by Erae Nelsen

Created on: November 18, 2008

My first profits in Warcraft were made with a fishing pole in hand. In addition to the various schools of fish that alchemists need for their oil and twinks need for their vanity, there are also "schools" of junk. Depending on your fishing skill you'll be able to stop at these schools and bring a lot of Auction House worthy items to your packs in a short amount of time.

FISHING BASICS: A great place to learn everything there is to know about fishing, including the basics, is http://www.elsanglin.com/ (El's Extreme Anglin'). Even if you're not a roleplayer you can appreciate this quirky and informative take on warcraft fishing. This site will also be a handy reference for pool locations and fishing skill requirements.

TIPS:

-Empty your packs before you head out. You're going to fill them up fast with fish and trunk loot.

-Go into your interface options and turn off autoloot. Chests themselves are not soulbound but sometimes the items inside are. If you want to have a chance at selling rare recipes or items then don't autoloot. You can advertise your finds in the trade channel later and make yourself a hefty profit off of lucky finds like rare blacksmithing plans, or the book that teaches you how to find fish on your mini map.

-Get ready to fight for nodes. Other players will try for them too (if they have the skill) and there is nothing you can do about it if they're not the opposite faction. Fish fast and concentrate on these casts. If you work quickly you can outfish them.

-Plus fishing gear, make sure to stock up before heading off! In addition to actual gear like hats, boots, gloves, and pole... Aquadynamic fish attracters give you a plus one hundred skill to fishing, shiny baubles give you plus seventy five. These are priceless if you're in an area that is slightly too high for you and the fish keep getting away. If you're doing things right you won't get that message anymore. The rule for this generally is make sure you're at least fifty skill points higher than your area.

WHERE:These trunks can be found along any coastline and in some ponds/lakes but I find the most profitable area to fish trunks is in Feralas, near the boat that leads to Feathermoon Stronghold. If you're in this area you should have a mount (you can get them at 30 nowadays!) and that will make the run up and down the coastline much less painful, though you may have to fight some elementals and giants. Make sure to get the zapper quest offered nearby to make your life versus the giants much more bearable.

TYPES OF LOOT:From these trunks you can get all kinds of cloth bolts- keep in mind that cloth bolts sell for more than actual cloth and the mageweave bolts are going to net you a lot of gold. In addition to bolts you'll get green items, blue items and a lot of leather. Be prepared to fish up potions as well. Trunks are like treasure chests that come in a herd.

I've found all manner of green items inside the trunks, I even found a blue sword once. I wouldn't be surprised if someone had found an elusive purple. And don't forget the joy of the fish finding book. Something to note- if you take that book out and learn the art of fish finding then you won't be able to see the book anymore. There are rumors that you can send your unopened trunks to an alt that doesn't have the book and see it that way. I have never been sucessful at this myself, but I've tried. If you open the trunk that book is in but don't loot it you can sell it to another player or give it to an alt. It is also worth noting that being able to see the school nodes on your mini map is a huge help in maximizing your profit.

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