World of WarCraft: Sunday Fishing Extravaganza Tips

1.0 - Overview

The goal of the Sunday fishing event is to catch 40 Tastyfish and return them to the goblin organiser who is in Booty Bay (Just outside the inn). The event begins at 1PM server time (for European servers, this is GMT +1) in Stranglethorn Vale and the pools of fish can be found along the coastlines. The reward for handing-in all 40 is *only* for the first person to do so, though afterwards players can hand in what they have caught for money. The event is advertised as lasting until the evening, but in effect this just means that the pools of Tastyfish will keep spawning so you can keep fishing if you wish. There is also a very rare chance of catching four special fish, which can be handed in for prizes of their own.

I've never won, but I've came close several times, so I don't know for certain what the prizes are (I read once that a fishing costume of some sort is one of them and a special hat that adds to your fishing skill), but it's still a fun event to participate in and put your fishing skills to use. Besides, do you want the gits in the opposing faction to win?!

2.0 - Checklist

• Fishing Rod (As good as possible).
• Fishing buff items (e.g. Aqua-Dynamic Fish Attractors, Nightcrawlers, etc).
• Fish Oil and Water Totem (If Shaman).
• As much bagspace as possible (Enough for 40 Tastyfish anyway. It's also best if you are organised enough to be able to see how many Tastyfish you have when you open your bags).
• Mount (As fast as possible).

3.0 - Tips

3.1 - Get to STV early and prepared

In short, do not turn up in Booty Bay at 2:06PM without a fishing rod!

If like most players you log off in a capital city, then Stranglethorn Vale will requires transport, and the ships, zeppelins and even flying mounts take time to get there. So if you intend to win then you need to plan ahead and get there well before the fishing starts at 1PM (Server time).

You have to get into a suitable position in STV - starting in Booty Bay itself will mean you spend several crucial minutes getting out and onto the coast. Don't forget to acquire what you need first (See the checklist above) and set off *at least* ten minutes before the event starts. Find a quiet spot on the coast (See point 11) and get ready to hunt the pools of Tastyfish ...

3.2 - Be at the optimal fishing level

Get your fishing skill up. Obviously. I'm next to certain that this will help you catch Tastyfish quicker though I could be wrong. To get your skill to 300, find yourself a fishing guide if you need help in doing so. Yes, it takes ages and, yes, it can be boring. I recommend you turn off WOW's music and and put a music album on to help pass the time.

Don't forget to apply your fishing buff items at regular intervals during the competition to get your skill boosted up too.

3.3 - Have a mount

If you're level 40 and have 90G or are above that or are level 60 and even have 900G to spare, and if you don't have one already, then get yourself a mount. You will be racing against other players so that extra speed can make a difference. Ideally, though, you will avoid other players altogether but the pools of Tastyfish are spread out and time is of the essence.

3.4 - Be modded

Get a fishing mod: Fishing Buddy with the CT Mod is ideal, as it can do things such as recasting your line as soon as you reel something in and can track how many of what fish you've caught.

3.5 - Know the pools

You are after pools of Tastyfish along the coastline (Not the middle of the sea and not near Booty Bay itself!), which look like dark blue, metre-wide whirlpools. You need to find one of these and get your fishing bobber cast into it, so keep recasting as necessary until it is in.

Each pool works like other resource nodes - there are approximately five catches per pool (Catches such as Stranglekelp, Oily Blackmouth and other items that are gained also count towards this total), after which it disappears. They eventually respawn, but only after certain amounts of time and not always in the same place. For this reason you need to know where pools spawn and how to get them quickly.

Though the pools tend to be anywhere on the coast, it is worth remembering where they spawn in case they reappear. Get used to scanning the sea ahead of you with your mouse cursor so you can see if hard-to-see if schools of Tastyfish appear on the tooltip.

FISHING MAP

3.6 - Cast correctly

Make sure that you cast your bobber *into* a pool, not outside one. About half a centimetre around the edges is ok (the edge being where your tooltip still says 'School of Tastyfish'), but anything else will result in you catching regular fish instead.

Other bobbers from players can get in the way and possibly confuse you as to which is your own (This is another reason to avoid them), so keep your cursor over it once you cast in order to keep track of it.

3.7 - Avoid the crowds

I absolutely can not fathom players who run around in groups while competing in the fishing ... So five of them get one Tastyfish per pool while another player elsewhere discretely gets all five from a pool in the same space of time? :rolleyes: There can only be one winner so you should consider the competition a free for all.

This tip does not take into account PVP servers, which I refuse to imagine as the gankage must be bigger than a Sperm Whale and more common than sea water.

3.8 - Ignore griefers

You will get idiots, typically of the opposing faction, who jump up and down in front of your line in a pathetic attempt at distracting you. Ignore them completely - just make sure that you can right click your bobber to reel in, such as moving your camera view.

Additionally, ignore chat while fishing too or at least keep one hand over your mouse so you can right-click the bobber. I've seen some people lie about how many they have caught to try to try make others give up. Smooth!

3.9 - Aim for one Tastyfish per minute

The time in which I've seen someone win, by getting all 40 Tastyfish and handing them in, is approximately 40 minutes. So that means you should aim to be catching one Tastyfish a minute. However, don't give up if you are not achieving this rate - sometimes you may get lucky and then reel in more than one in a minute. Also remember that a lot of fishing is based on luck so the rate will always vary.


And now, on to the more devious bits of advice...

3.10 - Warp to the inn!

Want to avoid having to race back to Booty Bay? Make the inn your home so that when you hit 40 fish, you simply hearth or Astral Recall back, then race down the stairs for the hand-in! This is a simple precaution that might earn you the win as it can take minutes to ride back to Booty Bay, through the tunnel and across the docks. The only disadvantage is that you'll have to travel back to your main hearthstone city to change it back, but don't you want to win BADLY?!

3.11 - Use your class skills to full effect

If you're a shaman, get some Oily Water (It can be farmed off various sea-based mobs or try the AH) for Water Walking. You can fish while you do this, which means that you can zip across stretches of water. It only lasts ten minutes (And if it wears off while you're on water you'll fall in and interrupt the current cast of your fishing line so don't forget to re-cast the spell as necessary. Just so you know, you can't use it in combination with Ghost Wolf or a mount.

If you're a druid, use your seal form to swim quicker. Rogue's can use Sprint for a small speed boost from time to time.

I don't know what other aspects races or classes could use. Feel free to mail and tell me!

3.12 - Invite your friends!

Get one or two friends to scout ahead and find pools for you. Ideally you may want rogue's or druid in cat form who can remain invisible so the competition don't see them.

If you're on a PVP server and are feeling even more 'determined', as well as depending on the mutual state between Horde and Alliance that's held by the playerbase, have a 'gank squadron' of friends to clear out people from your pools and any others too. Or even get a large group to jump onto pools to block people casting!

3.13 - Find good areas

In line with point 7, during my fishing time I found that most people ran up and down the West coast, near the Horde's Grom'gol outpost. These people fail to realise that there is still another coastline in STV. I haven't especially tried the West part since it only has a small coast, but the area near the Bloodsail pirates in the South actually has pools of Tastyfish, despite the fact that classes have to slowly swim between the islands. This is *perfect* for shamans with Water Walking! In fact, it's actually how I nearly won once, if only not for a dastardly Night Elf.

3.14 - Don't forget to make a profit!

After the event finishes (i.e. When someone wins and most people give up), people tend to gather in Booty Bay to sell or bank what they caught. Don't forget that 10 Tastyfish can be traded to the organiser's assistant for 35 silver so you're at least getting some coin for your efforts.

Alchemists: Try advertising a small price for Oily Blackmouth, Stranglekelp and Firefin Snappers to people who have caught some during the event (Say, one silver each). Stand near the organisers and do a Say, perhaps even as a macro, as to not annoy other players in STV. Most people will want to get rid of them so if can offer a set price then you can get plenty for dirt-cheap prices. At least they avoid bothering with the Auction House process and get more than what a vendor would give for them. Afterwards, either use these reagents in potions or even sell them on at the AH yourself.