So yeah, every time I got a shiny fish, it was a pure chance encounter. In fact, when I got a shiny shroomer (do any of my fellow mages want an extra magic boost?), I ended up getting my pet killed by a Mushroom Bird that decided to hump me while I was trying to get the fish the first time around. I killed the bird, then caught the shroomer on the 2nd attempt. That's when I decided to try spawning a shiny by sitting around. You can see me in the attachment.
There are two givens. One is definitive while the other is guesswork. I know that shiny fish have a 1 in 550 chance of spawning. That's a little more common than a Cone Helmet drop from a Night Stalker IN CONTEXT. Now, here's the guesswork. From my many encounters with fish, these are the spawn rates I'm assuming.
Common Fish: 89% at any given point
Uncommon Fish: 10% at any given point
Rare Fish: 1% at any given point
Again, guesswork. So here I am, standing in the largest pond of the Pumpkin area. Good thing you can't drown in the game, or else I'd look like an idiot right now. This leads to three questions.
1. At what time interval would fish spawn in?
2. At what time interval would fish DESPAWN?
3. Would I have to fish out the entire pond if I want more fish to spawn in?
I hope you guys can take some time to answer these questions.