Fishing

Fishing

Fishing allows you to cast your line into any body of water deep enough. You can catch fish, of course, but you may also catch other marine life, junk, or treasure. Fish have many uses, and can be used to supplement a multitude of different Professions, but they are mainly used for food.

The types of fish available from a body of water are not determined by your Fishing skill. Instead, the types of fish are determined by the area. However, if your skill isn’t considered high enough for the area, you only catch random trash items. There are also schools of fish in the waters around the world. These schools enable you to catch specific fish, if your casting is accurate. When you gain the ability to track fish, these schools of fish appear on your minimap making it easy to find them.

PRACTICING FISHING

You no longer need to purchase a Fishing Pole to begin Fishing; you automatically have a basic one when you learn the Fishing skill. Open your Professions tab to find the Fishing icon, and place it on one of your Action Bars for ease of access. Click on Fishing and your character will cast a line. A bobber appears on the water’s surface; move your mouse cursor over the bobber until it turns into the fishhook icon. Keep a close eye on your bobber until it moves, and then quickly right-click the bobber. If successful, you receive a loot window that includes a fish or another item of some value.

Although you don’t need a Fishing Pole to begin fishing, there are many unique Fishing Poles in the game that provide useful buffs to your Fishing skill, or even offer other buffs, like underwater breathing. You can also use a variety of baits, lures, and enchanted fishing lines to improve your odds of catching a fish.

DRAENOR FISHING

Fishing on Draenor is a little different than fishing on Azeroth. Draenor’s fish come in several different sizes. The higher your Fishing skill, the larger the fish you can catch. When you catch a fish, you’ll need to fillet it in order to use it for Cooking—to do so, simply right-click the fish. Along with providing materials for Cooking, Draenor fish are used in a variety of different crafting recipes. Your Garrison’s Fishing Shack will allow you to catch Draenor fish from the comfort of your Garrison, without having to travel around the world. When you unlock and build the level 3 version of the Fishing Shack, you’ll be able to go talk to Nat Pagle and persuade him to come to your Garrison and stay as a follower. He can then be assigned to the Fishing Shack, and he has all kinds of fun and valuable items and rewards that can be unlocked if you’re a dedicated fisherman.

MORE FUN WITH FISHING

There are daily quests available only to characters with Fishing. Visit your faction’s capital, Shattrath City in Outland, and Dalaran in Northrend to obtain these quests. There are Achievements tied to these daily quests as well as unique pets that can’t be obtained in any other way.

There are also weekly fishing contests on two continents. The goblins of Booty Bay host one event, and the Kalu’ak of Northrend host another in the city of Dalaran. There are some great rewards for the players who manage to win these contests.