Fishing

Fishing is a secondary profession for catching fish, and now and then something stranger, from the waters of Azeroth. Fishers cast a line, wait for the bobber to splash and click it to land the catch. The fish feed Cooking, a few oily ones feed Alchemy, and the profession has its own famous characters and its own weekly contest.

How it works

To fish, a character equips a fishing pole and uses the Fishing skill while facing water deep enough to cast into. A bobber lands in the water and the character waits; when the bobber dips with a splash and a sound, the player has a moment to click it. A click in time lands the catch, a late one loses it.

Each zone's waters need a minimum skill. Fishing below it lands fish only part of the time, and the rest of the casts end with a message that the fish got away. Fishing poles add to the skill, from the plain [Fishing Pole] through the [Strong Fishing Pole] and [Big Iron Fishing Pole] up to the [Arcanite Fishing Pole]. Lures add more for ten minutes: a [Shiny Bauble] gives 25, [Nightcrawlers] 50, [Bright Baubles] 75 and the engineer-made [Aquadynamic Fish Attractor] 100.

What comes up depends on where and when. Freshwater and coastal waters have different catches, some fish bite only by day or by night, such as [Raw Sunscale Salmon] and [Raw Nightfin Snapper], and some only in one season, such as [Winter Squid] in winter and [Raw Summer Bass] in summer. Schools of fish, floating wreckage and oily patches give the best catches in a zone, and every so often a cast turns up a locked chest or a bottle with a message in it.

Trainers and skill ranks

Fishing trainers stand near the water in every capital: Arnold Leland in Stormwind City, Grimnur Stonebrand in Ironforge, Lumak in Orgrimmar and Kah Mistrunner in Thunder Bluff, among others. The Expert book is sold by only one person, Old Man Heming on the docks of Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale.

Artisan Fishing comes from Nat Pagle, who fishes from a little island off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh. With 225 skill, a player can take Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme, which asks for four rare fish from four distant shores: [Feralas Ahi] from Feralas, [Sar'theris Striker] from Desolace, [Savage Coast Blue Sailfin] from the coast of Stranglethorn and [Misty Reed Mahi Mahi] from the Swamp of Sorrows. Nat then teaches Artisan Fishing. Some of the shores are dangerous, and the quest is a tour of the high-level coasts of both continents.

Leveling route

Fishing levels by catching fish: early on almost every catch gives a point, and later it takes several. A fisher moves to harder waters as the skill rises:

• 1-75: any starting zone lake or river, catching [Raw Brilliant Smallfish] and [Raw Longjaw Mud Snapper].
• 75-150: waters in Westfall, Darkshore, Loch Modan, The Barrens and Silverpine Forest.
• 150-225: the coasts and rivers of Stranglethorn Vale, Arathi Highlands and Desolace, after buying the Expert book.
• 225-300: Tanaris, Feralas, the Swamp of Sorrows, and finally the high-level waters of Azshara, Un'Goro Crater and the Eastern Plaguelands.

Fishing is slow compared with other professions, so most players leveled it in pieces, between quests or while waiting for a group.

Valuable catches

Several catches matter beyond the cooking pot:

• [Oily Blackmouth] makes [Blackmouth Oil], and [Firefin Snapper] makes [Fire Oil]. Both oils are alchemy reagents.
• [Stonescale Eel] is pressed into [Stonescale Oil] for alchemists' high-level armor potions.
• [Deviate Fish] from the oases of The Barrens is the base of [Savory Deviate Delight].
• [Raw Nightfin Snapper] became [Nightfin Soup], the mana food healers wanted, and [Raw Glossy Mightfish] became [Cooked Glossy Mightfish].

Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza

Every Sunday afternoon in Classic, Riggle Bassbait in Booty Bay held the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. For two hours, schools of [Speckled Tastyfish] appeared along the Stranglethorn coast, and the first player to bring Riggle 40 of them won Master Angler, with a choice of the [Arcanite Fishing Pole] or the [Hook of the Master Angler]. Everyone else could hand five to Jang for a smaller prize. With only one winner per server per week, the contest brought crowds of fishers to the coast and plenty of world PvP from those who came to stop them.

Pairing with other professions

Fishing and Cooking are the classic pair: most raid food in Classic is made from fish, and a fisher who cooks can supply a whole guild. Since Fishing is a secondary profession, it costs neither primary slot. Many players also fished for alchemists, who need the oils, and for money, since good fish and oils always sold.

Sources

• Fishing on Warcraft Wiki
• Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme on Warcraft Wiki
• Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza on Warcraft Wiki