Free-to-play Fishing training

Fishing is relatively hard to train but can be rewarding, as profit can be quite significant even as low as at level 35, when tunas can be harpooned. The experience gained from any method is in large portions for an inventory full of fish, alike firemaking, but fishing doesn't have a distinct power levelling method compared to many skills.

Equipments

Fishing is oriented to several kinds of equipments, diversified into dispensables and catchers. Dispensables are used up with rate of one item for each fish caught and are stackable, while catchers are non-stackable and do not degrade over use.

• Net fishing: Catcher: Small fishing net; No dispensables
• Bait fishing: Catcher: Fishing rod; Dispensable: Bait
• Fly fishing: Catcher: Fishing rod; Dispensable: Feather
• Harpooning: Catcher: Harpoon; No dispensables
• Cage Fishing: Catcher: Crayfish cage, Lobster pot; No dispensables

Training

Level 1-19

Crayfish can be caught with a Crayfish cage at Lumbridge cage spot, yielding 10 experience per catch. They have very little value, both in raw and cooked forms. Also, they can only heal 2 hitpoint each in cooked form. Crayfish can be caught at very fast speed though, and recommended to be caught until level 20.

Level 1-14

Shrimp can be caught with small fishing net, yielding 10 experience per catch, and can be used as food. It take 224 shrimps to get to level 15. Draynor Village offers netting spots very close to a bank.

Level 5-9

Sardines can be baited using baits and fishing rod at Lumbridge Fishing spot south of town, yielding 20 experience per catch and used as food. You may also bait at Draynor Village.

Level 10-19

Herrings, along with sardines can be baited, which herrings yield 30 experience per catch and used as food.

Level 15-19

Anchovies, along with shrimps can be caught with small fishing net, which anchovies yield 40 experience per catch. They should not be sold alone or cooked as food, but to be stored to make anchovy pizzas at high cooking levels.

Level 20-29

Trout can be lured using feathers and fly fishing rod at Barbarian Village or Lumbridge, yielding 50 experience per catch. They can be cooked as food because they sell low and can heal 7 hp each. Another method is simply to drop them, as fly fishing spots are usually a good distance from a bank, so this makes the training even faster. This is the fastest training method available to free players and continues to be so at all levels. Fish something else only for profit.

Level 25-29

Pike can be baited at Barbarian Village or Lumbridge. Although pike give 60 experience per fish, their catch rate is very slow compared to lure fishing. They should not be considered for training. The main use of fishing pike is for the Easy Lumbridge and Draynor Diary.

Level 30-99

Fish Salmon, along with trout, at the Barbarian Village. Players can leave the Run toggle on the entire time (if they choose to bank the fish). Upon returning from banking at the West Varrock bank, only rest at the musician until you have 34% energy. This allows you to have exactly 0 energy by the time you reach the fishing spot, which is ideal as you will regenerate to almost full energy by the time you fill your inventory. Alternatively, one can travel to Edgeville bank through the back entrance into Edgeville. Salmon yield 70 experience per catch. The percentage of salmon and trout is about 42% salmon and 58% trout, which averages out to about 56 xp per inventory slot. Raw salmon is worth 508 coins each when sold at Grand Exchange. This method is commonly accepted as the most efficient way to train Fishing, taking all factors into consideration. However, it should be noted that this may not be exclusively so in all situations, for example, personal preferences and level. Fly fishing at this location in World 1 is a popular choice as many people come here to take the many fishers' fish, whether raw and cooked. A person can fish a whole inventory, trade them to someone, then go back fishing.

Another, less-popular alternative for efficient free-to-play fly fishing is the use of the fishing spots just east of Lumbridge castle. Once full, players sell their inventory to the general store just across the river. This strategy earns significantly less money than banking the fish and selling them on the Grand Exchange. Salmon only sell for approximately 6-9 coins per fish when sold to the general store in bulk. However, this method is significantly faster experience than using the Barbarian Village due to the shorter traveling distance between fishing spot and unloading spot, comparable to the distance for P2P fly fishing in Shilo Village.

Level 35-99

Tuna can be harpooned using harpoon at Musa spot in Karamja, yielding 80 experience per catch, and raw tuna can be sold for 348 coins each, and cooked tuna can be sold for 37 coins each. Catching tunas is certainly slower than fly fishing until level 45.

Level 40-99

Lobsters can be caught using lobster pot at Karamja, which yields 90 experience per catch, and raw lobsters can be sold for 141 coins each, or cooked as food. The wilderness spots are also useful for those willing to sacrifice safety for speed, being closer to a bank.

Level 50-64

Swordfish, along with Tuna, can be harpooned at Karamja. Swordfish yield 100 experience per catch, can be sold for 157 coins each or cooked as food healing 14 HP each, being the best food in F2P with a single click. The average ratio of swordfish to tuna is 1:3, meaning a harpoon fisherman/woman would get an average of 85 experience per inventory slot. A player would have to catch 3,822 tuna or 3,057 swordfish (practically, catching 3631 fish, equilvant to 130 times of full inventory) to get from level 50 to level 64.

Level 65-99

Swordfish gloves, a reward from Fist of Guthix, can double experience gained catching swordfish, up to 1000 catches before crumbling. The average experience gained each slot is increased from 85 to 110 experience, a 29% increase. Theoretically this boost can withstand 4000 catches as catching 1000 swordfish involves catching approximately 3000 tunas in between. Hence, using up swordfish gloves will yield approximately 440,000 fishing experience.

The only downside is that it takes some time to play Fist of Guthix for the required amount of tokens to buy the gloves, which cost 200 tokens. Note that you cannot buy more than one pair of swordfish gloves until that one had been destroyed.