Fishing and Cooking are made for one another, if you do one without the other you’ll be wishing you hadn’t later on. As with any profession, Cooking and Fishing can sometimes dig a hole in your pocket. Take a look at this Gold Guide to learn how to sell what you make for the most profit.
This Fishing and Cooking Leveling Guide is updated for patch 4.0 and Cataclysm.
Fishing and cooking go hand in hand…catch fish and cook them, they are perfect for leveling together. Higher level cooking skills require many components derived from fishing. Leveling fishing and cooking it doesn’t take a great deal of talent, instead it takes an intense grind consisting of thousands of casts, fish, and flames to cook them over. I’ll send you around to various lakes, trainers, and NPCs who sell recipes for this leveling guide. Basically you’re going to stand around casting 3-4 thousand times catching thousands of fish and then frying their brains out over a fire while you are leveling to 450 with this guide.
Why Fish?
Fishing & cooking is one of the more effective ways to make money and lucky for you leveling them is easy with this guide. You can fish while surfing the web, reading a book, or chatting with friends. You can cook those fish into popular raid foods and sell them for quite a bit on your realm’s Auction House. But this is not the best way to make gold, the best methods are discussed here. You should only try leveling fishing if you really enjoy it, otherwise don’t waste your time. You can make a ton using these methods.
It is important to note these instructions in this guide are just one method of leveling fishing. Fishing can be leveled in all sorts of ways, if you want you can catch fish entirely from the noobie ponds in Ironforge or Orgrimmar. It does not matter where you fish, the chance you level per catch is based on your fishing skill level, so really you can try leveling anywhere. The only benefit to following the following instructions and leveling where this guide directs you to is to have the necessary fish to level cooking in parallel or to sell valuable fish on the Auction House.
You may also find it useful to work towards Achievements while you are leveling your fishing. For example, you might want to try leveling your low level fishing in Ironforge until you catch Old Ironjaw. Although this is the least profitable way to level fishing since you’ll vendor everything you catch. And it might take until level 450 to actually catch Old Ironjaw (I caught him around level 280).
Lures
In order to catch the best fish, you should always use a lure to maximize the number of fish you can reel in. If you can’t afford them, you can go without or find nightcrawlers to use instead. These will effectively decrease the number of casts you’ll make to catch each fish and will make leveling your fishing a lot easier.
Fishing and Cooking Leveling Guide 1-525
Stuff You’ll Need for Leveling with this Guide
| Recipes You’ll Need to Buy for 1-450 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Recipe | Vendor for Horde | Vendor for Alliance |
| Recipe: Brilliant Smallfish | Sewa Mistrunner in Thunderbluff | Tharynn Bouden in Goldshire, Elwynn Forest |
| Recipe: Longjaw Mud Snapper | Naal Mistrunner in Thunderbluff | Tharynn Bouden in Goldshire, Elwynn Forest |
| Recipe: Bristle Whisker Catfish | Naal Mistrunner in Thunderbluff | Lindea Rabonne in Southshore, Hillsbrad Foothills |
| Recipe: Mithril Head Trout | Kelsey Yance in Booty Bay, Stranglethorn Vale | Lindea Rabonne in Southshore, Hillsbrad Foothills |
| Recipe: Spotted Yellowtail | Gikkix in Steamwheedle Port, Tanaris | Gikkix in Steamwheedle Port, Tanaris |
| Recipe: Poached Sunscale Salmon | Gikkix in Steamwheedle Port, Tanaris | Gikkix in Steamwheedle Port, Tanaris |
| Recipe: Nightfin Soup | Gikkix in Steamwheedle Port, Tanaris | Gikkix in Steamwheedle Port, Tanaris |
| Recipe: Baked Salmon | Sheendra Tallgrass in Camp Mojache, Feralas | Vivianna in Feathermoon Stronghold, Feralas |
| Recipe: Feltail Delight | Zurai in Swamprat Post, Zangarmarsh | Doba in Orebor Harborage, Zangarmarsh (neutral faction required) |
| Recipe: Blackened Trout | Gambarinka in Zabra’jin, Zangarmarsh | Doba in Orebor Harborage, Zangarmarsh (neutral faction required) |
| Recipe: Blackened Sporefish | Juno Dufrain in Cenarion Refuge, Zangarmarsh | Juno Dufrain in Cenarion Refuge, Zangarmarsh |
| Recipe: Snapper Extreme | Misensi in Dalaran | Derek Odds in Dalaran |
| Recipe: Small Feast | Misensi in Dalaran | Derek Odds in Dalaran |
Fishing and Cooking (Levels 1-225)
For this section be sure to have the recipes for Brilliant Smallfish, Longjaw Mud Snapper, Bristle Whisker Catfish, and Mithril Head Trout. See the chart above for where to buy them. Now have fun leveling!
Cooking and Fishing Quests at 225
Please note that these quests do not need to be done in order to continue leveling up past 225 with this guide. With patch 3.1.0 Blizzard changed Fishing and Cooking so that you don’t need to have books or do quests to increase your skill level capacity and continue leveling. I have left the following quests, which used to allow you to gain the Artisan skill, in this guide in case anyone wanted to do them to get Clam Magnifique (a Cooking recipe) or a nice fishing pole to help them with leveling from the Nat Pagle quest.
It will cost you the following materials to do the Cooking quest if you choose to do it (if you need gold to get these items be sure to check out this guide:
- 12 Giant Eggs which are found on the Auction House or off Owlbeasts (Hinterlands, lvl 42-44)
- 10 Zesty Clam Meat which are also on the AH or drop off turtles at Steamwheedle Port (Tanaris, 49-50) or Raventusk Village (Hinterlands, 40-41)
- 20 Alterac Swiss sold at the Caverns of Time from Galgrom
Turn these materials in to Dirge Quikcleave in Gadgetzan.
Now head to Dustwallow Marsh and find Nat Pagle west of Theramore on an island, accept Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme.
- Feralas Ahi are caught west of Camp Mojache in Feralas under the Bridge by the Ogres
- Misty Reed Mahi Mahi are caught on the east coast of Swamp of Sorrows
- Sar’theris Striker found south of Shadowprey Village in Desolace
- Savage Coast Blue Sailfin found on the north west coast of STV
Once you turn in the quest you’ll get a nice fishing pole that will help you reduce get aways while you are leveling. Now on to the rest of the guide to continue leveling!
Fishing (Levels 225-325) and Cooking (Levels 225-312)
For this section of the guide be sure to have the recipes for Spotted Yellowtail, Poached Sunscale Salmon, Nightfin Soup, and Baked Salmon.
Fishing (Levels 325-450) and Cooking (Levels 312-450)
Due to high fishing requirements throughout Outland and Northrend, it is strongly suggested to have at least a +75 lure and +20 fishing pole whenever possible while leveling. A suitable pole is easily obtained from a quest in Lower City in Shattrath, “Rather Be Fishin’.”
Also for this section be sure to have the recipes for Feltail Delight, Blackened Trout, Blackened Sporefish, Snapper Extreme (you must have Dalaran Cooking Awards to buy this, see section below for dailies info), and Small Feast (you must have Dalaran Cooking Awards to buy this, see section below for dailies info).
Fishing in Northrend
If you are leveling your fishing in the Dalaran Fountain you can start collecting coins for The Coin Master achievement. To find out how to make the most out of leveling and using your fishing to make gold via the Auction House (and a ton of other methods) check out this guide.
Cooking Dailies
Leveling Cooking was made really easy in Northrend. All you have to do is your Dalaran Cooking Quests to earn Dalaran Cooking Awards and use them to purchase cooking recipes. Purchase the recipes you’ll use or are in high demand on the Auction House and start cooking.