WoW Forever Fishing Guide 1-300
Fishing is the slowest secondary profession to level in WoW Forever: every point is a cast, and from 150 on you need better water to keep the skill climbing. It pays back on the way, though. The fish feed your Cooking, open-water casts bring up trunks with cloth and potions, and at 225 Nat Pagle gives Artisan Fishing for four special catches.
This guide takes you from 1 to 300 with one route for Horde and one for Alliance: where to fish at each skill, when to buy the Expert book in Booty Bay, how to finish the Nat Pagle quest and where to end in Feralas. What to cook from your catch is in our Cooking guide.
Fishing at a Glance
Fishing has four ranks. Two come from a trainer, Expert is a book and Artisan is a quest. The water you fish in has to match your skill, otherwise fish get away and the skill stops rising.
| Rank | Skill range | How to learn it | Where to fish on this route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | 1–75 | Any Fishing trainer | Mulgore or Elwynn Forest |
| Journeyman | 75–150 | Fishing trainer, skill 50 and character level 10 | Thunder Bluff or Stormwind, then Stonetalon or Ashenvale |
| Expert | 150–225 | Book Expert Fishing - The Bass and You from Old Man Heming in Booty Bay, skill 125 and level 20 | Stonetalon Mountains or Mystral Lake, then Dustwallow Marsh |
| Artisan | 225–300 | Quest Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme, skill 225 and level 35 | Dustwallow Marsh, then Feralas |
What to Buy Before You Start
- A Fishing Pole from Tharynn Bouden in Goldshire or Harn Longcast in Bloodhoof Village. The Strong Fishing Pole needs character level 5 and Fishing 10; Horde buy it from Harn, Alliance from Catherine Leland in Stormwind.
- A stack of Shiny Bauble from the same vendors. A lure adds fishing skill for 10 minutes, so fewer fish get away.
- One or two Aquadynamic Fish Attractor if the vendor has them. Keep them for the higher zones.
Fishing 1–75
Learn Fishing in your starting area and fish the nearest lake until 75. You will catch mostly Raw Brilliant Smallfish and some Raw Longjaw Mud Snapper: keep them for Cooking.
Horde: Mulgore
- Buy a Fishing Pole and Shiny Baubles from Harn Longcast in Bloodhoof Village.
- Learn Fishing from Uthan Stillwater next to him.
- Put on a Shiny Bauble and fish in Stonebull Lake until 75.
- Come back to Uthan Stillwater for Journeyman Fishing.
Alliance: Elwynn Forest
- Buy a Fishing Pole and Shiny Baubles from Tharynn Bouden in Goldshire.
- Learn Fishing from Lee Brown at the lake east of Goldshire.
- Fish that lake until 75.
- Train Journeyman Fishing from Lee Brown.
Fishing 75–130 in the Capitals
Horde fish the pond next to the Thunder Bluff Auction House, Alliance fish the Stormwind canals. Alliance players buy the Strong Fishing Pole from Catherine Leland here. Expect about 60 Raw Longjaw Mud Snapper and 30 Raw Bristle Whisker Catfish along with more Smallfish.
Fishing 130–205: Booty Bay and Open Water
Stop in Booty Bay first and buy Expert Fishing - The Bass and You from Old Man Heming. You can read it at Fishing 125 and character level 20, and it unlocks Expert up to 225.
- Horde: fly to Sun Rock Retreat and fish open water in the Stonetalon Mountains until 205.
- Alliance: fly to Astranaar, ride south-east to Mystral Lake in Ashenvale and fish open water until 205.
This stretch gives roughly 95 Longjaw Mud Snapper and 145 Bristle Whisker Catfish, enough for Cooking up to 175.
Fishing 205–225 in Dustwallow Marsh
Fish the inland lakes and rivers of Dustwallow Marsh, not the ocean, until 225. Horde can use Brackenwall Village as a base, Alliance Theramore Isle. This is where Raw Mithril Head Trout starts to show up.
Artisan Fishing: Nat Pagle Quest
At Fishing 225 and character level 35, find Nat Pagle in Tidefury Cove, Dustwallow Marsh, and take Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme. He wants four rare fish from four zones:
| Quest fish | Zone |
|---|---|
| Feralas Ahi | Feralas |
| Misty Reed Mahi Mahi | Swamp of Sorrows |
| Sar'theris Striker | Desolace |
| Savage Coast Blue Sailfin | Stranglethorn Vale |
Fishing 225–300: Dustwallow Marsh and Feralas
With Artisan learned, fish the inland water of Dustwallow Marsh again until about 255. Then fly to Camp Mojache (Horde) or Feathermoon Stronghold (Alliance) and fish inland water in Feralas until 300. Skip Jademir Lake. Use a lure whenever fish start getting away.
Feralas fish are Redgill, Nightfin Snapper and Sunscale Salmon. The first two make good Cooking skill-ups; Sunscale Salmon needs an Iron Oven to cook, so sell it or keep it.
Cook What You Catch
Almost every fish on this route is a Cooking skill-up: Smallfish and Longjaw to 100, Bristle Whisker Catfish to 175, Mithril Head Trout to 225, then Redgill, Spotted Yellowtail and Nightfin Soup to 300. Keep your catch until the recipe is orange or yellow. The full own-fish route, with every recipe vendor, is in our Cooking guide.
WoW Forever Fishing Tips
- Fish open water as well as pools. In Westfall, Silverpine Forest and the Barrens about 3 to 8% of open-water casts bring up a Tightly Sealed Trunk with Bolts of Linen and Wool, leather and potions, which pays for your fishing gear early on.
- Keep a lure on at all times from 150. It costs little and stops fish from getting away in higher zones.
- Buy the Expert book on your first trip to Booty Bay, even before 125, so you do not have to come back.
- The four Nat Pagle fish are quest items: they only bite once you have the quest, so take it first and then do the four zones in one trip.
More WoW Forever Profession Guides
Fishing goes well with Cooking, which turns your catch into skill-ups and Well Fed food, and with the camping system that gives you a fire wherever you stop. The professions overview and our best professions guide compare all of them.
WoW Forever Fishing FAQ
What is the fastest way to level Fishing to 300 in WoW Forever?
Fish your starting zone to 75, the Thunder Bluff pond or Stormwind canals to 130, Stonetalon Mountains or Mystral Lake to 205, Dustwallow Marsh to 225, finish the Nat Pagle quest and end in Feralas. Keep a lure on from 150.
Where do I learn Journeyman Fishing?
From any Fishing trainer at skill 50 and character level 10. On this route Horde use Uthan Stillwater in Bloodhoof Village and Alliance use Lee Brown near Goldshire.
Where do I get Expert Fishing?
Buy Expert Fishing - The Bass and You from Old Man Heming in Booty Bay and read it at Fishing 125 and character level 20.
How do I unlock Artisan Fishing?
At Fishing 225 and level 35, complete Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme from Nat Pagle in Dustwallow Marsh. It needs Feralas Ahi, Misty Reed Mahi Mahi, Sar'theris Striker and Savage Coast Blue Sailfin.
Where should I fish from 255 to 300?
Inland water in Feralas, from Camp Mojache or Feathermoon Stronghold. Skip Jademir Lake.
Does Fishing count as one of my two professions?
No. Fishing is a secondary skill like Cooking and First Aid, so every character can learn it on top of two main professions.
Update history 3
- Rewritten as a Fishing-only guide from 1 to 300. The Cooking route moved to the Cooking guide.
- Added open-water trunk fishing to the tips.
- Release
