Getting Started
- Learn Apprentice Fishing from any Fishing trainer (1s). There's no level requirement in Forever, and every starting zone and capital has a trainer. Guards will point the way.
- Buy a Fishing Pole (about 23c) and a few Shiny Baubles from a Fishing Supply or Trade Supply vendor. In capitals they stand next to the trainer.
- Put Fishing on your bar. It isn't in the spellbook; open the Professions window and drag Fishing to an action bar.
- Equip the pole and use the lure on it. A Shiny Bauble adds +25 for 10 minutes.
- Cast at a lake, pond or river in your starting zone. When the bobber splashes, right-click it.
- "Your fish got away!" means your skill is low for that water. Use a lure or move to easier water.
- Stay in your starting zone until about 75. Nothing gets away there from skill 25, or from skill 1 with a Shiny Bauble.
Good habits
- Undead starting in Tirisfal Glades mostly catch Sickly Looking Fish; guides suggest fishing in Durotar instead.
- Your catches level Cooking too. Cook as you go.
- Capital-city water needs more skill than starting zones; fish there escape until about 75.
Sources: WoW-Professions, how to fish · WoW-Professions, 1–300 · Forever Guides · Classic WoW Forever Beta
The 1–300 Roadmap
Train at is the skill (and level) at which the next rank becomes available. Cap is the highest skill that rank lets you reach. Train early so you never sit at a cap.
| Rank | Train at | Cap it unlocks | Where to learn | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | Skill 0, any level | 75 | Any Fishing trainer | |
| Journeyman | Skill 50, level 10 | 150 | Any Fishing trainer | |
| Expert | Skill 125, level 20 | 225 | Book from Old Man Heming, Booty Bay | |
| Artisan | Skill 225, level 35 | 300 | Quest from Nat Pagle, Dustwallow Marsh |
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1–75
Home waters
Any starting zone: Dun Morogh, Durotar, Elwynn Forest, Mulgore, Teldrassil, Tirisfal Glades or Zephras Isle. Fish from any lake, pond or river shore with a Shiny Bauble.
Train Journeyman at 50 (level 10) Cap 75 → 150
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75–150
Capital cities and nearby zones
A capital city is a safe spot with no monsters. Also listed: The Barrens, Darkshore, Loch Modan, Silverpine Forest and Westfall. Use Nightcrawlers (+50) if fish keep escaping.
Buy the Expert book at 125 (level 20) Cap 150 → 225
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150–225
Booty Bay, then Dustwallow or Stranglethorn
Buy Expert Fishing – The Bass and You (1g) and Bright Baubles from Old Man Heming in Booty Bay. Then fish Dustwallow Marsh (easier for Alliance; Nat Pagle is here) or the two islands south-east of Grom'gol in Stranglethorn Vale (easier for Horde). Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Desolace, Swamp of Sorrows and Thousand Needles also work.
Artisan quest at 225 (level 35) Conflict The 225 requirement isn't confirmed by every guide; see Nat Pagle. Cap 225 → 300
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225–300
Artisan waters
Tanaris around Steamwheedle Port is the common pick. Feralas, The Hinterlands, Un'Goro Crater, Felwood and Western Plaguelands also work. Keep Bright Baubles on. One guide suggests moving to Feralas or Winterspring around 275.
Cap 300
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300+
Endgame waters
The hardest listed zones (Winterspring, Silithus, Eastern Plaguelands) need 330 to catch anything and 425 before nothing escapes. That's above the 300 cap, so you need a pole, lure and gear bonus. See Tackle.
Sources: WoW-Professions, 1–300 · Method (3 Nov) · Classic WoW Forever · Forever Guides · WoW Forever Outpost Beta