by Donna Fallesen

Created on: November 18, 2008

Fishing in World of Warcraft is just like fishing in the real world. You are required to have patience and an ability to sit still. The end result is ever so rewarding, which it makes it worth the while, but I suggest while you struggle along turning up your volume to hear the bobber splash and take out a good book to read or some way to entertain yourself.

When you are fishing in WoW it is not rare to come across fishing pools. Fishing pools appear in the water as a white ring with a large gathering of fish in the center. When moused over you are given the name of the school, whether they are Oily Blackmouths or Firefin Snappers. Whatever it is called, the fishing school is a sure catch of a fish of that name.

Just like these fishing schools there are other pools to fish in along the coast, and they too vary in name and catch, but they are not fish. When you are successful in fishing in one you will find a trunk/chest/box in your inventory that you can open and gather the loot from. Loot ranges from linen cloth to netherweave and plenty of potions and herbs. A tip I learned from a friend back in the day was to turn off your auto loot in options if you are going to open your boxes, because if you happen upon a book inside one of the trunks, you can sell it for a cool two thousand gold! That is enough to make any new fisher to go off on a fishing rampage, but obtaining the fishing manual (which allows you to track fish schools on your minimap just as you would do with herbalism and minerals) is not as easy as it sounds. It is actually a rare drop from the chests, and the first one you gather you will most likely want to keep for yourself because it makes your fishing life loads easier.

Now, when you are searching for trunk fishing opportunities, make sure to run along the water and keep an eye out for floating wood or boxes. It will be obvious on sight that you have found a trunk pool instead of a fishing school. When moused over they should read something along the lines of Mithril Bound, Iron Bound, or Tightly sealed. A few other crate names you might encounter are Curious Crate, Reinforced Crate, Heavy Supply Crate, and even an Inscribed Scroll Case which holds scrolls with buffs on them ranging from stamina to intellect and a whole array of nice leveling stat increases.

While traveling from fishing node to fishing node it helps to have your mount, but the only real important thing is to remember to fish up all the schools you see to break up the spawn timers and give you something to do. It will keep you busy and any fish you gather you can sell on the auction to alchemists and cooks.

Learn more about this author, Donna Fallesen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.