so today was my first win. it's very exciting to finally be able to turn into an ugly fish. anyways, i contribute most of my win to luck. i woke up from a nap right before the contest started and just decided to give it a try even though i didn't think i'd get there in time. i also had no trouble with griefers on either faction, though i did spot a well-known alliance griefer before the contest while i was in Booty Bay. but a good portion of my win was thanks to good strategy. most of that strategy can be found on this page. i'm here to reiterate some of that knowledge and hopefully get you guys a step closer to that Salty title
1. Find Fish
it's common sense but i had "find fish" on, so i could see the pools of tastyfish on my minimap. if you don't have it already, you can find more info on that here
2. Get There Early
got there early enough to set my hearth to Booty Bay and waited out on the coast for the contest to begin. depending on where your hearth is, about 1:40-1:45 server time is a good time to head down there
3. Water Walking
if you're not a shaman, collect them from fishing dailies or get an alchemist to create them for you. water walking's freedom is essential to helping you save much needed time when traveling from one pool to another. and for you priests, don't rely on levitate either. you'll need water walking specifically so you can mount up on the water
4. Stay Away From the Crowd: Where to Start
i read two very important pieces of info on this page that definitely gave me my edge. first i read that there was no real place to start fishing, though the person who wrote the guide suggested starting in the center of the western coast. so i did that and i didn't run into people for a good ten minutes. it makes sense, most people would start at one edge of the coast and work their way towards the other. and when they do that, they're busy dealing with the crowd taking their tastyfish
5. Stay Away From the Crowd: Do the Opposite
the other important piece of info i read was "You must learn to adapt to what other anglers are doing, and normally do the opposite." this tip may have been the one that gave me my win. in the past, i would fish anywhere. if three people were trying to grab fish from a pool, i'd jump in. i mean, any piece of fish is worth fishing for, right? wrong. if you're spending your entire time competing for pools of fish, then you're wasting your time. the more people fishing out of one pool drains that pool faster and forces you to travel more often than you should. stay away from the crowd. when i saw a group of people coming at me from one direction, i'd try to stay ahead of them, or i would run towards them and look for pools of respawned fish
6. Research Beforehand! Know What You Want
i didn't have trouble with this but i thought i'd share the tip anyways. once you've gotten your fish and you're ready to turn it in, choose your reward and complete the quest as soon as possible. i've read stories about people trying to figure out which prize they want as another person snuck up behind them and took first prize for themselves. it's common sense but definitely something to keep in mind
well, i slept through yesterday's Kalu'ak Fishing Derby, so i'll give it a try next week. if i win, then that means i'm doing something right and i'll be back here to start a thread on it. see you guys, and happy fishing!
