A lot of MMORPGs have a fishing minigame, and World of Warcraft: Classic has a profession, contests, and gear dedicated to the activity. The flagship of the MMO world has taken the concept up a notch with two weekly events in which the best fisherfolk in Azeroth can compete for fun and prizes.
World of Warcraft: Classic has two different fishing contests that players can enjoy, and they only take place on weekends. Players that are bored on a lazy Sunday afternoon can travel to a tropical beach and test their fishing mettle against other players in the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. Those that are level 68 or later and have been trained at least in Fishing Mastery have access to the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby in the chilly reaches of Northrend.
In World of Warcraft: Classic, both contests will show up in the player's calendar, but that's not the case in retail. The Northrend fishing derby doesn't exist in WoW: Dragonflight and the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza is now a World Quest, so timing is no longer relevant.
The Fishing Set
Not every activity connected with Fishing needs a maxed-out level, but for the best chance of winning the contests, this is essential. Some of the items listed are only available to higher-level players, including some of the best fishing poles and lures.
The Find Fish ability allows the player to see schools of fish on their minimap in the same way they see resources. This isn't learning from a trainer but from a book that drops randomly from various nodes throughout Azeroth and Outland. It's not a requirement to win, but it's helpful, especially with the Stranglethorn Fishing Contest.
The Salty title is one of the toughest Achievements to get in World of Warcraft, and winning at least one of these contests is a requirement for winning it.
Fishing Poles
Every gear set starts with a fishing pole. Most players build a whole gear set to stack their buffs and give them an even higher Fishing skill than the normal max level. This helps give players an edge in either fishing contest. There's also an enchant that puts an extra +3 on any fishing pole.
|
Name |
Description |
|
Arcanite Fishing Pole |
One of the prizes for the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza and stat-wise, it's the best pole in the game with a +40 to Fishing. |
|
Big Iron Fishing Pole |
A common quality item, this is one of the best available from a vendor and gives an +10 Fishing buff. |
|
Bone Fishing Pole |
A random reward for completing the Northrend fishing quests, it gives a +30 to Fishing and has a neat skull face on the spool. |
|
Jeweled Fishing Pole |
It really is bejeweled and covered in solid gold, a random reward for the Marcia Chase fishing quests that gives a +30. |
|
Mastercraft Kalu'ak Fishing Pole |
The only Epic-level fishing pole in the game is available from the Kalu'ak Quartermaster once the character is Exlated with their faction. It gives a +30 to Fishing and allows the character to breathe underwater. |
|
Nat Pagle's Extreme Angler FC-5000 |
A reward for a quest in Zangarmarsh in the Outlands: Snapjaws, Mon! For Horde and Snapjaws, Lad! For Alliance. Adds a +10 to the Fishing skill. |
|
Seth's Graphite Fishing Pole |
The quest that unlocks Outlands Fishing also rewards a decent fishing rod that adds +10. |
Consumable Lures
Some lures are attached to pieces of gear that are reusable as long as the item is equipped, but these are the types of lures that are kept in the player's inventory and can run out. There's a variety of ways to get them, some of which depend on skill or character level.
|
Item |
Fishing Buff |
How To Acquire |
|
Aquadynamic Fish Attractor |
+100 for 10 minutes. |
They can be purchased from vendors or crafted by Engineers. |
|
Glow Worm |
+100 for 1 hour. |
A random award for the Dalaran Fishing quests. |
|
Nightcrawlers |
+50 for 10 minutes. |
Drops from undead enemies or purchased from vendors. |
|
Sharpened Fish Hook |
+50 for 30 minutes. |
A reward from the Outland fishing quests. |
|
Shiny Bauble |
+20 for 10 minutes. |
Available from Fishing supply vendors. |
Clothing And Accessories
There's a much wider variety of options available in retail WoW when it comes to Fishing clothes. In Classic, choices for gear are limited to hats and boots.
There aren't any Fishing gloves in WotLK, but there is the Angler Enchant, which gives a +5 to the Fishing skill, and the Fishing Enchant, which gives a +2.
- Boots of the Bay. One of the rewards for winning the Stranglethron Fishing Contest, not only grants a +10 to Fishing but can also be used to hearth back to Booty Bay.
- Lucky Fishing Hat. The reward for catching the Keefer's Anglefish in the Stranglethorn Fishing contest.
- Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots. The reward for catching the Brownell's Blue Striped Racer in the Stranglethorn Fishing contest.
- Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat. A random reward for the Outland and Northrend fishing dailies.
Beverages
Considering the number of buff foods in WoW: Classic and how important they are, very few offer buffs to the Fishing skill.
- Captain Rumsey Rum's Lager. Crafted by high-level cooks, this gets the character tipsy but also adds +10 to Fishing for 10 minutes.
- Elixir Of Water Walking. Crafted by Alchemists and a reward for any of the daily Fishing quests, it's handy for both contests but essential for the STV contest.
- Underbelly Elixir. Found in the Dalaran sewers, and it has several random effects, one of which is +50 to the fishing skill.
The Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Extravaganza
This contest takes place along the coastal waters of Straglethron Vale every Sunday. It normally takes 12 to 15 minutes for a player to win by collecting a total of 40 Tastyfish and bringing them to Riggle Bassbait. He's located in Booty Bay, standing on a crate near the main floor entrance to the tavern between Jang the Fishing Apprentice and the Fishbot 5000.
Stranglethorn Vale is a common zone for open-world PvP, which makes this contest even more difficult to win on a PvP server or for lower-level players.
- The event starts at 2 pm server time, so local time might vary. A five-minute warning in red will appear in General Chat.
- The beginning of the contest is announced in General Chat for Stranglethorn Vale.
- Arrive early enough to set the Hearthstone to Booty Bay and choose a place along the coast that's fairly isolated.
- Schools of Tastyfish only appear in coastal waters, but not along the shores of Booty Bay.
- The fewer players to share nodes with, the better.
- Nodes respawn fairly quickly, so it's possible to cover the same ground in a rotation.
- Schools of Tastyfish will continue to appear until 4 pm and might contain a rare fish.
- Bring the Keefer's Angelfish, Brownell's Blue Striped Racer, or Dezian Queenfish to the Fishbot 5000 for a prize before 4 pm.
The Kalu'ak Fishing Derby
There are fewer competitors in this contest because it's only open to players high enough level to access Northrend and they have a whole continent to share. However, many of these frozen zones don't have any open water and there's no place to drop a line.
Unlike the Stranglethorn contest, the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby is only available to players that can access the icy continent of Northrend, which means level 68 and up. Instead of a quota of fish, characters are searching for a special kind of beast called a Blacktip Shark. Even after the first one has been brought to Elder Clearwater, other players that manage to get one can also turn it in for a prize.
There's no such thing as a school of pygmy suckerfish, but they appear randomly in schools of fish all over the continent of Northrend. That means there's a chance to find a Blacktip Shark anywhere these fish are found, which is virtually any node in Northrend. Fresh or salt water doesn't matter but they are more common in rivers and lakes.
- Elder Clearwater appears in front of the Dalaran Fountain on Saturday, and the quest starts at 2 pm server time.
- Set the Hearthstone to Dalaran. Those that have the gold to buy a Kirin Tor ring from Cartier & Co. Fine Jewelry in Dalaran have a separate way to return to Northrend's biggest city.
- Players don't have to speak to Elder Clearwater before the contest starts. He's only there for the turn-in, like Riggle in Booty Bay.
- It's better not to share fishing nodes, especially with players from opposing factions, which can turn into a time-wasting fight.
- The best, but also most crowded zones, include Shalozar Basin, Borean Tundra, Howling Fjord, and Grizzly Hills.
- The coastal and a few lake waters of Dragonblight also produce pygmy suckerfish.
- Don't hesitate to return to Dalaran if the shark appears. It's not just the first player to catch one, it's also a requirement to be the first to return it to the Elder.
World of Warcraft is available now for PC.