Lightning Eel - El's Extreme Anglin'

This page summarises how to catch Lightning Eel.

About Lightning Eel

Use (uncooked): Quest: Craftsman's Writ for the Argent Dawn (30 fish). "These make the best eel rolls in the world," says Packmaster Stonebruiser. The Argent Dawn are a strange bunch.
Value (uncooked): Vendor: 10c
Cooking:
- Stormchops
Cooking:
- Stormchops:
  - Requires level 55 to eat.
  - Buff: Charges you with energy, causing lightning to occasionally zap nearby enemies, for 30 minutes.
  - Recipe: Recipe: Stormchops. Reward from the Shattrath or Dalaran cooking daily quests (Crate of Meat, Barrel of Fish or Small Spice Bag). Binds when picked up. Requires Cooking 300.
  - Ingredients: Clefthoof Meat and Lightning Eel.

Catching Lightning Eel

Detailed mapping of hard to find areas is shown below.

Notes: May also be rarely found within Bloated Giant Sunfish.

Commentary: With the exception of Deadwind Pass and Zul'Aman, overall catch rates are highest in higher-skilled areas. However time of day is the most important factor: For example, in Winterspring, 20-25% of the catch will be Lightning Eel between 12:00 and 18:00, yet between 00:00 and 06:00 you might never see one. In Deadwind Pass and Zul'Aman only about 4% of the catch from open water will be Lightning Eel, with no clear variation by time of day.

Time: Highest catch rate 12:00-18:00. Very rarely (possibly never in some areas) caught 00:00-06:00. Time variations do not obviously apply to Deadwind Pass or Zul'Aman.

History:

2.1: Disappeared from Alterac Valley.
2.3: First caught in Zul'Aman.
2.4: First caught in Isle of Quel'Danas.
2.4.2: Disappeared from Isle of Quel'Danas, but sometimes found within Bloated Giant Sunfish.

Where to catch Lightning Eel
Water	No-junk skill	Areas	Catch Rate *		Commonly caught fish
Water	No-junk skill	Areas	% of Catch	Source	Commonly caught fish
Open Water - Inland	300	Azshara Felwood Feralas (except Jademir Lake) The Hinterlands Maraudon Moonglade The Temple of Atal'Hakkar Un'Goro Crater (except Fire Plume Ridge) Western Plaguelands	0-10% [1]	Sample.	Lightning Eel Oily Blackmouth Raw Mithril Head Trout Raw Nightfin Snapper Raw Redgill Raw Sunscale Salmon
	425	Burning Steppes (Dreadmaul Rock) Eastern Plaguelands Feralas (Jademir Lake only) Scholomance Silithus Stratholme Winterspring Zul'Gurub	0-25% [1]	Sample: 715.	Lightning Eel Plated Armorfish Raw Nightfin Snapper Raw Redgill Raw Sunscale Salmon Raw Whitescale Salmon
	425	Deadwind Pass Zul'Aman	4%	Sample: 929.	Barbed Gill Trout Bloodfin Catfish Crescent-Tail Skullfish Lightning Eel

[1] Best catch rate 12:00-18:00.
[*] % of Catch is the approximate proportion of all catches in this area/water, that are the named fish.

Detailed Mapping

Other Tomes

Learn More

Valuable Fish - Details the most valuable fish, and how to catch them.
Variation by Time - Explores how catch rates for fish vary by time of day.
Wrath of the Lich King - Fishing changes in Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion to World of Warcraft.
The Role of Skill (Revised) - Considers the role skill plays in fishing, including how skill changes the proportion of junk items caught. Revised for patch 3.1.
Zone Base Fishing Skill - Detailed analysis that attempts to answer the question, what fishing skill will I need to fish in a certain zone?
Gazetteer - This topic develops a simple gazetteer that shows which fish may be caught in which zones.