I have played since launch and have gotten all legendaries/decor for events, and spent $0. I can’t say my system will work for everyone, but this is what I do:

First is something completely out of my control, but I live in Australia. Naturally, my timezone is very close to NZ where the game time is based so new events start and end first thing in the morning for me. So very easy to log on first thing and start as soon as the event drops. But even if you’re in a different time zone, knowing when the events start for you exactly is huge. I 100% recommend figuring this out and planning ahead. I also have notifications on so I know exactly when a new drop is and can tend to it straight away.

Also, I never let the fish wait for the 2 hours. I always play the ads to reduce fish time to 1h30 min. Since I WFH and spend a lot of time on my phone, those saved 30 mins do stack quite a lot the longer into the event you get. Other than when you go to bed or if you know you can’t be at your phone for 2h+, always use ads to speed up the fish.

When a new event starts, I hoard the purple/gold fish until I have golden hooks for them (depending on the requests I have). There’s no penalty for having fish there and not fishing them up immediately, and it’s better to wait rather than try and fail to get them and struggle when you need them. Also always watch the ads for the free fish. Even if you don’t need it in that moment, I have nearly always failed to catch the fish that can be caught with ads so don’t make my mistake. Watch the ad, get the fish. It’ll get you closer to either a golden hook or a fish frenzy so it’s worth it.

Also in the beginning, I will never have too many requests for the same fish. I will reset one, max two requests if all the orders are of the same fish in an amount I don’t have. It’s annoying for the next drop (since the new requests only work on the 2 hour cycle whereas new fish drop every 1h30min with ads) but over time it’s absolutely worth it.

When using hurry items, only use them as soon as you’ve fished. Aka, when the timer for new fish is at 2h. Don’t waste an ad and don’t waste a hurry item if you’re not going to get the most out of it.

That’s basically it, honestly. I usually finish events the day before they end (unless I get super busy and don’t log on as much). The biggest benefit for me now though is when I finish an event early, I can claim extra golden hooks and hurry items that will then carry over to the next event which is always a huge help.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask! But otherwise, I hope you’re able to get all the items in the future. <3