Fishing for Fun and Profit by Ctownwoody

Fishing for Fun and Profit By Ctownwoody of Asura Sons of Valkrum Linkshell

Fishing Tips
You can do this with any level job and almost anywhere. There are certain spots that I won’t list that can only be reached by extensive use of silent oils and prism powders or high-level (65+) job, but you can get up to 86 just inside cities and Tier I zones (99 in Nashmau, apparently).

Equipment matters a lot. Think of this as a very equipment dependent job. Going out there with the wrong gear will just get you frustrated by lack of success. The right rod and right bait or lure are required and fishing gear does make a difference.

Learn how to fish cheaply. The system is easy to learn but hard to master, so get a cheap rod (Willow Fishing Rod from Sandy for example) and Little Worms or Lugworms and learn how to fish in a city.

Woodworking and Alchemy all are involved in your rods. Clothcraft and Leathercraft made your gear. Clothcraft, Bonecraft, Cooking and Goldsmithing can make lures and bait. You don’t need any of them, but making your own bait, repairing your own rods, crafting your own gear and building your own lures can be a big help.

Fishing is also a great way to farm items for your own crafting. I will point out recipes important to each fish, either for their bait/lure or made from them.

Sushi...God bless it. Lots of fish at skills 50+ are required for sushi, every DD’s favorite food. If you don’t have high-level (above 60) Cooking, find a friend or lazy crafter that does and is willing to pay. Or just head to AH and dump supplies there...

While you can catch fish way above your skill, you gain skill ups better within 15 of your current skill and your time to land fish, especially large ones that fight hard, improves as your skill increases.

The moon matters a lot, especially outdoors. Full and New Moons are prime-time and half-moon is the worst. Indoors, this matters less, but it still affects bite rates.

Rusty Leggings and Rusty Subligars are your friends...at times. Leggings sell pretty well for 500 in Bastok or Jeuno and Subligars for 2-4k. You can no longer get rich off of Rusty Fishing like you once could but you can still make good gil from those two. On the other hand, they can take up room in your inventory when you least want them to...

Lu Shang’s is your dream rod. Turn in your 10,000 Moat Carp to work towards it; they earn fame, gil and a slice of the ultimate rod all at once.

You can catch monsters. My guide focuses on small fish, so cancel anything that with !!! and you'll be fine.

Rods
Rods are either synthetic or wooden. The former use Alchemy and the latter use Woodworking. Wooden rods drain stamina better while synthetic rods hold fish for longer. I prefer Wooden, but that’s me. Between a Mithra and a Hume rod, I can catch anything I care to catch, or at least try to catch. If the Mithra rod breaks, I sell it to the AH (at a huge profit) and buy a new one. The Hume works best in areas without large fish or Rusty Subligars. Those can break the rod and the line, respectively.

Lure vs. Bait
This is a debate worthy of the like of Cake vs. Pie or Brownie vs. Cookies. Bait is said to have a better bite rate (and it marginally does) than Lures, but both work. It largely depends on the situation. In areas where line/rod snapping is possible, I prefer to work with bait. In areas where I know that I can’t catch anything that will snap my line or rod, I use a lure to save space. The only place I EVER risk a lure is where I am literally forced to-Valkurm Dunes, where Shall Shells are hard to catch with Mithra Rods or Crayfish Paste but easier with Hume Rods and Rogue Rigs (20k) or Robber Rigs (1.5k GP), but the Rusty Subligars there can snap the line.

The Fish
Key: Name (Cap), Suggested Rod and Lure/Bait, Notable Recipes--Notes

Cobalt Jellyfish (5), Hume Fishing Rod and Sabiki Rig, Mercury (Alchemy 16)—These are nasty buggers because the rod can spend a lot of time in the middle. You need a ton for the mercury needed at various stages in Alchemy. If you don’t need them for Alchemy, though, they are an annoyance.

Crayfish (7), Any Rod and Little Worms, Peeled Crayfish (Cooking 3), Crayfish Ball (Cooking 53), Shrimp Lure (Alchemy 48/[[Goldsmithing 21)—Best starting catch in fishing. Any fresh water body in cities has these little buggers, and usually has some Moat Carp to boot.  The recipes above are for more advanced crafting, but Peeled Crayfish is a great starter synth for cooking.

Bastore Sardine (10), Hume Fishing Rod and Sabiki Rig, Sliced Sardine (Cooking 11), Fish Mithkabob (Cooking 49), Fish Broth (Cooking 37), Sardine Ball (Cooking 31)—The salt-water equivalent of crayfish, but with the Sabiki Rig, you can catch 1-3 at a time.

Moat Carp (11), Hume Fishing Rod and Insect Ball—TEST ITEM, and you need 10,000 (!!) for Lu Shang’s Rod. You will catch a lot of these, even when fishing for other types of carp...and you'll want to catch them as well...

Yellow Globe (17), Hume Fishing Rod and Sabiki Rig, Poison Dust (Alchemy 12)—Catch in Port Jeuno's Airship areas or in Mhaura or Buburimu Peninsula. Sell pretty well because of Poison Potions.

Quus (19), Hume Fishing Rod and Sabiki Rig—Not much you can do with these aside from spawn Bubbly Bernie, but you’ll catch these in the same places as Sardines.

Cheval Salmon (21), Hume Fishing Rod and Fly Lure/Trout Ball, Smoked Salmon and Salmon Roe (Cooking low 30s)—TEST ITEM. Catch these along with Shining Trout just to catch fish for skill. The recipes are alright at best, being used for almost-sushi that uses salmon.

Nebimonite (27), Hume Fishing Rod and Crayfish Ball, Black Ink (Alchemy 2) and Fish Mithkabob (Cooking 49)—These are caught on the ferry. Don’t. Ferry-fishing stinks. Not only do the fish fight harder than are worth it, but between mobs, pirates, and legendary fish, catching anything with speed is hard.

Tricolored Carp (27), Hume Fishing Rod and Insect Ball—These are caught to NPC for around 50 gil each. If you want to isolate these away from Moat Carp, got to the smaller bridge in North Gustaberg to fish up just these and gold carp. Gil-city.

Elshimo Frog (30), Mithran Fishing Rod and Fly Lure, Kodoku (Alchemy 19)—Hard to catch and the areas are Yuhtunga and Yhoator Jungles only. But they sell for 1k as quickly as they hit the AH and make a very profitable, if slower selling, NIN tool.

Dark Bass (33), Hume Fishing Rod and Worm Lure—NPC these. You’ll have skipped Giant Catfish at 31, but those are more trouble than they are worth. With this combo, fish behind the AH in Bastok Markets to tag-team with Black Eels (47), which NPC for over 100 gil each.

Shining Trout (37), Hume Fishing Rod and Fly Lure/Trout Ball—NPC these as well. Betweem Dark Bass and Shall Shells, some guides tell you to stick to salt-water areas. I tend to ignore salt-water in favor of fresh water because the fish are easier to catch and bite better, but some other guides recommend various baits with a Mithran Fishing Rod in South Gustaberg or East Sarutabaruta at these stretch. I do not.

Black Eel (47), Hume Fishing Rod and Worm Lure—NPC as well. I lost 2 Lure while catching around 300 of these, so it can happen but not too often. Still, this can be slow going, because Dark Bass will be about 60-80% of your catch.

Shall Shell (53), Hume Fishing Rod/Mithran Fishing Rod and Rogue Rig, Fish Mithkabob (Cooking 49) and Pearl/Black Pearl (HQ from Bonecraft 19)—Gil-city! I suggest Valkurm Dunes because the Outpost is close. If you are lvl 30+, no problem with aggro. Rusty Subligars can snap the line (lure cost 20k, remember) on the Hume Rod, but I find that I don't catch fish as well with a Mithran Rod. Your choice.

Gold Carp (56), Hume Fishing Rod and Insect Ball/Shrimp Lure—NPC these for 300 gil each! If you haven’t gotten a lot of carp up until now, I suggest Windurst Walls and Insect Paste to collect Moat Carp at the same time. If you have gotten Lu Shang’s, Shrimp Lures will isolate them entirely.

NO LU SHANG’S
There are two parts here, the first is if you don’t have Lu Shang’s and the second, naturally, is if you do have it.

Noble Lady (66), Mithran Fishing Rod and Shrimp Lure, Dorado Sushi and Tavnazian Salad (Cooking 90+)—Good to sell/use for high-level cooking. The salad is used to make Tavnazian Tacos, which sell extremely well. Cancel all bites with !!! as they are large fish that break lines. You will also catch Nebs, as a bonus, but may lose some fish to “Too small” messages. This part stinks if you don’t have Lu Shang’s

Gavial Fish (81), Mithran Fishing Rod and Meatball, High Quality Pugil Scales (HQ on Bonecraft 8)—The fish scales are only if you have Bonecraft 40+, especially 80+ as they are top-tier ingredients. I suggest this because you will break Hume Fishing Rods (Woodworking 74 to repair them) and can break Mithran Fishing Rods (Woodworking 83), so bring extra rods. Broken Mithran Rods sell at a profit because of a quest in Kazham and because they are used in leveling Woodworking. The best location is North Gustaberg-Cascade, meaning the base of the actual waterfall itself, aiming at the waterfall. The bottom of Gusgen Mine is an option for those with really high levels.

Bastore Bream (86), Mithran Fishing Rod and Sliced Sardine, Bream Sushi and Tavnazian Salad—Same deal as Gavial Fish, which is why I suggest bait and not a lure. However, these fish you can sell directly. Port Windurst is the best bet because there are no jellyfish to compete with Bream, just rusty buckets and kelp (used in rice balls). Remember to save the broken rods, if any, for resale at a profit as well.

Black Sole (96), Mithran Fishing Rod and Sliced Cod, Sole Sushi (Cooking 69)—Almost 100% the same deal as Bastore Bream, only fish in Port Jeuno areas and you can catch Jellyfish as well. You can isolate them by fishing in Qufim Island-Ice Pond, but the Goblin Hunter means that anyone under level 30 gets aggro, not to mention the Banshees (aggro at level 40+) at night.

Armored Pisces (100), Mithran Fishing Rod and Meatball—About the only option here. Oldton Movalpolos too, so a HIGH job level is required. You can catch Blind Fish as well, but neither is listed as a problem for a Mithra Rod, strangely. It might just be lack of information in the player-made databases...

LU SHANG’S
The ultimate fishing rod for those with lots of time to fish but with enough of a social life not to try for the Ebisu Fishing Rod...

Noble Lady (66), Shrimp Lure, Dorado Sushi and Tavnazian Salad—Good to sell/use for high-level (90+) cooking. The salad is used to make Tavnazian Tacos, which sell extremely well. You can try for legendary Ryugu Titan with this combo but you make break your rod. No worries, because any Woodworker 80+ can repair it and you never lose a broken Lu Shang’s during synth unless attempted during zoning on the ferry or an airship. You will catch Nebs and Tuna, both of which sell extremely well, too.

Bastore Bream (86), Shrimp Lure, Bream Sushi and Tavnazian Salad—You can skip Gavial Fish and hit these straight away, using a Lure as well to save space. Same spot (Port Windurst) and for the same reason.

Black Sole (96), Sinking Minnow, Sole Sushi—Almost 100% the same deal as Bastore Bream, only fish in Port Jeuno areas and you can catch Jellyfish as well.

Legendary Fish (100), Varies, Varies—The world is your oyster as far as fishing is concerned. You just have to avoid aggro and fishing up mobs. Davoi + Fly Lure, Kuftal/Quicksand + Sinking Minnow, Boyahda + Fly Lure or Ferry + Meatball can all yield legendary fish, with only the last combo offering any chance of a broken rod.

DUMMY’S QUICK SHEET
The quickest, no-brainer way of hitting 56. You will need to spend a lot of time getting Moat Carp for Lu Shang's later. However, this will earn a lot of gil along the way...

1-11—Hume Rod + Little Worm/Insect Paste, Windurst Walls (Crayfish/Moat Carp) 11-21—Hume Rod + Fly Lure/Trout Ball, East Ronafure (Cheval Salmon/Shining Trout) 21-27—Hume Rod + Insect Paste, North Gustaberg river (Tricolor Carp/Gold Carp) 27-33—Hume Rod + Worm Lure, Bastok Market-Reservoir (Dark Bass/Black Eel) 33-53—Mithra Rod + Rogue Rig, Valkrum Dunes/Buburimu Peninsula (Shall Shell) 53-56—Hume Rod + Shrimp Lure, Windurst Walls (Gold Carp)

Ctownwoody