Fishing Guide for Season of Discovery (SoD) Phase 8
Phase 8 of Season of Discovery retains the 300 skill cap introduced in Phase 3 for professions, allowing players to max out their crafting and gathering skills in case they haven’t already done so. For the Fishing profession, that means you’ll be able to cast your line anywhere in the world and catch any fish (or crate) you’re after.
Fishing Leveling & Trainers
Check out our Classic Fishing Guide for trainer locations, a leveling guide, and more. Everything in that guide applies to Season of Discovery. So far there have been no changes to the Fishing skill in SoD except for the level requirements for higher skill ranks (level 26 for Expert and level 41 for Artisan).
Learning Artisan Fishing
From Phase 3 onward, players were able to level their professions all the way to 300 skill, or Artisan level – the maximum skill for Vanilla WoW.
To reach 300 in Fishing you’ll first need to complete the quest Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme to learn the Artisan Fishing skill. This quest will send you to catch 4 different fish in locations all over the map. To pick up this quest, talk to Nat Pagle, who can be found on one of the small islands off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh, southwest of Theramore Isle (58.61, 60.06).
Phase 8 Fishing Equipment
Even with a skill level of 300, you will need to use a special fishing pole and lure to avoid catching junk in high level zones. The highest level fishing areas require a total Fishing skill of 425.
In addition to poles and lures, which we’ll cover below, here are a few items that can increase your Fishing skill. Check out our Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Extravaganza Guide for a complete guide to the competition, which is where you will get all of the best fishing items.
| Item | Skill Bonus | Skill Required | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enchant Gloves – Fishing | +2 | – | Enchanting |
| High Test Eternium Fishing Line* | +5 | 150 | Rare Fish – Dezian Queenfish Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Tournament |
| Lucky Fishing Hat | +5 | 1 | Rare Fish – Keefer’s Angelfish Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Tournament |
| Nat Pagle’s Extreme Anglin’ Boots | +5 | 1 | Rare Fish – Brownell’s Blue Striped Racer Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Tournament |
Fishing Poles
The Arcanite Fishing Pole is the best fishing pole in the game, but it can only be obtained by winning the Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Tournament. The next best option for Horde is Nat Pagle’s Extreme Angler FC-5000 from the quest 
Snapjaws, Mon! in The Hinterlands. Alliance players will have to settle for the Big Iron Fishing Pole. You can get it by opening a lot of Shellfish Traps in Desolace or from the Auction House.
| Fishing Pole | Skill Bonus | Skill Required | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcanite Fishing Pole | +35 | 300 | Master Angler Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Tournament |
| Nat Pagle’s Extreme Angler FC-5000 | +25 | 100 | Snapjaws, Mon! Quest in The Hinterlands |
| Big Iron Fishing Pole | +20 | 100 | Looted from Shellfish Traps in Desolace |
| Darkwood Fishing Pole | +15 | 50 | Low chance of catching while fishing |
| Strong Fishing Pole | +5 | 10 | Fishing Supplies Vendors |
| Blump Family Fishing Pole | +3 | 1 |  The Family and the Fishing PoleQuest in Darkshore |
| Fishing Pole | – | – | Fishing Supplies Vendors |
Fishing Lures
For bait, you have plenty of options depending on your current skill level. Aquadynamic Fish Attractor is the best choice and can be made with Engineering or purchased on the Auction House, or occasionally bought from vendors.
| Lure | Skill Bonus | Skill Required | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquadynamic Fish Attractor | +100 | 100 | Fishing Supplies Vendors Or Engineering |
| Flesh Eating Worm | +75 | 100 | Looted from Rotted Ones in Duskwood |
| Bright Baubles | +75 | 100 | Fishing Supplies Vendors |
| Aquadynamic Fish Lens | +50 | 50 | Electropellers Quest in Darkshore |
| Nightcrawlers | +50 | 50 | Fishing Supplies Vendors Looted from many undead mobs |
| Shiny Bauble | +25 | 1 | Fishing Supplies Vendors |
Phase 8 Fish to Farm
So far, no new fish have been added in Season of Discovery, but there are some items that are used to obtain Rune Engravings which can be caught with the Fishing skill as an alternative to other methods. Otherwise everything is the same as in Vanilla World of Warcraft except for the level caps.
Junk pools can be very profitable to fish from since they will net you everything from BoEs to high-level crafting materials to Rumsey Rum Black Label. Deviate Fish are always in demand for their fun effects – see our Deviate Fish Guide for a list of effects and where to fish. The most valuable fish for Cooking is Raw Nightfin Snapper. There are also some fish that are valuable for use in Alchemy recipes: Firefin Snapper, Oily Blackmouth, and Stonescale Eel.
Here are the most valuable items you can fish for in Phase 8 of Season of Discovery:
What’s the best fishing pole we can realistically get? I had the same issue trying to get the Big Iron Fishing Pole.
For Phase 1 it’s probably just the +5 pole from the fishing vendor. Making a note in the guide!
Seems that fishing pole is not reliably available from the Supplier in major cities. I’ve checked Darnassus and SW now and neither had it.
I have purchased the +5 Fishing pole from the fishing supplies vendor in both Darnassus and in Rut’theran Village several times you just have to be lucky to get it when it pops as many are hunting it.
I have been farming traps successfully, but no rod yet. At around 50 shellfish. I got a random green drop. Is this a place holder for the rod or do they drop greens occasionally?
The +20 fishing rod exists. Took me around 3 hours to get one with a lot of dying.Good luck.
I picked up 3 rods & sold them for 10 gold each yesterday, just a low drop rate
Tanaris coast or another location?
I definitely got my +20 rod, worth farming every time
Great guide. FWIW, I’ve been fishing up Big-mouth Clam in The Shattered Strand in Azshara. I got Golden and Black pearls from them.
How come we cant get the Nat Pagle quest in phase 2? The reqs for it seems to just be lvl 35 and 225 fishing
They changed the requirements for specializations in SoD to space things out across the phases.
For anyone trying to be cheeky like me and farm the Big Iron Fishing Pole with a level 1 character by opening the containers close to the coast – they have a chance to summon a mob. It sadly doesnt work.The coast in Tanaris right at Steamwheedle port is one of the best fishing spots for P1 crafting mats. Rum, clams and 4 different kinds of containers can be pulled in the same here.
So you’re thinking getting this fishing pole isn’t really realistic?
Hey, I tried to fish the schools in tanaris as alliance with 150 fishing skill and Aquadynamic Fish Attractor. My fishing rod is only +5.. So I have 255 fishing skill and I missed a lot. What would you suggest?