C.J. show up, and how do you get fish models?

When Does C.J. Show Up?

Like most other Animal Crossing special visitors, there's no telling when C.J. will appear on your island; his visits are completely random, so you'll just need to check in every day and see if he's there. On average, however, you'll see him on your island at least every other week, and when he does show up, he'll be around for a full 24 hours, from 5 AM to 5 AM.

During the Fishing Tourney, C.J. will be camped out next to his tent in your town's plaza. During his regular visits, however, he'll be wandering around your island, so you'll need to track him down when you want to sell him some fish. He's sporting a distinctive yellow and black fishing vest and a too-small-for-his-head backwards cap, so he shouldn't be too hard to spot. (It also helps that he's the only beaver in the game, so you'll know for sure when you've found him.)

Selling Fish To C.J.

Like Flick with bugs, C.J. will buy any fish you have for 150% their usual market value during his visits. This applies to any critter you've fished up out of the river or ocean, even if it isn't technically a fish (such as frogs and crawfish). However, C.J. won't buy sea creatures that you caught by diving, so don't bother stocking up on those before you speak to him.

Before C.J. will buy your fish, however, he'll ask you to complete a Seasports Challenge. This typically involves catching three fish of a certain size in a row, which means you'll need to land all three of them sequentially without scaring one off. Once you've completed the challenge, C.J. will buy any fish you have at the aforementioned rate.

Fish Models From C.J.

In addition to buying your fish, C.J. will also tell you he can commission his talented artist partner, Flick, to create a fish model for you. Just as with Flick's bug models, you'll need to bring three of the same fish to C.J. to make a model. The model will be shipped to you the following day in the mail, and you can place it around your island as decorative furniture or sell it at Nook's Cranny for three times the normal going rate of that particular fish.

Fishing Tourney

On top of his random visits, C.J. will host a Fishing Tourney periodically throughout the year. Like Flick's Bug-Off, the Fishing Tourney gives you three minutes to reel in as many fish as you can; the more fish you land, the more points you'll score, and you can redeem those points for special fish-themed furniture, clothing, and other exclusive items.

The Fishing Tourney takes place on the second Saturday of the following months. You can read more about how the event works and what prizes are up for grabs in our Fishing Tourney guide.

Fishing Tourney Schedule

• January
• April
• July
• October

Best Fish To Sell To C.J.

While C.J. will buy any fish for much higher than they normally cost, making even common ones like black bass generally worth keeping, you'll naturally make the most bells by selling him fish that are already worth a lot of money. Since you can't stack fish in your inventory like you can fruits and crafting materials, your pocket space will be fairly limited, so you may as well stock up on the fish that'll get you the most bells.

Below, you can see some of the most valuable fish you can sell to C.J. right now in both Northern and Southern Hemisphere islands. The prices have been adjusted from their original value to the 150% value that C.J. will pay you. You can also see the full list of fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons here.

Bells	Fish (Northern Hemisphere)	Bells	Fish (Southern Hemisphere)
15,000	Arapiama	7,500	Blowfish
15,000	Arowana	15,000	Blue Marlin
22,500	Barreleye	22,500	Coelacanth
15,000	Blue Marlin	13,500	Oarfish
22,500	Coelacanth	22,500	Stringfish
22,500	Dorado	10,500	Tuna
7,500	Gar
8,250	Giant Snakehead
22,500	Great White Shark
12,000	Hammerhead Shark
9,000	Mahi-mahi
15,000	Napoleonfish
18,000	Saw Shark
7,500	Snapping Turtle
19,500	Whale Shark