Fishing Guide - Saltwater Skillup

Sometimes referred as the Profit Route or the Qufim Route, the Saltwater Skillup route can rake in a lot of gil, but can yield a lot of broken rods, lures, and mobs. Leveled Woodworking, Alchemy, and Cooking skills is helpful here.

This guide was derived from Kida's Final Fishing database and guide.

Level 1-10 - Port Windurst

Targets will be Cobalt Jellyfish and Bastore Sardine. Use Halcyon Rod and Sabiki Rig. Cobalt Jellyfish tends to have an item-like behavior. Save the sardine for used in making bait for later. Cobalt Jellyfish sells decently on the AH.

Level 10-39 - Qufim Island (Ice Pond)

During the day you should have little trouble from the aggressive Land Worms, due to parties chaining. At night, the Banshees will pop and things can get dicey, but those mobs have a sound aggro range of less than 5 feet and do not move very much. Cancel all the !!! since they are monsters. Start with Halcyon Rod and Lugworms, then change to Shrimp Lure at level 17. The targets are Yellow Globe (which also sells well on the AH), Tiger Cod (should be saved for cooking purposes), and Nosteau Herring.

Level 39-55 - Qufim Island (North Shores)

You have a choice of Halcyon or Composite Rod with the Minnow bait. If you use Halcyon Rods, you must cancel all the !!!, since Gigant Squid will break the rod. If you use Composite or Lu Shangs, you can attempt the Gigant Squid, but expect line snaps with the Composite. The main targets, however, are Cone Calamary and Bluetail. Cone Calamary has an item-like behavior, Bluetails will have frequent rod movements. The main drawback to Composite Rods is that you can lose some Cone Calamaries with the too small message, and it is very difficult to land Bluefish. Save the bluefish to make bait for later. Cone Calamaries are popular due to their conversion into tentacle sushi or black ink.

Level 55-66 - Ferry Fishing

You must have a job that can cast sneak on the Selbina-Mhaura Ferry, it is the only protection from the Sea Horror. Blackbeard and Silverhook may hear through sneak, but their aggro range is small and are occasionally camped. You use Composite Rod and Sliced Bluetail and go after Bhefhel Marlins. This fish should be saved and traded to Zaldon for gutting, as you can get a RareEx chart used in a mini quest. The Marlins do not stack. Sometime, Silver Sharks will be caught, and they should be gutted by Zaldon as well. At 61, switch to Sinking Minnow and go after Noble Lady.

Level 66-79 - Qufim Island (south shore)

The target is Three-Eyed Fish with Composite or Lu Shangs and Minnow. They will yield the !!!, the other fish that can be caught with Minnow will yield !, making these easy to point out. These fish are frequently used as guild point items and is required to trade in for rank promotion to Adept. You can also switch to Sliced Cod to target Black Sole, but only if you have Lu Shangs rod or Pelican Ring.

''Alternative: Sea Serpent Grotto (Lake) with Lu Shangs and Shrimp Lure. Sneak/Stamina Fishing is required, as mobs can range up to level 65. You can get up to level 90 with Bastore Bream and Grimmonites, and make a killing off Nebs''

Level 79-96 - Qufim Island (north shore)

Use Lu Shangs Rod with Sliced Cod. The Cone Calamaries will target the bait but they are predictable. The main targets will be Black Sole and Gigant Squid. Gigant Squid do not stack, but are frequently targeted by cooks for a popular item called Squid Sushi, and can be made into Black Ink. Black Sole is also another popular item, as it is used in Sole Sushi.

Level 96-100 - Ferry Fishing

This is where the cheap Yew Fishing Rods and Meatballs are the best while on the Ferry. They can be purchased from the shop on the ferry very cheap, and if they break, you can sell it back and get a new one at a slight loss. There are a lot of legendary fish to target at this point, all of them do not stack. Make sure Zaldon guts every one of them, as some are required for the Ebisu Fishing Rod quest. Mooching and Serpent Rumors key items are required while on the ferry, along with the fishing rings.