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It's time for players to return to Northrend again and face The Wrath of Lich King. Between the raiding, exploring, and general feats of amazing heroism of the new Classic: World of Warcraft expansion, it's easy to forget about the secondary professions of Cooking, First Aid, and Fishing. The profession of Fishing might be the most important one of the three since players can use it to boost the other two.

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There's more to fishing than equipping a pole and dropping a line, but that is a good place to start. Players have to seek out gear, trainers, and special buff items, just like they have to do with raids and dungeons. There's a lot for fisherfolk to do in Northrend, so it's helpful to have a guide to keep track of everything.

Before you start fishing in Northrend, it's strongly recommended that you raise your skill to the maximum level allowed in the previous expansion, The Burning Crusade. Your level at this point should be at least 350, and the fishing trainers in Northrend can only train the Master Fishing skill past this level.

Getting Started - How To Fish

Grinding the Fishing skill in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion is easier because characters can fish anywhere now regardless of their skill level and still gain experience. The drawback here is that a lot of fish will get away in the meantime. Lures can help alleviate this issue and they're available from trade vendors and fishing trainers.

A Fishing Set

It's perfectly fine to equip a fishing pole and nothing else, but adding a few more relevant pieces of gear to complete the look and give your character a few extra buffs is also beneficial. You can now enchant any gloves with a +5 to their fishing skill, an Enchanting formula new with the recent expansion, and anyone who fishes knows how important hats are.

Common examples include the Lucky Fishing Hat, which is one of the prizes for winning the Stranglethorn Fishing Contest, and the Weather-beaten Fishing Hat, a random reward for completing the Outland Fishing quests from Old Man Barlo.

Fish Tracking

The Find Fish skill isn't essential to be able to fish, but it gives a character the ability to see fishing nodes on the map. This skill isn't learned from trainers. Find Fish can only be learned from the Weather-Beaten Journal, an object that is randomly fished up in a variety of locations. It's bind on pickup too, which means it can't be sold or handed to another player.

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Northrend Fishing Trainers

The sanctuary city of Dalaran is home to the Grand Master Fishing trainer Marcia Chase, and she'll teach players of either faction the art of casting a line. However, since you don't reach Dalaran until level 74, there are other trainers available in the starting zones of Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord.

Horde

  • Warsong Hold. The zeppelin from Orgrimmar goes straight to this massive metal fortress in the Borean Tundra. Fishy Ser'ji can be found relaxing at the cooking tables by the innkeeper on the southern part of the main floor.
  • Veangence Landing. The icy waters of Howling Fjord are great for both freshwater and saltwater fishing. Angelina Soren waits outside on the dock with a friend selling equipment and lures.

Alliance

  • Valiance Keep. A city built entirely on the water, you don't even have to leave the safety of town to grind your Fishing skill. Old Man Robert is just outside of the jail with the Cooking Trainer.
  • Valgarde. The tall wooden buildings and setting in a chilly fjord aren't just lovely, they're also an ideal place to find fishing nodes. Byron Welwick is the trainer here and he can help you find them.

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The Aquatic Life Of Northrend

Fishing is connected to both Cooking and Alchemy. Using fish with Cooking recipes is obvious, but several Alchemy recipes utilize certain rare fish, so even if a catch isn't useful for Cooking, it might be handy for something else. Cooking is also an important profession to level and Fishing is one of the best ways to do so.

Fish

Name Location Recipe or Use
Barrelhead Moby Shalozar Basin Sauteed Goby
Bonescale Snapper Only found in open coastal water almost anywhere in Northrend. Grilled Stonescale and Snapper Extreme.
Deep Sea Monsterbelly The Frozen Sea off the west coast of the Borean Tundra. Gigantic Feast
Dragonfin Angelfish A freshwater fish from the Borean Tundra and Dragonblight. Dragonfin Filet and Blackened Dragonfin.
Fangtooth Herring The rivers and lakes of Grizzly Hills and Howling Fjord. Haunted Herring, Pickled Fangtooth, and Spicy Fried Herring.
Fountain Goldfish Like the name says, only the Eventide Fountain in Dalaran. No recipe for these, but eating them raw restores health.
Glacial Salmon A freshwater fish in Howling Fjord and Grizzly Hills. Firecracker Salmon, Smoked Salmon, Fish Feast, and Small Feast.
Glassfin Minnow The rivers and lakes of Crystalsong Forest. Used by Alchemists to make Ethereal Oil, a component in the Elixir of Water Walking. Enchanters use it for the Enchant Gloves: Angler recipe.
Imperial Manta Ray The coastal waters of various zones. Baked Manta Ray and Imperial Manta Steak.
Magic Eater An urban fish from the sewers or wishing well in Dalaran. No cooking is needed to have fun with this fish, which either gives a character a random Well fed buff or casts a polymorph spell that turns them into a cockroach, wisp, dragon whelp, or basilisk.
Nettlefish Only in Shalozar Basin. Used for Fish Feast, Small Feast, Spicy Blue Nettlefish, and Poached Nettlefish.
Pygmy Suckerfish Doesn't spawn its own schools but appears in every other one as well as open water throughout Northrend. Used to make Pygmy Oil, a reagent for many high-level Alchemy recipes, such as the Flask of Pure Mojo and the Potion of Speed. It's also used to make the Indestructible Alchemist's Stone.
Rockin Grouper Find this fish off the icy coast anywhere in Northrend. Used to make Gigantic Feast and Smoked Rockfin.
Sewer Carp The Underbelly area of Dalaran. Served raw, like many of the urban fish, and restores health without the need for a recipe.
Shimmering Minnow The water feature in front of the Violet Hold in Dalaran. One of the sashimi-style urban fish restores health but doesn't provide any buffs.
Slippery Eel The pools outside of the Violet Hold in Dalaran. The only food that provides a buff without being cooked, it improves your dodge rating.
Terrorfish In schools and open water in the PvP zone of Winterspring. Only used to complete one of the Dalaran Daily cooking quests.

Shellfish And Cephalopods

Name Location Recipe or Use
Darkwater Clam Open these to harvest Succulent Clam Meat. Other rare items include Northsea Pearls and Sirens Tears. Dalaran Clam Chowder, Bad Clams
Borean Man O' War A saltwater cephalopod found in Dragonblight, Borean Tundra, and Howling Fjord. Black Jelly
Moonglow Cuttlefish Found in schools and open water in the Frozen Sea. Cuttlesteak
Musselback Sculpin In both schools and open water off the coast of Borean Tundra and Dragonblight. Fish Feast, Grilled Sculpin, and Poached Northern Sculpin.

Treasures, Magical Items, And Other Goodies

Name Location Recipe or Use
Copper Coin There are 22 different copper coins in the fountain, each one with a unique message. Required for the "Penny for Your Thoughts" Achievement.
Crystallized Water These are like the motes of water that could be fished up in Outland. They sometimes drop from enemies but are more commonly found while fishing. Collect ten and turn them into a powerful reagent, Eternal Water, which is used for Alchemy and Enchanting.
Gold Coin There are 15 gold coins, and their messages come from the most famous names in Warcraft lore. Required for the "There's Gold in That There Fountain" Achievement. Throw it back and get a two-minute buff that improves the chances of finding more coins.
Silver Coin There are 15 silver coins, and their messages come from obscure but heroic names in the Warcraft universe. Required for the "Silver in the City" Achievement.
Reinforced Crate These can be fished up virtually anywhere, but are more common in fishing schools located off the coast. Contains a variety of items that range from useless vendor trash to valuable raw resources like frostweave cloth, cobalt ore, and different kinds of Borean leather.

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Fishing Quests And Contests

  • Dalaran Daily. Marcia Chase isn't just the Fishing trainer, she's also the keeper of Northrend's daily fishing quest. Like the fishing quests that were introduced in The Burning Crusade, there are a few different quests available and you get a random one every day.
  • Kalu'ak Fishing Derby​​​​​​. As of now, this contest has yet to be added to Classic: WoW, but it was added to the retail version of the game during a later patch and the same might happen in the Classic version.

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