[Rho]

What is "Valuable"?

Most fish sell to vendors for a few Coppers. The value of fish is therefore entirely its value to other people. Either what people are prepared to pay at the Auction House, or how pleased people are when you give them some fish.

Most fish is only used as pet food or a light snack. These can easily be gained from other sources. There are a small number of fish that are required by other people, and can only be gained by fishing. The higher the fishing skill required to fish in areas where these are found, or the harder these fish are to catch or process, the fewer are willing and able to catch them. The fewer people fish, the higher the prices.

If you are fishing for pure profit, it is very important to continually assess current Auction House prices. Prices depend on both demand and supply for fish. If everyone starts catching one type of fish, prices will drop. If that happens, it might be worth fishing something else for a while, until prices improve again.

The fish listed here are the types of fish that are likely to be considered valuable - valuable enough to make it worth someone fishing for them. Read the precise prices with caution - "your mileage will vary".

Pools are increasingly the most profitable form of fishing, so be sure to read the Pools and Wreckage topic.

High Value Fish-based Food that Gives Buffs

Most fish can be cooked once you know the appropriate recipe. While tasty, the majority of cooked fish only recover health when eaten. Consequently they have no special value. Some cooked fish give "buffs" (either improvements to attributes, or health or mana regeneration). Some of these cooked fish are regularly consumed, particularly by those venturing into the most difficult dungeons. Consequently, most of these fish will sell very well. All the fish shown here were list for at least 50 silver each, cooked (or are expected to be above that value).

High Value Fish-based Food that Gives Buffs

Fish		Where to Catch	Cooked Food	Minimum Level (to eat)	Buff	Duration (minutes)	Median Auction Value (cooked)
	Crescent-Tail Skullfish	Open water in Deadwind Pass and Zul'Aman.	Skullfish Soup	65	+20 Spell Critical Strike Rating, +20 Spirit	30	1g?
	Deviate Fish	Open water and pools in the three oasis areas of The Barrens, or within The Wailing Caverns.	Savory Deviate Delight	-	Pirate or Ninja	60	70s
	Figluster's Mudfish	Open water and pools in Nagrand, Netherstorm.	Grilled Mudfish	55	+20 Agility, +20 Spirit	30	80s
	Furious Crawdad	Terokkar Forest elevated lakes (Highland Mixed Schools only)	Spicy Crawdad	55	+30 Stamina, +20 Spirit	30	1g 20s
	Golden Darter	Open water and pools in Terokkar Forest.	Golden Fish Sticks	55	+44 Healing, +20 Spirit	30	1g 25s
	Huge Spotted Feltail	Outland (rarely from any pool or open water).	Fisherman's Feast	65	+30 Stamina, +20 Spirit	30	1g 20s [a]
	Icefin Bluefish	Open water and pools in Nagrand, Netherstorm.	Poached Bluefish	55	+23 Spell Damage, +23 Spirit	30	90s
	Lightning Eel	Inland open water in Azshara, Burning Steppes, Deadwind Pass, Eastern Plaguelands, Felwood, Feralas, The Hinterlands, Maraudon, Moonglade, Scholomance, Silithus, Stratholme, The Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Un'Goro Crater, Western Plaguelands, Winterspring, Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub. Best catch rates typically 12:00-18:00.	Stormchops	55	Zap lighting	30	2g? [b]
	Zangarian Sporefish	Open water and pools in Zangarmarsh.	Blackened Sporefish	55	+20 Stamina, +8 Mana/5 seconds	30	90s

[a] One Huge Spotted Feltail creates 6 Fisherman's Feast - it is huge, after all. Most other fish provide single servings. The value of a single Huge Spotted Feltail is therefore effectively over 5g.

[b] At the time of writing, Stormchops can be sold at a high price. However, the recipe is very rare - typically one must complete the daily cooking quest fot a month to gain the recipe. The number of people able to cook Stormchops will increase over time, so it is likely prices will drop.

Median auction values are based on Wowecon prices for the cooked food. Use these as a guide only - actual prices will vary. Prices are for single fish, however it is common to sell fish in stacks of 5, 10 or 20. Raw fish may also sell, particularly where the cooking recipe is rare, as is the case for Savory Deviate Delight and Stormchops. Most people prefer to buy cooked fish.

Deviate Fish are the only high-value fish that can be caught at low (15 or above) level. Unfortunately, the recipe to cook them is rare.

Lower Value Fish-based Food that Gives Buffs

Not all anglers can catch the most valuable fish. And some other fish you catch will still have value. The table below lists lower value fish that give a buff when cooked. These tasty meals are not guaranteed to sell, but may still make the angler a respectable income. All the fish shown here list for between 10 and 50 silver each, cooked.

Lower Value Fish-based Food that Gives Buffs

Fish		Where to Catch	Cooked Food	Minimum Level (to eat)	Buff	Duration (minutes)	Median Auction Value (cooked)
	Bloodfin Catfish	Open water in Deadwind Pass and Zul'Aman.	Broiled Bloodfin	55	+20 Stamina, +20 Spirit	30	30s
	Enormous Barbed Gill Trout	Outland (rarely from any pool or open water).	Hot Buttered Trout	65	[c]	-	40s
	Raw Greater Sagefish	Inland pools in Alterac Mountains (Lordamere Lake) and Stranglethorn Vale (Lake Nazferiti area).	Sagefish Delight	30	6 Mana/5 seconds	15	10s
	Raw Nightfin Snapper	Inland open water in Azshara, Burning Steppes, Eastern Plaguelands, Felwood, Feralas, The Hinterlands, Maraudon, Moonglade, Scholomance, Silithus, Stratholme, The Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Un'Goro Crater, Western Plaguelands, Winterspring, and Zul'Gurub. Catch rate is highest between 00:00 and 06:00. Cannot be caught between 12:00 and 18:00.	Nightfin Soup	35	8 Mana/5 seconds	10	10s
	Spotted Feltail	Open water and pools in Terokkar Forest and Zangarmarsh.	Feltail Delight	55	+20 Stamina, +20 Spirit	30	30s
	Winter Squid	Coastal open water in Azshara, Feralas, The Hinterlands, Stranglethorn Vale; Jaguero Isle only, and Tanaris. Can only be caught in winter (between the September and March equinoxes). Best catch rate 12:00-18:00 in the Bay of Storms area of Azshara.	Grilled Squid	35	+10 Agility	10	25s

[c] Hot Buttered Trout gives no buff, but does restore 7500 health and 7200 mana, so can still attract a high price.

Alchemists' Fish

Alchemists make use of the fish shown in the table below. Since not all alchemists enjoy fishing, or have the patience to learn, all these fish are in demand.

Alchemists' Fish

Fish		Where to Catch	Required to make	Median Auction Value
	Deviate Fish	Open water and pools in the three oasis areas of The Barrens, or within The Wailing Caverns.	Elixir of Giant Growth (1 fish).	30s
	Firefin Snapper	Coastal open water and pools in Arathi Highlands, Ashenvale, Azshara (except Bay of Storms area), Desolace, Dustwallow Marsh, Feralas, Hillsbrad Foothills, The Hinterlands, Stranglethorn Vale, Swamp of Sorrows, Tanaris, and Wetlands. Inland "Oil Spill" pools in Stonetalon Mountains.	Fire Oil (2 fish per oil).	10s
	Oily Blackmouth	Coastal open water and pools in Arathi Highlands, Ashenvale, The Barrens, Bloodmyst Isle, Darkshore, Desolace, Dustwallow Marsh, Ghostlands, Hillsbrad Foothills, The Hinterlands, Silverpine Forest, Stranglethorn Vale, Swamp of Sorrows, Westfall, and Wetlands. Coastal pools in Azshara (except Bay of Storms area), Feralas, and Tanaris. Inland open water in Azshara, Bloodmyst Isle, Felwood, Feralas (except Jademir Lake), The Hinterlands, Maraudon, Moonglade, The Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Un'Goro Crater, and Western Plaguelands.	Blackmouth Oil (2 fish per oil).	10s
	Stonescale Eel	Coastal open water and pools in Azshara, Feralas, The Hinterlands, and Tanaris. In Stranglethorn Vale from coastal open water around Jaguero Isle and pools south of Grom'Gol. Open water catch rates are best in Azshara: Bay of Storms area between 00:00 and 06:00.	Stonescale Oil (1 fish per oil).	30s

Prices shown are for the raw fish.

Stonescale Eels were particularly popular among "raiding" guilds that battle their way through the hardest dungeons. Stonescale Oil is used in several consumable potions, such as Flask of the Titans and Greater Stoneshield Potion, which help keep "tanks" alive. One of the big demand drivers for these fish [Stonescale Eels] now is that the oil is required for one of the steps in upgrading Tier 0 armour to Tier 0.5. The Burning Crusade effectively removes the need to collect and upgrade these level 60 armor sets. The Argent Dawn also request Stonescale Eels (see below).

Argent Dawn Fish

With the first scourge invasion the Argent Dawn launched a series of quests called "Craftsman's Writs". The quests start at Light's Hope Chapel in the Eastern Plaguelands: "They Call Me "The Rooster." There are 24 different quests, 3 requiring fish. Completing each quest gives a token which can be traded in for armaments. However these items are only useful around level 60, so these quests are now rarely completed.

Fish Required for Argent Dawn Quests

Fish		Where to Catch	Quest	Median Auction Value
	Lightning Eel	Inland open water in Azshara, Burning Steppes, Deadwind Pass, Eastern Plaguelands, Felwood, Feralas, The Hinterlands, Maraudon, Moonglade, Scholomance, Silithus, Stratholme, The Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Un'Goro Crater, Western Plaguelands, Winterspring, Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub. Best catch rates typically 12:00-18:00.	Craftsman's Writ - Lightning Eel (30 fish).	?
	Plated Armorfish	Inland open water in Burning Steppes, Eastern Plaguelands, Feralas (Jademir Lake only), Scholomance, Silithus, Stratholme, Winterspring, and Zul'Gurub. Catch rates are best between 00:00 and 06:00.	Craftsman's Writ - Plated Armorfish (30 fish).	10s
	Stonescale Eel	Coastal open water and pools in Azshara, Feralas, The Hinterlands, and Tanaris. In Stranglethorn Vale from coastal open water around Jaguero Isle and pools south of Grom'Gol. Open water catch rates are best in Azshara: Bay of Storms area between 00:00 and 06:00.	Craftsman's Writ - Stonescale Eel (40 fish).	30s

If you have both a Lightning Eel and a Plated Armorfish writ, then you can fish 06:00-12:00 or 18:00-00:00. Both fish appear together in reasonable quantities at these times. If you fish at the optimum time and location, Lightning Eel or Plated Armorfish writs will take about an hour to complete. Stonescale Eel writs take about 90 minutes of fishing.