Introduction
Certain gear gives bonuses to fishing skill. Equipping these items increases your fishing skill while the gear remains equipped. Bonuses from fishing gear, Fishing Poles and Lures all stack. For example, a bonus from a pole will stack with a bonus from a hat. Of course, you can only equip one pole and wear one hat at a time. The table below summarises all items that give an "equipable" bonus to fishing skill.
| Gear | Position | Skill Bonus | Stamina Bonus | Spirit Bonus | Minimum Fishing Skill | Use | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boots of the Bay | Feet | +15 | - | - | 200 | Booty Bay teleport | Kalu'ak Fishing Derby |
| Enchant Gloves - Angler | Hands | +5 | - | - | - | - | Enchanter (Formula) |
| Enchant Gloves - Fishing | Hands | +2 | - | - | - | - | Enchanter (Formula) |
| High Test Eternium Fishing Line | Line | +5 | - | - | 150 | - | Stranglethorn Extravaganza or Northrend Daily Quests |
| Lucky Fishing Hat | Head | +5 | +15 | - | 1 | - | Stranglethorn Extravaganza |
| Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots | Feet | +5 | +12 | - | 1 | - | Stranglethorn Extravaganza |
| Spun Truesilver Fishing Line | Line | +3 | - | - | 300 | - | Outland Daily Quests |
| Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat | Head | +5 | +40 | +40 | - | +75 lure | Outland or Northrend daily quests |
In addition, there are two consumable that gives a bonus to fishing skill:
- Captain Rumsey's Lager: This gives a temporary (3 minute) bonus to the angler.
- Underbelly Elixir: Sometimes turns you into a hungry Tuskarr (for 10 minutes) with a +50 fishing skill bonus.
Other fishing "consumables" are Lures, which are applied to the pole, not the angler.
Feet
Only 2 pairs of boots give a bonus to fishing skill. Like the hats, they are cloth, so can be worn by any angler.
Boots of the Bay
- Skill bonus: +15
- Minimum fishing skill required: 200
- Use: Whisks you away to the finest drinking establishment in Booty Bay (1 Day Cooldown)
- Source: Reward for winning the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby
The best anglin' footwear - and also the rarest. Most winners of the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby choose the other prize - the Dread Pirate Ring. Boots of the Bay can be used once per day to teleport the angler to the bar in Stranglethorn Vale's Booty Bay.
Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots
- Skill bonus: +5
- Stamina bonus: +12
- Minimum fishing skill required: 1
- Level required: 35
- Source: Reward from the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza (Brownell's Blue Striped Racer)
Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots are a reward for turning in a rare Brownell's Blue Striped Racer during the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. The fish may be caught from Schools of Tastyfish during the contest on Sunday. It should be delivered to Fishbot 5000, which can be found in the centre of Booty Bay during the contest (and for 1 hour before and after).
((With patch 3.1, Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots require at least level 35 to use.))
Hands
No gloves are available with a fishing skill bonus. However any normal pair of gloves may be enchanted by an enchanter who has learnt one of 2 fishing enchants below. The angler does not need to be an enchanter themselves:
Enchant Gloves - Angler
The enchant uses 1 Infinite Dust and 3 Ethereal Oil. Alchemists make Ethereal Oil from Glassfin Minnow. Infinite Dust is created by disenchanting uncommon "Northrend" weapons and armor.
The formula can (rarely) be looted from Indu'le Fishermen, Mystics, or Warriors at Lake Indu'le in Dragonblight. The recipe is bound when picked up (so probably only found by enchanters) and requires at least 375 enchanting skill to learn.
Enchant Gloves - Fishing
Any enchanter with at least 145 enchanting skill can learn the recipe, then enchant the angler's gloves. The enchant uses materials - Soul Dust (created by disenchanting items) and 3 Blackmouth Oil (created by Alchemists from Oily Blackmouth). Both materials are easy to make, so should be available at the auction house.
The formula is rarely found on the corpses of Murlocs along the coast of the Hillsbrad Foothills. Odd that I've never seen any Murlocs with fishing poles, but they are a strange race. The formula is often sold via the auction house.
Head
Both fishing hats are cloth, so can be worn by any class. Each has a wide brim, which keeps your head cool in the sun, and dry in the rain. Both hats give the same +5 bonus to fishing.
Lucky Fishing Hat
- Skill bonus: +5
- Stamina bonus: +15
- Minimum fishing skill required: 1
- Source: Reward from the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza (Keefer's Angelfish)
Like Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots, the Lucky Fishing Hat is a reward for turning in a rare Keefer's Angelfish during the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. The fish may be caught from Schools of Tastyfish during the contest on Sunday. It should be delivered to Fishbot 5000, which can be found in the centre of Booty Bay during the contest (and for 1 hour before and after).
The hat gives a +15 bonus to your Stamina, which makes it popular for those that venture into the battlegrounds at low level ((level 19 "twinks")). The hat is bound to its owner, so you will not find this for sale at the Auction House.
Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat
The Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat is rarely contained in Bags of Fishing Treasures, the rewards for completing the Outland Daily Fishing Quests and Northrend Daily Fishing Quests. Expect to complete quests regularly over several months before finding this hat: Only a few percent of bags contain the hat. The hat binds when picked up, so cannot be traded.
The hat gives a +5 equipped bonus to fishing skill, just like the Lucky Fishing Hat. The Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat can also be used to lure your fishing pole, just like a normal lure, but with one important advantage: The hat's lure is reusable every 10 minutes. And since the lure lasts 10 minutes, you will probably never need to buy Bright Baubles again.
Line
Line is applied directly to a pole, granting that pole an additional fishing skill bonus. The line bonus stacks with any original bonus the pole has. For example, if High Test Eternium Fishing Line (+5 line) were applied to Seth's Graphite Fishing Pole (+20 pole), the pole would give a +25 fishing skill bonus when used. Only one line may be applied at a time. Once applied, the line cannot be reused.
High Test Eternium Fishing Line
- Skill bonus: +5
- Minimum fishing skill required: 150
- Source: Reward from the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza (Dezian Queenfish) or Northrend Daily Fishing Quests (Bag of Fishing Treasures)
High Test Eternium Fishing Line is a reward for turning in a rare Dezian Queenfish during the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. The fish may be caught from Schools of Tastyfish during the contest on Sunday. It should be delivered to Fishbot 5000, which can be found in the centre of Booty Bay during the contest (and for 1 hour before and after).
The line can also be found in Bag of Fishing Treasures, the reward for completeing the Northrend Daily Fishing Quests.
Spun Truesilver Fishing Line
- Skill bonus: +3
- Minimum fishing skill required: 300
- Source: Reward from Outland Daily Fishing Quests
Spun Truesilver Fishing Line is rarely contained in Bags of Fishing Treasure, the reward for completing the Outland Daily Fishing Quests. Although Spun Truesilver Fishing Line is a more common reward than the Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat, you should still expect to complete quests regularly over at least a month before finding this line.
Consumables
The most common consumable used by anglers is a lure. Lures are applied to Fishing Poles, not to the angler themselves. There are 2 drinks that will give the angler a bonus to fishing skill. Consumables stack with all other fishing skill bonuses (pole, gear and lure). Consumables also stack with each other.
Captain Rumsey's Lager
- Skill bonus: +10 for 3 minutes
- Source: Cooking recipe, a reward from Outland and Northrend Daily Fishing Quests
Captain Rumsey's Lager is brewed by a cook who has learnt Recipe: Captain Rumsey's Lager. The recipe is rarely contained in Bags of Fishing Treasure, the reward for completing the Outland Daily Fishing Quests or Northrend Daily Fishing Quests. The recipe requires a cooking skill of 100 or more to learn.
The lager requires a Skin of Dwarven Stout and a Flagon of Mead to brew 5 drinks. The lager's raw materials are all purchased from vendors, at a cost of about 16s each: Each drink lasts only 3 minutes, but it is reasonably cheap and easy to brew. Captain Rumsey's Lager can be sold via the auction house.
Underbelly Elixir
- Skill bonus: +50 for 10 minutes (Hungry Tuskarr transformation only)
- Source: Dalaran's Underbelly. Binds when picked up.
Down in Dalaran's Underbelly you will rarely find green jars on the ground labelled "Underbelly Elixir". These can be picked up and drunk. Drinking the elixir will normally either make you see all the residents of Dalaran in wizard robes, or transforms you into a flying wasp.
Sometimes you will be transformed into a "Hungry Tuskarr". This gives a +50 fishing skill bonus for 10 minutes. This +50 bonus stacks with other gear, lures, and Captain Rumsey's Lager.
The elixir can only be consumed in Dalaran, but the effects remain if you travel to other places. Underbelly Elixir are also rare, and most do not give this buff. Using Underbelly Elixir to gain fishing skill is not easy, but if there is absolutely no other way, Underbelly Elixir is the answer...
Learn More
- Contests - Rules and strategy for the famous Booty Bay fishing contest.
- Northrend Daily Fishing Quests - Guide to daily fishing quests that start in Dalaran.
- Outland Daily Fishing Quests - Walkthrough for all the level 70 daily fishing quests, with rewards.
- Northrend Daily Fishing Quests - Guide to daily fishing quests that start in Dalaran.
- Dalaran Fishing - Complete guide to fishing in Dalaran. Including Giant Sewer Rats, Rusty Prison Keys and fountain coins.
- Guide to the Lucky Fishing Hat and such - Guide for aspiring "twinks" who want to gain the Lucky Fishing Hat and boots at level 19.
- Also in Equipment: Fishing Poles, Lures, Other Equipment, Addons and Utilities, and Automation.
Comments about Fishing Gear
Below are readers' comments about "Fishing Gear":
Petre's RL existence (FigurePrint)
Petre, September 2008:
So, I got an invite for purchase of a Figureprint back in July and quickly found all the pieces of my fishing set in order to get a print of him made in his fishing gear. I ran into a few little glitches: the blue overalls graphic wouldn't carry over in the pants slot like it does in-game, so I had to go kill a rare spawn in Tirisfall who happens to have pants with the same graphic. Then I had to find the right pose to make it look like he was in the act of casting, eventually deciding to go with "Staff attack".
It turned out AMAZINGLY well! The guys at Figureprints far outdid my expectations. The figure is about 4" tall, encased in a thick plexiglass dome, with the World of Warcraft logo on the front of the base. The colors are vibrant, the modeling quite good. The part that impressed me was that they offset him from the center (which is quite abnormal from the shots I've seen) of the dome, then added a fishing line to the pole which appears to be in mid-flight. It's perfect and way more than I ever expected! Please check out the photos in my gallery, it's truly a work of art!
http://gallery.me.com/skwidspawn#100034/IMG_7666&bgcolor=black
Edge, September 2008:
Oh wow, it looks great! Redneck perhaps? ;p I like how you decided to go with more of an RP setting. Having it immortalized in the newest PvP gear or something like that is not near as unique as this. Though, I would think about posing in my Bloodfang (Tier 2). Would probably end up with RP gear in the end anyways. ^.-
I doubt I can ever pay for one of those things if I even got the chance.
Balazar, September 2008:
Very nice!
Leonie, October 2008:
It looks super, and I am so jealous.
I won the opportunity to have my toon immortalised as well, and got talked out of equipping her fishing gear. The figure hasn't been delivered yet, but the website says its in production, so I'm a tad too late to change it now.
Not only did old (retired) Leonie live to fish, but her regular gear was so tragic that a fishing costume could have covered a multitude of deficiencies.
/sigh
NiceBloke, October 2008:
That look awsome - Congrats.
Shame they couldn't put Mr Pinchy in there with you :D