A Genuine Fishing Guide

A few things to point out:

This guide assumes you have a new, low level, character - and no expansion packs. It indicates (reasonably) safe places to get your Fishing Skill to 100 without traveling to crazy exotic places that low level players have no access to - or would be a death sentence to explore (for example: Sea Serpent Grotto or Qufim Island). This is a "Genuine Fishing Guide." It doesn't go into theory, or give information that hasn't been tested 1st hand by the Author (IconicIdea).

This is a personal guide, if you disagree with anything feel free to leave comments on the talk page, but please don't remove anything.

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A - Despite what anyone says, you do NOT need Lu Shang's Fishing Rod. If you want it, buy it from the Auction House, it sells for 4-5 million gil. I HIGHLY recommend NOT doing the Lu Shang's Fishing Rod quest. If you want to do the quest - be my guest, you'll waste time, oh... you'll get a great rod... but you'll have accomplished almost nothing. It takes up to a month of fishing for hours a day, pure waste of time. No. Let some other crazy person do that for you. Start working on some crafts instead - (For instance I leveled cooking to 95 and Alchemy to 79). Unlike fishing Moat Carp that will give almost no skill-ups, & no money, leveling a craft is WORTH your time. I quickly sold consumables & gear (that I studied out on ffxiah.com before hand) and I easily bought my Lu Shang's Fishing Rod scores of hours before I could have earned it. Now I have Three crafts (Fishing, Cooking, & Alchemy) that are making me money, and a great rod. And I'm am quite happy with it, Lu Shang's Fishing Rod is a dandy, it makes things easier... but it is not necessary.

B - You can only catch 200 fish per (Earth) day (this is about 16 and a half stacks). After reaching your limit, you will have what is called Fishing Fatigue, and you will not get any more bites until the day has elapsed.

C - The closer your fishing level is to the level of the fish, the more likely you will get skill-ups - & there are some fish that just give skill-ups faster than others. It is quite possible to catch fish 40 levels above your current skill level... but it won't do you much good, as you'll get no skill-ups from the encounters.

D - If you get any of the following it's best to hit the ESC key and let the catch go:
 * Something clamps onto the line ferociously! - This is a monster that you will have to fight... if you pull it up.
 * You have a Bad Feeling. - This might break your line, or break your rod.
 * You have a Terrible Feeling. - This will have a high chance of breaking your rod.
 * Something has caught the hook!!! - Anything with THREE exclamation points indicates a large fish, which will break small rods. If you're using a heavy rod (i.e. a Mithran Fishing Rod or Composite Fishing Rod) for catching large fish, pull it in.

F - If you do not have patience... Fishing is not for you. Go beat on some monsters.

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 * 1 to 10 - Port Windurst

Fishing from the dock, the targets will be Cobalt Jellyfish and Bastore Sardine. Use Halcyon Rod with a Sabiki Rig as bait. Test Item: To become Recruit ranked - at level 8, turn in a Moat Carp to the Fishing Guild Master, Thubu Parohren.

Fishing from the dock, the target will be Greedies, using a Halcyon Rod and Minnow lure. The Minnow lure is HIGHLY effective at targeting this fish. Alternatively the Worm Lure works well too (and is less expensive).
 * 10 to 14 - Selbina

Fishing from the dock, the target will be Yellow Globe until you hit level 17. For this area, if you're fishing with a Hume Fishing Rod and Sabiki Rig you will target only Yellow Globes (which can sell well at the Auction House). Lacking a Hume Fishing Rod... you should use the Halcyon Rod and Sabiki Rig which also targets both Yellow Globes & Bastore Sardines.
 * 14 to 17 - Mhaura

Fishing from the dock, the target will be Quus. Use Halcyon Rod and Sabiki Rig or Lugworms as bait. Test Item: To become Initiate ranked - at level 18, turn in a Cheval Salmon to the Fishing Guild Master, Thubu Parohren.
 * 17 to 19 - Selbina

Fishing from any river in East Ronfaure, the targets will be Cheval Salmon and Shining Trout using a Halcyon Rod and Fly Lure until level 21. After you hit level 21, switch bait to the Shrimp Lure targeting Tricolored Carp & Gold Carp until level 27. NOTE: Shrimp Lures can be hard to find, difficult to synth, expensive, and only available at the Auction House. If you can't get your hands on one, use Insect Paste.
 * 19 to 21 to 27 - East Ronfaure (River)

Fishing from the sea in East Sarutabaruta, the targets will be Ogre Eels and Gold Lobsters using a Halcyon Rod or Hume Fishing Rod. Baiting with a Sinking Minnow will catch either fish & both sell at the Auction House (NOTE Gold Lobsters will sell better than the Ogre Eels). Test Item: To become Novice ranked - At level 28, turn in a Giant Catfish to the Fishing Guild Master, Thubu Parohren.
 * 27 - 35 East Sarutabaruta (Sea)

This Tutorial is still a work in progress and unfinished beyond this point.'''

Port Jeuno -> Nosteau Herring -> Halcyon Fishing Rod or Hume Fishing Rod -> Shrimp Lure Test Item: To become Apprentice ranked - at level 38, turn in a Gugru Tuna to the Fishing Guild Master, Thubu Parohren.

Port Bastok -> Zafmlug Bass  -> Halcyon Fishing Rod  -> Worm Lure

Zeruhn Mines (River) -> Black Eel  -> Composite Fishing Rod or Mithran Fishing Rod -> Worm Lure

Test Item: To become Journeyman ranked - At level 48, turn in a Monke-Onke to the Fishing Guild Master, Thubu Parohren.