Beginner Fishing Guide
The Blacksmith
http://www.blackenedforge.com
version 1.02

Table of Contents
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I.  Preface
II.  References
III.  Fishing Poles
IV.  Baits and Lures
V.  Fish
VI.  +1 Clothes
VII.  Moon Phases
VIII.  Leveling
X.  Fishing 101
XI.  Fishing 201
XII.  Fishing 301
XIII.  Macros

I. Preface
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Fishing is a craft that is the slowest to level up, but the quickest job to achieve results. It isn't any more lively or boring than other crafting, but it's the sort of job you can do anywhere there is water. No need to pack tons of crafting components around. No need to glue yourself to the auction house. This is the craft for adventurers and explorers.

It can still be quite boring in itself, but what crafting job isn't? You must put the time and effort into it. This is the kind of crafting where you click a button and then wait 10-20 seconds for something to happen. So it's a good idea to watch some tv or read a book while you fish. I personally do my ironing or read a book. :)  It's also something you can do for short amounts of time.

In FFXI, fish is an important commodity. First off, Mithran can eat fish raw and gain small bonuses to their stats. Second, culinary players can cook it up for even more potent boosts. Thirdly, fish can be reprocessed into bait.

The following chapters will delve into the tips and tricks of fishing and how best to get started and where.
 

II. References
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Trent's Soft Cap Guide - http://www.brianbunge.com/files/fishingguild.txt
Virtual Vana'diel Timer - http://www.manakun.com/hari/
Osakana Database - http://www.fishermanrods.net/database_e.cfm
VN Crafting Boards - http://vnboards.ign.com/board.asp?brd=22595


III. Fishing Poles
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Fishing poles make a huge difference in terms of what you can catch. They don't help you catch more fish, they just open the doors to different types and sizes. Rods are specific to the size of fish, and all rods come with varying degrees of strength. Here are the following rods from weak to strong (which, coincidentally, goes from cheapest to most expensive).

Basically, the stronger the rod, the less it will break and more types of rusty gear it can withstand. The Lu Shang's Rod is only obtainable from the lengthy quest in San d'Oria (give 10,000 moat carps), or bought from a player. That leaves the Mithran as the best bread and butter fishing rod to catch small fish. For larger fish, the same scale applies with the composite rod standing atop the list, although, you'll find that the composite will catch small fish too, just not all of them.  Note:  A lot of people prefer to use the composite rod for their all-around fishing.  If money is tight, then I would recommend going that route.  You'll break a little less and it costs much less, but you won't have the smaller fish access like the Mithran.  I personally use Mithran for small fish and composite for larger fish.

One last thing to know is that broken rods can be repaired. In order to repair them, you'll need to seek out a Carpenter or an Alchemist. Each guild repairs different rods. The skill level for the good rods are 20-40, so your crafter must be good. If you can't find one, then put your rod up on the auction block. Don't bother with the willow, yew, and bamboo rods. They don't sell.


IV. Bait & Lures
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One thing you must note is that bait and lures are completely separate. Lures aren't "fake bait." For example, the Small Worm (bait) will not catch the same fish as the Worm Lure. They just are different. For the most part, there isn't a bait or lure that is better than another, because for the simple fact that they all catch different things. Now, there are a few exceptions that make better choices. For example the highly popular Sabiki lure is capable of catching up to 3 fish at once. Bait is lost when you hook something and lures are lost when your line or pole breaks.

Here is a list of the good lures that a beginner (levels 1-20) should use:

V. Fish
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Fish come in all sizes and even the same type of fish come in different sizes.  Basically, there is a range of fish sizes within each type.  For example, there are small, medium, and large moat carps.  You need to understand this for the simple fact that rods work throughout these ranges.  Let's take crawfish and moat carps for example.  They are both considered "small" fish, thus you might use a rod from the small rods list above.  Technically, this is correct when selecting rods, but not all the time true.  A carbon rod is a good choice to fish with for these 2 types of fish.  It's able to catch all sizes of both.  The Mithran, on the other hand, is a stronger and slightly larger pole.  With that rod, you'll catch all moat carps, but will lose the smaller crayfish.  You can still catch crayfish, just not the smaller sized ones.  The composite rod will not catch the crawfish and only catch moat carps.  If you catch a fish that is too small, the game will tell you so.

Some fish come with sizes when examined.  This applies to the larger fish and you get a weight and length number to see.  I'm not sure of the importance of this, but I suspect that some quests want certain sized ones.  Or perhaps there is contests that can be run for this.  Like fishing derbies. There are 52 known species of fish to catch, which you can see in Trent's guide listed above.

Fish locations are probably the hardest things to know and I think it's something that will never be completed.  Use Osakana's Database (linked above) to figure out which fish are where.  It's a great tool to use when you are out adventuring and want to know what you can catch at a particular area.  I think some other people are working on putting that down on paper so we can have something available while playing.  Stay tuned for that I guess.

VI. +1 Clothes
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You can purchase 8 items of clothing that will raise your skill +1 for each article. There is a piece for legs, feet, hands, and torso, and there are 2 versions of each.  (you can only wear 4 items total)  These are player-made and can be purchased on the AH or a Bazaar under Armor.  The higher version just adds more armor, not more skill.

It's a good idea to grab a piece or 2 early on as possible. The cheapest article is the Fisherman's Gloves at about $1500. The leggings and boots are about $4000-6000 each, and the torso is around $10,000.  The Angler's gear is much more expensive.


VII. Moon Phases
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The phase of the moon has a huge impact on fishing, especially for tidal waters like the ocean. During a Full Moon, you can expect to hook something every single cast. You'll find your skill raising the fastest during this time. The New Moon is also good for catching fish, just not as good as a Full Moon.  Here are the following moon phases in the game.

New Moon - (zero moon, not lit)
Waxing Crescent - (quarter moon)
First Quarter - (half moon)
Waxing Gibbous - (3-quarter moon)
Full Moon - (full moon, 100% lit)
Waning Gibbous - (3-quarter moon)
Last Quarter - (half moon)
Waning Crescent - (quarter moon)

A Full Moon in game happens every 3 Earth days. The Full Moon phase lasts approximately 6 Earth hours. The Virtual Vana'diel Timer in the reference section keeps track of the moon phases for Full and New so you know when the best times to fish are. A New Moon also occurs every 3 days, but starts its cycle the day before the Full Moon. So in effect, out of every 3 Earth days, 1 day does not have optimal fishing times.


VIII. Leveling
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Just a quick note since this is one of the most popular questions. Fishing is tedious and there will be times when you fish for a few hours and get no skillups.  Just keep at it.  You get skill points like the other guilds; in chunks of 0.1, 0.2, or rarely, 0.3. You will get more skillups during a Full or New Moon and sometimes very rapidly. It all seems random to me, though. But follow Trent's soft cap guide above in the reference section to figure out when to move on to the next fish. You get level points for HOOKING fish. The only time you don't is when you don't hook a fish. (You don't get skillups for catching non-fish items either) So if the fish gets away or your pole/line breaks, you will still get points. That's why it's good to fish for fish with soft caps 5-10 levels above you. You might not have the skill to land them, but you learned something about them when hooking 'em.

When you hit level 8, you'll want to head to the fishing guild in Windurst so you can take the test. Taking the test gives you another rank and lets you get past fishing level 10. You can take tests at levels 8, 18, 28, 38, 48, 58, 68, and 78. Fishing caps at 84 and with 4 points from fishing gear, you get a total of 88. There are 9 ranks for fishing and you start at rank 1. Ranks don't become important until after rank 3, at which point, you can catch fish for bounty in Selbina. Also, ranks allow you access to more fish. For example, you need rank 3 to fish for Icefish. Levels cap at every 10 levels, so 10, 20, 30, etc. You cannot get past these caps until you take the test.

Last thing to know is that guilds provide fishing bonuses for a short period of time called The Fishing Imagery. The main guild in Windurst will provide this. There are 2 levels. The free one, and the one you pay $30. The 2nd one lasts longer and is "supposedly" better. Worth the small cost anyway.


IX. Fishing 101
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The first thing you want to do when starting is to buy a rod of course. You get rods from vendors, bazaars, the AH, and killing/stealing Goblin Fishers. The Guild Hall in Windurst sells rods for the cheapest amongst npc vendors. Might be a good idea to have a 2nd character there to buy you fishing tackle.

I suggest starting with about 5 Bamboo rods and then pick up some worms. You can buy worms in Sandy from the lady outside the grocery store. In Windy, the Catalyst shop sells them 24hr a day and cheaper than the Guild Hall. Also, think about buying those fishing gloves for $1500. It'll help early on. One thing to note is that if your inventory is full, you automatically release the fish.

Next, you'll want to pick a location to fish. Your target fish are crawfish, moat carps, and bastore sardines. Since you find crawfish and moat carps together, fish for them. You can find these guys in all fresh water that is slow moving like ponds and lakes. You won't find them in streams and rivers. The safest place is to fish inside any town because you can't fish up a mob in town. In Sandy, fish the port. It's a quiet place that is very close to your house and the AH. If you are in Windurst, then you have more water than you can shake a stick at. Just pick anywhere.  In Bastok, you can fish in the market, the port, or even the in-town mine.

To actually fish, you'll need to be standing close to water and facing it. Then use the /fish command or click on the screen and choose Fish from the menu in the bottom left hand corner. While in the animation of fishing, you cannot do anything except talk. Any mouse clicks will put your pole away and stop you from fishing. There is no trick to when to click the button to reel in your fish. Any period while you hook something will work. I believe you have about 8-10 seconds to hit a button to see if you caught something or not.

When I first started fishing, I had a guild to back me up with free poles. I used about 20 rods up to about level 5, so you can see how fast you burn through these. Also, one of my favorite tactics was to fish in areas where there were Goblin Fishers. I would fish, and then when they spawned, I'd attack them for rods. It helped to clear the monotony of fishing. Fishers, for me, have dropped yew, willow, bamboo, fastwater, and clothespole rods. In San d'Oria, the Knightwell in West Rounfare is a great place to fish for moats/crawfish and to pester Fishers. Also a good tactic to be a thief at the time and steal rods from them.


X. Fishing 201
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Time for more extreme fishing pointers. After a few levels of fishing and many broken rods later, you'll want to choose a path. Do you want to fish for profit, or do you want to fish for skill points?  Fishing for profit will get you money today, but at a slow rate.  Fishing for profit later gets you money much faster since you'll catch more fish faster.

Moat Carps are, by far, the most traded fish in the game. The reason is because they satisfy the quest for the vaunted Lu Shang's rod. For this quest, you must catch 10,000 moat carps and turn them in to the rivaling brothers in San d'Oria. Since that is a huge number, most amateur fishermen just sell their stacks for money in order to pay for gear and tackle. They sell them to higher level characters with more money, so they can satisfy the quest the lazy way. Works out well for everybody.

If you want to go the profit way, then you'll want to focus on moat carps for the first 20 levels. You will soft cap on moat carps at level 11, but the infrequent tricolored carp will boost your skill, albeit, very slowly.  Hit up some fresh water in any town and grab some Insect Balls. If you are low level, then best to use worms until at least level 5. The insect balls will attract only carps for the majority of your catches.  Stick with either a carbon rod or a Mithran rod since they catch all sizes of moat carps. To maximize your time, you'll want to fish during a Full or New Moon. Moat carps will sell for $2500-4000 per stack, depending on the server. For my server, Midgardsormr, they are selling about $2700 a stack, but as in any economy, this will change. Still a good amount of money. If you are fishing off-peak (moon) hours, then you might want to stick with little worms. That will allow you to catch crawfish, which sell for $1000 a stack on my server. That will cover your bait costs. If moat carps get too boring, try fishing off the Selbina-Mhaura boat.  Fish there can sell quite well, although it is pretty dangerous for newbies.  You might also target other specific fish that are purchased by crafters.  One such example are Yellow Globes which crafters take and extract the poison from.

If you want to take the road of leveling, then you'll want to focus on fish that are 5-10 levels above you on the soft-cap chart. See Trent's guide above in the references section. The logical starting progression for those in San d'Oria is to work crawfish and moat carp to about level 11. Then switch to cheval salmon and shining trout to about level 19. One thing to notice is that some fish share the same lures, but you won't get the fish in the same quantities. For example, in that pond you are staring at, there are 65% moat carps and 25% crawfish and 10% others.  Let's say, you are level 20, and up ahead on the softcap chart are Tricolored Carps. Since insect balls catch them, you might think to use that bait. But wrong! Since there are tons more moat carp in the water, they will eat up all your bait. Basically, you'll want to target fish that have their own unique water or lure. An example of target fishing would be to fish the waters in Windurst for Pipira using meatballs.  The meatballs will only attract them and not the crawfish or moat carps there.  Also, to maximize your talents, you should get the +1 gear.

XI. Fishing 301
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At this point, you are a semi-pro. You know the general locations and you barely break rods and never snap lines. Still, there are more points for you to consider. First off, play the weather. Spread around the world are Meteorologists that will tell you the weather conditions for the next few days. As in real life, fish will bite more often at dawn and dusk, and will be more aggressive when lighting in the water is obscured. What I mean by that is that during overcast skies or rain, the surface of the water becomes dark or obscured by waves, thus letting in less light. Less light means the fish feel more protected or hidden. If they can't see out, predators can't see in.

Fishing waters where you can see fish gives you a small advantage. You'll hook more if you know there are fish there. For an example of this, try fishing the Cheval River. You'll see trout and salmon all through there. Now fish the head of the river by town where you don't see the fish. Your catch success will go down. Streams and some ponds are the only places you'll actually see fish.

Waterday? There are reports that people catch better on Waterday. I've never substantiated this, but who knows? Works for general crafting.

XII. Fishing Quests
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There are a few fishing quests that I know of. The major quest is the quest of Lu Shang's rod. It's the best rod in the game, and if you want to buy it from a player, get ready to dish out $3 million gil. This quest is started in the port of San d'Oria. To complete it, you'll need to give 10,000 moat carps to one of the brothers. This rod is breakable, but takes a long time to do so. It's also supposedly the only rod that can catch some of the legendary fish.

There are a couple quests in the game that ask you to fish up things. One is started in Selbina. You need to fish up a Fat Greedie and you'll earn an earring. You don't need a fishing skill per se, just the right equipment. The other quest runs out of Windurst and asks you to hit up a couple of sea crabs. They don't nomally spawn anywhere except the boat from Selbina to Mhuara. Just catch these guys and look for the random drop loot of a bronze box.

The last quest isn't a quest, but more like a bounty. You'll need to be rank 3 to get a Galkan in Selbina to buy specific fish from you. (he doesn't say anything and I've not caught any fish on his list. I just know this from the Strategy Guide.


XIII. Macros
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Okay, since auto-macros are grounds for character deletion, you only get the following macro to work with. The first line equips your bait if you are using it, so you don't waste time. The name of the bait must be entered as it's title, caps and all. If using a lure, then you can omit this line, or replace it with something of value like /clock. The next line is variable depending on your skill since the higher you are, the faster you can fish. You can fine tune this as you go. 14 is about newb level. To initiate this macro, hit your key combination exactly after you see your radar pop up after catching/losing a fish. So, fish and then when you are done and see the radar appear, fire off this macro. Repeat this macro every time the radar appears. There is no macro to automate catching the fish. You'll have to use a 3rd party program and risk getting perma-banned. As usual, macros are case-sensitive.

/equip Ammo "Baityouareusing"
/wait 14
/fish