Efficient Pool Fishing
It is important to consider an efficient method of fishing pools when you are fishing for profit: The aim is to spend as little time earning much gold.
If you are trying to fish pools in the same area over several hours, you will need to fish all the other pool types too. This will ensure enough pools appear. Alternatively, keep on moving between different zones, or rely on other people to fish your "unwanted" pools. If you fish pools just before the end of the world ((server maintenance)) you can cherry-pick pools, because an entirely new set of pools will appear after the end of the world ((when servers reopen)) (thank Gummo).
Important factors in zone choice are:
- The proximity of pools to each other.
- The total number of pools in the area.
- The rate at which pools reappear.
Ideally you want a location where pools are close together, so you spend less time walking or riding between them. If the area is popular with other fishermen and women, the more pools the better. Otherwise, the rate at which they reappear becomes more important.
Suggested Locations
One of the best locations for less experienced fishermen and women (around level 20 with about 100 fishing skill) is Mirkfallon Lake in the Stonetalon Mountains. It contains about 5 or 6 possible pool locations, all very close together. The pools reappear very rapidly - there always seem to be two. Raw Sagefish are not the most prized fish, but are cooked into tasty Smoked Sagefish. A proportion of schools (Chadwicked says about 1 in 8) will be Schooner Wreckage Pool. The main disadvantage of the area is that there are only enough pools to allow one person to fish efficiently.
Slightly more experienced fishermen and women tend to favour Stranglethorn Vale. The waters here are the easiest to fish of any other location where Mithril Bound Trunk can be caught. The zone also has more pool spawns than any other zone. Stranglethorn Vale is commonly fished: It often has less active pools than quieter zones. For those with sufficient fishing skill, places like Feralas can sometimes allow more catches.
For veterans, the most profitable pool fishing is in Outland. The type of pool fished normally decides zone choice: Most Outland pool types are only found in one zone. Almost any pool in Outland will contain some valuable fish. In particular, try fishing Pure Water (see Fishing Pure Water) and Highland Mixed Schools (see Catching Furious Crawdad and Mr. Pinchy).
Tips
Where the factions are at war ((PvP realms)), consider the amount of enemy activity carefully. Open water fishing can be done from a quiet part of the zone, safely away from other people. Pool fishing not only exposes you to attack while fishing, but also while moving between pools. Some zones are notoriously dangerous, for example, Stranglethorn Vale.
Brian Westley notes: "Assuming you use an auction house 'alt' [an employee who posts sales at the auction house], it's generally better to not take items out of a trunk, since you can carry and mail it as one item."
Learn More
- Valuable Fish - Catch fish for gold and more.
- Also in the Pools and Wreckage chapter: Pool Fishing, Locations, Spawning, Unusual Pools.
