Fishing Guide Levels 30-100 by SledgeKujata

OK, down to business. Last year I got on the fishing kick to end all fishing kicks. I have a very simple plan to get you to 100 fishing in the least amount of time. First things first though...

A. RINGS
Fishing rings... Pelican, Albatross, and Penguin. You don't need them but they help. With these rings I went from 55 fishing to 100 in under 2 months. The Pelican Ring is the most important. With this ring I got a minimum of a level a day all the way to 100. Albatross Ring and Penguin Ring are good if you need a little extra time or a bit more muscle. I would however recommend saving the Penguin and Albatross rings for the Ebisu Fishing Rod quest if you plan to do it. Speaking of rods...

B. LU SHANG'S
Lu Shang's Fishing Rod is a must, especially for this guide. Get it as soon as you can, period. I'm sorry, but if you complain about slow skillups or "too small"/"lost catch due to lack of skill" messages and you don't have the Lu, it's your own fault. Stop trying to skill and get it. At around level 30 fishing I got tired of getting messages instead of fish so I stopped leveling and started questing. This was my strategy...

1. Farm a decent amount of gil in comparison to how much Lu is selling for(1/3-1/2 AH selling price). 2. Head out to Knightswell in West Ronfaure with as much insect Insect paste as you can hold while still being able to hold your fish. 3. Fish your 200 a day limit and turn them in. 4. Head over to the AH and buy every reasonably priced stack of moat carp you can and turn them in. 5. Repeat step 4 at every other Auction House.This is what I did and I had my Lu in about 2 weeks.

I'm sure some people out there cant afford, refuse to, or are just too lazy to farm and/or spend any gil on this rod. That's fine, more power to you and good luck.

C. IN DEPTH GUIDE
Now that you have a Lu in your possession and assuming you are in the neighborhood of level 30 fishing (I'm not going into detail on places to fish pre 30 because you can skill almost anywhere at those levels.).

Head to the Ferry in either Selbina or Mhaura. Your first target will be Gugru Tuna, you can catch these with Minnow, Sinking Minnow, Peeled Lobster, Sliced Sardine or Shrimp Lure I suggest using a minnow lure because it will catch the next 2 fish on my guide as well, resulting in a higher chance for skillups. they will get you to level 41. Now I feel I must pause and explain something. I mentioned earlier about the Pelican Ring being a godsend. However, I do not recommend using this ring on the Ferry. To me it just seemed wasteful. I went through 2 of these rings form 66+. Lets move on shall we, Next I would suggest Cone Calamary, these cap at 48, and they skill you up fast. I do believe catching these gave me the fastest skillups out of any other fish. And again you will be using a Minnow Lure. Now you can go one of two ways, Bluetail or Shall Shells. If you need a break from the Ferry now is the time to jump ship. you can head over to Buburimu Peninsula with either a Rogue Rig or a Robber Rig. If you are content with the Ferry you can stay aboard and fish for Bluetail, your bait of choice will be a Minnow lure. (go figure)These cap at 55, they can be a bit of a pain to catch sometimes though. I would recommend saving these fish as you will need them for bait for our next target. If you have cooking skill of at least 14 (probably even a little lower) grab some wind crystals and head back to the Ferry.

Your next target is Bhefhel Marlin and you will be catching them with Slice of Bluetail. These cap at 62. Now with these marlin I would suggest turning them into Zaldon in the selbina Fisherman's guild to get the Pirate's Chart and Brigand's Chart needed to get the Albatross Ring and Penguin Ring.

Next on the list is Noble Lady, these cap at 66 and you can catch them with a Minnow, Sinking Minnow, or Shrimp Lure. I would suggest catching these until you are capped on them at 66. Now is where my guide is probably gonna swerve off the beaten path. If you don't already have one, go pick up a Shrimp Lure and head to Nashmau. You will be targeting Mercanbaligi which cap at 86 and Ahtapot which cap at 90. Here is where your Pelican Ring will really shine. I was getting 1-4 levels a day here. These fish are the ToAU equivelant to Bastore Bream and Grimmonites. However, the bite rate is much better and there is no aggro or fished up monsters to deal with. If you have a Penguin Ring or an Albatross Ring you can use either of these along with your Pelican Ring to make bringing them in a bit easier if you are having trouble. Just NPC these fish, Mercanbaligi sell for 600 gil each and Ahtapot sell for 700 gil each to NPC. I am 100 fishing and I still catch these as my money makers when the Auction house is flooded. You avoid the AH all together, Instant gil, no dealing with undercutters or RMT influence on the AH. I would stay here until as close to 90 as you can. Next on our list is Black Sole. These cap at 95. I fished them in Qufim Island using a Sinking Minnow to single them out. The bite rate on these guys is horrible. I think the only fish with worse bite rates are Lik and Gugrusaurus. Be persistent and don't give up. Your Pelican Ring and Penguin Ring or Albatross Ring will prove their worth to you here yet again. I recommend staying here until 95 depending on Black Sole prices on your server. If they aren't worth the time involved I would recommend skipping this step. Now that we are ending our journey it is becoming harder and harder to find reliable fish to skill on but fear not, I have the answer. We will now be heading back to Nashmau. This time we will be targeting Pterygotus. they cap at 99. You will need to pick up some Lugworms which can be purchased conveniently enough on the ship to Nashmau from the fishing guild on the ship. These are another fish that you can just NPC right there on the dock for a decent price, and again you can get plenty of use out of your Fishing rings. Now it's time to grab some Meatballs and head back to the Ferry. You will be targeting Ryugu Titans and Titanictus for that last killer level. I highly recommend 74+ Woodworking from here on out. Especially if you are planning to quest the Ebisu Fishing Rod.

D. WORDS OF WARNING
1. Don't forget the "Command/blockaid on". 2. Make sure you don't try to fix your Lu close to docking. 3. Don't attempt a fix if there is anything on board that can aggro you. 4. If your Synth is interrupted you can say goodbye to your Lu. 5. Staying out of parties is also a good preventative measure to insure safe Lu synthing due to the fact that some AoE job abilities and songs/spells can also interrupt your synth.

E. QUICK REFERENCE
30-41: Gugru Tuna > Ferry > Minnow 36-48: Cone Calamary > Ferry > Minnow 48-53: Shall Shells > Buburimu Peninsula > Rogue Rig, Robber Rig 48-55: Bluetail > Ferry > Minnow 55-62: Bhefhel Marlin > Ferry > Slice of Bluetail 60-66: Noble Lady > Ferry > Minnow, Sinking Minnow, and Shrimp Lure 66-86: Mercanbaligi > Nashmau > Shrimp Lure 66-90: Ahtapot > Nashmau > Shrimp Lure 90-95: Black Sole > Qufim Island > Sinking Minnow 90-99: Pterygotus > Nashmau > Lugworm 99-100: Ryugu Titans and Titanictus > Ferry > Meatball

F. FINAL NOTE
I hope you get as much use out of this guide as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave me a message on here. You can also contact me in game on the Kujata Server, my characters name is Sledge. I hardly ever log out so if you don't get a reply I am not ignoring you, keep trying. The road to 100 can be a long one. You just have to keep your chin up and be persistent. Good Luck to all you Fisherpersons out there, Keep fighting the good fight.