Fishing Skill: Theory for free-thinkers + guide for lemmings

Recruit Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 156 Location: Sylph

To make comments or ask questions go here.

This guide is focused on the "why" rather than the "what."

Where should I fish for skill?

If I told you where to go, you'll just come back and complain you had no luck there. But for you sheep out there, I included a section at the end of the guide with levelling options.

- Go to http://www.clanwind.com/ffxi/fishing.

- Sort the fish by skill level and find a complete list of fish that are level appropriate for you. Stay within 15 levels to get decent bites, though you'll see huge improvements as you get closer to the cap.

- Based on the list of possible fish, check the known locations. You'll be interested in 3 things: other fish in that area that bite on the same bait as your target fish, monsters you can fish up in that area, and items you can fish up in that area.

When considering other fish in the area, you want to minimize the number of lower level fish that bite on the same bait unless they are profitable e.g. moat carp.

Obviously, if the monsters in that area are too high level for you to fight you'll want to consider another area. Or make use of sneak fishing and/or the sweat trick

Some items you'll want to avoid as much as possible e.g. arrowwood logs that cause line snaps (losing lures) and rod breaks, whereas other items you'll want to catch to supplement your income while fishing for skill e.g. rusty caps

Also, you'll need to remember that the databases are only as accurate as the information submitted to them. That means there's still plenty of fishing spots that are not widely known. Exploration will often yield the best results.

And now the number one most important thing to remember when fishing for skill:
If you're having bad luck, go try some other place, bait, and/or fish.

*****

How fast should I be getting skill?

-The first few levels is extremely slow, especially if you don't have fishing gear and fishing support from the guild. Not to mention low level fisherman aren't used to slow skill ups so it often feels even slower than it really is.

-Until the mid-50's a full point of skill every 2-4 hours is normal when you're getting plenty of bites. Mid-50's to 100 expect things to slow down considerably.

-Skill tends to come in streaks rather than regular intervals. So be ready to get a ton of skill ups in a very short amount of time (I've gotten a full level in 5 casts), then suddenly nothing for hours (I've gone 10+ hours without a skill up while still catching plenty of fish).

*****

What will cause me to gain skill slower?

Poor bite rate.
If fish aren't biting, you can't get skill. Many factors go into this, so a larger section will be dedicated to it. THIS IS BY FAR THE BIGGEST FACTOR IN HOW FAST YOU WILL GAIN SKILL.

Location.
If you've heard that a certain zone is good for your level, make sure you're at the right body of water. Different bodies of water in the same zone often contain different fish.

Example: La Theine Plateau is popular for levelling from 18 to 33. Target fish are Giant Catfish, Dark Bass, and Red Terrapin using a Composite Rod and Frog Lure. The only body of water that seems to have these fish is at L-10. The large lake and other small pond yield pretty much nothing.

You forgot to take the guild test.
Every 10 levels you need to turn in a specific fish before you're allowed to gain the next ten levels. See the following for more details:
http://www.titanictus.com/viewtopic.php?t=17

Most of the fish that are biting are too low level to give you skill.
Try changing bait or locations to minimize the number of lower level fish and maximize the number of higher level fish you are catching.

Changing bait example:
Fishing level 0-7, using little worms works well since you can gain skill form both crayfish and moat carp.
Fishing in the same location with skill 7-11, you'd want to switch to insect paste to target moat carp and avoid catching crayfish which do not raise your skill anymore. Often this will make you catch less fish overall, but more of your target fish.

Changing location example:
At level 20 fishing in Jugner Forest with insect paste is good because you have only one lower level fish (moat carp), and 3 higher level fish (tricolored carp, dark bass, gold carp) going for your bait.
However, once you get your skill to 33+, this is a poor choice since only gold carp can give you skill. If you were set on catching gold carp for skill, you could move to Windurst to eliminate the tricolored carp and dark bass.

Catching too many items have a similar effect as catching low level fish.
You're wasting catches on something that might be worth some cash, but has no skill up value. Make sure you do not have a Moghancement:Fishing active (check your key items to verify this). If so, add/remove furntiure from your mog house until it goes away. That moghancement is useful if you're fishing items for money, but is detrimental to gaining skill.

Example:
Around 40-53 fishing, Shall Shells in Buburimu is a good levelling option. If you have the fishing moghancement, expect to be catching so much Pantum Kelp that Shall Shell bites decrease dramatically. A single rusty bucket in your mog house can make a huge difference.

More info on Moghancements:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=1077784499695186862&page=1

Level difference.
The higher level of the fish compared to you, the more likely it'll give you a 0.2 or 0.3 gain. However, if they are too high level for you, you won't even hook them for a chance at a skill up.

Days of the week and moon phases
These may or may not affect skill ups (outside of the effect on bite rates). There's not enough evidence available to comment on this further.

*****

What will improve my chances of getting skill ups

Doing the opposite of what will make your chances lower ;)

Skill enhancing items/images
The higher your effective skill, the easier it is for you to hook fish. That means more skill gains. So make sure you use all the fishing gear and get fishing support from the guild whenever possible.

None of the following has enough statistical data to fully support the theories, but player experiences seems to support it. Not my theories so don't blame me if they seem to work for you.

Successful catches are more likely to give skill than lost catches.
If this is true, then anything that improves your fishing ability also enhance you skill gains indirectly by improving your catch rate. In the very least these will improve the amount of fish you catch so worst case scenario you make more money.
Factors known to affect your ability to catch a fish after hooking it: Fishing equipment, fishing support image, using Lu Shang's rod, the key item from completing Lu Shang's Rod quest, and the moghancement from the Fishing Map (Guild point reward furniture)

Breaking rods are also believed to improve your chances of gaining skill.
This is most commonly done on the ferry with weak and cheap rods like willow rods or with rods that are being broken on purpose to level woodworking.

*****

What affects my bite rate?

Species of fish.
Some fish just don't like to gnaw on sharp metal hooks. Stupid fish.
Notoriously slow biters include pipira (29) and monke-onke (51).

Level difference.
The bigger the difference in level, the less likley you'll get a bite (let alone reel it in). Choosing a level appropriate fish helps with your bite rate immensely.

Example:
A shrimp lure in Windurst at level 11 will just catch tons of rusty items because you're too low to consistantly hook Gold Carp. At level 45+, it becomes a reasonable levelling option (though far from optimal).

Weather effects.
Some weather effects make the fish bite more, others make it nearly impossible to fish.
See the General Fishing Guide for info on weather effects:
http://www.titanictus.com/viewtopic.php?t=17

Example:
Fishing in Rabao during a double fire weather effect will often make the bite rate plummet to dismal levels. The second the weather effect ends, fish begin biting again.

Day of week.
Lots of people report good bites on Watersday and Lightsday, and poor bites on Lightningday and Darksday. This seems to be pretty inline with the effect of days on other crafts. It's nowhere near a common theory, but a few friends and myself have noticed better skill ups on Lightningday. Your mileage may vary.

Moon phase.
Full and New moons are believed to make most fish more active.
While there is plenty of evidence supporting this, it should be noted that new/full moons do not always yield better bite rates. Some new/full moons are absolutely horrible.

For day of the week and moon phase schedules:
http://www.pyogenes.com/ffxi/timer/v2.html

Bait choice.
Just because a fish can be caught with a certain bait or lure doesn't mean you should use it. In general, consummable bait tends to attract fish faster than lures. The trade off here is inventory space for the bait and cost of the bait.

While on the topic of bait, ROGUE AND ROBBER RIGS ABSOLUTELY SUCK AT CATCHING FISH OTHER THAN SHALL SHELLS. Expect 1 moat carp per hour if you're really lucky.
A few other myths to dispel about these rigs:
They only catch one fish each, not multiple. Only the sabiki rig will catch multiple fish.
There is no level 50 requirement to use them. In fact the only fish they seem to be good at catching is shall shells and you level off them from 40 t0 53 using a rogue rig.

*****

What about the code that makes you stop catching fish?

During the October 21, 2003 patch, SE annouced: "Time lapse will now be a factor in the probability rate of fishing items." That is the only thing SE has said officially regarding this matter.

DISCLAIMER:
The above sentence is the ONLY thing that people can agree upon in this section. The rest is purely conjecture. Take everything in this section with a grain of salt. Everyone that believes one theory or another swears by it and arguing this is like pulling teeth from an earthworm. I'm only going to touch on the basics of the 3 most popular theories.

Theory 1. You start catching more items after around an hour.
a. Time seems to affect junk items (ex: rusty buckets_ more than profitable items (ex: rusty caps)
b. Zoning usually but not always fixes this. Multiple zoning and logging out are sometimes considered requirements.
c. You get less fish because fishing up items indirectly reduces the rate you hook fish.

example: You normally get a fish to hook you line 4/5 casts. Now you're getting rusty items 2/5 times - that means at best you can only hook fish 3/5 casts which is a 25% reduction.

Theory 2. Fish stop biting after around an hour.
a. Symptoms here are a sudden string of "you didn't catch anything" messages after having gotten a hook nearly every cast.
b. Zoning usually but not always fixes this. Multiple zoning and logging out are sometimes considered requirements.

Theory 3. Fishing is random and streaks are inherent to the system.
a. Bad luck streaks go away on their own.

*****

I'm a mindless lemming. I need to be told where to level. Please help me since I can't think for myself.

Fine, here's a list that'll take you to the mid 50's. I've listed mutliple options at any given level. Rod reccommendations are excluded on purpose even the laziest people should do a little research.

0-10
Lug worms or Sabiki Rig in Port Windurst.
Target fish is Bastore Sardines (10) and Quus (19).
Skill is about par with fishing for crayfish and moat carp.
If you never sell moat carp for cash, this is the more profitable option.
Sardines can be sliced with wind crystals to raise your cooking skill to 11.

0-11
Little worms until 7, insect paste until 11 in Windurst Walls/Waters/Woods or any of the billion other places that have moat carp.
Windurst recommended so you can get the fishing support from the guild.
Target fish with little worms is crayfish (7) and moat carp (11).
Target fish with insect paste is moat carp (11) and a extremely rare (due to high level) gold carp (56)
This is optimal for working on Lu Shang since you're catching moat carp.
This is a profitable option if you sell moat carp.

8-14
Lug worms, sliced sardines, or sinking minnow in Selbina.
Target fish is Greedie (14) and Fat Greedie (23).
Only reason to level here is to catch the Fat Greedie for the Selbina quest that requires it.
If you don't want to skill here but want to complete the quest, use sliced sardines for a fast catch.

10-17
Sabiki Rig in Buburimu Penninsula, Port Jueno (requires rank 5), or Ice pond in Qufim. Recommended location is Buburimu cliffs.
Target fish is Yellow Globes.
These sell decently well since they are used in Alchemy.
Skill seems to be slower than the Cheval Salmon route.

10-19
Sabiki Rig in Port Windurst (conveniently near fishing support NPCs) or Selbina.
Target fish is Quus (19)
You'll also end up catching plenty of Bastore Sardines in the process.

10-21
Fly lure in East Ronfaure or Jugner Forest (river).
Target fish are Cheval Salmon (21) and Shining Trout (37).
Neither fish sells well so there isn't much money to be made here.
This tends to be a bit slow until around level 15.

11-27
Insect paste anywhere you can catch Tricolored Carp. Recommended location is Jugner Forest in the lake.
Depending on location, target fish is Moat Carp (11), Tricolored Carp (27), Dark Bass (33), and Gold Carp (56)
Again, this is optimal for Lu Shang quest since you're catching Moat Carp.
Decent money if you sell the moat carp.
From 11-18 this is pretty slow for skill ups, but goes really fast after that.

20-27
Crayfish Balls on the ferry.
Target fish is Nebimonite (27).
Slow bites, but good money.

18-33
Frog Lure in La Theine Plateau (Pond at L-10).
Target fish are Giant Catfish (31), Dark Bass (33), Red Terrapin (53).
Mixed reviews for this place from 18-24, but the general concensus is that it's great for skill ups from 24-31 (slows down again at 32).
This area also lets you catch lots of rusty caps which makes it the best money maker area for this level range.
There are moat carp in these waters too so you can use insect paste to target Moat carp (11) and Dark bass (33) if you want to work in Lu Shangs.

20-48
Sinking Minnow or Sliced Sardine in South Gustaberg or E/W Sarutabaruta cliffs. Recommended location is S. Gustaberg.
Target fish are Ogre Eel (35), Gold Lobster (46), Zamflug Bass (48).
Without Lu Shang's rod, you'll lose too many catches to make this very profitable.
These areas are probably the most fickle fishing grounds in the game. Sometimes you'll swear you're losing skill, other times you'll be gaining skill at insane rates. If you're not having any luck, leave and come back another day. Still, I think this is the best place to fish from 33 to 40 for skill (other than the ferry that risks rod breaks).

27-50
Insect Paste in Rabao - use Carbon Fishing Rod here.
Target fish is Moat Carp (11) and Sandfish (50).
Optimal for Lu shang Quest.
You can catch rusty caps here so this is very profitable.
Until around 36 skill will be extremely slow, but you'll easily reach 50 long before you catch 10,000 moat carp.

30-41(55)
Sliced Sardines on the Ferry.
Target fish are Gugru Tuna (41), Bluetail (55), and Noble Lady (66).
ONLY DO THIS IF YOU ARE WILLING TO BREAK RODS.

33-35
Frog Lure in Jugner Forest (Crystal Spring)
Target Fish is Crystal Bass (35) and Red Terrapin (53)
Pretty much just a back up location for S Gustaberg and E/W Sarutabaruta.

40-53
Rogue/Robber Rig in Buburimu Penninsula
Target Fish is Shall Shells (53).
Despite selling for 10k/stack you won't make tons of money here unles you have Lu Shang's rod due to frequent "too small for this rod" messages.
Skill tends to be really fast here.

40-55
Sliced Sardines or Minnows in Ferry, Buburimu, Qufim, and many other locations.
Target fish is Bluetail (55).
Once sliced with wind crystals these make excellent bait for fishing at higher levels.
Skill ups are about average (much faster on the boat thanks to Noble Lady's biting the same bait, but high risk of rod breaks from Tuna biting too). Use the sweat trick to avoid rod breaks if you're fishing on the boat.

50-56
Insect Paste in Windurst Water, Walls, or Woods.
Target fish is Moat Carp (11) and Gold Carp (56).
Once again, this is a great option if you're working on Lu shang's rod.
This is also decent money since Gold Carp sell decently to vendor (675+ to fishing guild).
_________________
Pyogenes
The FFXI Timer

Screw Lu shang's rod. I want to be able to throw goblin bombs into the water and do some dynamite fishing.