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: 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 page, but please don't remove anything.

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A - Fishing, out of all the crafting skills, takes the longest time to level (barring Chocobo Digging which is technically not a craft but a "hobby"). The reason for this being: It Is Highly Profitable. Unlike any other FFXI craft, you are actually paid to Fish.

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 will either break your line, or break your rod.
 * You have a Terrible Feeling. -this will most assuredly break your rod.
 * Something has caught the hook!!! -anything with THREE exclamation points indicates a large fish, which will break small rods. If you have a heavy rod for catching large fish, pull it in (it is still possible for a large fish to snap the line on a heavy fishing rod).

E - 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. It can be helpful, but it's not the best rod in the game (Ebisu Fishing Rod is the best). In my opinion Lu Shang's Fishing Rod is an over-rated, overly pursued rod. You can get to 100 without it, & it is not that hard... just patience.

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 and Sabiki Rig. You may choose to save the sardines for bait making later. Cobalt Jellyfish is an Alchemist ingredient and sells well at the Auction House.

Fishing from the dock, 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! Yellow Globes are an Alchemist ingredient that sell well at the Auction House. If you don't have a Hume Fishing Rod use the Halcyon Rod and Sabiki Rig which also targets Bastore Sardines which you may use later as bait.
 * 14 to 17 - Mhaura

Fishing from the dock, the target will be Quus until you hit level 19. Use Halcyon Rod and Sabiki Rig or Lugworms.
 * 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 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! It will target only Tricolored Carp and Gold Carp for this area.
 * 19 to 21 to 27 - East Ronfaure

'''This Tutorial is still a work in progress and unfinished beyond this point. I usually make weekly updates/edits.'''