((advertisement))

This topic develops a simple gazetteer that shows which fish may be caught in which zones. On this page:

Simply want to know where to catch a fish? The Fish Finder shows where to catch fish, along with the skill required, water type, and variations by time of day or season. Find Fish »

Approach

To the casual fisherman or woman, there may seem to be a lot of variety in which fish can be caught in which zone. The pattern is actually very simple for open-water fishing. There is no need for a matrix that lists every fish and every zone.

I studied the fishing entries in the Book of Thott in great detail. I summarised the fish catches recorded in each zone, splitting them into inland and coastal areas. I ignored "unreliable" data:

Pools have not been included in the gazetteer. Sagefish and Greater Sagefish catches have been ignored (these can only be caught from pools). Fortunately pools for Alchemy fish (Oily Blackmouth, Firefin Snapper and Stonescale Eel) are found in areas of sea where the fish can also be caught in open water.

I grouped zones where the same sets of fish were caught. These zone groups were used to create the gazetteers shown below.

Inland Fishing

The table below shows the zone groups that common types of freshwater (inland) fish can be caught in. "X" indicates the fish can be caught in zones within the zone group. The zones in each group are explained below the table.

Inland Fish by Zone Group
Fish/Zone Group123456
Lightning Eel----XX
Oily Blackmouth----X-
Plated Armorfish-----X
Raw Brilliant SmallfishXX----
Raw Bristle Whisker Catfish-XXX--
Raw Longjaw Mud SnapperXXX---
Raw Mithril Head Trout---XX-
Raw Nightfin Snapper----XX
Raw Redgill----XX
Raw Sunscale Salmon----XX
Raw Whitescale Salmon-----X

Zone groups contain the following zones:

Note that some inland areas of Azuremyst Isle contain the zone's coastal fish (Raw Slitherskin Mackerel) ((presumably a bug)). ((Fishing was later removed from Alterac Valley and Arathi Basin, by patch 2.1. Ironforge was added in patch 2.3. Patch 2.3 also changed the fish caught in Deadwind Pass, removing it from zone group 6, and creating a new group: Zul'Aman and Deadwind Pass both contain Barbed Gill Trout, Bloodfin Catfish, Crescent-Tail Skullfish and Lightning Eel.))

Five other fish are found in certain zones only:

Thott also records catches of Raw Brilliant Smallfish and Raw Longjaw Mud Snapper in the Alterac Mountains. I have only caught Raw Bristle Whisker Catfish and Raw Mithril Head Trout there, so I have listed the zone in group 4.

Coastal Fishing

The table below shows the zone groups that common types of saltwater (coastal) fish can be caught in. "X" indicates the fish can be caught in zones within the zone group.

Coastal Fish by Zone Group
Fish/Zone Group123456
Big-mouth Clam----XX
Darkclaw Lobster-----X
Firefin Snapper--XXX-
Large Raw Mightfish-----X
Oily Blackmouth-XXX--
Raw Glossy Mightfish----X-
Raw Rainbow Fin Albacore-XX---
Raw Rockscale Cod---XX-
Raw Slitherskin MackerelXX----
Raw Spotted Yellowtail---XXX
Raw Summer Bass----XX
Stonescale Eel----XX
Winter Squid----XX

Zone groups contain the following zones:

In addition, Darkshore Groupers can be caught off the coast of Darkshore.

Ocean Fishing

It is possible to fish in each of the three oceans - The Veiled Sea, The Forbidding Sea, and The Great Sea. The easiest way to fish in these areas is to swim along the coast until you reach a location that is not marked on the map. If you travel far enough, you may even find an abandoned house or farmstead to shelter in.

The fish caught from the three oceans (and the fishing skill required to fish them) are the same as the zone you are closest to. For example, the part of The Veiled Sea south of Feralas contains the same fish as coastal Feralas (coastal zone group 5). However, if you keep on swimming south and you will reach the part of The Veiled Sea that is in Silithus. Cast a line into the sea there and you will catch zone group 6 inland (freshwater) fish. How strange!

Outland

Outland contains no ocean, only inland waters. All fishable open water in Outland contains Barbed Gill Trout in large quantities. This fish gives no buff when cooked, so for most anglers will be "vendor trash". The high proportion of Barbed Gill Trout should encourage anglers to fish from pools, which in most cases will give a better catch rate. Although there are lakes in Blade's Edge Mountains and many recently opened dungeons, at the time of writing those waters are not fishable.

Outland Fish
FishWhere to Catch
Barbed Gill TroutTerokkar Forest, Nagrand, Netherstorm, Shadowmoon Valley, Zangarmarsh.
Felblood SnapperHellfire Peninsula (Pools of Aggonar), Nagrand (Forge Camp: Hate), Shadowmoon Valley ("water" and lava).
Figluster's MudfishNagrand, Netherstorm.
Golden DarterTerokkar Forest.
Icefin BluefishNagrand, Netherstorm.
Spotted FeltailTerokkar Forest, Zangarmarsh.
Zangarian SporefishZangarmarsh.

Felblood Snappers have no known use.

Furious Crawdad cannot be caught in open water, only Highland Mixed Schools - see the Catching Furious Crawdad and Mr. Pinchy topic.

Learn More