Fishing Guide 1-450

Fishing Guide 1 450 WotLK 3.3.5a
  • Author: DanielD
  • Date: October 10, 2022
  • Updated: October 10, 2022
  • Expansion: WotLK Classic

Welcome to Warcraft Tavern’s Fishing guide! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover all the important facets of Fishing, from what gear to use to where to cast your line. We’ll also cover the benefits Fishing provides, how to do the various associated daily quests, and how the Fishing competitions work. Use the menu above to jump straight to the section you’re after, or read on to find basic info on fishing, details regarding trainers and leveling, and where to fish. This overview also contains info on fishing achievements and the fishing-exclusive mount and mini-pets.

Why Fish?

While many WoW players fish because they enjoy the RP aspect of taking a break from questing to sit by a lake and relax, there are plenty of aeshtetic and practical min-max reasons to pick up fishing as well:

  • It’s a secondary profession, so you don’t have to give up another profession to take it
  • Because fishing is so simple, it’s a relaxing way to generate gold and improve your character
  • Fishing provides the materials needed for buff foods like Dragonfin Filet and meta feasts like Fish Feast
  • Some mounts and mini-pets, like the Sea Turtle mount and the Giant Sewer Rat, are only accessible via fishing
  • The fishing tournaments can be fun, and offer valuable rewards like the Dread Pirate Ring
  • There are plenty of fishing-related achievements to earn, including Accomplished Angler which nets you the title “Salty”.

It’s also a very easy profession to get started with. All you need is a simple Fishing Pole, and you can fish anywhere there’s water (although you might not catch anything — see below for details).

Fishing Trainers

As with all professions, you’ll need to visit a trainer to pick up Fishing, and you’ll need to return to a trainer each time your fishing skill is capped. Note that there is a 25 skill level gap between the maximum skill of each rank and the minimum skill required to train the next rank. This means you don’t have to wait until you’ve capped your fishing skill to purchase the next rank!

Rank
Character Level
Required
Fishing Skill
Required
Maximum
Fishing Skill
Cost to
Train
Where to
Train
Apprentice
5
75
1silver
Any fishing trainer
Journeyman
10
50
150
5silver
Any fishing trainer
Expert
10
125
225
1gold
Any fishing trainer
Artisan
10
200
300
2gold50silver
Any fishing trainer
Master
10
275
375
10gold
Any fishing trainer in
Outland or Northrend
Grand Master
10
350
450
35gold
Any fishing trainer in
Northrend

As you can see, any fishing trainer can train you from Apprentice to Artisan, and any fishing trainer in Outland or Northrend can train you up to Master, but only Northrend Fishing Trainers can train you to Grand Master. The lists below are therefore organized by region. If the trainer you’re seeking is in a city, you can ask any guard to direct you to the Fishing Trainer.

Click a trainer’s name to see their exact location.

Eastern Kingdoms (Up to Artisan)

Kalimdor (Up to Artisan)

Northrend (Up to Grand Master)

In addition to the trainers listed above, Alliance players can also learn Fishing for free by completing the quest The Family and the Fishing Pole in Auberdine, Darkshore. After turning in the quest, speak with the quest giver Gubber Blump (36.1, 44.9) and he’ll teach you Fishing.

Click a trainer’s name to see their exact location.

Eastern Kingdoms (Up to Artisan)

Kalimdor (Up to Artisan)

Outland (Up to Master)

Northrend (Up to Grand Master)

Click a trainer’s name to see their exact location.

Eastern Kingdoms (Up to Artisan)

Outland (Up to Master)

  • Fishing, Shattrath City, Terokkar Forest (43.5, 91.3)
    • This is a unique one: There is a library in the Scryer’s Tier of Shattrath, and inside it, you can find a series of bookcases that act as trainers for the various professions, including Fishing. Of course, Aldor-aligned players will find it difficult to study in peace.
  • Juno Dufrain, Zangarmarsh (78.0, 66.1)

Northrend (Up to Grand Master)

How to Level Fishing

WotLK changed how fishing worked significantly, making it possible to level fishing anywhere. Previously, if you fished somewhere too difficult for your current Fishing skill level, you’d often get the “Your fish got away” message. In Wrath, you’ll now receive junk if you “fail” to catch a fish — however, this still counts as a successful catch, and still gives you progress towards leveling the skill. What this means in practical terms is that you can fish anywhere and level your Fishing skill.

That being said, it’s better to spend your time fishing somewhere that you’ll catch valuable fish, rather than fairly worthless junk. Depending on your skill level, there are optimal places to fish, where you can ensure you won’t catch junk. While sometimes you’ll want to fish in specific areas in order to catch specific fish[link to valuable fish and where to find them page], it’s also useful to know where you can fish effectively. Below you can find a list of zones organized by “no-junk” skill levels.

Find Fish

a school of fish
A school of fish

One of the most important skills for fishing efficiently is Find Fish. Like Find Herbs or Find Minerals, it will mark fishing nodes — which can be groups of specific called “schools” or wreckage pools — on your mini-map. But, unlike the other Find spells, you cannot learn Find Fish from a trainer. Instead, you have to find the Weather-Beaten Journal, a rare, BoP drop from wreckage pools. Note that the journal requires 100 Fishing to read (although you can fish it up at lower skill levels).

steam pump flotsam
A wreckage pool

While the Journal can be found in every junk container throughout Azeroth, your best bet for finding it is the Curious Crate, which is fished from schools and pools throughout Outland. The Crate can be fished from open water, but it has the highest chance of dropping directly from all schools of TBC fish. The second-best way to farm the Journal is to look for Mithril Bound Trunks. While the journal has a higher overall chance of dropping from the Mithril Crate, the types of pools that it can be found in are limited to Azshara, Feralas, Stranglethorn Vale, and Tanaris.

Where to Fish at Different Skill Levels

The following lists are where you can catch 100% fish, no junk, when at or above the skill level indicated. Since 450 is the max base fishing skill a character can have, you’ll need to use gear and/or lures to guarantee non-junk catches in the zones that require 475+ skill.

Racial Starting Zones (outside of cities)

  • Azuremyst Isle
  • Dun Morogh
  • Durotar
  • Elwynn Forest
  • Eversong Woods
  • Mulgore
  • Teldrassil
  • Tirisfal Glades

Zones

  • The Barrens
  • Bloodmyst Isle
  • Darkshore
  • Ghostlands
  • Loch Modan
  • Silverpine Forest
  • Westfall

Dungeons

  • Blackfathom Deeps, Ashenvale
  • The Deadmines, Westfall
  • The Wailing Caverns, The Barrens

Capital Cities

  • Darnassus
  • Ironforge
  • Orgrimmar
  • Stormwind City
  • Thunder Bluff
  • Undercity

Zones

  • Ashenvale
  • Duskwood
  • Hillsbrad Foothills
  • Redridge Mountains
  • Stonetalon Mountains
  • Wetlands

Zones

  • Alterac Mountains
  • Arathi Highlands
  • Desolace
  • Dustwallow Marsh
  • Stranglethorn Vale
  • Swamp of Sorrows
  • Thousand Needles

Dungeons

  • Scarlet Monastery

Zones

  • Azshara (outer coastline, Lake Mennar)
  • Felwood
  • Feralas
  • Hinterlands
  • Moonglade
  • Stranglethorn Vale (Jaguero Isle only)
  • Tanaris
  • Un’Goro Crater
  • Western Plaguelands

Dungeons

  • Maraudon, Desolace
  • The Temple of Atal’Hakkar

Zones

  • Hellfire Peninsula

Zones

  • Zangarmarsh (east of Serpent Lake, The Lagoon)

Zones

  • Azshara (Bay of Storms, Hetaera’s Clutch, Scalebeard’s Cave only)

Zones

  • Isle of Quel’Danas
  • Zangarmarsh (Serpent Lake and west of the lake)
  • Terokkar Forest (rivers)

Zones

  • Borean Tundra
  • Dragonblight
  • Grizzly Hills
  • Howling Fjord
  • Nagrand (east of Halaa)

Zones

  • Nagrand (Lake Sunspring and Skysong Lake)

Zones

  • Terokkar Forest (Silmyr Lake, Blackwind Lake, Lake Ero’Noru and Lake Jorune)
  • Crystalsong Forest

Zones

  • Sholazar Basin
  • Wintergrasp

Capital Cities

  • Dalaran

Zones

  • The Frozen Sea (southern coast of Northrend)

Data sourced from the impressive research of El’s Anglin Fishing Guide and the WoW Fandom Wiki.


We hope this overview of Fishing in WotLK was helpful! Please drop us a line in the comments if you have questions, suggestions, or corrections. We’ve got a lot more fishing info for you as well — check out the other fishing-related guides by using the menu at the top of the guide.

 

About the Author

DanielD

An avid reader of sci-fi, fantasy, and history. Believes disagreement should mean discourse, not flame wars. Still searching for that next game that grabs him the way (those mimics in) Dark Souls did.
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Wasif AKbar
Wasif AKbar
3 years ago

What is “school” which is mentioned again and again in the Guide?

Last edited by Wasif AKbar
Malphaz
Malphaz
Reply to  Wasif AKbar
3 years ago

It’s a circle where certain fish can be caught. Located on the water surfaces. Re-spawns after certain period of time.

I’m sure you’ve seen several ones if you ever tried Fishing in almost any area.

Last edited by Malphaz
BrazilianNoob
BrazilianNoob
8 months ago

i cant beleave, i take “eather-Beaten Journal ” right now , omg. Just start fishing, level 50.

dindegra
dindegra
3 years ago

minimum fishing zone is in capital.. for example for horde in orgimar, undercity, silvermooncity.. etc.. mulgore is best for starting.. 😉

Last edited by dindegra
Baited
Baited
Reply to  dindegra
1 year ago

What is fish?

Creeprh
Creeprh
Reply to  Baited
1 year ago

What is World of Warcraft?

PeaceDuke
PeaceDuke
Reply to  Creeprh
1 year ago

What is craft?

redwitch
redwitch
Reply to  Baited
1 year ago

how much is the fish?

effinjay
effinjay
Reply to  redwitch
1 year ago

Does the fish have chips?

Passion
Passion(@passion)
Editor
Reply to  effinjay
1 year ago

Vinegar on mine please

BrazilianNoob
BrazilianNoob
Reply to  Baited
8 months ago

what is love?
baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurte me, no more.
What is love?

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