Deep sea trawling

This article has a strategy guide. All information on mechanics and strategy will be on this page.

Deep sea trawling is an intensive mid to high level Fishing and Sailing activity which involves catching fish from shoals out at sea with a trawling net. Though providing low experience per hour compared to other training methods, the quantity of deep sea fish obtained is much higher to compensate for the amount of effort required, especially with higher tier trawling nets.

Netmaster Kellan, a retired trawler found at the Rolling Tide pub in Port Roberts, provides an in-game explanation on the basics of deep sea trawling.

Shoals of fish are found out at sea in the vicinity of the icon on the world map. The movements of each shoal are predetermined, making their path, speed, stopping points, and time spent still cyclical in nature.

Locating a shoal can be made quicker by use of a fathom stone, which guides players in the cardinal direction of a nearby shoal; a fathom pearl will instead direct players to the shoal's current location, displaying an arrow marker () on the minimap. However, since a shoal's route is predictable, these have limited utility aside from convenience when starting a trip or resuming one after having taken a break.

When the player's boat is in range of a shoal, the trawling net can be lowered (via the net's right-click options or within the Sailing Options tab) to begin catching deep sea fish. Certain shoals, upon stopping, will also swim at either lower or higher depths upon stopping, which require the player raise or lower the nets in order to resume fishing; higher tier nets are required for fishing shoals with multiple depths.

For shoal types with multiple depths, the shoal will always move to either the "shallow" or "deep" position upon stopping, then move back to "moderate" when the timer (the blue "health" bar) is about halfway empty, and remain there as it resumes moving to the next stop. Players can visually differentiate between the two positions, where the "shallow" position is indicated with two pulsating waves and visible fish, and the "deep" position is indicated with a single pulsating wave.

Failure to keep nets at the correct depth halves the amount of fish received on a successful skilling roll.^[1] If an odd number of fish was caught, the quantity is randomly rounded up or down.

It is recommended to use the Sailing Options tab to quickly adjust the depth of the trawling net with a single click.

A small amount of Sailing experience is provided every 3 ticks (1.8s) indicating that the trawling net is being operated in range of the shoal. When operated by a crewmate, this occurs every 5 ticks (3s) instead. The experience is halved if the net is at an incorrect depth.

The small Sailing experience received from operating the trawling net also serves as a visual indicator that the game is performing a Fishing skill roll; if the player/crewmate passes the skilling success roll, the net will catch at least one deep sea fish and provide additional Fishing experience. Fishing experience from deep sea trawling is not boosted by the angler's outfit.

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Bug:

If the trawling net is set to the wrong height and a successful fishing attempt rolls 1 fish, and this subsequently passes the 50% chance to be rounded down to 0, the player will not receive any fishing experience.

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Higher tier trawling nets are able to catch higher quantities of fish per successful roll, but this can be further increased by utilising a number of methods:

• 1-tick clicking - players can effectively fish 50% faster by clicking the net every tick, which will perform the Fishing skill roll every 2 ticks (1.2s) instead of 3 ticks (1.8s), but this can be difficult to do when the shoal is moving to their next stop.
• Spreading offcuts - players with a chum station or better can bait shoals by spreading plain or fine fish offcuts (depending on the shoal type) to gain on average 20% more fish per successful catch. One offcut is used per stop, and players can also use the station to quickly cut the fish they've caught for self-sustaining offcuts.
  • Crewmates can automatically spread offcuts, provided that they are stored in the cargo hold. Crewmates will use the required bait for the shoal if both types of bait are stored.
  • Baiting a shoal effectively turns every fish into 1.2 fish – for each fish caught, the chance to receive one additional fish increases by 20%:

Quantity	Chance
1	20%
2	40%
3	60%
4	80%
5	100%

• Keg of trawler's trust - a keg filled with trawler's trust can be built for a 5% chance to catch an extra fish per successful roll. This chance is rolled independently from spreading offcuts, allowing a maximum of two extra fish per successful roll on top of the base max amount provided by trawling nets.

While higher-tier nets and operation at the correct depth both increase the quantity of fish caught, they do not increase the probability of catching fish or other resources like the angler's paint. Players seeking collection log items rather than fish benefit very slightly from using worse nets at the wrong depths, as their nets and cargo holds will fill up more slowly.

Lastly, players can also use a fishing rod to catch deep sea fish. Doing so requires a plain/fine fish offcut for each fish caught, has the roll for a successful catch performed every 5 ticks, and the success chance being around 2% lower. As such, this is never recommended.

Trawling nets, regardless of type and number present on a boat, have a shared capacity of 250 fish. When a boat's nets are full, players must right-click the net's "Collect-from" option, which will then give the player the option to empty the net's contents into the player's inventory or the cargo hold. If multiple players are on a boat, fish in nets are tracked individually per player; one player can empty the nets while the other can still have fish in them.

Empty fish crates can be used to drastically lengthen a trawling trip. As each crate can store 10 fish, players can effectively store up to 10 times the cargo hold's capacity in fish by storing crates filled with fish. When emptying a trawling net into the cargo hold with empty fish crates stored inside, the crates will automatically be filled, with any remainders stored as normal.

Always empty trawling nets before disembarking or teleporting away, as uncollected fish will be discarded upon doing so. When logging out via the logout button, fish in the nets will be automatically transferred to the cargo hold as long as there is available space for them; any excess fish will be discarded. World-hopping and forced logouts (such as X-log, 6-hour log, or disconnection) will result in any uncollected fish being discarded without a warning message.

If both the cargo hold and inventory are full and there are still fish in the nets that haven't been collected, players can empty their cargo at the bank boat without disembarking. Alternatively, the player can manually fill empty fish crates or use the excess fish on a chum facility.

Trawling nets can be upgraded to allow players to reach deeper depths, which are required for higher-tier shoals. Higher-tier trawling nets do not grant better chances of a successful roll, but instead increases the base max amount for fish caught per successful roll.

Type		Level	Level	Sea depth(s)	Max fish per catch	Deckhandiness required	XP [b 1]	Materials	XP	Cost
	Rope trawling net	56	45	Shallow	2	1	7	Rope x7 Teak plank x4 Steel bar x4 Lead bar x2	458	10,230
	Linen trawling net	65	61	Shallow, Moderate	3	2	9	Linen yarn x6 Rope x1 Mahogany plank x4 Mithril bar x4 Lead bar x2	697	16,292
	Hemp trawling net	76	65	Shallow, Moderate, Deep	4	3	11	Hemp yarn x6 Rope x1 Camphor plank x4 Adamantite bar x4 Cupronickel bar x2 Ray barbs x4	1,003	523,264
	Cotton trawling net	84	73	Shallow, Moderate, Deep	5	4	15	Cotton yarn x6 Rope x1 Ironwood plank x4 Runite bar x4 Cupronickel bar x2 Ray barbs x8	1,289	1,068,518

Chum stations can cut fish into regular fish offcuts or fine fish offcuts as well as spread them, though spreading fine offcuts - which are required to bait higher-tier shoals - require an advanced chum station or better.

Type		Level	Level	Fish cut per tick	Deckhandiness required	Materials	XP	Cost
	Chum station	56	45	2	1	Mahogany plank x10 Mithril nails x40 Steel bar x2 Fishing bait x1,000 Knife x1	1,522	28,087
	Advanced chum station	68	61	3	2	Camphor plank x10 Adamantite nails x40 Steel bar x2 Fishing bait x1,000 Knife x1	1,738	42,527
	Chum spreader	82	74	4	2	Ironwood plank x10 Rune nails x40 Cupronickel bar x5 Fishing bait x10,000 Narwhal horn knife x1	2,028	175,314

These can be used to quickly locate a nearby shoal. However, these are mostly built for convenience since a shoal's route is predetermined.

Type		Level	Level	Materials	XP	Cost
	Fathom stone	70	62	Camphor plank x10 Adamantite nails x40 Molten glass x4 Cupronickel bar x2	1,652	42,194
	Fathom pearl	91	83	Rosewood plank x10 Dragon nails x40 Dragon metal sheet x2 Echo pearl x1	2,307	1,117,278

Level	Shoal	Sea depth(s)	Stop Duration	Bait	Fish
69	Giant krill shoal	Shallow	90s	Fish offcuts	Raw giant krill
73	Haddock shoal	Shallow	72s	Fish offcuts	Raw haddock
79	Yellowfin shoal	Shallow, Moderate	60s	Fish offcuts, Fine fish offcuts	Raw yellowfin
83	Halibut shoal	Shallow, Moderate	48s	Fine fish offcuts	Raw halibut
87	Bluefin shoal	Shallow, Moderate, Deep	42s	Fine fish offcuts	Raw bluefin
91	Marlin shoal[a]	Shallow, Moderate, Deep	30s	Fine fish offcuts	Raw marlin

When a shoal resumes moving after a stop, there is a 10% chance of a mixed shoal spawning in place of the original. These mixed shoals offer a better catch rate for deep sea fish, and can give deep sea fish from other shoals with varying distributions, allowing players to catch deep sea fish that they normally would not be able to catch otherwise.

Mixed shoals have identical movements and stop timers as the original shoals, and will last for two stops before reverting back to the original shoal. The type of bait necessary is determined by the original shoal, i.e. a glistening shoal spawned from a yellowfin shoal would still require fish offcuts, not fine fish offcuts.

Level	Shoal	Sea depth(s)	Bait	Fish	Spawn
69	Shimmering shoal	Shallow	Fish offcuts	Raw giant krill	Randomly spawns in place of giant krill shoals or haddock shoals
				Raw haddock
				Raw yellowfin
				Raw halibut
76	Glistening shoal	Shallow, Moderate	Fish offcuts, Fine fish offcuts	Raw yellowfin	Randomly spawns in place of yellowfin shoals or halibut shoals
				Raw halibut
				Raw bluefin
				Raw marlin
86	Vibrant shoal	Shallow, Moderate, Deep	Fine fish offcuts	Raw bluefin	Randomly spawns in place of bluefin shoals or marlin shoals
				Raw marlin

Deep sea trawling rewards unique species of fish that can't be fished from shore. These fish can be cooked into foods (some with additional effects), or they can be cut with a knife to obtain offcuts, as well as Herblore secondaries for certain fish.

Fish	Process	Product(s)	Use
Raw giant krill	Cook (requires 69 )	Giant krill	Heals 17 Hitpoints
	Cut with Knife	Fish offcuts	Bait shoals in shallow waters while deep sea trawling
Raw haddock	Cook (requires 73 )	Haddock	Heals 18 Hitpoints. Overheals up to 10 Hitpoints.
	Cut with Knife	Fish offcuts	Bait shoals in shallow waters while deep sea trawling
		Haddock eye	Make Super fishing potions (requires 62 )
Raw yellowfin	Cook (requires 79 )	Yellowfin	Heals 19 Hitpoints. Restores 20% run energy.
	Cut with Knife	Fine fish offcuts	Bait all shoals while deep sea trawling
		Yellow fin	Make Extreme energy potions (requires 66 )
Raw halibut	Cook (requires 83 )	Halibut	Heals 20 Hitpoints. Fast food (like karambwans).
	Cut with Knife	Fine fish offcuts	Bait all shoals while deep sea trawling
Raw bluefin	Cook (requires 87 )	Bluefin	Heals 22 Hitpoints. Restores 5 Prayer points.
	Cut with Knife	Fine fish offcuts	Bait all shoals while deep sea trawling
Raw marlin	Cook (requires 91 )	Marlin	Heals 24 Hitpoints
	Cut with Knife	Fine fish offcuts	Bait all shoals while deep sea trawling
		Marlin scales	Make Extended stamina potions (requires 85 )

In addition to deep sea fish, rare fish can also be caught from shoals (including rod fishing), which can be stuffed by the taxidermist in Canifis and then mounted within the skill hall in a player-owned house.

The roll for rare fish occurs upon a successful catch (rather than rolling once for each fish caught)^[2] by the player or crewmate, which is indicated by a filtered game message or, for a player catch, by a Fishing experience drop. When caught with a trawling net, the rare fish will be stored in the trawling net until the player transfers the net's contents to their inventory or cargo hold.

The keg of trawler's trust can also proc upon catching a rare fish; however, the extra rare fish received will not increment the respective collection log entry. It is also possible to roll for a rare fish even if the nets are full, resulting in a game message stating Your net has no more space for any [rare fish]. This will result in the loss of the rare fish, and will not be tracked as received in the collection log.

Mixed shoals will roll for rare fish at a more common rate, after which it will perform another roll to determine the fish the player will receive.

Rare fish		Regular shoal rarity		Shimmering shoal rarity (1/1,000)	Glistening shoal rarity (1/2,000)	Vibrant shoal rarity (1/3,000)
	Giant blue krill	Giant krill shoal	1/2,000	9/20,000	N/A	N/A
	Golden haddock	Haddock shoal	1/2,000	1/2,500	N/A	N/A
	Orangefin	Yellowfin shoal	1/4,000	1/10,000	9/40,000	N/A
	Huge halibut	Halibut shoal	1/4,000	1/20,000	1/5,000	N/A
	Purplefin	Bluefin shoal	1/6,000	N/A	1/20,000	1/6,000
	Swift marlin	Marlin shoal	1/6,000	N/A	1/40,000	1/6,000

Deep sea trawling can also roll for an angler's paint – which are used for boat trims – at a rate of 1/18,000 from regular shoals, or 1/16,200 from mixed shoals. However, it is only rolled upon a successful catch by the player using the trawling net; rod fishing and crewmates will not roll for the angler's paint.^[3]

Players may also receive both Soup and the heron, which are rolled at different points whilst deep sea trawling; rod fishing shoals will also roll for pets at the same rate.

Item		Rarity
	Angler's paint	1/18,000[d 1]
	Soup	1/360,000[d 2]
	Heron	Varies[d 3]

When the trawling net has been lowered into a shoal and is being operated, a token amount of Sailing XP is awarded at regular intervals, and a chatbox message indicates when the net is at the correct depth. When passively operated by the player, XP is awarded every 3 ticks. If the player actively operates the trawling net, by rapidly using the "Operate" option (often called "spam-clicking"), Sailing XP is awarded every 2 ticks instead. When operated by a crewmate, XP is awarded every 5 ticks. The amount of experience rewarded when the trawling net is operated by a crewmate scales with that crewmate's Deckhandiness level.

Each time a small amount of Sailing XP is awarded indicates a skilling roll. If the roll is successful, an additional larger amount of Fishing XP is awarded, and at least one fish is caught, though no additional Fishing XP is awarded when a crewmate catches a fish. Multiple fish can be caught at a time, but no additional XP is awarded for the additional fish.

The token experience drop on every skilling roll is halved when a net is positioned at an incorrect depth.

Sailing XP Breakdown (cotton nets)

Operator	Incorrect depth		Correct depth
	XP	XP/hr	XP	XP/hr
Player (passive; 3 ticks)	7.5	15,000	15	30,000
Player (active; 2 ticks)	7.5	22,500	15	45,000
Crewmates
4 Deckhandiness	5.2	6,240	10.5	12,600