El's Extreme Anglin' - World of Warcraft Fishing Guide // Achievements // The Oceanographer

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  This is a guide to completing The Oceanographer fishing achievement, which requires 31 different saltwater (coastal) fish to be caught. On this page:

  • Introduction and Requirements
  • General Tips
  • Old Azeroth
  • Cataclysm
  • Northrend
  • Learn More

Introduction and Requirements

The Oceanographer is an achievement which requires 31 different saltwater (coastal) fish to be caught. The achievement was added with the Cataclysm, which means catches before Cataclysm will not count towards the achievement. The Oceanographer is not required to become Salty.

While high level and fishing skill are helpful to complete the achievement, you can start working on The Oceanographer at level 5 with fishing skill 1:

Since all the fish are coastal, an adventurous level 5 (required to train fishing ranks) should be able to swim to most of the locations. Higher level simply makes travel far easier. There are 2 exceptions for low levels:

• Isle of Quel'Danas's portal (in Shattrath City) requires level 70 to use. It is no longer possible to swim to the Isle.
• Abyssal Clam are required for the achievement, but not caught by fishing. The lowest level creature they can be looted from is level 80.

650 effective fishing skill is recommended to fish the hardest waters. Fortunately even high-skill zones can be fished at lower skill - you will just waste more time catching junk. Many Oceanographer catches can easily be caught with fishing skill 1, especially fish that can be caught from pools (which never contain junk).

The Oceanographer requires both seasonal fish (Raw Summer Bass and Winter Squid), so cannot be completed solely in either Winter or Summer.

General Tips

• Achievement fish are grouped here by continent/expansion for convenience. Fish can be caught in any order. Since there will be a lot of travel time involved, consider completing parts of The Oceanographer alongside other achievements, such as The Limnologist.
• The tables (below) list the locations with the highest catch rate for each fish. It may be simpler to visit fewer locations, and fish for longer at each of them, catching several achievement fish from one place. This depends on how many different fish can be caught from the same water, how many achievement fish you have already caught, and your speed of travel. Unfortunately it is not practical to list every place each fish can be caught on a single page. Full details of each fish can be browsed on the Fish Finder (follow the fish name link).
• Outland has no coast, so no coastal fish can be caught there.
• Catch rates of certain Old Azeroth fish vary by time of day. For example, Big-mouth Clam have the highest catch rate between 12:00-18:00 (realm time) in 300-skill areas, but will not be caught there 00:00-06:00. In slightly higher-skill areas (425), Big-mouth Clam can always be caught, but are most common between 00:00-06:00. For more information read Variation by Time.
• Raw Summer Bass and Winter Squid are seasonal fish. The catch changes at the September and March equinoxes. This means one can be caught in Winter, one in Summer. There is no way to catch Raw Summer Bass in Winter, or Winter Squid in Summer - except to wait a few months! For more information about seasonal variations, read Catching Winter Squid.
• The achievement registers the looting of fish, regardless of the source. Most fish can only be found in water, so must be fished to loot. But clams are sometimes easier to loot from dead creatures - especially Big-mouth Clam and Jaggal Clam.

Old Azeroth

Each of Old Azeroth's fish is commonly caught from several different zones, so you will not need to fish in every zone. There are many variations by time of day (plus season), so pay careful attention to the footnotes.

There are zones containing several achievement fish in their open water. Easy location groupings to consider:

• Blasted Lands or Swamp of Sorrows - Big-mouth Clam, Darkclaw Lobster, Large Raw Mightfish, Raw Summer Bass/Winter Squid, Stonescale Eel. You are likely to catch all these while fishing for Large Raw Mightfish. There are many variations in catch rate by time of day/season.
• Darkshore - Darkshore Grouper, Raw Rainbow Fin Albacore, Raw Slitherskin Mackerel.
• Isle of Quel'Danas - Giant Sunfish and Jaggal Clam. Isle of Quel'Danas requires The Burning Crusade and may be challenging to reach below level 70 (see introduction). Unfortunately Giant Sunfish is unique to this zone, so the location cannot be avoided.

The highest catches rate for Firefin Snapper, Oily Blackmouth and Stonescale Eel are from pools. However you are also highly likely to catch them from open water while fishing for other fish.

• [1] Best catch rate 12:00-18:00
• [2] Best catch rate 00:00-06:00
• [3] Best catch rate 18:00-12:00 (18 hours)
• [4] Summer only, Best catch rate 12:00-18:00
• [5] Winter only, Best catch rate 12:00-18:00

Cataclysm

Tol Barad is only available to level 85s, but does not contain any unique fish: Lower-level anglers can visit Uldum instead.

Northrend

The table below will be useful if you only need to catch a few specific fish. If you are starting the achievement with no Northrend coastal catches, then fish:

• Any coastal open water, except The Frozen Sea, for Borean Man O' War, Darkwater Clam, Imperial Manta Ray and Rockfin Grouper. Darkwater Clam can only be caught from open water, but the other catches are likely to be caught while you are trying to catch the clam. Since the next step requires you to travel to The Frozen Sea, the easiest "any coastal water" is in Borean Tundra.
• Pools in The Frozen Sea for Deep Sea Monsterbelly, Moonglow Cuttlefish and Pygmy Suckerfish.

• [1] Caught alongside another fish (total catch rate will add up to more than 100%)

Learn More

• The Limnologist/The Oceanographer - Forum discussion.
• Also in Achievements: Achievements Overview, Salty, Pool Achievements, Cross-Faction Fishing, The Limnologist, One That Didn't Get Away, and The Lurker Above.

Comments about The Oceanographer

Below are readers' comments about "The Oceanographer":

The Limnologist/The Oceanographer

1. Enarka, November 2010:

   El says: For general guides on these achievements, read The Limnologist and The Oceanographer. Original post below:

   Anyone working on these already =) ?

   I know I am! Just asking 'round.

2. Enarka, November 2010:

   Also, WHERE IS THE SUMMER BASS GONE O.O ?

3. Jaeletha, November 2010:

   When my husband hears that with all the new content, the first thing I did is fly around fishing up old fish, he's going to look at me like I'm crazy :D

1. Kiingy, November 2010:

   Enarka wrote:

   Also, WHERE IS THE SUMMER BASS GONE O.O ?

   Summer Bass can only be caught from 20th of March till the 22nd of September.

   So your going to have to wait a few months yet.

2. el, November 2010:

   Raw Summer Bass is a seasonal fish. It replaces Winter Squid at the Spring equinox, so cannot be caught before then - see Catching Winter Squid. [Edit - Kiingy beat me to it :-) ]

   For general guides on these achievements, read The Limnologist and The Oceanographer.

3. tokugawa98, November 2010:

   Maybe I am missing something but since Northrend Angler and Outland Angler mention that "a fish" has to be caught in those pools, those can be checked against for Limnologist/Oceanographer.

   So if one has the former two achievements, are they filled in for the Cata ones?

4. narvil, November 2010:

   tokugawa98 wrote:

   Maybe I am missing something but since Northrend Angler and Outland Angler mention that "a fish" has to be caught in those pools, those can be checked against for Limnologist/Oceanographer.
   So if one has the former two achievements, are they filled in for the Cata ones?

   no

5. Sigtyr, November 2010:

   Felblood Snapper
   Lightning Eel
   Enourmous Barbed Gill Trout

   these aren't in either of the achievements

6. Shadygrove, November 2010:

   First thing both my husband and I are doing is working on these fishing achievements! We've made a lot of progress.

7. marmotrider, November 2010:

   I'm not seeing Nightfin Snapper on your list...

   oops, nevermind. Missed the Raw part... :D

8. el, November 2010:

   Both Raw Nightfin Snapper and Felblood Snapper are part of The Limnologist.

   There's not a lot of logic behind what's included in the achievement and what's not. Plenty of less common catches are missing, yet we have the very rare bloated catches listed.

   And Salmon and Redgill are part of The Oceanographer, even though they are inland fish (in Azeroth, at least).

9. Noodleguitar, November 2010:

   I'm a bit stuck on Mithril Head Trout. I'm fishing in Stranglethorn Vale, and the guide says that it can be found in The Cape of Stranglethorn, inland. Though I can't find any inland water in the Cape of Stranglethorn except from maybe the Sundering but there I'm catching Yellowtail which means you can't catch Mithril Head Trout there.

   If there is any, please explain to me which regions are counted as inland for the Cape of Stranglethorn.

10. el, November 2010:

    The Cape of Stranglethorn inland is specifically the water on the hill half way between Booty Bay and Hardwrench Hideaway. From memory there's a naga shrine there.

11. Cocosbro, November 2010:

    Has anyone caught the bloated fishes after the patch (4.0.3a?) I got the bloated giant sunfish yesterday but other than that nothing so far. I'm just scared that I'll spend too much time on a spot where it later turns out they can't be caught :/

12. Naee, November 2010:

    Same here, I've only caught the bloated giant sunfish so far after about 4 hours total only fishing for bloateds. I think I'll hold off on these until someone confirms that they're still catchable in their previous areas.

13. el, November 2010:

    The bloated fish are catchable. I have 2 so far (plus the Sunfish). But catch rates are very low. Each has taken me about 1000 catches, but that might be luck: The pre-Cataclysm data (especially gathered during One that did not get away) suggests somewhere between 1/1000 and 1/5000. At those sorts of odds, you can fish all day and not catch any bloated fish.

14. Noodleguitar, November 2010:

    el wrote:

    The Cape of Stranglethorn inland is specifically the water on the hill half way between Booty Bay and Hardwrench Hideaway. From memory there's a naga shrine there.

    Thanks alot, this wasn't visible on the map as water, which isn't surprising because it's really a minuscule body of water. I wouldn't have thought to try to cast in it if you hadn't said there is something fishable in this area.

15. Jinxa, November 2010:

    Well I have just caught the Bloated Trout in The Cape of Stranglethorn. Put in 1000 casts up at Western P and just moved out of boredom. 95 casts here and it drops. :)

16. Renetta, November 2010:

    Seems like Spinefin Halibut is not listed in either achievement.

    EDIT: Looking at wowhead it is not clear I got it from fishing. Seems to be a loot only item. So nevermind.
    EDIT2: Lightning Eel is a catchable fish that isn't part of the achievements though.

17. Klinch, November 2010:

    I just caught the Bloated Brilliant Smallfish, but on an ALT :( , while doing the SW fishing daily "Thunder Falls" for violet perch (outside of SW)

18. 92 more comments. Continue reading or reply »

Patch 4.1 Changes

1. Thay, February 2011:

   Hmm, looks like 4.1 is removing most of the Bloated fish from these 2 achievs.

   The Limnologist: Bloated Catfish, Bloated Mud Snapper, Bloated Redgill Removed
   The Oceanographer: Bloated Giant Sunfish, Bloated Salmon Removed

   Off-Topic: It also adds in achievs for 100 & 125 pets collected. ^_^

   Thay

   Ref: http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2189-Patch-4.1-on-PTR-Zul-aman-and-Zul-gurub-are-back

2. el, February 2011:

   Bloated Smallfish and Bloated Trout are still required for The Limnologist. And this is currently only data-mined information (although it is hard to go wrong with achievement data). But it looks like a dramatic shift in time commitment from the insane towards the trivial.

3. el, February 2011:

   As for the rest of the data files: There's an intriguing spell called "Gub Fishing" (97014). Gub is one of the new Zul'Gurub bosses. No sign of Gahz'ranka, but there is a trigger called "Summon Nat Pagle" (96600), so he probably hasn't been entirely forgotten.

   The PTRs aren't playable yet, but thus far 4.1 looks like a dungeon-heavy patch.

1. el, February 2011:

   The only other change I've found so far is that The Steam Pools (just south of Feralas) now contain fish - the same fish as inland Feralas, nothing special. The Goblin resort built there may be still in development.

2. whibla, February 2012:

   Before the Cataclysm, Old Azeroth's Salmon (Raw Sunscale Salmon and Raw Whitescale Salmon) and Raw Redgill were inland fish. The Cataclysm has not changed where these fish are caught - they are still only found inland.

   This is incorrect, though I'm not sure whether this was a patch change, or one made prior to that. The fish can be caught in the great sea, off the coast of Winterspring. Simply fly east, out of Winterspring, and a long way down...

3. el, February 2012:

   Thanks, Whibla. I don't think it changed, rather was forgotten: The area is now just like Silithus - there are not specific coastal fish allocated, so all parts of the zone default to inland fish.

   I'm unsure of the history of Winterspring, but from memory, pre-Cataclysm the coastal area was all zoned as The Great Sea - a separate zone, not part of Winterspring. That's different from now, which zones the water as Winterspring, then a sub-zone called the Great Sea. Without being told otherwise, the sub-zone inherits from Winterspring, and has no connection to the Great Sea parent zone.

   There is still a small part of the original Great Sea zone on the border between Winterspring and Darkshore (roughly north of Moonglade), containing Raw Rockscale Cod and Raw Spotted Yellowtail.

4. Reply to this topic »

"catching" Abyssal Clam

1. Gummo, December 2010:

   Hey, back with my 4th pacifist, leveling with gathering this time...

   Anyway, I was wondering what counts as catching Abyssal Clams, since they are looted, and don't appear to be soulbound. This could mean that they can be bought on the AH. Maybe the achievement detects looting the clam itself for credit.

   For that matter, the other non-low-level fishing for the Oceanographer, Isle of Quel'Danas, was (last I heard) warlock-summonable for lowbies (back when herbalism had heals and before gathering added level requirements, there was one mana thistle that was far enough away from mobs for twinks to use to level herbalism).

   If both of these are true, a low level could get Oceanographer.

   Anyone want to get level 5, turn off XP, and go for it?

2. Torture, December 2010:

   It will only count if looted, buying on the auction house and then getting it through the mail will not activate the requirement for the achievement. The same rings true with other fish that you get as 'rewards', for example I received a Deviate Fish in a Bag of Fishing Treasures reward from a Dalaran fishing daily, that proc'd the requirement for having caught the Deviate Fish even though I hadn't fished it up. One may then think if they use a Wrapping Paper they can then proc them as well, this would be true however since all the fish are stackable they can't be wrapped.

3. Reply to this topic »

Stratholme no longer fishable

1. cayleb, August 2012:

   Upon attempting to whittle down my lengthy list of fish to catch while simultaneously circuiting the world working on archaeology, I noted that Stratholme was listed as an excellent spot to catch Whitescale Salmon. (Of course with all the plague contamination in there, it's probably a good thing I'm not also working on my cooking!)

   Alas, the green pools of goo inside the ziggurats in Stratholme are no longer fishable! Every cast that didn't result in a "cast did not land in fishable water" instead told me that "there are no fish here." (Does everyone's fishing pole talk or is that just something we draenei came up with?)

   After having tried all three ziggurats from multiple angles with no difference, I left Stratholme and proceeded onwards to one of the ziggurats in Plaguewood, just to see if I was doing it wrong. But no, this ziggy was perfectly castable, and yielded some beautiful (if slightly plagued) Redgill.

   Our days of urban apocalyptical ziggurat oceanography appear to be over, my friends.

2. el, August 2012:

   cayleb wrote:

   (Does everyone's fishing pole talk or is that just something we draenei came up with?)

   I think you may have been fishing too long...

   Thanks for the update.

3. Reply to this topic »