TBC Anniversary Fishing Leveling Guide 1-375: Spots and Poles

Quick summary

• TBC Anniversary fishing leveling 1-375 has three gates, not trainers: the Expert Fishing book from Old Man Heming in Booty Bay; the Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme quest (level 35, 225 skill) in Dustwallow Marsh; and Master Fishing - The Art of Angling from Juno Dufrain at Cenarion Refuge in Zangarmarsh.
• Expect about 1,700 catches for 1-375, nearly half of them from 300 to 375 (Warcraft Tavern).
• Effective skill is what counts: base skill plus pole, lure and gear. The main Zangarmarsh lakes need 400 to never lose a fish, Terokkar's rivers 450, and its named lakes 500.
• Route: starter zone, then a capital city, Dustwallow Marsh, high-level Azeroth, then Zangarmarsh 300-350 and Terokkar Forest 350-375.
• Fishing is a secondary profession, so it doesn't use one of your two main slots.

This guide covers the Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary realms in Phase 3.5. The Artisan quest is still required here; it only became optional in patch 3.1 (Warcraft Wiki).

Set up to fish

1. Learn Fishing from a trainer (level 5). Horde: Lumak (Orgrimmar), Armand Cromwell (Undercity), Kah Mistrunner (Thunder Bluff), Drathen (Silvermoon), plus Clyde Kellen, Lau'Tiki and Uthan Stillwater in the starter zones. Alliance: Arnold Leland (Stormwind), Grimnur Stonebrand (Ironforge), Astaia (Darnassus), Erett (Exodar), plus Androl Oakhand, Paxton Ganter and Lee Brown in the starter zones.
2. Buy a Fishing Pole and Shiny Baubles from a Fishing Supply or Trade Goods vendor.
3. Drag Fishing from the General tab of your spellbook to your bars.
4. Equip the pole, apply the lure, cast at water, and right-click the bobber when it splashes. If you click too early or too late, you lose the fish (Warcraft Tavern).

Plan your catches

Warcraft Tavern's average catches per skill point:

Skill range	Catches per point	Catches for the bracket (about)
1-75	1	75
75-145	2	140
145-190	3	135
190-225	4	140
225-265	5	200
265-300	6	210
300-340	10	400
340-375	11	385

These add up to roughly 1,700, matching Warcraft Tavern's total. Budget your lures and play sessions around the last two rows.

Follow the route

Skill	Where	Rank needed	Lure
1-75	Any starter zone water (not a capital): Durotar, Mulgore, Tirisfal, Eversong, Elwynn, Dun Morogh, Teldrassil, Azuremyst	Apprentice	Shiny Bauble
75-150	Any old capital city (not Silvermoon or the Exodar), or the Barrens, Darkshore, Loch Modan, Silverpine, Westfall	Journeyman at 50	Shiny Bauble or Nightcrawlers
150-225	Dustwallow Marsh (where the Artisan quest starts), or Stranglethorn, Arathi, Desolace, Swamp of Sorrows, Thousand Needles, Alterac	Expert book from Old Man Heming, Booty Bay	Bright Baubles
225	Nat Pagle's quest (below)	Artisan	Bright Baubles for the Feralas Ahi
225-300	Felwood, Feralas (not Jademir Lake), The Hinterlands, Tanaris, Un'Goro, Moonglade, Azshara, Western Plaguelands, or Dustwallow	Artisan	Bright Baubles
300-~310	Pools of Aggonar, Hellfire Peninsula, or stay in Azeroth	Master book from Juno Dufrain	Bright Baubles are enough here
300-350	Zangarmarsh: the Lagoon and Umbrafen Lake, around Cenarion Refuge	Master	Reach 400 effective (table below)
350-375	Terokkar Forest inland rivers. Avoid the named lakes and flying-only areas	Master	Aim for 450 effective

Zones are suggestions; any water in a zone of the right level works.

Example: Warcraft Tavern says Barrens oases and the Wailing Caverns hold Deviate Fish, which are used for Savory Deviate Delight. Fishing there from 75 to 150 instead of a capital city gives you something to sell or cook.

Complete Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme

Nat Pagle is off the southern coast of Dustwallow Marsh at Tidefury Cove. You need level 35 and 225 Fishing. Warcraft Tavern says the city lead-in quest is optional.

Fish	Where	Check your minimap for	Notes
Feralas Ahi	Small river just outside Dire Maul, Feralas	"Verdantis River"	The only one with a higher requirement. Needs 300 to never fail, so 225 + Bright Baubles (75) is enough
Misty Reed Mahi Mahi	Southern Swamp of Sorrows coast, southeast of the Temple of Atal'Hakkar	"Misty Reed Strand"	Icy Veins suggests standing on the rocks in the water to avoid Murlocs
Sar'theris Striker	Desolace coast	"Sar'theris Strand"	Icy Veins says south of Shadowprey Village. Warcraft Tavern says it's not only the south
Savage Coast Blue Sailfin	Stranglethorn coast near Grom'gol, at the river mouth	"The Savage Coast"	Mainland only, not the islands

Turn the four fish in to Nat Pagle for Artisan, then fish up to 300 in Dustwallow or any zone from the 225-300 row.

Reach 400 effective skill for Outland

The Lagoon and Umbrafen Lake in Zangarmarsh require 305 Fishing to cast and 400 effective skill to never lose a fish (Warcraft Tavern). Below 400 you'll lose catches and level much more slowly.

Combo at 300 base	Bonus	Effective	Who
Aquadynamic Fish Attractor or Sharpened Fish Hook	+100	400	Anyone. Warcraft Tavern calls them generally cheap on the Auction House
Nat Pagle's Extreme Angler FC-5000 + Bright Baubles	+25 +75	400	Horde only (quest "Snapjaws, Mon!", The Hinterlands)
Seth's Graphite Fishing Pole + Bright Baubles + a small bonus (such as Captain Rumsey's Lager +10)	+20 +75 +10	405	Both factions (quest "Rather Be Fishin'", Terokkar Forest)
Big Iron Fishing Pole + Bright Baubles + small bonus	+20 +75 +5/10	400+	Both. Rare drop from Desolace Shellfish Traps, so it can be expensive
Bright Baubles only	+75	375	Fine for the Pools of Aggonar, short of 400 for Zangarmarsh

Bonuses from Warcraft Tavern and Icy Veins.

Other bonuses (Warcraft Tavern): Lucky Fishing Hat +5, Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots +5, Enchant Gloves - Fishing +2, High Test Eternium Fishing Line +5, the fishing-daily Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat, and Arcanite Fishing Pole +35 from the Stranglethorn Fishing Tournament.

Example: a Horde fisher at 300 with the FC-5000 and Bright Baubles reaches exactly 400 and fishes the Lagoon without losing fish. At 350, Terokkar's rivers need 450 to never fail. With 350 + 25 + 75 = 450, the same setup carries over.

Fish the Shattrath daily

Old Man Barlo at the lake just north of Shattrath City offers one of five fishing dailies: Felblood Fillet, Shrimpin' Ain't Easy, Bait Bandits, The One That Got Away and Crocolisks in the City (Icy Veins). The reward bag (Bag of Fishing Treasures) can hold the Sharpened Fish Hook and Spun Truesilver Fishing Line, and the Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat also comes from the dailies.

Cook what you catch

Level Cooking at the same time, because most of the fish you catch can be cooked for skill-ups. That saves a lot of gold. See our TBC Anniversary Cooking guide, which marks which brackets use fish. Furious Crawdad from Terokkar's highland pools cooks into Spicy Crawdad, and several Outland fish are raid buff food that sells well; the gold farming guide compares fishing with other gold methods.

Avoid these mistakes

1. Fishing without a lure. Bait removes much of the chance to lose a catch (Warcraft Tavern).
2. Heading to Zangarmarsh below 400 effective. Use the Pools of Aggonar or Azeroth until you have a +100 lure or a pole combo.
3. Fishing a Terokkar named lake. They need 500 to never fail.
4. Forgetting Nat Pagle's quest at 225. Fishing past 225 gives no points without Artisan.
5. Fishing the Desolace islands or the Stranglethorn islands. The quest fish need the right subzone on your minimap.
6. Throwing away fish. Cook them for skill and raid food.

Return, boost, or level an alt

• Returning player at 300: buy Master Fishing from Juno Dufrain, pick up Bright Baubles from him, and start at the Pools of Aggonar until you have a 400 combo. Zangarmarsh's other faction, the Cenarion Expedition, sits in the same Cenarion Refuge.
• Boosted or fresh 70: the first 225 points take a few hundred catches (table above). Do 75-150 in a capital between other activities and 150-225 in Dustwallow, so you're already at Nat Pagle when you hit 225.
• Leveling alt: fish in each zone's water as you quest. You'll often outlevel the zone requirements. Pick up the Snapjaws, Mon! pole on the way if you're Horde.
• Raider: the Old Man Barlo daily is quick and gives fishing gear. Cook the fish for buff food.

The third secondary profession is covered in the First Aid leveling guide, and every main profession is in the professions leveling guide. Zones for the level 58-70 part of the route are in the leveling guide 1–70. The TBC Anniversary professions page lists profession services from independent sellers, and everything else is on the TBC Anniversary hub.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather not grind this part yourself, TBC Anniversary powerleveling services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Blizzard's End User License Agreement before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

FAQ

Where do I learn Master Fishing in TBC Anniversary? Buy Master Fishing - The Art of Angling from Juno Dufrain at Cenarion Refuge, Zangarmarsh, and read it.

How do I get Artisan Fishing? Complete Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme in Dustwallow Marsh at level 35 and 225 Fishing by catching four quest fish (Feralas, Swamp of Sorrows, Desolace, Stranglethorn).

What Fishing skill do I need in Zangarmarsh? 305 to cast in the Lagoon and Umbrafen Lake, and 400 effective to never lose a fish (Warcraft Tavern).

How many catches does 1-375 take? About 1,700, with almost half between 300 and 375.

What's the best fishing pole for leveling? Seth's Graphite Fishing Pole (+20, both factions) or Nat Pagle's Extreme Angler FC-5000 (+25, Horde only). Arcanite Fishing Pole (+35) is the Stranglethorn tournament prize.

Where is the TBC fishing daily? Old Man Barlo at the lake just north of Shattrath City in Terokkar Forest. He offers one of five dailies each day.

Related guides

• TBC Anniversary Cooking Leveling Guide 1-375
• TBC Anniversary Herbalism Leveling Guide 1-375
• TBC Anniversary First Aid Leveling Guide 1-375
• TBC Anniversary Professions Leveling Guide 1-375