Forget April showers bringing May flowers, it’s a specific species of fish we’re after this month.

The lesser-known cousins of goldfish, Poisson d’Avril are just as easy to catch, making even novice anglers look good in their Instagram photos and TikTok videos – or for older individuals, Facebook.

Known to be gullible and easily fooled by tempting lures at the beginning of the month, Poisson d’Avril are attracted to bizarre bait: they adore hot Italian sausage and French pastries.

If you wrap the sausage in the pastry – kind of like a leveled-up pigs in a blanket – you’ll surely catch one of these amazing fish.

However, it may not even take that much work – we mentioned they are quite naïve, didn’t we?

There are even an elite few who can catch a Poisson d’Avril just by using a distinct tone and shouting “hey, Poisson! Jump into my boat!” and sure enough, a few will hop right in.

Unfortunately, that distinct tone is only known to a handful of people throughout the world, and they are wary with whom they share the information.

Tricky Timing

The thing is, you can only catch the Poisson d’Avril on the 1^st of its namesake month, so you better get that rod, reel and hook sorted out today. And make sure to have plenty of sausage and pastries on hand.

One more tip: don’t be fooled by their costumes either as some of these silly fish are known to wear fake shark fins to throw off humans.

In some areas of the world, like Poland, Scotland and Ireland, the Pesce d’Aprile (the Italian name) are only to be nabbed before noon on April 1^st. But, there is no real time frame in terms of when to begin fishing – like a day early isn’t necessarily out of bounds.

If you do manage to catch one, it’s impolite to keep stringing them along, so do the right thing and free them into the world from which they came.

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