Pay-to-play Fishing training

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

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.
• Drift net fishing: Drift net, consumable. Recommended items: Flippers, diving apparatus, fishbowl helmet, and a Trident, as well as ways to restore run energy.
• Bait fishing: Fishing rod and some fishing bait.
• Fly fishing: Fly fishing rod and feathers for bait.
• Harpooning: Harpoon (or bare hands if the player has completed Barbarian Training miniquest), not consumable. A Barb-tail harpoon is a wieldable alternative to the harpoon and saves an additional inventory space. The Dragon harpoon's special attack boosts fishing by 3 levels, and it can be used in conjunction with the Lightbearer to spam the special.
• Cage fishing: Lobster pot, not consumable.
• Vessel fishing: Karambwan vessel and usable bait: Karambwanji (requires a Small fishing net to catch).
• Barbarian fishing: Barbarian rod and usable baits: fishing baits, feathers, fish offcuts, roe, or caviar.
• Aerial Fishing: Cormorant and usable baits: king worms, fish offcuts

Players who wish to train Fishing while AFK or with minimal effort may prioritise acquiring the fish barrel. It stores up to 28 raw fish, increasing time between trips to the bank and subsequently allowing for more time spent AFK while training. However, the barrel can only be emptied at a bank or Bank Deposit Box, therefore it will not extend AFK time if dropping the fish. The barrel can be obtained from the reward pool after fighting the Tempoross.

Furthermore, for players seeking to earn profit while fishing, it's recommended to acquire Rada's blessing from the Kourend & Kebos diary. The easy, medium, hard, and elite diaries all give a 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% chance (respectively) of catching two fish at once. However, the player will not receive any experience from the extra fish that is caught. The blessing must be equipped while fishing for this to take effect.

Players may also participate in the Fishing Trawler minigame to acquire the full Angler's outfit, granting an additional 2.5% fishing experience per fish caught. It should be noted it takes ~6 hours on average to obtain all pieces of the set, and may not be worth the time investment depending on current Fishing level and training methods used.

Early levels can be skipped by completing quests that give Fishing experience. Completing Sea Slug, Fishing Contest, and the Freeing Pirate Pete quest 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 better route for early Fishing levels than catching fish. Notably, the experience from Sea Slug alone is enough to get the player from level 1 to 24.

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.

3-tick fly fishing trout and salmon offers the fastest Fishing experience up to level 58 when using tick manipulation. Players will need a fly fishing rod and feathers to catch the fish. 3-tick fishing is done by using a herb on swamp tar (or other suitable items) and clicking on the fishing spot. When timed correctly, the player has a chance of receiving fish every three ticks instead of five. Drop the fish in between catches before clicking on the fishing spot.

Without tick manipulation this method is only recommended as a low-effort alternative past level 35, as Tempoross offers faster experience. At level 47, drift net fishing becomes better than 3-tick fly fishing if the player also needs to train Hunter.

Recommended fly fishing locations where the fishing spots have minimal movement or are useful otherwise:

• South-east of the southern gate to Prifddinas. The fishing spots here never move nor reset, thus allowing for maximum AFK time with only needing to drop fish as necessary. This area requires partial completion of Regicide; completion of the quest allows for faster access via Iorwerth camp teleports.
• Shilo Village is the best location if banking the fish. The area requires completion of the Shilo Village quest to access. Alternatively Nemus Retreat offers a Bank to Players with Agility Levels of 24 right next to the fishing spots. With Level 36 Agility Players gain easier access to the fishing spots on the other side of the river.
• Lunch by the lancalliums teleport is right next to multiple fishing spots and requires completion of The Depths of Despair quest to use. This location rivals Shilo Village if one has access to a good bank teleport such as the Crafting cape teleport, or Sailor's amulet to Deepfin Point (requires 67 Sailing).
• South-east of the Farming Guild.
• North of the Chaos Druid Tower near East Ardougne.
• Barbarian Village has a permanent fire nearby where players can cook and drop the fish.
• East of the Kourend Castle in the Kingdom of Great Kourend.

The experience rates shown in the table below assume not wearing the angler's outfit. The AFK rates include the time spent dropping the fish, and the actual rates vary depending on how fast the fish are dropped. Using the spots south-east of Prifddinas will result in about 10% faster experience per hour when using a static spot.

Drift net fishing is the most efficient way to train both Fishing and Hunter at the same time. However, it is not the fastest way to train Fishing on its own due to the split rates. The method offers higher Hunter experience rates than Fishing, so once Hunter no longer needs to be trained, switch to a method that offers faster Fishing experience.

Drift net fishing requires level 47 Fishing and level 44 Hunter (both unboostable), and completion of Bone Voyage to access Fossil Island underwater. For optimal rates, players will also need to wear a fishbowl helmet and a diving apparatus obtained from the Pirate Pete subquest of Recipe for Disaster, as well as flippers obtained from mogres. Wearing a merfolk trident, a trident of the seas, a trident of the swamp, or a dragon harpoon will increase the chance of successfully chasing the fish shoal into the nets. In addition, stamina potions (or some other form of run energy restoration) are needed for the fastest rates.

To do this method, speak to Ceto to enter the fishing area located in the northern part of the Fossil Island underwater. This costs 200 numulites per day, or 20,000 numulites for permanent access. Set up drift nets on the drift net anchors and click the fish shoals once to chase them into the nets. Prioritise fish shoals nearer to the drift nets. The nets will become full after 10 fish shoals caught, after which the player will need to set the drift nets up again. Players can store up to 2,000 drift nets at Annette by bringing her the nets in banknotes.

Players can optionally bank the fish caught for 5 numulites per full net. This will lower experience rates slightly, but will also offset the money spent on drift nets. The quality of fish obtained scales with the Fishing level, with raw lobsters starting to be caught at level 50.

The experience rates in the table below assume 1,150 fish shoal caught per hour. The experience per fish shoal scales until level 70 Fishing and Hunter, where 77 Fishing experience and 101.5 Hunter experience are gained per fish shoal. Expect slightly lower rates if banking the fish. With good practice, it is possible to catch up to 1,200–1,250 fish shoal per hour. Buying the drift nets on the Grand Exchange would cost 194,235 coins per hour.

From level 44 to 99 Hunter, the player will gain 9,842,153 Fishing experience if starting at level 47 Fishing. This would require 12,944 drift nets, which would cost −21,862,416.

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 an efficient way to train Fishing 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, after which the player can catch leaping salmon. Without tick manipulation Barbarian Fishing is only recommended as a low-effort alternative that offers decent experience rates.

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 3-ticking, players will also need suitable items such as herb and tar or knife and teak/mahogany logs, and a knife if also cutting 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 basic method for 3-tick fishing is to drop the fish between catches. To do so, start the 3-tick cycle, drop the fish using shift drop, and click 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. Having at least level 80 Cooking is recommended for a 100% cut rate for leaping salmon and sturgeon. Cut-eat fishing 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, 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.

If looking for a less intensive option, use the fishing spot at Mount Quidamortem and bank the fish at the Chambers of Xeric bank chest. Use the fish barrel for longer trips. Alternatively, use the spot at Otto's Grotto and simply drop the fish.

The experience rates in the table below assume the player is not wearing the angler's outfit. The AFK rates include the time spent dropping the fish, and the actual rates vary depending on how fast the fish are dropped. The Cooking rates from using the cut-eat method assumes level 99 Cooking; having level 80 Cooking would lower the rate by roughly 1,000 Cooking experience per hour.

2-tick harpooning swordfish and tuna offers the fastest Fishing experience. Lure two rats west of the Port Piscarilius bank so that they attack the player every two ticks. Equip a shortbow without ammo and turn on Auto Retaliate. Click the fishing spot on the same tick that a hitsplat appears. When done correctly, the player has a chance of catching fish every two ticks instead of five.

Alternatively, 2-tick harpoon in the Fishing Guild on a PvP world. Instead of rats, have another account attack the player with darts. This offers around 5% faster experience rates than Port Piscarilius when uninterrupted. However, the player may get attacked by player killers, which will increase the risk and lower the long-term rate closer to the Port Piscarilius rate.

Even though this method becomes available at level 35, other methods offer faster experience until level 61 due to low catch rates of the regular harpoon. The crystal harpoon is strongly recommended as it has a higher catch rate compared to the dragon or the regular harpoon. Players with low Agility or Strength levels are advised to train with Barbarian Fishing as the passive experience gained will benefit the player more than having slightly faster Fishing experience. However, 2-tick harpooning sharks is the fastest method on average of obtaining the heron pet, which can be desirable for some players. This method is not worth doing without tick manipulation, as there are better methods for those who seek fast experience or a low-effort alternative.

The experience rates in the table below assume fishing in Port Piscarilius and having good practice with the method. Expect lower rates when learning. At maximum efficiency, it is possible to gain up to 137,000 experience per hour at level 99. Players who are using the infernal harpoon can expect to gain around 20,000–26,000 passive Cooking experience per hour, depending on the Fishing level.

Leechfin fishing is a high-intensity training method that offers competitive experience rates, sitting between 3-tick barbarian fishing and 2-tick harpooning swordfish/tuna. Leechfin fishing only requires a level requirement of 78, and a big fishing net. This method is very click-intensive, requiring the player to click every tick to catch fish, and dropping their inventories to ensure that the player is actively fishing (or you may choose to cut the leechfins with a knife or fletching knife to obtain blood sacs to create vials of blood at the cost of XP, which makes it a bit less intensive.)

After you have completed The Blood Moon Rises, make your way to Vampyrium by entering the blood portal at Castle Drakan. After entering, run to one of the two fishing spots on the map, located just under the Ruined Village.

Click the fishing spot, and you will begin to see leechfins spawning and swimming down the river. You must angle your net towards each leechfin by clicking any of the three tiles in front of you (right, left, centre.) As a tip, if you use RuneLite, you may find use in the "Object Markers" plugin to mark the tiles you need to click. This just makes them easier to see, helping players to prevent misclicks.

It is important to make sure you are dropping fish in between the waves of leechfins, as dropping fish does not stop the player from fishing, allowing for the player to obtain the experience rates listed in the table below.

Pro tip: For each wave of leechfin, there will be a line of 5 that spawn on either side of the river (left, right, or centre). Drop leechfins after angling your net to catch the 5, then return your attention to catching the leechfin like normal. This will allow you to have an easier time dropping your inventory between leechfin spawns.

Experience rates on the table below assume the player is wearing the full Angler's outfit/Spirit angler's outfit and is fishing at maximum efficiency. It is possible to obtain more than 130,000 experience per hour post level 99.

Fighting the Tempoross on mass worlds offers relatively fast experience and requires fairly low amount of effort compared to the tick manipulation methods. Solo methods, as detailed on the Strategies page, can easily exceed the following group rates with only moderately more attention, and could also accelerate the acquisition of the Spirit angler's outfit.

Not cooking the harpoonfish means getting lower amounts of points/loot but significantly more Fishing experience. With a crystal harpoon and a Fishing level near 99, this is the fastest experience in the game if not using tick manipulation methods. With no crystal harpoon or if not near level 99 Fishing, drift net fishing will yield higher experience rates.

Cooking the harpoonfish means lower experience rate but significantly more points and, therefore, loot. It is recommended for Ironman players and pet hunters to use the infernal harpoon when they reach the level requirements.

Aerial fishing is a viable alternative method to train both Fishing and Hunter. However, drift net fishing offers faster experience in both skills, so this method is only recommended for players who wish to obtain the unique rewards from Alry the Angler. While the angler's outfit is a possible reward from Aerial fishing, it is not recommended to get it here since it can be obtained in a much faster way through Fishing Trawler.

Aerial fishing requires level 43 Fishing and level 35 Hunter. The fastest way to reach the island in the centre of Lake Molch is to use the fairy ring DJR, run south-west, and take the boat to the island.

Experience rates are shown in the table below. The rates assume 1,600 fish are caught per hour. If cutting the fish, players will also get some passive Cooking experience.

Catching monkfish at the Piscatoris Fishing Colony is a profitable low-effort alternative to the faster methods. This method requires completion of Swan Song. Monkfish are caught with a small fishing net.

• Starting experience - 333,804
• Experience needed - 12,700,627
• Monkfish needed - 105,839
• Profit made (62–99): 12,383,163

Catching karambwan is a profitable low-effort alternative to the faster methods. This method requires completion of Tai Bwo Wannai Trio. Karambwan fishing spots do not move, which allows the player to catch an entire inventory of fish without interaction. When using the fish barrel, catching a full inventory takes around 3–5 minutes.

Karambwan are caught with a karambwan vessel and raw karambwanji. Raw karambwanji can be caught north-east of the fairy ring CKR using a small fishing net. The karambwan fishing spots are located just north of the fairy ring DKP.

When banking the fish, having a quick access to a bank and fairy rings is recommended. Good direct bank teleports include the Crafting cape, Karamja gloves 3 or 4, Sailor's amulet to Deepfin Point (requires 67 Sailing), or a ring of dueling. For fairy rings, use the quest point cape or the fairy ring in the player-owned house. If using the fairy ring in the player-owned house, players can alternatively bring a rune pouch and bank at Seers' Village (after the hard Kandarin Diary) or at the Grand Exchange (after the medium Varrock Diary). Players who do not have access to these options can use the fairy ring to travel to Zanaris or another fairy ring with close proximity to a bank such as DJR.

Players who have completed the elite Lumbridge & Draynor Diary can equip a dragon harpoon instead of a dramen staff and use its special attack to boost their Fishing level for slightly better catch rates.

Experience rates are shown in the table below. The rates assume using the fish barrel, not wearing the angler's outfit, and include banking time as well as some idle time. Expect around 10% lower rates if not using the fish barrel. With the fish barrel, angler's outfit, 99 fishing, and efficient banking, it's possible to catch upwards of 900 karambwans per hour, gaining up to 46,000 XP per hour.

Catching infernal eels in the inner part of Mor Ul Rek is a profitable low-effort alternative to the faster methods. To gain access to the area, the player must show a fire cape to a TzHaar-Ket guard (this does not consume the cape). Infernal eels are caught with an oily fishing rod and fishing bait while having ice gloves equipped. Smash the eels with a hammer to obtain Tokkul, onyx bolt tips, or lava scale shards. Use the spot in the south-easternmost area of the city, as the other two areas may have their fishing spots disappear more often.

Experience and profit rates are shown in the table below. The profit rates assume not wearing a Rada's blessing. The profit made from Tokkul assumes buying an uncut onyx with Karamja gloves equipped.

Catching minnows offers relatively slow experience, but it can provide decent profit depending on the Grand Exchange price of raw sharks. This can be done at Kylie Minnow's fishing platform in the Fishing Guild, which requires level 82 Fishing, a small fishing net, completion of the quest Fishing Contest, and having full angler's outfit to access. Minnows can be exchanged for noted raw sharks, which can be sold for profit.

Minnow fishing spots move clockwise every 15 seconds. In addition, a fishing spot will occasionally spawn flying fish instead of providing minnows; flying fish will eat 20 minnow directly from the player's inventory as long as they keep fishing there, forcing them to move to another spot. A flying fish will only appear after a fishing spot has changed and will continue to eat the player's minnows until the fishing spot changes position once again.

Experience and profit rates are shown in the table below. Wearing a Rada's blessing is recommended for extra profit, as it increases minnows per hour by 2% per tier of diary completed.

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

Players can gain around 15,000 experience per hour at level 82, and 23,000 experience per hour at level 90. If diabolic worms are used this improves to around 30,000 experience per hour at level 82, and 39,000 experience per hour at level 99.

• Starting experience - 2,421,087
• Experience needed - 10,613,344
• Anglerfish needed - 88,445
• Profit made (82-99): 188,034,070
• If cooked: 210,322,210

Catching dark crabs inside the Resource Area becomes a viable low-effort option after completing the elite Wilderness Diary. The diary reward increases the catch rate for dark crabs significantly and provides the player free access to the Resource Area. The fishing spots inside the Resource Area also never move, which makes this method a very low-effort option. However, as the Resource Area is located in deep Wilderness, the player will encounter player killers.

The fish can be noted at Piles for 50 coins each. It is advised to bank the fish in Edgeville every so often to reduce the risk. To have a good chance of escaping player killers, wear cheap defensive gear while 3- or 4-iteming expensive armour pieces, and bring a few Saradomin brews food along with super restores. Players can optionally bring a lockpick and escape using the nearby magic axe hut. Equipping an imbued ring of wealth increases the chance of obtaining clue bottles. If the fish barrel is a protected item on death the dark crabs inside the fish barrel are retained upon death to a player killer.

Players who do not care about profit can simply drop the fish and risk nothing. Having spare Wilderness swords and the Edgeville respawn is recommended if doing this, as the player can expect to eventually die to a player killer.

Players can gain around 40,000 experience per hour.

• Starting experience - 3,258,594
• Experience needed - 9,775,837
• Dark crabs needed - 75,199
• Profit made (85-99): 75,123,801

At level 87 and after partially completing Regicide, catching sacred eels at Zul-Andra becomes a profitable low-effort alternative to the faster methods. Sacred eels are caught with a fishing rod and fishing bait. Dissect the eels with a knife to extract Zulrah's scales. Doing so requires at least level 72 Cooking. The Zulrah's scales obtained, and Cooking experience gained, scale with your Cooking level.

Experience and profit rates are shown in the table below. The expected profit rates assume not wearing a Rada's blessing.

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Members' guides	Melee Ranged Magic Defence Prayer Hitpoints Crafting Mining Smithing Fishing Cooking Firemaking Woodcutting Runecraft Agility Herblore Thieving Fletching Slayer Farming Construction Hunter Sailing
Ironman guides	Money making Melee Ranged Magic Defence Prayer Hitpoints Crafting Mining Smithing Fishing Cooking Firemaking Woodcutting Runecraft Agility Herblore Thieving Fletching Slayer Farming Construction Hunter Sailing
Ultimate Ironman guides	Item management Equipment Quests Minigames Money making Melee Ranged Magic Defence Prayer Hitpoints Crafting Mining Smithing Fishing Cooking Firemaking Woodcutting Runecraft Agility Herblore Thieving Fletching Slayer Farming Construction Hunter Sailing
General guidelines	Efficiency