My Fishing Guide

[Ronin.4501]

I've probably spent several hundred hours fishing since EoD was released and have even shared a few things in this section previously, but a few months back I put together a guide to help my guildmates who were working on completing the fishing achievements. I've decided to go ahead and share it with everyone else as well! Best of luck and happy fishing!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RLJW0w0PdENbGRnvwecudaM-E4JbI1xhc9rtmdfaQ9g/edit?fbclid=IwAR00v1O0Ys1iluOYP_mJ2GO5idKjFi7X6eXnwKcFUsiaJHMHgI1n2WOavNU

Edited September 8, 2023 by Ronin.4501

[Vavume.8065]

Can you just copy paste it here? I do not click external links.

[Ronin.4501]

Ronin's Guide to Fishing

 

First, it’s important to start off with AT LEAST Fishing Mastery 3 (Fishing on a Full Tank) and Skiff Piloting Mastery 4 (Fishing Party) to be able to utilize the fishing stacks and getting your fishing power high enough, which will be absolutely necessary when you fish in maps such as Orr, Desert Isles, and Ring of Fire islands; prior to this I would recommend exclusively fishing in the Canthan maps while leveling up your masteries as these maps don’t require a high fishing power.

 

Second, ALWAYS use fishing food, as it provides an extra +150 fishing power (all foods offer the same fishing power w/ varying additional buffs; the ascended food lasts 1hr while the personal foods last 30 minutes). Personally I prefer the Whitefish Sushi (+150 fishing power/+18% Magic Find/+10% Exp from Kills) as it’s the least expensive (both on the TP and to craft), but the Yellowfish Sushi (+150 fishing power/+22% Magic Find/+10% Exp from Kills) is not much more expensive. 

 

I would also HIGHLY recommend using Item Boosters (+50% Magic Find/+50% Chance of Critical Crafting Experience Gain/+33% Chance of Extra Gathering Strike), which can be purchased for laurels (1 laurel for 1 booster) from most laurel vendors.  Fishing is treated in-game the same as harvesting ore/lumber/plant nodes, and at minimum you will often be able to fish 4-6 times from a single fishing node (fishing hole) instead of the usual 3 times. I’ve also noticed that my catch includes far more rare/exotic/ascended/legendary fish, and 90% of the time when I’m fishing during the Dusk/Dawn period I will catch the Dusk/Dawn fish, if not multiple Dusk/Dawn fish in the 5-minute window.

 

Additionally, it helps to have a Skiff Supercharger to get you quicker from fishing node to fishing node. When using your Skiff, always start off in the 1st speed, which allows for the quickest acceleration (quickly shift to 2nd speed after about 1 second; you’ll rarely want to use 3rd speed unless you know there’s a lot of distance to the next fishing node), and always downshift to the 1st speed as you decelerate to a stop to anchor your skiff, as this will allow you to turn your skiff quicker from a stopped position. Also, when decelerating, it will slow your skiff down quicker not only by pushing in reverse but also turning as you near the fishing node, as this creates more drag on your skiff to slow it down.

 

Provided you are fishing on a character used exclusively for fishing, I recommend carrying at minimum: 

• A full stack of each type of fishing bait (Glow Worms, Nightcrawlers (Worms), Fish Eggs, Freshwater Minnows, Lava Beetles, Leeches, Lightning Bugs, Ramshorn Snails, Sardines, Scorpions, Shrimplings, Sparkfly Larvae, and Mackerel).  There are various fishing vendors set up all throughout the world (https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Fishing_Supplies) or if you have access to Thousand Seas Pavilion, you can purchase them all there. Two things to keep in mind: Mackerel can only be purchased with Fine Fish Fillet, so try to keep some available in storage to barter with; Glow Worms, Nightcrawlers, and Mackerel will sometimes be caught directly, and Fish Eggs and Shrimplings will drop from fish when they are “gutted” (used).
• 4-5 Fishing Lures; I highly recommend using the Jade/Amber fishing lure (+100 fishing power) upon attaining Fishing Master 5 (Local Legend), which can be purchased from the fishing vendors listed above). At minimum always use the Antique Fishing Lure (+75 fishing power)
• Once Arborstone Mastery 1 (Base of Operations) has been unlocked, you will also have access to Taro Everclaw (https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Taro_Everclaw), who will trade 1 random rare fish per day for a piece of Ambergris.  As such, I recommend either carrying at least 3-5 of EACH rare fish, either in your inventory or your bank storage.
• At least 3-4 of your fishing power food and 3-4 Item Boosters

 

FISHING COLLECTIONS

 

Here I will provide the best locations (per my own experience) to catch fish for each collection (both Base and Avid collections) based on the number of available fishing nodes on the map:

 

*If you are having difficulty catching a specific fish for any particular collection (specifically the exotic fish which have no specific bait), consider using a bait NOT used for that collection (ex. When fishing for the Man-of-War, which is in the Orrian collection, use a bait like Ramshorn Snails, which is used for the Shiverpeaks collection).

 

Aquatic Trash Collector: both Kessex Hills (Viathan Lake/Viathan’s Arm) and Frostgorge Sound (all water areas excluding the one in Arundon Vale).

 

Aquatic Treasure Collector: Rata Sum (the water area south of Rata Sum Port Authority), Crystal Desert (Bay of Elon), and Sandswept Isles (Strait of Panube/Atholma/northern half of Chukara Sea).

 

Ascalonian Fisher: Diessa Plateau [Lake] (Blackblade Lake) has 8 fishing nodes; Fireheart Rise [Lake/Noxious] (Fuller Cistern/Pig Iron Mine) has 4-6 lake nodes + 6-8 noxious nodes (BONUS) the creek traveling through (Cozen Desolation) will have 1 Ring of Fire [Volcanic] fishing node, and additionally (The Baelfire) may have 1 Ring of Fire [Volcanci] fishing node as well.

 

Desert Fisher: Crystal Oasis (Bay of Elon) should have 12-14 fishing nodes; there is only 1 type of fish [Desert].

 

Desert Isles Fisher: Sandswept Isles [Offshore/Shore] (Strait of Panube/Atholma/northern half of Chukara Sea). Approximately 9-12 Shore nodes and 9-12 Offshore nodes.

 

Dragon’s End/Echovald Wilds/Seitung Province/Kaineng Fisher: these are self-explanatory as there is only 1 map to work on each collection; just remember that the Dragon’s End map closes just as Dawn approaches every day so if you’re trying to build fishing stacks start out AFTER 8am. Also, the access points to the Grotto fish in Echovald Wilds are at the far southwestern corner of Lake Lutgardis (due west of where the L in Lake is on the map) and the northernmost part of Lake Lutgardis (in the center of the hill-like rise on the northern part of the lake).

 

Krytan Fisher: Bloodtide Coast [Coastal] (specifically the far west side of the map from Sorrowful Sound to Dredgehat Isle then east into Flooded Castavall/Mournful Depths will yield the higher-end fish) approximately 15-18 nodes. Firth of Revanion also has 4 [River] fishing nodes if you travel east into the creek.  Gendarran Fields has both [Lake] (Lake Bounty/Lake Gendarr) 12-15 nodes and [River] (Witherflank River/Lionbridge Expanse) 8-10 nodes. To transition from one to the other w/o losing fishing stacks, it is possible to anchor your skiff in the NW corner of Gendarr Lake and then mount your beetle/raptor and quickly head west to the easternmost part of the Witherflank River and re-summon your skiff once in the water. Also, at the very southern portion of Lionbridge Expanse (south of the bridge) there are 2 [Lake] nodes along with 2 [River] nodes.

 

Maguuma Fisher: Rata Sum [Saltwater] (Rata Sum Port Authority) 9-11 nodes and Metrica Province [Freshwater] (Jeztar Falls/Loch Jezt/Obscura Incline/Fisher’s Beach Bend; I would not recommend going east into the creek at the northern part of Fisher’s Beach Bend as there are many shallow areas where it is easy to beach your skiff and not many fishing nodes in this area). 9-12 nodes

 

Orrian Fisher: Straits of Devastation [Shore/Offshore] this map has the most fishing nodes of the Orr maps; approximately 12-15 [Shore] and 18-20 [Offshore]. Just beware as you get close to the northern side (don’t try to cut under westernmost bridge) of the Jumping Puzzle in Shark’s Teeth Archipelago as you don’t get much if any warning before you’re dismounted from your skiff (and 95% chance of being put immediately into combat which likely results in losing your fishing stacks).

 

Ring of Fire Fisher: again self-explanatory, as you can only fish in Ember Bay and Draconis Mons (with the exception of the 1-2 [Volcanic] nodes in Fireheart Rise). In Ember Bay, the majority of the nodes are (Sulfurous Deep) 10-12 nodes. In Draconis Mons, the nodes are fairly evenly spread throughout the water areas, but the better yields seem to come from the northern half of the Eastern Boiling Sea and the northern half of the Western Boiling Sea. 15-18 nodes.

 

Shiverpeaks Fisher: Timberline Falls [Lake] (Naui Waters/Nonmoa Lake) 9-12 nodes and Frostgorge Sound [Boreal] (all water areas excluding the one in Arundon Vale) 18-20 nodes.

 

Saltwater Fisher: can be caught in any bodies of water that lead to open water (Seitung Province/Kaineng/Bloodtide Coast/Orr/etc.) but I’ve had by far the best success catching fish from this collection in Rata Sum (Rata Sum Port Authority).

 

World Class Fisher: a total crapshoot, although Kessex Hills (Viathan Lake/Viathan’s Arm) does seem to yield more per cast than other maps.

 

Additional Tips

 

1. Dealing with NPCS; Do NOT dismount your skiff when dealing with npcs that have put you in combat. Instead, with your skiff anchored, simply jump off the side of the skiff and try to engage the npcs as close to your skiff as possible.  Your skiff and fishing stacks SHOULD remain intact for at least 1-2 minutes.

 

2. Ambergris; Not only can it be gathered from legendary fish (excluding karma fish), but also a chance to gather from ascended/exotic/rare/masterwork fish. Additionally, as mentioned above, you can trade 1 random rare fish per day with Taro in Arborstone AND trade up to 5 Ambergris daily from any fishmonger for 10 ascended fish fillets each (can also trade unlimited fish fillets of other types here: 5 fine fillets for 1 masterwork fillet, 5 masterwork fillets for 1 rare fillet, 5 rare fillets for 1 exotic fillet, 5 exotic fillets for 1 ascended fillet. NOTE: due to need to trade 5 fine fillets for 1 mackerel, fine fish fillets are worth 3x as much as masterwork fillets, so I recommend NOT trading fine fillets for masterwork fillets). Also, if you are fishing a particular map focusing on catching legendary fish for the Ambergris, it is worth noting that you should avoid going to the same map multiple times in a single day (ie. from the start of GW2 daily reset to the next daily reset). Chances are you will have far less success catching the legendary fish upon any return visits the same day. 

 

3. Dusk/Dawn; When fishing for Dusk/Dawn fish, it is best not only to get to the map early (I would recommend 15-20 minutes RL time before Dusk/Dawn) to build up fishing stacks, but also to scout out the fishing holes on the map to find a grouping that are close together to maximize the amount of casts during the D/D period (5 minutes RL time). It is important to remember that fishing holes refresh every 10 minutes RL time (with the exception of the Guildhall fishing holes, which refresh once per day; up to 10 fishing holes can be fished in a guildhall before they vanish.), so once you’ve determined which set of fishing holes you want to use for Dusk/Dawn, make sure to avoid those holes in the 10 minutes prior to Dusk/Dawn.

 

Tyrian Dusk: 8pm-9pm   Tyrian Dawn: 5am-6am

 

Canthan Dusk: 7pm-8pm   Canthan Dawn: 7am-8am

 

* During Dusk/Dawn periods, both daytime and nighttime fish can be caught.

 

This link is a good resource for checking the time in-game without needing to log into the game: https://fishing.arrowmaster.info/01/multiclock.html#clock

Edited November 19, 2022 by Ronin.4501

[Vavume.8065]

Thanks for this, I didn't know about using the boosters, looking forward to trying that out.

[Garrison Storm.3046]

Fantastic summary; thank you for sharing.

My experience differs somewhat with respect to location, but to be expected if one believes its all RNG anyway.   With respect to efficiency and all other variables being equal, your cast per time is going to make a difference over the long run, which you have indicated with many of your recommendations.  My only addition would be that, if you are chasing Saltwater & World Class collections, as these can be realized with Open Water casting, I have found success simply by remaining in Canthan waters and not moving about from one fishing hole to another, in which you lose time and cast opportunities in doing so. 

I have not fished over the past month, but unless they have changed things I found the greatest adversary/frustration to fishing was the closing of maps, and the fact that your stacks don't carry through map changes.  Given the time to build a fishing stack, it can seriously derail any time commitment much beyond 60 minutes.  Some maps are more susceptible to frequent closing than others, so when planning a significant fishing expedition, assessing the maps in that context can help... 

[Urud.4925]

I also used to complete the heart in Seitung to buy a boost to the fishing power, with karma (I think it was +50). Though you had to come back to buy it again, every hour.

[Ronin.4501]

12 hours ago, Garrison Storm.3046 said:

Fantastic summary; thank you for sharing.

My experience differs somewhat with respect to location, but to be expected if one believes its all RNG anyway.   With respect to efficiency and all other variables being equal, your cast per time is going to make a difference over the long run, which you have indicated with many of your recommendations.  My only addition would be that, if you are chasing Saltwater & World Class collections, as these can be realized with Open Water casting, I have found success simply by remaining in Canthan waters and not moving about from one fishing hole to another, in which you lose time and cast opportunities in doing so. 

I have not fished over the past month, but unless they have changed things I found the greatest adversary/frustration to fishing was the closing of maps, and the fact that your stacks don't carry through map changes.  Given the time to build a fishing stack, it can seriously derail any time commitment much beyond 60 minutes.  Some maps are more susceptible to frequent closing than others, so when planning a significant fishing expedition, assessing the maps in that context can help... 

Yeah agree that RNG absolutely factors into fishing, but there definitely seem to be some maps that yield better fish than others (I'm keeping the maps I use for catching legendary fish to myself lol!). Personally I haven't had a whole lot of luck casting in Open Water in regards to Saltwater/World Class fish, but I also tend to repeat the Saltwater Collection rather often (27x and counting) so I don't see much need to change my approach there.

And unfortunately nothing has changed in regards to maps closing and losing fishing stacks as a result. I didn't really touch upon it in my guide, but the only advice I can really offer there is to be aware of what time certain metas and world events start and finish on the map(s) you plan to use at any given time. Wait until 5-10 minutes after that meta/event should be finished before moving to the map and starting fishing, as those maps most often close shortly after the meta/event has ended. Another thing I'd recommend is to wait out the map closure if you've already built up a sufficient amount of fishing stacks.  Of the last 4 map closure messages I've seen in the past week, 3 of them vanished after about 30 minutes when the map repopulated.  Another thing to consider is don't hesitate to ask if anyone on the map is willing to share their fishing stacks when you first arrive. 9 times out of 10 if someone else is out there fishing they're usually happy to share!

[Ronin.4501]

8 hours ago, Urud.4925 said:

I also used to complete the heart in Seitung to buy a boost to the fishing power, with karma (I think it was +50). Though you had to come back to buy it again, every hour.

I always forget about that!! Due to the fact that the EoD maps close so frequently due to population changes I tend to avoid them as much as possible unless I'm specifically working on repeating a collection (95% of my time fishing I'm focused on catching legendary fish).

[Bizgurk.5639]

 @Ronin.4501 Do you know if the Guild Gathering Boost has any effect on fishing?
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Guild_Gathering_Boost_(effect)

[Ronin.4501]

8 hours ago, Bizgurk.5639 said:

 @Ronin.4501 Do you know if the Guild Gathering Boost has any effect on fishing?
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Guild_Gathering_Boost_(effect)

I don't believe it does, as you may notice in the description it specifically mentions "Increase chance to find rare materials from mining, logging, and harvesting". I use the Magic Find guild boost instead. I don't know that MF improves on your chances of catching better fish or not, but I figure it's better than nothing.

[Ronin.4501]

Can a moderator please explain why this was moved from Players Helping Players to Community Creations??? This is a guide made to HELP PLAYERS.  Community Creations seems to be more focused on players showing off guild halls, racetracks, outfits etc. that are not created with the purpose of helping other players.

Furthermore, I strongly suspect the Community Creations sub-forum is viewed FAR LESS than the Players Helping Players sub-forum is, which makes this thread far less useful.

[Sugar Min.5834]

It's called creativity exhibitions. Sad to see you view community creations as showing off and not helpful. I considered these creations as very helpful because they give creators/builders an idea of what can be done or improved. Just because one does not like it does not make it not useful. I don't fish at all so should I consider your guide as not helpful at all?

I do agree that your topic belongs to the Player Helping Player forum. So, shoo.

Edited November 22, 2022 by MintyMin.2718

[Ronin.4501]

36 minutes ago, MintyMin.2718 said:

It's called creativity exhibitions. Sad to see you view community creations as showing off and not helpful. I considered these creations as very helpful because they give creators/builders an idea of what can be done or improved. Just because one does not like it does not make it not useful. I don't fish at all so should I consider your guide as not helpful at all?

I do agree that your topic belongs to the Player Helping Player forum. So, shoo.

No need to get so defensive. I never said anything about not liking the posts in Community Creations and I have posted there myself several times. But my point still stands that the Player Helping Player sub-forum sees a lot more traffic than the Community Creations sub-forum (as based upon thread interactions and replies), so moving a thread designed specifically to help players to this sub-forum seems extremely counter-productive. I'm very disappointed that the forum moderators saw fit to do so and would like to know why.

[Sugar Min.5834]

One thing I learnt from this is never made a post when in a bad mood 🙊 My apology. Depending on which moderator is on duty here. Hopefully someone will move this back to the appropriate forum.

Edited November 22, 2022 by MintyMin.2718

[Jukhy.2431]

Nice guide, thank you for sharing. One great tip someone gave me was to set the minimap clock show Tyrian Time from General Options -> In-Game Clock. Personally I haven't been fishing much after getting CSAMM and the shiny rod, but still find it a relaxing thing to do sometimes.

Also, some feedback about the additional tips section: when fighting off mobs around your anchored skiff there's no real need to hurry. Just pull aggro away from the skiff and take your time killing the mobs. If you stay close to your skiff it should not vanish. Can't remeber the exact despawn range but it's quite far away, 3000 units or so. The 'losing association' timer is there to show how much time you have for summoning a new skiff (to retain the fishing party stacks) in case you lost the earlier skiff. There were people reporting their skiff despawning when the timer ran out but this bug should be fixed by now.

[Garrison Storm.3046]

To your point, I have never been in the Community Creations sub-forum as I had understood (very possible erroneously) that it was to show off cosmetic creations and such, to which I can appreciate but generally don't have the time to peruse. 

I guess the Mods can define their forum and its use-case as they like, but in context of this move, wouldn't the entire 'Player helping Players' forum be a subset as well?  It is a bit confusing to me.. though has taught me that I will have to add 'Creations' to my browsing time!

[Forum Moderator.3419]

Hi everyone,

I've moved the thread back to PHP.

Regards.

[Sugar Min.5834]

Thank you Mod 👏

[Ronin.4501]

13 hours ago, Forum Moderator.5021 said:

Hi everyone,

I've moved the thread back to PHP.

Regards.

Thank you. 🙂

[Ronin.4501]

23 hours ago, MintyMin.2718 said:

One thing I learnt from this is never made a post when in a bad mood 🙊 My apology. Depending on which moderator is on duty here. Hopefully someone will move this back to the appropriate forum.

Apology accepted, and I can understand completely, as I think more than a few of us have done the same (posting when in a bad mood)!!

[Ronin.4501]

19 hours ago, Jukhy.2431 said:

Nice guide, thank you for sharing. One great tip someone gave me was to set the minimap clock show Tyrian Time from General Options -> In-Game Clock. Personally I haven't been fishing much after getting CSAMM and the shiny rod, but still find it a relaxing thing to do sometimes.

Also, some feedback about the additional tips section: when fighting off mobs around your anchored skiff there's no real need to hurry. Just pull aggro away from the skiff and take your time killing the mobs. If you stay close to your skiff it should not vanish. Can't remeber the exact despawn range but it's quite far away, 3000 units or so. The 'losing association' timer is there to show how much time you have for summoning a new skiff (to retain the fishing party stacks) in case you lost the earlier skiff. There were people reporting their skiff despawning when the timer ran out but this bug should be fixed by now.

Thanks for sharing the tip about the mini-map clock! This is a feature I've never used and thus don't think to include, as sadly I've spent so much time fishing that I can look at the dashboard clock in my car and know what time it is in GW2 lol.

As for the skiff despawning, I'm not certain on the exact range but I try to stay as close to the skiff as possible, as I've lost all my stacks previously because I had a ranged Naga keep me in agro and I swam just a bit too far away trying to finish it off. Still waiting on Anet to add the "kill all Naga on the map for the next 30 minutes" skill!

[Garrison Storm.3046]

7 hours ago, Ronin.4501 said:

As for the skiff despawning, I'm not certain on the exact range but I try to stay as close to the skiff as possible, as I've lost all my stacks previously because I had a ranged Naga keep me in agro and I swam just a bit too far away trying to finish it off. Still waiting on Anet to add the "kill all Naga on the map for the next 30 minutes" skill!

 Honestly, I have taken the somewhat lazy approach from simply avoiding Fishing Holes that I find are risky from that perspective.. I too have lost stacks more than once, and it's a frustration that I don't feel worth the risk.

Would be great if the 'depth charges' were at least mildly effective towards anything other than those ambient creatures... Develop a new mastery towards 'skiff combat' with enhanced depth charges and a mountable heavy cannon!  Throw in a PT Boat skin and we're good to go!  😉 

[Ronin.4501]

On 11/23/2022 at 9:20 AM, Garrison Storm.3046 said:

 Honestly, I have taken the somewhat lazy approach from simply avoiding Fishing Holes that I find are risky from that perspective.. I too have lost stacks more than once, and it's a frustration that I don't feel worth the risk.

Would be great if the 'depth charges' were at least mildly effective towards anything other than those ambient creatures... Develop a new mastery towards 'skiff combat' with enhanced depth charges and a mountable heavy cannon!  Throw in a PT Boat skin and we're good to go!  😉 

Yeah if you noticed in my guide I tried to provide the maps with the least amount of NPC agro (as well as most number of fishing holes), although it can't really be helped on the EoD maps (since there's only 1 map for each collection) and unfortunately you're going to encounter Risen in the water no matter which Orr map you choose to fish on.  But I do make a point to avoid the naga near the southeastern part of Seitung Province when I'm on that map. The constant attack/run away/attack/run away is incredibly annoying if you're trying to stay within range of your skiff to keep your fishing stacks.

[Garrison Storm.3046]

The Krait at Nonmoa Lake in Timberline Falls were a particular nuisance for me... In spite of an abundance of Fishing holes in that lake (and the river that feeds it from the North), it's tough to ignore the couple of holes at the Krait structure in the middle...  The water is deep enough there as well that you have the additional challenge of trying to determine whether they are sufficiently far below to avoid aggro... Would be nice to see Ambergris get back over 2g... I guess the value has been pretty stable now for the past couple of months.

[TOAD.4718]

Ty for taking time to help others.