Pay-to-play Fishing training

This guide outlines the best methods for training the Fishing skill.

Equipment[edit | edit source]

Fishing uses two types of items, divided into consumables and equipment. Consumables are used up at the rate of one item for each fish caught and are stackable, while the equipment is non-stackable and reusable.

• Net fishing: Small fishing net, not consumable.
• Bait fishing: Fishing rod and some fishing bait.
• Fly fishing: Fly fishing rod and feathers for bait.
• Harpooning: Harpoon (or just bare hands if you have completed Barbarian Training miniquest), not consumable. A Barb-tail harpoon is a wieldable alternative to the harpoon and saves an additional inventory space.
• Cage fishing: Lobster pot, not consumable.
• Barbarian fishing: Barbarian rod and usable baits: fishing baits, feathers, fish offcuts, roe, or caviar.
• Aerial Fishing: Cormorant and usable baits: king worms, fish chunks

You can also do Fishing Trawler minigame to get a set of Angler's outfit for an additional 2.5% more fishing experience gained per fish caught. But be warned that you may take many hours before getting the outfit.

Furthermore, for those players that are willing to earn some money while fishing, you may want to acquire the Rada's blessing from the Kourend & Kebos diary. The easy, medium, hard, and elite dairies all give a 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% (respectively) of catching two fish at once. However, the player will NOT receive any experience from the extra fish that is caught. Lastly, the blessing must be equipped while fishing for this to take effect.

Fish[edit | edit source]

Fish			Fishing		Cooking		Caught with	Heals	GE Price		Members
			Level	Exp	Level	Exp			Raw	Cooked
		Shrimp (cooked)	1	10	1	30	Net	3	26	18	0
		Sardine (cooked)	5	20	1	40	Bait, Drift net	4	41	14	0
		Karambwanji (cooked)	5	5	N/A	N/A	Net	N/A	N/A	N/A	1
		Herring (cooked)	10	30	5	50	Bait	5	114	10	0
		Anchovies (cooked)	15	40	1	30	Net, Drift net	1	94	136	0
		Mackerel (cooked)	16	20	10	60	Big Net	6	24	11	1
		Trout (cooked)	20	50	15	70	Fly	7	59	24	0
		Cod (cooked)	23	45	18	75	Big Net	7	69	20	1
		Pike (cooked)	25	60	20	80	Bait	8	126	26	0
		Slimy eel (cooked)	28	65	28	95	Bait	6-10	364	128	1
		Salmon (cooked)	30	70	25	90	Fly	9	91	86	0
	N/A	Frog spawn	33	75	N/A	N/A	Net	3-6	N/A	N/A	1
		Tuna (cooked)	35	80	30	100	Harpoon, Drift net	10	59	91	0
		Rainbow fish (cooked)	38	80	35	110	Stripy fly fishing	11	302	72	1
		Cave eel (cooked)	38	80	38	115	Bait	7-11	472	198	1
		Lobster (cooked)	40	90	40	120	Cage, Drift net	12	145	157	0
		Bluegill (cut)	43	11.5	1	3	Cormorant	N/A	19	14	1
		Bass[1] (cooked)	46	100	43	130	Big Net	13	119	127	1
		Leaping trout (cut)	48	50	1	10	Heavy rod	N/A	10	77	1
		Swordfish[1] (cooked)	50	100	45	140	Harpoon, Drift net	14	369	404	0
		Lava eel (cooked)	53	60	53	30	Oily rod with bait	11	N/A	N/A	1
		Common tench (cut)	56	40	1	10	Cormorant	N/A	305	14	1
		Leaping salmon (cut)	58	70	1	10	Heavy rod	N/A	15	77	1
		Monkfish (cooked)	62	120	62	150	Net	16	212	316	1
		Karambwan (cooked)	65	50	30	190	Vessel	18	306	422	1
		Leaping sturgeon (cut)	70	80	1	15	Heavy rod	N/A	216	338	1
		Mottled eel (cut)	73	65	1	20	Cormorant	N/A	118	14	1
		Shark[1] (cooked)	76	110	80	210	Harpoon, Drift net	20	479	687	1
		Sea turtle (cooked)	79	38	82	212	Fishing Trawler, Drift net	21	685	924	1
		Infernal eel (smashed)	80	95	N/A	N/A	Oily rod with bait	N/A	N/A	N/A	1
		Manta ray (cooked)	81	46	91	216	Fishing Trawler, Drift net	22	1,031	1,157	1
	N/A	Minnow	82	26.1	N/A	N/A	Net	N/A	N/A	N/A	1
		Anglerfish (cooked)	82	120	84	230	Sandworms	3-22	958	1,075	1
		Dark crab (cooked)	85	130	90	215	Cage with dark bait	22	989	1,225	1
		Sacred eel (cut)	87	105	72	108-124	Bait	N/A	N/A	N/A	1
		Greater siren (cut)	91	100	1	25	Cormorant	N/A	81	14	1

Fastest experience[edit | edit source]

Levels 1–33: Questing[edit | edit source]

Early levels can be skipped by completing quests that give Fishing experience. Completing Sea Slug, Fishing Contest, and the Pirate Pete subquest of Recipe for Disaster will grant a total of 10,612 experience, which will get the player up to level 27. All of these quests have few requirements and can be done at a low level, and completing them is a much better route for early Fishing levels than catching fish. Completing Tai Bwo Wannai Trio and The Fremennik Trials will grant an additional 7,812 experience, which will get the player up to level 33, but they have higher requirements.

Levels 20–47/58: Fly fishing[edit | edit source]

Fly fishing trout and salmon offers the fastest experience up to level 58 if using tick manipulation. If not using tick manipulation, drift net fishing becomes better at level 47. Players will need a fly fishing rod and feathers to catch the fish. For tick manipulation players will also need certain items to create a 3-tick action, such as herb and tar or knife and teak/mahogany logs.

The basic method for 3-tick fishing is to drop the fish between catches. This can be done by starting the 3-tick cycle, dropping the fish using shift drop and clicking on the fishing spot. This requires accurate clicking and some practice to perform consistently, but it is more efficient than dropping a full inventory.

Banking the fish is not recommended, as this slows down experience rates and the fish is not worth very much. Low-level Ironmen who wish to gain early Cooking experience are advised to use the fishing spot in Shilo Village which is nearby a bank, or use the spot in Barbarian Village which has a permanent fire nearby.

With tick manipulation, players can gain up to around 30,000 experience per hour at level 20 and 40,000 experience per hour at level 30, increasing to around 55,000–65,000 experience per hour at level 58. Without tick manipulation, players can gain around 33,000 experience per hour at level 40 and 37,500 experience per hour at level 50, increasing to around 45,000 experience per hour at level 58.

At level 38 players can also use Stripy Feathers to catch rainbow fish which grant 80 experience per catch compared to the 50 and 70 experience per catch from trout and salmon respectively. They are much slower to catch though, so players fishing for them will gain less experience per hour.

Levels 47–58/99: Drift net fishing[edit | edit source]

At level 47 Fishing and 44 Hunter, drift net fishing becomes the most efficient way to train Fishing up to level 58 if tick manipulation is to be used at Barbarian Fishing, or up to level 99 without tick manipulation. At level 47 Fishing and 44 Hunter, around 40,000 Fishing and 80,000 hunter experience per hour can be achieved with minimal effort. At level 65 fishing and 76 hunter, experience rates around 60,000 Fishing and 100,000 Hunter exp can be achieved with split attention. Experience gained for each fish caught scales (slightly) with Fishing and Hunter levels. Experience rates stop scaling at 70 Fishing and 70 Hunter, where you can expect to average around 75,000 Fishing and 100,000 Hunter exp per hour, making it an overall efficient leveling method all the way up to 99 in both skills if exp is needed in both of them.

A merfolk trident or (uncharged) trident of the seas and stamina potions are necessary to achieve these experience rates. Only chase each fish shoal once and prioritize fish shoals that are near the opening by the drift net. Drift nets themselves are not cheap and its the only downside to this method. Drift Nets also have a buy limit of 600 nets per 4 hours. Banking the fish will definitely help decrease the loss of money while training this method and only lowers the experience rates by a little. The fish obtained depend on the Fishing level, with raw lobsters beginning to be obtained at level 50. This offers a very quick alternative to level Hunter and Fishing at the same time while obtaining the best experience rates for Fishing.

Levels 58–99: Barbarian Fishing[edit | edit source]

3-tick Barbarian Fishing using the cut-eat method.

3-tick Barbarian Fishing becomes one of the fastest training methods at level 58. This method offers small amounts of passive Agility and Strength experience, which makes it one the most efficient ways to train Fishing, especially for players with low Agility and Strength levels.

Even though Barbarian Fishing becomes available at level 48, it is faster to do drift net fishing or 3-tick fly fishing until level 58, which allows the player to catch leaping salmon. Players who do not care about gaining Agility or Strength experience are advised to switch to 2-tick harpooning tuna and swordfish, as this offers faster Fishing experience. If the player is not going to use any sort of tick manipulation, it is better to continue doing drift net fishing. However, even without tick manipulation this method still offers relatively fast experience at low effort, which can be useful for some players.

Players must complete a portion of Barbarian Training to be able to catch leaping fish. Having level 30 Agility and Strength is required for catching leaping salmon, and level 45 in both for leaping sturgeon. Players will also need suitable bait such as feathers and a barbarian rod obtained from Otto's Grotto. For tick manipulation players will also need certain items to create a 3-tick action, such as herb and tar or knife and teak/mahogany logs, and a knife should the player cut the fish.

The best spot for Barbarian Fishing is at the pond next to the Otto's Grotto. Players can quickly get there by using a games necklace or minigame teleport to Barbarian Assault and running south-west.

The most basic method for 3-tick fishing is to drop the fish between catches. This can be done by starting the 3-tick cycle, dropping the fish using shift drop and clicking on the fishing spot. This requires accurate clicking and some practice to perform consistently, but it is more efficient than dropping a full inventory.

"Cut-eat" or "eat-cut" fishing (depending on the order) is a more advanced and slightly more click-intensive method. This is done by starting a 3-tick cycle with herb and tar, cutting the fish with a knife and eating the roe/caviar to tick manipulate. When you run out of roe/caviar to be eaten and fish to be cut, use herb and tar to continue the 3-tick cycle. The benefits of this method is that it provides some passive Cooking experience, it does not require players to drop fish (therefore Shift is unused), and it is slightly cheaper due to fish offcuts also being produced which are used as bait over feathers. However, it is less predictable due to randomness being involved, which may take time getting used to. It is also stricter with timing; if the cutting and eating is done too late, the cycle becomes offset. Having at least level 80 Cooking is recommended for 100% chance of successfully cutting leaping salmon and sturgeon if using this method.

Experience rates scale depending on the player's Fishing level and performance. When using tick manipulation, players can gain up to 65,000 Fishing experience per hour at level 58, 87,000 experience per hour at level 70, 95,000 experience per hour at level 80 and 102,000 experience per hour at level 90. At level 99, players can gain up to 110,000 experience per hour when wearing the angler's outfit.

Without tick manipulation, players can expect to gain around 25,000 experience per hour at level 48, and 35,000–42,000 experience per hour at levels 58–70, and over 45,000 experience per hour from level 70 onwards, reaching up to 66,000 experience per hour at level 99.

Using this method from level 58 to 99 would net the player approximately 1.2 million experience in both Agility and Strength.

Level	Fishing XP W/out 3tick	Strength/Agility XP W/out 3tick	Fishing XP W/ 3tick	Strength/Agility XP W/ 3 Tick
48	20,000–25,000	2,000–2,500	32,000–40,000	3,200–4,000
58	35,000–42,000	3,500–4,200	56,000–67,200	5,600–6,720
70	45,000–55,000	4,500–5,500	72,000–88,000	7,200–8,800
80	50,000–60,000	5,000–6,000	80,000–96,000	8,000–9,600
90	50,000–63,750	5,000–6,375	80,000–102,000	8,000–10,200
99	65,000–71,750	6,500–7,000	104,000–114,800	10,400–11,480

Levels 71–99: 2-tick harpooning swordfish/tuna[edit | edit source]

2-tick harpooning on the shores of Piscarilius

2-tick harpooning swordfish and tuna in Piscarilius offers the fastest Fishing experience in the game. Tick manipulation must be used for this method, as without it the experience will be a lot slower and this method would not be worth doing over other methods. This method is comparable to 3-tick Barbarian Fishing in terms of overall efficiency when using the crystal harpoon, assuming the player has high Agility and Strength levels. Players who have a low Agility or Strength level benefit more from the passive Agility and Strength experience gained from Barbarian Fishing, so it may be better to train with Barbarian Fishing. However, 2-tick harpooning is the fastest method on average of obtaining the heron pet, which can be desirable for some players.

The fishing spots for 2-tick harpooning are located in the north-western part of Piscarilius, just west of the bank. Players can quickly get there by using the The fisher's flute teleport on the Kharedst's memoirs (requires completion of The Queen of Thieves) and running north-west. To do this method, the player must be attacked by two rats attacking two ticks apart. After setting up the rats, the only clicking that must be done is clicking the fishing spot on the ticks that a hitsplat appears on the player character. Using the crystal harpoon is strongly recommended, as it has a higher catch rate compared to the dragon or infernal harpoon.

Experience rates scale depending on the level. Players can gain up to around 87,000 experience at level 71, increasing to 115,000 experience per hour at level 85, and 125,000 experience per hour at higher levels. At level 99, it is possible to gain up to 135,000 experience per hour when using the crystal harpoon, or 120,000 experience per hour when using the dragon harpoon.

Other methods[edit | edit source]

Levels 43–99: Aerial fishing[edit | edit source]

Along with 43 fishing, at level 35 hunter you unlock the activity aerial fishing, located on Molch Island in the Kingdom of Kourend. This activity provides split XP mostly between Hunter and Fishing (cooking gets a small amount of XP also). Due to the split rates it is not the fastest route to train Fishing alone, but if you need to improve both Fishing and Hunter, aerial fishing becomes a viable training method.

Below is a list of approximate experience gained per hour, based on levels.

Fishing		Hunter		Total
Level	Exp	Level	Exp	Exp
43	18,400	35	26,400	44,800
56	20,088	51	28,088	48,976
73	32,856	68	42,659	75,515
91	51,649	87	68,188	119,837
99	62,593	99	82,311	144,904

Levels 62–99: Monkfish[edit | edit source]

If you complete the quest Swan Song, you can begin fishing monkfish at Piscatoris, which provides more profit than lobsters or trout/salmon.

The experience per hour is around 30,000–35,000 at 70, and 40,000 per hour at higher levels. They can be cooked for better food or sold for more money.

It is recommended you continue this method until 99 if you do not want to do Barbarian Fishing, as this method remains faster in xp/hr than sharks even after 99.

• Starting experience - 333,804
• Experience needed - 12,700,627
• Monkfish needed - 105,839
• Profit made (62-99): 22,437,868
• If cooked: 33,445,124

Levels 65–99: Karambwan[edit | edit source]

At level 65 Fishing and after completion of Tai Bwo Wannai Trio, you can start catching karambwan. For karambwan fishing you will need a karambwan vessel and raw karambwanji for bait. Raw karambwanji can be caught north-east of the fairy ring ckr.

The best spot to catch karambwan is just north of the fairy ring dkp. Therefore having a quick access to a fairy ring (such as the quest point cape, Slayer rings or a fairy ring in your house) is strongly recommended for this method. Players can bank the fish at Castle Wars using a ring of dueling, Edgeville using an amulet of glory, Shilo Village Underground Mine using Karamja gloves 3 or 4, or the Theatre of Blood using Drakan's medallion. Alternatively, without any teleportation items, the dkp fairy ring can be used to quickly bank the fish in Zanaris, requiring only a short run from the fishing spot to the bank chest. Having completed the elite tier of Lumbridge diary provides a slight advantage, as you can equip a Dragon harpoon instead of the Dramen staff without using any additional inventory space.

• Approximately 30,000 xp/hr
• Starting experience - 449,428
• Experience needed - 12,585,003
• Karambwan needed - 251,701
• Profit made (65-99): 77,020,506
• If cooked: 106,217,822

Levels 75–99: Swordfish/Tuna[edit | edit source]

At level 75 Fishing (together with 85 Cooking), you can start using an infernal harpoon to fish swordfish and tuna in the Fishing Guild. The close proximity to a bank and the invisible +7 Fishing boost make this spot the best place for this method.

This method is noticeably more AFK than monkfish fishing, since the spots move less often and are closer to each other. Moreover, with the infernal harpoon, your inventory will fill up more slowly than with other harpoons. However, the profit is lower than monkfish fishing, since you must recharge the harpoon every 5,000 uses.

Players can expect roughly 35,000 experience per hour at 75 Fishing, and 42,000 experience per hour at 99.

Levels 80–99: Infernal eel[edit | edit source]

At level 80 Fishing, you can start catching infernal eels within the city of Mor Ul Rek. A fire cape must be shown to a TzHaar-Ket guard to gain access to Mor Ul Rek. This does not consume the cape. Infernal eels can be smashed open using a hammer to extract ten to twenty Tokkul, one onyx bolt tip, or one to five lava scale shards. Per eel, the estimated profit is 633.15 coins (not counting the estimated value of Tokkul at 92.67). It is recommended to fish infernal eels in the south-easternmost area of the city, as the other two areas may have their fishing spots disappear more often.

Players can expect roughly 28,000 experience per hour at 80 Fishing (21,000 experience per hour relatively AFK), and 35,000 experience per hour at 99 Fishing.

• Starting experience - 1,986,068
• Experience needed - 11,048,363
• Infernal eel needed - 116,299
• Estimated profit made (without Tokkul): 73,634,711.85
• Estimated profit made (with Tokkul): 84,412,608.06

Levels 82–99: Minnow[edit | edit source]

At level 82 Fishing, you can start catching minnow at Kylie Minnow's fishing platform in the Fishing Guild. This requires having full angler's outfit from the Fishing Trawler minigame or from aerial fishing. Minnow can be exchanged for noted raw sharks.

Players can expect roughly 40,000 experience per hour at 82 Fishing, and 56,000 experience per hour at 99.

Levels 82–99: Anglerfish[edit | edit source]

At level 82 Fishing and 100% Port Piscarilius favour, you can start catching anglerfish in Port Piscarilius. In order to catch anglerfish, Sandworms are required. Sandworms can be purchased from Tynan's Fishing Supplies nearby or the Grand Exchange.

Players can expect roughly 15,000 experience per hour at 82 Fishing, and 23,000 experience per hour at 99.

• Starting experience - 2,421,087
• Experience needed - 10,613,344
• Anglerfish needed - 88,445
• Profit made (82-99): 84,730,310
• If cooked: 95,078,375

Levels 85–99: Dark crabs[edit | edit source]

At level 85 Fishing and after completing elite tasks in the Wilderness Diary, catching dark crabs inside the Resource Area in the Wilderness becomes a viable option. The diary reward allows you catch the fish significantly faster and provides you free access to the Resource Area. Players should wear cheap defensive gear while 3- or 4-iteming expensive armour pieces, and bring high-healing food (along with super restores) to defend themselves against player killers. Optionally, equip an imbued ring of wealth for a better chance to obtain clue bottles. Piles will note the fish for 50 coins each, but it is advised to bank the fish in Edgeville every so often to reduce the risk.

Players can expect to gain roughly 40,000 experience per hour with this method.

• Starting experience - 3,258,594
• Experience needed - 9,775,837
• Dark crabs needed - 75,199
• Profit made (85-99): 74,371,811

Levels 87–99: Sacred eel[edit | edit source]

At level 87 Fishing and partly completing the Regicide quest, player can catch sacred eels at Zul-Andra giving 105 Fishing xp per Sacred eel. With a Cooking level of 72, the fish can be dissected with a knife to extract Zulrah's scales. Dissecting the fish can give 3-9 scales and 109-127 Cooking experience. A player's Cooking level affects how many scales are received when they are dissected. With a Cooking level in the mid 80s, one can expect to average around 5 scales per fish and at a Cooking level of 96 gives around 7 scales per fish.

At level 90 Fishing, you can expect to gain about 21,300 Fishing experience per hour, with 97 Fishing it gets up to 23,500 Fishing experience per hour.

• Starting experience - 3,972,294
• Experience needed - 9,062,137
• Sacred eel needed - 86,307
• Zulrah's scales obtained (5 scales per fish): 431,535
• Expected profit made (5 scales per fish): 65,593,320
• Zulrah's scales obtained (7 scales per fish): 604,149
• Expected profit made (7 scales per fish): 91,830,648

Quests for Fishing experience[edit | edit source]

Quest	Experience reward	Fishing requirement	Other requirements
Fishing Contest	2,437	10	-
Heroes' Quest	2,725	53	55 , 53 , 25
The Fremennik Trials	2,812	-	-
Tai Bwo Wannai Trio	5,000	5	15 , 30
Rum Deal	7,000	50	42 , 40 , 47 , 42
Sea Slug	7,175	-	30
Swan Song	10,000	62	100 , 66 , 62 , 45 , 42 , 40
Recipe for Disaster - Freeing Pirate Pete	1,000	-	31
Total	38,149