WoW Classic Fishing Guide

Fishing is one of the three secondary professions in WoW Classic. Our Fishing leveling guide provides a focused and efficient path to leveling Fishing from 1 to 300 in World of Warcraft Classic Era, Hardcore, and the 20th Anniversary Edition (aka WoW Classic Fresh). Follow this WoW Classic Fishing guide to quickly reach max Fishing skill.

📂 WoW Classic > Professions

📅 Last updated on February 15, 2025.

WoW Classic Fishing Leveling 1-300

To level Fishing in WoW Classic, you’ll need to collect skill points. You’ll receive skill points by catching fish. You can do this in various bodies of water, such as lakes, ponds, and rivers.

Before you can start leveling Fishing, you need a  Fishing Pole. You can buy these from various retailers. Equip the  Fishing Pole in your weapon slot and also put the Fishing skill in your action bar.

You can level Fishing in any body of water with fish in the level 1-60 areas. You can, for example, cast your  Fishing Pole all the time in Orgrimmar. You level Fishing there just as quickly as if you were in an area with a higher level.

If you fish in an area that is not yet suitable for your Fishing skill, the fish will escape you. Then you should either move to an easier area or buy better bait. You’ll find a selection of zones that are available in the respective skill areas in the following overview.

You have now reached the maximum Fishing level in WoW Classic.

WoW Classic Fishing Trainer Locations

In WoW Classic you can find many Fishing Trainers to learn Fishing Apprentice and Fishing Journeyman in multiple zones. Which trainers are available to you, depends on the faction your character belongs to.

Fishing trainers can only unlock Fishing to skill level 75 (Apprentice) and skill level 150 (Journeyman). There are no Fishing trainers available to unlock 225 (Expert) or 300 (Artisan).

How to Unlock Expert Fishing

To learn Fishing Expert, you need to buy the book  Expert Fishing - The Bass and You and use it. In addition, your character must be at least level 20 and your Fishing skill must be at least 125. You can buy the book from Old Man Heming in Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale (27,77). After using this book, you will be able to skill Fishing up to 225.

How to Unlock Artisan Fishing

To learn Fishing Artisan, you must first complete a quest line. To do this, your character must be at least level 35 and you must have at least fishing skill 225.

You receive the quest Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme from Nat Pagle (58,60) in Theramore in Dustwallow Marsh. To complete it, you must deliver one of each of the following types of fish to him:

•  Feralas Ahi: In Feralas around 62,51.
•  Misty Reed Mahi Mahi: In the Swamp of Sorrows around 90,72.
•  Sar'theris Striker: In Desolace around 25,77.
•  Savage Coast Blue Sailfin: In Stranglethorn Vale around 33,32.

After completing this quest, you will be able to skill Fishing up to 300.

Useful Fishing Items in WoW Classic

In WoW Classic various useful items make Fishing easier for you by temporarily or permanently increasing your Fishing skill. This includes lures, fishing rods, and other equipment such as  Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots.

Fishing Lures in WoW Classic

You can increase your fishing skill in WoW Classic with the following fishing lures:

Lure	Skill Bonus	Duration (min)	Required Fishing Skill	Cost	How to Get
Shiny Bauble	+25	10	1	50	General Trade and Fishing Suppliers
Nightcrawlers	+50	10	50	1	General Trade and Fishing Suppliers, Undead mobs
Aquadynamic Fish Lens	+50	10	50	–	Reward for Quest Electropellers given by Wizbang Cranktoggle in Auberdine
Bright Baubles	+75	10	100	2  50	General Trade and Fishing Suppliers
Flesh Eating Worm	+75	10	100	–	Rare drop from Rotted One in Duskwood
Aquadynamic Fish Attractor	+100	5	100	2  50	General Trade and Fishing Suppliers or Engineers

Fishing Poles in WoW Classic

You can increase your fishing skill in WoW Classic with the following fishing poles:

Fishing Pole	Skill Bonus	Required Fishing Skill	How to Get
Fishing Pole	–	–	Sold by Fishing and Trade Suppliers for 23
Blump Family Fishing Pole	+3	1	Reward for quest The Family and the Fishing Pole given by Gubber Blump in Auberdine
Strong Fishing Pole	+5	10	Sold by Fishing Suppliers for 9  1
Big Iron Fishing Pole	+20	100	~5% drop chance from Shellfish Trap in Desolace
Nat Pagle's Extreme Angler FC-5000	+25	100	Reward for quest Snapjaws, Mon! given by Katoom the Angler in The Hinterlands.
Arcanite Fishing Pole	+35	300	Winning the Fishing Tournament in Stranglethorn Vale

Other Fishing Equipment in WoW Classic

You can increase your fishing skill in WoW Classic with the following other Fishing equipment:

Item	Skill Bonus	Required Fishing Skill	Effect	How to Get
Lucky Fishing Hat	+5	1	–	Reward for Rare Fish - Keefer's Angelfish at the Fishing Extravaganza in Stranglethorn Vale
Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots	+5	1	–	Reward for Rare Fish - Brownell's Blue Striped Racer at the Fishing Extravaganza in Stranglethorn Vale
High Test Eternium Fishing Line	–	–	Replaces the fishing line on your fishing pole with a high test eternium line.	Reward for Rare Fish - Dezian Queenfish at the Fishing Extravaganza in Stranglethorn Vale
Enchant Gloves - Fishing	–	–	Permanently enchant gloves to grant +2 fishing skill.	From Enchanters  Formula: Enchant Gloves - Fishing drops in Hillsbrad Foothills

Valuable Fish in WoW Classic

Some types of fish are particularly valuable in WoW Classic. They are valuable, for example, because they are needed in other professions such as Alchemy or Cooking, or they can only be caught under certain circumstances. These fish are particularly suitable for earning money with Fishing in WoW Classic.

Valuable Fish for Alchemy

The following four different types of fish are required in Alchemy recipes:

Fisch	Location	Needed for
Deviate Fish	In oases in The Barrens and waters in the Wailing Caverns	Elixir of Giant Growth
Firefin Snapper	Swarms along the coast of most level 20+ areas	Fire Oil
Oily Blackmouth	Swarms on the coast of level 10-40 areas and inland in various level 40+ areas, e.g. Un’Goro, Western Plaguelands	Blackmouth Oil
Stonescale Eel	Swarms on the coast including Tanaris, Stranglethorn Vale	Stonescale Oil – is needed for  Elixir of Superior Defense,  Flask of Petrification,  Greater Stoneshield Potion,  Flask of the Titans

Valuable Fish for Cooking

Fish are required for some Cooking recipes. Most of these fish sell very poorly. However, there are a few exceptions here too. The following fish are valuable for cooking:

Fisch	Location	Benötigt für
Deviate Fish	In oases in The Barrens and waters in the Wailing Caverns	Savory Deviate Delight (turns you into a pirate or ninja for 60 minutesa)
Winter Squid	Can only be caught in the winter months	Grilled Squid

Which Clams and Pearls Can Be Found While Fishing?

When fishing there is a chance that you will catch a  Big-mouth Clam. These clams contain  Zesty Clam Meat and, with luck, one of the following four pearls. These pearls are used for various Enchanting, Tailoring, Blacksmithing, and Leatherworking recipes.

•  Small Lustrous Pearl
•  Iridescent Pearl
•  Black Pearl
•  Golden Pearl

The  Golden Pearl is the rarest and most valuable pearl that can be sold well in the auction house.

What Are Schools of Fish And Wreckages When Fishing in WoW Classic?

You can also discover schools of fish and pieces of wreckage in the waters. They are usually visible to the naked eye. Some types of fish can only be caught from schools.

To fish from schools and wreckage, your float must land in the school or wreckage. After you have fished out several fish etc., the school will disappear.

Here is an overview of the schools of fish and wreckage and where you typically find them:

Name	Location
Firefin Snapper School	Waters in Darkshore, Azshara, Swamp of Sorrows, Wetlands, Tanaris, Blasted Lands,…
Sagefish School	Waters in Ashenvale, Hillsbrad Foothills
Greater Sagefish School	Rivers and lakes in Stranglethorn Vale, Waters in Western and Eastern Plaguelands, Un’Goro Crater,…
Oily Blackmouth School	Waters in Darkshore, Aszhara, Swamp of Sorrows, Wetlands, Tanaris, Blasted Lands,…
Stonescale Eel Swarm	Feralas, Tanaris, Azshara, Stranglethorn Vale
School of Deviate Fish	In oases in The Barrens and waters in the Wailing Caverns
Floating Wreckage	Eastern Plaguelands, Swamp of Sorrows, Tanaris, Blasted Lands, Thousand Needles
Elemental Water	Several locations in Azshara, bringt  Elemental Water,  Globe of Water,  Essence of Water

You can fish trunks containing various (crafting) materials from Floating Wreckage. The following four trunk types are available in the game:

•  Iron Bound Trunk
•  Mithril Bound Trunk
•  Tightly Sealed Trunk
•  Watertight Trunk

Now you know everything you need to know about effectively leveling Fishing in WoW Classic.