Fishing pool Fishing pools , or Schools of Fish , are location objects found in different bodies of water in WoW that have a significance to the fishing profession . Typically , a higher portion of more desirable items can be fished within a fishing pool . Fishing pool is a more general term ; School of Fish is a fishing pool that contains ( primarily ) fish . School of Fish can also mean a kind of critter object in WoW that is not directly fishable ( but appears only in fishable waters ) , and so fishing pool is more specific as regards the fishing profession ; School of Fish critter objects are not fishing pools . Fishing . Fishing pools are shallow cylindrical regions within fishable water . They designate small regions within fishable water that give better kinds of catches than the surrounding water . Some fish can only be obtained from Fishing pools . In order to fish a Fishing pool , your bobber must be within the circular area on the surface of the water that defines the boundaries of the fishing pool . Only the top surface has significance for fishing . To do this , face the pool , pole in hand . Cast , then if you want to only fish the pool , recast each time you miss . An AddOn such as Fishing Buddy can make this easier to do . If your bobber lands close to the boundary of the pool , it may be unclear if it is within the pool or not . You can often tell from what you catch , but if you are in a hurry you may not want to wait . Some of the uncertainty is from the 3 - D nature of the pool . Depending on the type of pool , it may be partly outlined by fish critter s swimming within the pool boundaries . These will be under the surface of the pool and from your point of view will appear to be offset toward you on the surface . Also , some of the defining graphics fade in and out , simulating the effects of light on water . Another visual challenge is that the barrels and crates in a Floating Wreckage pool can somewhat obscure your bobber . Also they are slightly bobbing , and can make your bobber seem to be bobbing prematurely relative to themselves . The fishing skill level required to fish a fishing pool is the same as the surrounding water . If the pool spawns on a boundary between fishing zones ( there are some that do ) , the skill level required may be different within the fishing pool depending on where your bobber lands . Fishing pools are not permanent , but appear and remain until fished out ( like mineral nodes are mined out ) then respawn at a different location . The respawn rules vary , some types have a delay , some do not . Types . Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor schools . Only during the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza Special Pools . There are some pools that , while visible at the water surface , are not used as a fishing resource . These may be used as quest objectives or to summon a boss . These have a slightly different appearance than normal fishing schools . A normal Fishing school will look like a circular outlined darker patch of water . A quest objective pool will look like a speckled surface area . Achievements . The Following Achievements Require Fishing from Pools : Additionally some element of pool fishing is needed to complete these Achievements :