The elusive Rainbow Trout is a type of fish that can be found in the rivers throughout Pelican Town and Cindersap Forest and in the large lake near the mountain north of town. This large, colorful fish has a diverse range of uses but is somewhat rare and difficult to catch.
How To Catch Rainbow Trout
The Rainbow Trout can only be caught during the summer and only on sunny days. You’ll be able to catch it anytime between 6 AM and 7 PM in any of Pelican Town’s rivers or, alternatively, the mountain lake near the mine.
Although it can be a tricky catch, the Rainbow Trout yields between 18 and 30 fishing XP depending on the quality (base, silver, gold, and iridium). Its size ranges between 10 and 26 inches.
It is a good idea to use either the Iridium Rod with either a Cork Bobber or Trap Bobber attached to it to make the Rainbow Trout easier to catch.
Rainbow Trout Uses
Next, we’ll explore the many ways you can use the Rainbow Trout, from recipes to quests to tailoring unique clothing.
Gifting
The Rainbow Trout has many uses; to start with, it can be gifted to villagers, though this isn’t recommended as it isn’t liked or loved by any of them.
Every villager either dislikes or hates the fish, with the only exceptions being Demetrius, Elliot, Linus, Pam, Sebastian, Willy, and later, Leo, who all are merely neutral towards it. Notably, Evelyn, Pierre, and Haley all hate it.
Cooking
In addition to gifting, the Rainbow Trout can also be used in four different recipes, only one of which actually requires the trout specifically (the other recipes merely require any type of fish).
The only recipe it is needed for is Trout Soup, a recipe you can access by watching The Queen of Sauce on your television in your home on the 14th day of Fall in Year 1. Trout Soup can be cooked by combining one Rainbow Trout with one Green Algae once you upgrade your farmhouse to have a kitchen.
The other three recipes it (or any other fish) can be used in are the Maki Roll, Quality Fertilizer, and Sashimi, which all call for a single fish of any type.
Selling
Rainbow Trout sells for a base price of 65 gold at standard quality. Silver Quality Rainbow Trout sells for 81 gold, Gold Quality sells for 97 gold, and Iridium Quality sells for 130 gold.
The Fisher and Angler professions will also boost the sale price of Rainbow Trout (and all other fish) by 25% and 50% respectively.
Tailoring
After unlocking the sewing machine in Emily and Haley’s house, you can use the Rainbow Trout in the machine’s spool to make a Fish Shirt, which can be dyed.
Additionally, the Trout Soup can be used with the spool to create the undyeable Ranger Uniform.
Fish Pond
You can also put the Rainbow Trout in a Fish Pond, where they will reproduce every two days. They will primarily produce Roe, but they can also yield Rainbow Shells and, rarely, Prismatic Shards once the population in the pond reaches 9 or higher.
To start with, the Fish Pond can only hold three fish, but there are three quests that can be completed to increase its maximum capacity to 10 total fish.
Quests
The Rainbow Trout is also used in three possible quests that show up either on the “Help Wanted” or “Special Orders” boards.
Every summer, a single Rainbow Trout can be requested by one of the villagers on the Help Wanted board, with a reward of 195 gold and 150 friendship points with the corresponding villager.
Additionally, during the summer, either Willy or Demetrius can randomly request between one and four of the fish on the Help Wanted board. The reward is 65 gold per fish, and you’ll get to keep them after the quest.
After unlocking the Special Orders board in front of Lewis’ house, Demetrius can randomly ask for 10 Rainbow Trout during the summer. The reward for completing his request is 1,500 gold, and you get to keep the fish after the quest.
Fish Tanks
Finally, you can also put the Rainbow Trout in a Fish Tank to display in your home. Fish Tanks come in various sizes and styles and can be bought either from Willy’s shop or accessed in the Furniture Catalogue.
You can even decorate the tank with items like Stones, Coral, Seaweed, and other, smaller aquatic creatures like Snails and Clams.
