A Complete Guide To Fishing in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm

Reborn
Unlike its brother gathering professions, fishing is significantly more complicated. There is a fishing
log, but unlike the gathering log it does not give specific locations on where to find the nodes. In
fact, there are no nodes at all. You just have to toss your line out there, but there are particular
locations all around Eorzea that one has to discover. Unlike mining or botany (at least until level 50),
there are some circumstances that effect what can be caught and when. This makes fishing kind of
the biggest pain in the butt out of everything else in the game, however this is kind of a good thing.
People, unless very bored, don't want to put the effort into leveling fishing, so those that do are
rolling in the money at higher levels.
The profession of fishing can be picked up at the Fishing Guild in Lower Limsa Lominsa. After
getting you first fishing pole, just head towards the nearest body of water (which should be right
outside) and try it out. You can complete the level 5 and level 10 guild quests right there, so no need
to wander yet.
Fishermen use gathering clothes, but the Gathering and
Perception stat effect this gathering profession a bit
differently.
The Gathering stat affect the rate of landing a catch. If
you find yourself failing to land many of your catches, you
either need to find a more level appropriate zone or
upgrade your gear.
The Perception stat effects the quality of a catch. The
higher the perception, the bigger your fish is. At a certain size, the fish is upgraded to a high quality
fish. If you want to level fishing up fast, this is rather important.
There are not many gathering actions in fishing as there are in botany and mining. In fact, aside
from Bait, Cast, Hook, and Quit fishermen only get Stealth and Mooch. Though one does get some
passive traits along the way.
Don't be fooled by the Gulleye passive trait though, it doesn't show you fishing holes. In fact, it is
quite pointless. I'm not sure if this is a glitch or not, but nothing changes after you get it. Many
thought it would give the ability to show nodes, but alas no. Some more helpful passive traits include
dune fishing (fishing in sand) and sky fishing (fishing in the sky) which will help land some rarer
catches by opening up new places to fish from.
There are also fishing levemetes, but they are
not as helpful in leveling as, say, the crafting
levemetes. I recommend skipping them, but
that is just my opinion.
Most fishing gear is essentially just gathering
gear, except for fishing poles. Fishing poles
can be obtained by Fishing Guild Quests, the
Marketplace, Vendors, but they are made
exclusively by the Carpenter Class. Lures,
while mostly gotten from vendors, can be
made by Golsmithing and Cooking.
Finally, the type of fish caught are
determined by three different world factors:
Weather
Time of Day
Moon Phase
Which can be maddening, but this guide should help.
There are several different baits that are used to catch fish. Some are good for freshwater or ocean,
lakes or rives, dune fishing, ect. Some also cater to getting bigger catch (meaning a larger chance of
HQ fish). Here is a fun chart of the baits, what they do, their bonus if any, and where to get them.
Level
Tackle
Used In
Bonus
Where to Get
1
Lugworm
Ocean
----
Vendor in Limsa Lominsa
1
Moth Pupa
Fresh Water
----
Vendors in Old Gridania, Central Sroud, North Shroud (Hyrstmill), Ul'dah, and Limsa Lominsa
5
Pill Bug
Ocean
----
Vendors in Limsa Lominsa, Middle La Noscea
5
Crayfish Ball
Fresh Water
River
Cooking (Level 5); vendors in Old Gridania, North Shroud (Hyrstmill), Central Shroud, North Shroud
(Hyrstmill), Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa, Middle La Noscea, Western Thanalan (Scorpion Crossing)
10
Goby Ball
Ocean
----
Cooking (Level 10); vendors in Lower La Noscea (Moraby and Candlekeep), Western Thanalan
(Crescent Cove), Western La Noscea (Swiftperch)
10
Bloodworm
Fresh Water
----
Vendors in Central Shroud, Central Thanalan, Lower La Noscea (Red Rooster, Moraby and
Candlekeep), Western Thanalan (Scorpion Crossing, Horizon and Silver Bazaar)
15
Rat Tail
Any
----
Vendors in Western La Noscea (Swiftperch and Aleport), Lower La Noscea (Candlekeep and
Moraby), Western Thanalan (Crescent Cove)
15
Midge Basket
Fresh Water
----
Vendors in Central Thanalan, Central Shroud, Lower La Noscea (Moraby and Candlekeep), Eastern
Thanalan, East Shroud, North Shroud (Hyrstmill), Western La Noscea (Swiftperch and Aleport)
20
Crab Ball
Ocean
----
Cooking (Level 20); vendors in Western Thanalan (Vesper Bay), Western La Noscea (Camp Skull
Valley)
20
Butterworm
Fresh Water
----
Vendors in South Shroud (Buscarron's Druthers), Upper La Noscea (Jijiroon's and Memeroon's),
Eastern Thanalan, East Shroud, Western Thanalan (Vesper Bay)
20
Crow Fly
Fresh Water
----
Goldsmithing (Level 20); vendors in South
Shroud (Buscarron's Druthers), Upper La
Noscea (Memeroon's Trading Post)
22
Floating Minnow
Fresh Water and Ocean
Surface
Goldsmithing (Level 22); vendor in Western Thanalan (Vesper Bay)
23
Brass Spoon Lure
Fresh Water
Lake
Goldsmithing (Level 23); vendors in Quarrymill and Upper
La Noscea (Memeroon's)
25
Bass Ball
Fresh Water
----
Cooking (Level 25); vendors in South Shroud (Buscarron's Druthers and Quarrymill), North Shroud
(Fallgourd Float), Southern Thanalan (Little Ala Mhigo), East Shroud
25
Shrimp Cage Feeder
Ocean
----
Vendor in Costa del Sol
27
Chocobo Fly
Fresh Water
----
Goldsmithing (Level 30); vendors in North Shroud (Fallgourd Float), Southern Thanalan (Little Ala
Mhigo)
30
Spoon Worm
Ocean
Big Catch
Vendor in Costa del Sol
30
Syrphid Basket
Fresh Water
----
Vendors in Costa del Sol, North Shroud (Fallgourd Float), Southern Thanalan (Little Ala Mhigo),
South Shroud (Camp Tranquil and Quarrymill)
32
Silver Spoon Lure
Fresh Water
Lake
Goldsmithing (Level 32); vendors in South Shroud (Camp Tranquil), Upper La Noscea (Camp Bronze
Lake)
32
Iron Jig
Ocean
Big Catch
Goldsmithing (Level 32); vendor in Costa del Sol
34
Sinking Minnow
Fresh Water and Ocean
Surface and Floor
Goldsmithing (Level 34)
35
Herring Ball
Ocean
----
Cooking (Level 35); vendor in Costa del Sol
35
Honey Worm
Fresh Water
----
Vendors in Southern Thanalan (Forgotten Springs), South Shroud (Camp Tranquil), Upper Noscea
(Jijiroon's and Camp Bronze Lake), Eastern La Noscea (Wineport), East Shroud (Fullflower Comb),
Coerthas (Observatorium and Dragonhead)
35
Sand Leech
Dune Fishing
----
Vendor located in Southern Thanalan (Forgotten Springs)
36
Wildfowl Fly
Fresh Water
----
Goldsmithing (Level 36); vendors in Southern Thanalan (Forgotten Springs), Coerthas
(Observatorium), Upper Noscea (Jijiroon's)
37
Heavy Iron Jig
Ocean
----
Goldsmithing (Level 37)
39
Spinner
Fresh Water and Ocean
----
Goldsmithing (Level 39)
40
Stem Borer
Dune Fishing
----
Vendors in Upper La Noscea (Camp Bronze Lake), Coerthas (Observatorium), Outer La Noscea
(Camp Overlook), Eastern La Noscea (Wineport), Northern Thanalan (Camp Bluefog)
40
Sand Gecko
Dune Fishing
----
Vendor located in Southern Thanalan (Forgotten Springs)
40
Krill Cage Feeder
Ocean
----
Vendors located in Costa del Sol, Western La Noscea (North and South Tidegate)
41
Mithril Spoon Lure
Fresh Water
Lake and Marsh
Goldsmithing (Level 41); vendors in Northern Thanalan (Camp Bluefog), Coerthas (Dragonhead and
Whitebrim), and Eastern Noscea (Wineport)
43
Snurble Fly
Fresh Water
---
Goldsmithing (Level 43)
44
Topwater Frog
Fresh Water
Big Catch
Goldsmithing (Level 44)
45
Glowworm
Any
Big Catch
Vendor in Coerthas (Whitebrim)
45
Rolling Stone
Dune Fishing
----
Vendor in Southern Thanalan (Forgotten Springs)
45
Hoverworm
Sky Fishing
---
Northern Thanalan (Camp Bluefog and Ceruleum Processing Plant), Outer La Noscea (Camp
Overlook), Mor Dhona (Saint Coinach's), Coerthas (Whitebrim), Western Noscea (North and South
Tidegate)
46
Rainbow Spoon Lure
Fresh Water
Lake
Goldsmithing (Level 46)
47
Spinnerbait
Fresh Water
River
Goldsmithing (Level 47)
48
Streamer
Fresh Water
Floor Fishing
Goldsmithing (Level 48)
48
Yumizuno
Ocean
Big Catch
Goldsmithing (Level 48)
50
Northern Krill
Ocean
---
Western Noscea (North and South Tidegate)
50
Caddisfly Larva
Fresh Water
Big Catch
Vendors in Outer La Noscea (Camp Overlook), Northern Thanalan (Ceruleum Processing Plant), Mor
Dhona (Saint Coinach's), Coerthas (Whitebrim)
50
Soil Creeper
Dune Fishing
Big Catch
Vendor located in Coerthas (Whitebrim)
50
Ballon Bug
Sky Fishing
Big Catch
Vendor located in Coerthas (Whitebrim)
I am no sadist, I could list all the fish in the game, all the locations, and where specific fish are
caught but I am not going to. Why do so much needless work when there is already a resource for it.
Time for a map an interactive gathering map of Eorzea. This map shows not just every fishing
location, but where mining and botany nodes are as well. It is a great companion for completionists.
For completeness, I would have liked to list all the fish that are caught during different weather,
times of day and moon phases however even I have not discovered all the fish yet. I have been
fishing since day one and even 2 months later, it is not complete. It is, if anything, a great MMO
feature for true grinders, but it may also be the entrance into insanity. Usually, no mater how long
you fish in an area, one or two will remain illusive, leaving fisherman to come back at different times
with different bait. The game has not been out long enough for even a google docs of these rare fish
to come out yet.