Fishing is an important part of game play, being one of the five main type of XP that a player can gain. Eating fish replenishes a dragon's energy and happiness.
The current max level for Fishing is 30, fishing XP are gained only by catching fish.
To initiate the fishing minigame, locate any of the fishing spots below, walk up to the water's edge, and click on the Fishing Rod icon that appears at the bottom of your screen - it's a circle with a picture of a fishing pole and a fish.
When you click the icon, a small bait bag will appear on the ground to the left of your character. Click the bait bag and the bait you currently have in stock in your backpack will be displayed. Choose your bait. When you are ready to cast your line, press the spacebar or click the big 'cast' button in the center of the reel. Now that your line is in the water, a red 'wait!' will be displayed at the top of your screen. Watch your float for any movement and when it goes under the water, the red 'wait!' changes to 'STRIKE'. Press the spacebar or click the reel button to STRIKE. Be careful not to wait too long to strike, otherwise you will loose your bait and have to start over again.
A new bar comes up at the top of the screen displaying the fish type you have on your line below it. The goal of fishing is to keep the pointer in the green area of the meter until the fish is reeled to shore. Reeling can be done by holding the space bar or holding the Reel button onscreen and doing so moves the pointer to the right, closer to the red area. If the pointer stays in the red area on the right too long, the line will snap, while if the pointer stays in the red area to the left too long, the fish will get away with the bait. While reeling, the fish may struggle, which makes the pointer move to the right faster and heightens the possibility of breaking the line, so do not reel when it struggles. Once the fish is close enough, it will automatically be added to your inventory.
The official School of Dragons fishing guide can be found here.
Bait
Lug Worm: Lug Worm bait costs 8 coins per worm. Players can also get five lug worms by putting five spoilt crops into a Composter.
Glowworm: Works best for deep sea fishing. Glowworms cost 8 coins each.
Minnow: Minnows cost 12 coins each or can be obtained by fishing at freshwater fishing spots. Minnows are the easiest type of fish to catch.
There are, in total, four places that you can fish in the school; one area is freshwater whilst the other three are saltwater.
First Fish Pond: (freshwater): This is a small, waterfall-fed pond that contains freshwater fish located right next to the entrance to the Wilderness. It drains into the ocean that is on the edge of the school. The water here is powerful and will push you over the edge, so be careful. This is most likely the first fishing spot you'll fish at, as it is part of the New Student quest.
The Campfire Harbor (saltwater) is a short distance away from the waterfall draining the First Fish pond. It is accessible via a wooden walkway built by the cliffs. You will also find a thermometer here as part of a quest, and further up the beach is the Tidal Class rune stone.
The Leaper Beach (saltwater) is opposite the Campfire Harbor. It is not directly accessible for players without flying dragons unless you can successfully jump from the school cliffside and onto the beach or you swim to it.
Ice Floe (saltwater): This fishing hole is actually located outside the caldera and can only be reached by flying through the crack in the rock walls across the landing circle. Upon flying through the hole and diving down close to the ocean, it should be directly to your right on a glacier.
There are two freshwater and one saltwater fishing location in the Lookout area.
The Fish Hole (freshwater) is the pond that is located in your farm. You can fish from either the bank or from the bridge. If you are a member, you can use the Fish Trap for five Lugworms. It takes 20 hours until you can empty the trap, or you can use five gems to instantly ready it.
The Lookout Beach (saltwater) is located below the main area of the lookout down the wooden steps. Wartihog will always be standing nearby.
The Hideaway (freshwater): This area is also below the main area, a little ways past the ship. Oddly enough, dispite being attached to the sea, freshwater fish can be found here.
There are two freshwater areas from which you can fish from in the Wilderness.
The Lake is one of the largest freshwater fishing spots and is fed by a waterfall generated by a small river whose source starts from the top of the map. There are several spots around the Lake where you can fish. Mulch is standing nearby two of the sandy shore fishing spots and there is a campfire and a small hut close by.
The Waterfall (mostly salmon) is located in the corner of the Wilderness where the river enters the lake. Only salmon can be found here.
Eel fishing spot in the Wilderness
The "Island" (mostly eels) is located in the middle of the lake where Mulch in always standing next to.
There are two fishing spots in Berk that are very close to each other. These two areas are mentioned to be Gobber's favorite fishing spots.
Spring pond (freshwater): Spring pond is just next to the Dockyard. As you pass under the stone arch, there is a beach, where the pond is fed by a waterfalls\. The actual fishing spot is located behind the waterfall.
Stone Haul (saltwater) is just beside Secret Spring pond. A barrel sits on the plateau of stone, suggesting that it a popular fishing spot in Berk.
The Training Grounds has two saltwater places you can fish at.
The Docks (saltwater): This area can be accessed by walking or flying down the main landmass. You can only fish at this particular dock; the others will not have the fishing symbol.
The Campout (saltwater) is located on a stretch of beach a bit past the Thunder Run Racing area, and you must swim or fly across a short distance of water to reach it.
The Whispering Death Caves
The Whispering Death Caves, accessible once you accept a certain quest, has one lake in which there are two unique species of fish.
Underground Lake: This lake in located in the Whispering Death Caves. All tunnels that are not dead-ends eventually lead to this lake, which is fed by a stream above ground.
Three saltwater spots on the coast of the island: near the glacier, on a circle hole in the ice, near one of the ice pillars.File:Ar fish2.pngSpeed Stinger cave (Freshwater): There is a fishing spot outside of the Speed Stinger cave.
Three spots inside Ice cave (Freshwater): two spots on the ice in the ice cave, and one among the rocks
One spot in the abandoned village (Saltwater): on the ice sheet.
As you upgrade your fishing rod, fishing becomes easier. If you purchase an Improved Rod or Advanced Rod, they come with a Drag button which relieves tension from the right side of the meter. The Deep Sea Rod, earned via completion of a specific quests, also has a Drag button. To use this feature, use the space bar to reel and use the mouse to click the drag button. Be sure to not use the drag button for too long or else your line can snap.
Tips and Tricks
Fish have three states: not struggling, struggling and struggling hard. You can tell which state they are in by watching their movements in the water. Reeling while they are not fighting reduces the chance of breaking your line.
The fish that jump out of bodies of water show what species are living there. There are certain areas dominated by a species, and other spots where the types of fish are evenly distributed out. It is a helpful indicator if you need catch a specific fish.
A handy trick to catching fish that struggle a lot is to repeatedly click the mouse or space bar instead of holding it. This makes the fish reel in just as fast, but keeps the rods tension at a steady level.
Other Ways to Obtain Fish
Open 90 and 170 coin surprise chests.
Purchase them for gems (or coins, in the case of eels) from the Trading Post.
Win them from Mystery Fish Chests, one of which can be earned once every five-day-period for consecutive log-ins.
Members can use the fish trap on their farm to get three random fish per day.
History
7/19/13, version 1.02: When out of bait while fishing, a button for the store now appears.
7/25/13, version 1.03: Brown Trout made easier to catch,
8/8/13, version 2.0: Fishing percentages in the Wilderness adjusted.
9/27/13, version 4.2: Store icon added to the message that appears when you run out of bait. Odds of catching a salmon from the secret fishing spot increased. Perch made the default fish for the fishing tutorial. Bug of not being able to select bait if environment object was in your way fixed. An attempted fix for not being able to reel in fish from the Safari browser was made.
Trivia
Eels used to give five energy though they always lowered happiness. It is unknown at what date eels were changed to giving no energy to any dragons besides Typhoomerangs and Death Songs.
Slithersongs don't gain energy or happiness from eat eels, even though they're a sub-species of the Death Song.
