So chopped down the three bottom Palm/Coconuts so I can move freely and still go whole hog on beetle collection. Is that the extent of the beetle game, or am I being retarded? (Plus catching sharks, which I have yet to totally master)

Leave the palm trees on the island and cut down everything else, including the flowers. Highest value beetles spawn on the palm trees. The Mango/Banana tress spawn loads of fruit and horned dynastids which aren't worth anywhere near as much. Flowers spawn butterflies etc when that spawn could be used for a lovely 6-12k beetle.

Finally, walk slowly. Really slowly. Half speed normally and half sneak speed when you see a bug. The little buggers are twitchy as hell and will fly off even at normal sneak speed.

I keep at least one non-banana/coconut tree towards the bottom. Those can spawn rainbow stag and giant stag beetles, which are 10,000 bells a piece. Only golden stags and horned hercules are worth more. You'll also get a lot of crap, so just shoo those away without catching them. Differentiate between scarab and fruit beetles also, because the former are 6,000 bells while the latter are 100 bells.

I would have left one in the middle. Make sure the flowers are gone so you don't get butterflies, and dig up the bushes too. Cut down the palm trees at the bottom of your island too, that way you can make "Figure 8" movements through your island. Go down the middle, up the the sides. That way you can see the bugs before you even get close and won't have to worry about scaring them off.

Avoid goliath beetles (the big red ones) as they're worth 6,000 as opposed to all the others being 8,000 or higher. In the middle, only go for Giant Stags and Stags. Scarab beetles are harder to distinguish, and aren't worth as much so just skip them. Scare away all undesirable bugs by walking towards them (scare away wharf beetles with your net). Always stop and catch sharks. You should easily make 400,000+ bells per trip. I gotta warn you, though, it can become quite a grind once you start doing it every night. Lately I've only been able to do 1 island run before I start falling asleep playing.

Another tip, pick all of the white shells on your island, and sell them to the little girl. This will make it easier to identify the hermit crabs that spawn and need to be scared away (just get them moving and then ignore them, as they'll disappear within a few seconds anyway). Keep in mind that only 5 bugs will be on your island at any time, so make sure to always scare away the worthless ones.

GOOD HUNTING!

For sharks, I've started looking away from the screen and listening to the the specific sound that signals that I should hit the button, since I have a bad trigger finger when I can see the shark going for the lure.

If you're good at distinguishing shadows, you can also try going for blue marlins and Napoleonfish , which are 10,000 bells each.

I started burying shells near trees, basically acting as set marks, like "this is where you need to be to hit the tree right". Still seem to scare golden stags away pretty much any time other than when Im going up the island. And I wouldn't avoid goliaths, 6k is still significant and they spawn more often than the others, ultimately from a time/money standpoint, scaring them hoping a better thing will spawn is costing you a lot of time for a little more money. And I've got stumps everywhere because the beetle that spawns there is easier to scare away than a warf roach.

Well after doing this even just casually, I'm pulling down 200k a night easily. Still having trouble catching sharks on the regular, so any advice on that would be appreciated.

Also, make sure you have the Bell Boom Ordinance in effect. Increases the amount of bells you get from selling stuff by 20% (and also buying by 20%, unfortunately.)

I did the night owl ordinance originally so I could sell beetles past midnight.

Living with another Animal Crossing player makes the stalk market viable. I bought 900 at 95 and sold last night for 455. There's still a risk involved, but I've only once sold at a loss. So yeah, PRO TIP: try marrying another player to improve your odds.

I thought gaming spawn rates on the island was going to be like cheating, but I feel like I'm still putting the same time into hunting on the island and just selling my stuff for at least 2 or 3 times what I'd normally make. I tried keeping a lemon tree in the centre portion, but found that just slowed down the run. I was constantly chasing away fruit beetles. I'm happier having 4 coconut trees on the east side and 4 on the west. They're spread out nicely, so I'll never scare away one beetle for catching another.