Fishing

Fishing is the second oldest skill in RuneScape, released on June 11, 2001. It is also one of the most common activities. Fishing lets players catch fish from Fishing Spots. Caught fish may be cooked using the Cooking Skill, and are often sold to other players due to their property of healing Hitpoints. If you have achieved level 99 in fishing you can purchase a Skillcape of Fishing from the Master Fisher outside the Fishing Guild for 99,000 coins. Please see the Fishing Skillcape article for more information. The current minimum requirement to be ranked (at rank 2,000,000) on the hiscores for Fishing is level 53.

Fishing Shops
Locations of fishing shops where players can buy equipment are:

F2P

 * Gerrant's Fishy Business in Port Sarim
 * Fishing tutor south of Lumbridge has a small fishing net nearby and will hand players a crayfish cage if they do not have one in their inventory or bank. There are also numerous fishing spots near here, perfect for low level training.

Member

 * Harry's Fishing Store in Catherby
 * Fishing Guild Shop - only Fishing Bait and Feathers
 * Shilo Village Fishing Shop
 * Witchaven Fishing Shop
 * Fish stalls - Fishmongers
 * Rellekka Fremennik Fishmonger
 * Miscellania Island Fishmonger
 * Etceteria Fish



Equipment
Players need certain types of equipment depending on what fish they want to catch.

Nets/Crayfish cages
The first few fish players can catch require nets, except for crayfish, which require a crayfish cage. Fishing nets can only be used in the seas. Free players can only use small fishing nets while members can also use big fishing nets. The big nets allow players to catch different, higher-level fish and sometimes items such as boots, seaweed, or caskets. When a player has found a fishing spot, they can then use their net if the option 'net fishing spot' is available..

Fishing Rods And Bait Fishing
Fishing rods are required for mid level fish. Fishing rods can be used in both rivers and seas. Along with a fishing rod, players also need fishing bait to attract fish. Bait can be bought in stores (3gp each at Port Sarim fishing shop), but is also dropped by some monsters and random events. When a player has found a fishing spot, they can then use their fishing rod if the option 'bait fishing spot' is available. For every fish you catch, you lose one piece of bait.

There is also another type of rod, the Oily fishing rod. However, only members can use this rod. It is required to fish lava eels and is needed in the Heroes Quest.

Another rod is the Barbarian rod, it is used to catch leaping trout, leaping salmon, and leaping sturgeon, during and after Barbarian training.

Fly Fishing Rods And Feathers - Lure Fishing
Fly fishing is also required for mid level fish. These rods can only be used in rivers. Along with a fly fishing rod, players also need feathers to attract fish. Feathers can be bought in stores and on the Grand Exchange for 5-7 coins each, but are also dropped by chickens and evil chicken random events (Discontinued). When a player has found a fishing spot, they can then use their fly fishing rod if the option 'lure fishing spot' is available. Each fish caught uses one feather.

Stripy feathers (introduced with the Hunter skill) can be used for fly fishing, as well. Those feathers work the same as normal feathers, but players will only be able to fish Rainbow fish, rather than the usual trout and salmon. Note that if you have both types of feathers in your inventory, you will be asked which feathers you would like to use.

You cannot use Orange feathers or any other colored feather from hunting except the stripy feather which is used to fish, rainbow fish.

Harpoons
Harpoons are required for catching larger medium to high level fish, namely Tuna, Swordfish, and Sharks. They can only be used in the seas. When a player has found a fishing spot, they can then use their harpoon if the option 'harpoon fishing spot' is available.

There are three types of harpoons - the regular harpoon, the barb-tail harpoon, and the Sacred clay harpoon. All three harpoons catch fish at exactly the same rate (as in time-wise, not in experience), however the barb-tail harpoon and Sacred clay harpoon can be wielded. Many players prefer the barb-tail harpoon or sacred clay harpoon, as it saves an inventory space. The Sacred clay harpoon gives a 5.5 experience bonus per fish in addition to being wieldable.

After being taught by Otto Godblessed, a player can catch fish that are harpoon-able with absolutely nothing but their hands. Levels are higher and also require a Strength level, but fish are caught a bit faster and it saves an inventory space compared to having a harpoon.

Cages
Lobsters are caught in the sea, using lobster pots. When a player has found a fishing spot, they can then use their lobster cage if the option 'cage fishing spot' is available.

Barbarian Fishing
Members with a high level in fishing can speak with Otto Godblessed in his home near Baxtorian Falls to learn special barbarian methods of fishing. First, he instructs the player in heavy rod fishing. Heavy rod fishing requires a Barbarian rod (found under Otto's bed) and any type of bait, as well as a knife to gut the fish. In order to catch the special fish in Otto's lake, a Strength and Agility level is needed in addition to the fishing requirement. The Leaping fish obtained can be used with a knife to obtain roe and caviar for use in Herblore, and catching them gives small amounts of experience in strength and agility. The fish you catch this way are as follows:

After this, the player can learn how to fish Tuna, Swordfish, and Sharks without a harpoon. Using this method requires a higher fishing level as well as a strength level equivalent to the fishing level needed to catch the fish normally. However, it provides small amounts of Strength experience.

Tips
When heavy rod fishing, you should bring your rod, your knife, and 25 fishing bait or feathers, go to the fishing spots and catch a full inventory of fish and cut them into fish offcuts and caviar/roe. If your inventory gets full of offcuts and roe/caviar, drop the fish offcuts and continue fishing/cutting using the caviar/roe. You can pick up the offcuts after you have used up the caviar/roe they are also bait. Dropping the caviar/roe takes more time to drop than the stackable offcuts. This nets you around 50 to 60k an hour at 70 fishing.

Fishing spots
There are 4 main types of fishing spots in Runescape: Net/Bait, Lure/Bait, Cage/Harpoon, and Net/Harpoon (members only). Net/Bait spots require a small fishing net to net fish whilst Net/Harpoon spots require a big fishing net to net fish. Each spot can catch the following fish:


 * Net/Bait: Shrimps, Anchovies, Sardine, Herring


 * Crayfish Cage: Crayfish


 * Lure/Bait: Trout, Salmon, Rainbow fish (only with stripy feathers), Pike


 * Cage/Harpoon: Lobsters, Tuna, Swordfish


 * Net/Harpoon: Mackerel, Cod, Bass, Casket, Junk, Sharks

Additional types of fishing spots can be found with less frequency, where different kinds of fish can be caught.

Net/Bait fishing spots

 * Draynor Village: To the west of Draynor Village's bank are some fishing spots. Here players can net and bait fish. It is a great place to start fishing as there is a bank nearby, so players can fill their inventory with fish and then bank them and go back to fishing. However, there are 2 level 7 Dark Wizards which can be a problem for players under level 15.


 * Thurgo's Peninsula: South of Port Sarim are two to three fishing spots dotting the western shore of the peninsula, located behind the church and near Thurgo's shack. However, the nearest bank is in Draynor Village.


 * Karamja: Northwest of Karamja are some fishing spots. However, these spots are far away from a bank, so if a player wants to deposit their fish, it is recommended to fish at Draynor Village. Members fishing here can use the bank in TzHaar City for quicker banking, but it's still not effective as there are other fishing spots that are closer to banks, such as Catherby.


 * Lumbridge Swamp: At the east side of the swamp is the fishing tutor, giving a free small net to players that have lost theirs, and some low level fishing spots.


 * Al Kharid: There are some shrimp fishing spots south of Al-Kharid Bank, approximately as far as the fishing spots in Draynor Village are from the Draynor bank. However the scorpions can be a problem for people with low levels.


 * Wilderness Bandit Camp: These spots are in the Wilderness, with no nearby bank. They might be used to catch anchovies, since the nearby food shop has all the rest of the ingredients needed for Anchovy pizza.


 * ScapeRune: Here players must net-fish cooked fish and uncook them in the uncooking pot. Small nets respawn on the island. This is part of the Evil Bob random event.

Lure/Bait fishing spots

 * Barbarian Village: On the east side of the village is the River Lum. In the river are some spots where players can lure and bait fish. This area may be somewhat crowded, at least in free-to-play worlds.


 * Lumbridge: In the centre of Lumbridge is the River Lum. On the eastern side of the river are some spots where players can lure and bait fish.On the other side of the river is the shop so players can go and sell fish there, but if you want to bank them then it will take ages to get to the bank and back to the fishing spot. There is a bank at the top of Lumbridge Castle.

Cage/Harpoon fishing spots

 * Karamja: Behind Luthas' banana plantation on the northern part of the island is a small dock that has fishing spots where players can harpoon, cage, or net fish. Unfortunately a bank is very far away and players have to pay 30 coins to go to the island and 30 coins to leave the island. For Free-Players the best option when banking is to use the Explorer Ring 3 to teleport to the cabbage patch in Falador. Then the player should run to Draynor, bank, teleport to the cabbage patch again, and then run back to the docks on Port Sarim. Members have an advantage while fishing here, as they can use the TzHaar bank to store their fish, which not only avoids paying 30 coins to get off Karamja, but is closer than banking at Draynor Village or Falador. This is moot, however, since members can access the Catherby fishing spots that are still much closer to a bank.


 * Wilderness: At level 35 to 38 in the Wilderness are some harpoon and cage fishing spots in the waters at the eastern edge. Thanks to Bounty Hunter, these spots are slightly closer to a bank than the Karamja spots. The disadvantage of this area is that revenants will attack and disrupt the player. Players who are training in the wilderness may use this spot for food, as one of the trees south-west of the fishing spots can be cut and lit to use for Cooking.

Other fishing spots

 * East of the Church and west of Fred's farm in Lumbridge: Crayfish can be caught in these spots using a Crayfish cage.

Pay-to-play fishing spots
Members have many more fishing spots than free players, in addition to the free-to-play fishing spots.

Net/Bait fishing spots

 * Catherby beach: While close to a bank, the spots at Catherby are still less convenient than those in Al-Kharid and Draynor Village, but there are no aggressive monsters to disrupt players.


 * Entrana: Entrana is about as far from a bank as Karamja, and is not particularly useful.


 * Feldip Hills: The closest bank is in Oo'glog, but it requires As a First Resort... started, and there are aggressive enemies all over the area.


 * Barbarian Outpost: The nearby deposit box at the Barbarian Assault mini game makes this a strong choice for Net/Bait spots.


 * Fishing Platform: The closest bank is in East Ardougne. It requires Sea Slug started.

Lure/Bait fishing spots

 * Shilo Village: Requires Shilo Village. This is the most popular place to fly fish, because it's the closest to a bank and there's a fishing shop right in town. The downside is that the fishing spots, although close to a bank, are far apart from each other.


 * Between Seer's Village & Sinclair Mansion: This spot is fairly close to a bank.


 * Entrana: As with the Net/Bait spot here, Entrana is not a convenient location because it is so far from a bank.


 * Tree Gnome Stronghold: Located in the southwestern corner of the stronghold near Brimstail's cave and the Terrorbird pen, this area is close to a bank.


 * East Ardougne: Just north of town is a peaceful knoll in the shade of a willow tree with two fishing spots.  There is a bank located just across the river.  It is a short walk if you have an agility of 33 and can use the log shortcut.


 * Observatory: Not too far North of Castle Wars, this spot is far enough from a bank to be less than optimal.


 * Isafdar: Requires Regicide. The only bank that's remotely near here requires passing through a number of traps that can easily heavily damage you, and it isn't even very close. As such, fishing here is inadvisable.


 * River west of Fishing guild: This spot is not near a bank but there is a wandering merchant, Rasolo, just north of the area who will buy your fish. This experience is FASTER than Shilo Village but you can not bank your fish and the gold from the fish that is sold cancels out the cost of feathers.


 * Water Ravine Dungeon: The cave found during the Spirits of the Elid quest contains fishing spots near the three spirits. Completion of most of the quest is required, as well as the Ancestral key and Robes of Elidinis. There is no nearby bank.


 * Fisher Realm: Requires Holy Grail. There is no bank nearby.

Cage/Harpoon fishing spots

 * Catherby beach. Close to a bank, range, and also a fishing shop, this area is the most popular place for lower-level fishers to catch lobsters or swordfish.


 * Fishing Guild: The Fishing Guild has many Cage/Harpoon spots and is very close to a bank and a range, and there are spawns of a harpoon and a lobster cage nearby as well as a fishing shop. It is preferable for fishers with 68 fishing or higher, though some players still prefer to fish in other places such as Catherby. With the help of a Fish pie, Fishing potion, or Admiral pie, the guild can be accessed as low as level 63; however, if a player logs out in the fishing guild without the required level, they will log in outside. Keep this in mind if you plan to cheat your way in on an unstable Internet connection.


 * Jatizso: Accessible after starting The Fremennik Isles, this spot is frequently deserted despite being at least as close to a bank as Catherby. It's not quite as good as the Fishing Guild, but it's a fine place to cage or harpoon.


 * Feldip Hills: With the nearest bank being the one in Oo'glog, and to use it requires completion of As a First Resort... and aggressive enemies nearby, fishing here is inconvenient.


 * Rellekka: Far from a bank and not in a convenient location, these spots are not an effective place to fish. However, if a player equips Fremennik Sea Boots 1 or up, the player will be able to deposit their catches at Peer the Seer, located north of the Fremennik market. Making this a fairly good place to fish.

Net/Harpoon fishing spots

 * Catherby beach: A popular spot that's close to a bank; however, big net fishing is not a popular method.


 * Fishing Guild: The closest spot to a bank, with a fishing shop in the area as well as a spawn of a harpoon and a big net. It is usually recommended because it is close to the bank and there are a lot of fishing spots.


 * Rellekka: As with the cage/harpoon spots here, this location isn't very useful, although it could be used to catch a shark to recharge an Enchanted lyre. If a player wields Fremennik Sea Boots 1, they will be able to deposit their catches at Peer the Seer, located by the maze room north of the Fremennik market.


 * Burgh de Rott: Requires In Aid of the Myreque. There is a bank in Burgh de Rott not too far from these spots. This area is notable for its especially high density of Net/Harpoon spots--there are a lot of them very close together, so not a lot of running around is needed to get from one spot to another.


 * Isafdar: Requires Regicide. As with the Net/Bait spots here, this area is too far from a bank to be practical.


 * Jatizso: Requires The Fremennik Isles. Just like the Cage/Harpoon spots, the Net/Harpoon spots here are very close to a bank and excellent for players who don't like a lot of company when they fish.


 * Feldip Hills: With no nearby bank and aggressive enemies nearby, fishing here is inconvenient.


 * Ape Atoll: Requires Monkey Madness. There is a fishing spot located near the agility course and another on the south-west side of the island. There's no bank on the whole island, and you can only fish when you are in human form, which means the monsters on the island will become aggressive to you if you go near them. Because of this, it's not an effective place to fish, but can be used to restock on food by fishing and cooking the catches.

Other members fishing spots
These generally are one specific place for one specific type of fishing.


 * Karamja lake: South of Tai Bwo Wannai, this is the only place to catch Karambwanji, which are needed to catch Karambwan. You can also catch shrimp here.


 * West of the Sinclair Mansion: There are some Cage spots here where Crayfish can be caught.


 * Mort Myre and south of Mort Myre: Requires Priest in Peril. Here you can catch Slimy eels and Cave eels with bait and a fishing rod. This method of fishing is very rarely used.


 * Lumbridge Swamp Caves: You can also bait fish here for Slimy eels and Cave eels, as well as net fish for Frog spawn. This method of fishing is very rarely used.


 * Northeast Karamja: Karambwan fishing. This requires Tai Bwo Wannai Trio, a Karambwan vessel, and Raw karambwanji as bait. Unlike other fishing methods, karambwan require you to use the bait on the vessel before they can be caught, and the bait is not stackable. The closest bank is in Zanaris through the nearby fairy ring, code DKP.


 * Piscatoris Fishing Colony: Small net fishing for Monkfish as well as harpoon fishing for tuna and swordfish. Requires completion of Swan Song. Monkfish are one of the most profitable fish, and this is the only place to catch them. The nearby banker also runs a general store that stocks harpoons and small nets. The fastest access to this area is the fairy ring code AKQ.


 * Port Khazard: Although not really a fishing spot, this is where you play the Trawler minigame. It's the only place where manta rays and sea turtles can be caught. There's a deposit box here to store your catches.


 * Otto's Grotto: Located at Baxtorian Falls just south of the Barbarian Outpost, this is where you can do barbarian fishing with a heavy rod. Feathers, bait, fish offcuts, caviar, and roe can all be used as bait, and you need a barbarian rod, obtained from underneath Otto's bed. Here you can catch leaping trout, leaping salmon, and leaping sturgeon, which can be gutted with a knife to obtain roe and caviar, as well as fish offcuts and a small amount of cooking experience. Although far from a bank, fishing here provides faster experience than any other method once all three types of fish can be caught, and each catch gives a small amount of experience in strength and agility.


 * Hemenster: The fishing spots here are used during the Fishing Contest and Land of the Goblins quests.


 * Taverley Dungeon and the Lava Maze: Bait fishing for lava eels with an Oily fishing rod. This is only available after starting Hero's Quest. Since lava eels are so inconvenient to get to and are untradeable, there isn't much reason to come back after the quest and catch more.

Fishing and Summoning
The members-only Summoning skill provides some very useful benefits to fishing, in particular when fishing sharks or monkfish. Familiars are indispensable because they can forage fish for you on their own while you fish. Not only does this give you additional fish to sell or cook, but you'll gain a portion of the experience for each catch! Plus, they'll give your fishing an invisible boost that improves your catch rate slightly. There are three familiars that help with fishing.

Note: While fishing for salmon and trout in the Shilo Village, an ibis will only produce swordfish, no tuna and when fishing for monkfish the ibis will only produce swordfish.

Fish
When a player catches a fish, it will be raw and cannot be consumed until it is cooked. The name and colour indicates this. For example, when shrimps are first caught they are called "raw shrimps", but once cooked the name changes to "shrimps". Marlin is a type of fish that though it exists in the world of RuneScape, can not be caught or traded.

Note: * These fish can be cooked to either "poorly cooked" or "thoroughly cooked" depending on your fishing and cooking levels. The above images show that the fish is raw and cooked respectively.
 * Sometimes you may catch a big shark, bass, or swordfish. This can be stuffed and put in the Skill Hall in Player-owned house.

Training

 * See Free-to-play Fishing training and Pay-to-play Fishing training for details.

Making money

 * Every player needs food to heal, making fish a market with a massive demand. It is recommended that players do not sell their fish to general stores or fish stores, but instead sell them to other players. The Grand Exchange or the RuneScape Forums are the best places to sell fish.


 * Raw fish tend to fetch higher prices than cooked fish, due to the high demand of players who want to train cooking. Therefore, it is recommended you leave your fish raw if you want to gain maximum profit.


 * The fish most commonly caught for profit are lobsters and swordfish for free players, and sharks and monkfish for members.


 * A list of prices for raw and cooked fish can be found at the Grand Exchange Market Watch.


 * For some advice on making money through fishing, see the fishing section of the Money making guide.

Random events
Random events are events that happen at random times. They were introduced to stop macros - people who use a program to play automatically. Some random events include non-player characters wanting players to do a task for them and rewarding them if they are successful or a monster that will attack the player. While fishing, players may encounter random events which are specific to Fishing, listed below. Note that due to the Random Event Update it is impossible to get random events other than Evil Bob's Island (other events below were retired).



River Troll
While fishing, a river troll may appear and will start attacking a player. They can deal a large amount of damage and their combat level depends on the player, though it will always be higher. The level ranges from level 14 to level 159. Players can either run away from them or fight them. River trolls have meager drops consisting of items related to Fishing, such as 1 raw fish of any kind or 1-5 bait. The River Troll is a retired random event and will no longer appear. The river troll currently resides in the Enchanted valley(code Bkq).



Whirlpool
While fishing, a whirlpool may appear in a fishing spot. If a player continues to fish in the whirlpool, their fishing equipment may be taken by it will not be returned. Players are strongly advised to stop fishing when one appears and wait until it disappears, which usually takes about 30 seconds. The whirlpool is shown in the mini-map with a yellow dot, like an NPC.



Big fish
While fishing, a big fish may appear in a fishing spot and steal a player's fishing equipment and spit it somewhere nearby, usually 3 to 10 squares away. The player has the usual amount of time as if they had dropped it to find their equipment before anyone else sees it and grabs it. When the player has found the equipment, they can go back to fishing. The big fish causes fishing spots to move as well. This event will not occur when a player is using their hands to fish. Note: the Big Fish is a retired random event and will no longer appear.



Evil Bob
While fishing (or casting spells), players may be transported to ScapeRune, the dominion of Evil Bob, where everything is the opposite of RuneScape. To escape, players must catch a cooked fish using a small fishing net (several spawn on the beach - but vanish from the inventory after the event), uncook the caught fish on a fire, and give it to Evil Bob. After eating the fish (if players feed Evil Bob a cooked fish, they must feed him another uncooked fish for every cooked fish they fed him to get him to fall asleep), Evil Bob falls asleep and the player can enter portal next to Evil Bob to return. The player receives a random event gift.

Moving fishing spot
Don't get confused with disappearing fishing spots which those aren't random events. This is when you see a fishing spot slide away from you and not when a spot disappears from sight and then a new fishing spot appears somewhere along the same fishing spot.

Temporary boosts



 * Fishing potion, made using the Herblore skill, temporarily increases Fishing by 3.
 * Fish pie, made using the Cooking skill, temporarily increases Fishing by 3.
 * Admiral pie, made using the Cooking skill, temporarily increases Fishing by 5.
 * A brown spicy stew can raise fishing temporarily by up to 6; however, it can also decrease it by up to 6.
 * The Fishing Cape of Achievement can be operated to increase Fishing by 1 (Requires 99 fishing)
 * Granite crab, a summoning familiar, invisibly increases Fishing by 1.
 * Ibis, a summoning familiar, invisibly increases Fishing by 3.
 * Granite lobster, a summoning familiar, invisibly increases Fishing by 4.

Quests that give fishing experience

 * 1,000 - Recipe for Disaster
 * 2,437 - Fishing Contest
 * 2,812 - The Fremennik Trials
 * 3,000 - Land of the Goblins
 * 5,000 - Tai Bwo Wannai Trio
 * 7,000 - Rum Deal
 * 7,175 - Sea Slug Quest
 * 7,650 - Legends Quest (can be chosen four times for a total of 30,600 experience)
 * 10,000 - Swan Song
 * 100,000 - While Guthix Sleeps (can be chosen four times for a total of 400,000 experience but Fishing level must be over 65)

Trivia

 * Under certain conditions, when a player tries to fish at a fishing spot, he/she will go to the spot by skiing instead of walking or running. This has now been fixed.


 * On June 10, 2009 a glitch was noticed where a player could fish and drop, while still fishing for more. This was fixed the very next day on a Hidden update.