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In most Harvest Moon games, the Fishing Rod is a tool that eludes many players as it often is a gift that can be obtained only at a specific time and place from a specific Character. There are exceptions, of course, as in Sunshine Islands, where you simply purchase it like any other Tool.
In Grand Bazaar, if you fail to read the little booklet that accompanies the game (or if your advance test version did not have a booklet!), you may spend some of the first Spring season searching for a Fishing Rod fruitlessly, showering the Characters who speak most often of Fishing with gifts in order to attempt to persuade them to give you one of your own...
In fact, Felix will give you a Fishing Rod on 1 Summer when you first leave your House. You do need to exit by the front door, evidently, if you wish to experience the Event. Your life then will change radically as it always does in Harvest Moon when the fishing option is unlocked.
In many Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games, Fireflies are a common sight on Summer evenings when their tiny golden lamps wink in and out of the landscape. There are players, including me, who followed the tiny golden lights fruitlessly in Island of Happiness before we discovered that they were fireflies and simply a natural part of the landscape rather than a clue to a secret.
In Grand Bazaar, fireflies will appear on the first evening in Summer and you can catch them with your bare hands! In fact, there are many different varieties (and colours) of Fireflies... This is only one more small detail in a game that all Harvest Moon fans should find delightful and absorbing.
Incidentally, to catch any Firefly, make certain first that your Character is walking and not running, then stand still in front of the location where the Firefly appeared. Its light will wink in and out. When you see the light, press the B button to catch it.
I personally have had trouble catching the flying insects that appear on tree trunks in Summer. After cursing and swearing a little, I discovered that standing still first and then leaping into the air to catch the insect as it began to fly away was possible, but difficult. Thanks to Julia as well for posting her findings.
There is a detailed post about Catching all types of Insects on my Grand Bazaar site, incidentally, as well as descriptions of the location where each Insect is found, both during the day and at night.
For Butterflies and Dragonflies, there are two different methods. You either can go to a spot where the insect is not actually flying from one spot to another but simply 'treading air' for a moment. Make certain that the insect is close enough to the ground to catch and simply catch it. The other method is by leaping into the air. You actually can execute a double leap to catch a Butterfly or other flying insect that is fairly high above the ground. It requires some practice to be successful.
There is a section in my Walkthrough/General Guide that lists insects by location and season. In many cases, you can return to a specific location again and again in the course of a single day to catch the same type of insect more than once. For the most part, the Insects that you find in the first couple of seasons are not worth much money but in the first Spring, 10G - 40G does accumulate. Once you have a Fishing Rod, income from Insects becomes less important but you still can aim for 100% completion and a competitive rank in Multiplayer Mode. In Autumn, there are Dragonflies that are worth almost 300G, more than some Fish! Although Insects will not appear in Multiplayer Mode, Kevin will tell you the totals of each Player.
Another new Trivia addition to my Walkthrough/General Guide as well as my Grand Bazaar site is Dialogue from the Bazaar. I have logged as many Customer Dialogues as possible with the Correct Response as well as any monetary results. I will try to add the results for incorrect responses as well when time permits.
