Primals and Essences
Primals, essences and similar reagents can be obtained from many different sources, including fishing. Fishing is often the most effective way to gather these materials. They are used by many professions to make or enchant items.
| Item | Median Auction Value | Catching | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Elemental Water | 75s | Where to catch » |
 | Essence of Water | 1g | Where to catch » |
 | Globe of Water | 50s | Where to catch » |
 | Mote of Water | 1g 90s | Where to catch » |
Mote of Water are commonly sold as Primal Water. 10 Mote of Water makes 1 Primal Water. Mote of Water are also sometimes contained in the Bag of Fishing Treasures, the reward from the Daily Fishing Quests.
Trunks
Pools, particularly Floating Wreckage Pools, often contain trunks. ((Right-click trunks and other containers to open them.)) The table below shows the contents of the most commonly caught trunks.
All those boxes look rather similar from the outside, don't they?
Good profits are to be made from fishing Azeroth's wreckage pools at mid-level. The contents of a single Mithril Bound Trunk typically sells for about one gold at the Auction House. Bolts of Mageweave and Runecloth sell particularly well to tailors. For those fishing in easier waters, bolts of Woolen Cloth and Medium Leather will still sell for some Silver. Items of equipment and recipes in trunks are rare, but can sometimes be sold at auction for gold. Pools in Azeroth also sometimes contain Stranglekelp, which is used by Alchemists. For detailed analysis read the Pool Contents topic.
Most trunks come from pools. Open water fishing sometimes contains trunks too.
When fishing in open water on the coast of Azeroth, items are contained within a chest or container. Most of these chests are locked: Ironbound Locked Chest, Reinforced Locked Chest, Small Locked Chest, and Sturdy Locked Chest. Locked boxes can be opened by a skilled rogue or by using Blacksmiths' skeleton keys. Commonly locked chests contain single bolts of cloth or leather. They rarely contain equipment.
Note that when fishing inland open waters in Azeroth, similar items are found, just not contained in trunks.
Azeroth's open coastal water also contains non-locked boxes formerly belonged to the Venture Company: Dented Crate, Heavy Crate, Sealed Crate, and Waterlogged Crate. These contain engineering goods, such as blasting powders. Perhaps the Venture Company employ a lot of careless deck hands?
Scrolls
Parchment documents tend to be found within containers. Both containers are rare catches.
- Inscribed Scrollcase
- Contents: 1-3 of one V-type scroll: Scroll of Agility V, Scroll of Intellect V, Scroll of Protection V, Scroll of Spirit V, Scroll of Stamina V, or Scroll of Strength V.
- Where to catch »
- Message in a Bottle
- Contents: Most messages in a bottle contain minor scrolls. Some contain recipes, formulas and similar instructions that professional skills can be learnt from.
- Where to catch »
Occasionally Message in a Bottle will contain just that - a message: One of a series of three Damp Diary pages (day 4, day 87, and day 512) which tell of one mystery shipwreck survivor's battle with bananas. Fascinating.
Fish That Can Be Opened
Some fish contain pearls, gems and other items. It is normally quicker to kill monsters or mine for these items than to fish for them: Regard them as a bonus catch, not something to specifically fish for.
- Big-mouth Clam
- Contents: Zesty Clam Meat. Rarely also Black Pearl, Golden Pearl, Iridescent Pearl and Small Lustrous Pearl.
- Where to catch »
- Bloated Giant Sunfish
- Contents: Variety of Outland herbs and minerals, V-type scrolls, Stranglekelp, Darkclaw Lobster, and rarely gems such as Star of Elune.
- Where to catch »
- Jaggal Clam
- Contents: Jaggal Clam Meat. Rarely also Golden Pearl, Jaggal Pearl, and Shadow Pearl.
- Where to catch » (Jaggal and Shadow Pearls are also sometimes contained in the Bag of Fishing Treasures, the reward from the Daily Fishing Quests.)
Other bloated fish can still rarely be caught while fishing inland open water in Azeroth: Bloated Catfish, Bloated Mud Snapper, Bloated Redgill, Bloated Salmon, Bloated Smallfish, Bloated Trout, and Bloodfin Catfish. Bloated fish normally contain gems, but sometimes contain rings and necklaces. Historically bloated fish were also caught from pools.
Alchemists' Fish
Alchemists make use of the fish. Since not all alchemists enjoy fishing, or have the patience to learn, all these fish should sell at auction. Prices shown are for single raw fish.
| Fish | Required to make | Median Auction Value | Catching | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Deviate Fish | Elixir of Giant Growth (1 fish). | 30s | Where to catch » |
| Firefin Snapper | Fire Oil (2 fish per oil). | 10s | Where to catch » |
 | Oily Blackmouth | Blackmouth Oil (2 fish per oil). | 10s | Where to catch » |
 | Stonescale Eel | Stonescale Oil (1 fish per oil). | 30s | Where to catch » |
Traditionally Stonescale Eels were particularly popular among "raiding" guilds that battled their way through the hardest dungeons. Demand is now much reduced. Stonescale Oil is used in several consumable potions, such as Flask of the Titans and Greater Stoneshield Potion, which help keep warrior "tanks" alive. Andrew adds, "one of the big demand drivers for these fish [Stonescale Eels] now is that the oil is required for one of the steps in upgrading Tier 0 armour to Tier 0.5." The Burning Crusade effectively removes the need to collect and upgrade these level 60 armor sets. The Argent Dawn also request Stonescale Eels for one of the Craftsman's Writs quests.
Learn More
- Fishing Elemental Water - How to fish Patches of Elemental Water, found in Azshara.
- Fishing Pure Water - How to fish pools of Pure Water in Nagrand for Mote of Water, which combine to make Primal Water.
- Catching Deviate Fish - How to catch Deviate Fish, which may be cooked to make Savory Deviate Delight.
- Catching Stonescale Eels - This topic discusses where to catch this valuable fish.
- Pool Contents - This topic describes the contents of pools and trunks found in Azeroth.
- Daily Fishing Quests - Detailed walkthrough.
- Also in the Valuable Fish chapter: What's Valuable?, Buff Food, Gear, Minipets, and Other Valuable Fished Items.
