In New Horizons, the Fishing Tourney is hosted by C.J. and held on the second Saturday of January, April, July, and October in both hemispheres. While C.J. is present on the island, he will also buy any other fish that the player wants to sell. Unlike his regular random appearances, he does not offer crafted models of specific fish provided by the player during the Fishing Tourney. C.J accepts tournament entries between 9 AM and 6 PM, and remains at his tent to buy fish and redeem tourney points for prizes until 8 PM. The first tourney of the day is free, but the player can participate in more tourneys until the deadline by paying an entry fee of 500 Bells for each one.
During the Fishing Tournaments, the player's villagers will be seen fishing across town in fishing gear. Unlike New Leaf, they do not serve as competition and are not awarded trophies following the conclusion of the tournament.
Scoring
In a departure from previous tourneys, the players will have 3 minutes to catch as many fish as they can. Every fish is valued at one point and can be sold or retrieved from the cooler at the end of the timer. The player will receive 2 bonus points for catching more than 3 fish. For playing co-op, if 5 fish are caught between all players on the island there will be an additional 5 points awarded to every player, even if they did not catch any fish. If you are playing of a friend‘s island, you will receive twice as many points.
Points earned from tourneys can be redeemed for fishing swag with C.J., with each swag item costing 10 points. There are a total of 13 items to collect, and the player will receive a different one until all 13 have been rewarded, after which subsequent prizes will be random repeats. In addition, after achieving a net 100 points, C.J. will mail a bronze fishing tourney trophy to the player's home the next day, while 200 points awards a silver trophy and 300 points awards a gold trophy. C.J. will save any of the player's unspent points for future fishing tourney days.