Fishing pole Prior to Patch 5 . 0 . 4 , a fishing pole was the tool required to practice the fishing profession . Now it is only required to equip , if you want to gain the bonus the fishing pole gives ( if it does ) . Fishing pole . A fishing pole is in the two - handed weapon item class , and can be wielded as a melee weapon , but is primarily intended for use while fishing . As a two - handed item , only one can be equipped at a time , and no item can be held in the off - hand . You can purchase a basic fishing pole with any level character , and advanced poles become available as your fishing skill increases . Better poles grant a bonus to your fishing skill when equipped . Required levels in parentheses are implicit requirements imposed by the game that are higher than the explicit requirement property of the object : The basic Fishing Pole has no level requirement ( but all characters are at least level 1 ) and no fishing skill requirement . You can purchase it , wield it , and use it as a melee weapon with no fishing training , but you cannot fish with it until you are trained in Apprentice Fishing , giving you fishing skill level 1 . All characters will begin fishing using a basic Fishing Pole at skill level 1 ; the other fishing poles have skill requirements , and you will not gain fishing skill levels until you catch fish . The Blump Family Fishing Pole has an explicit fishing skill level requirement of 1 , but the quest requires you to catch and turn in 6 Darkshore Grouper s before it awards you the Blump Family Fishing Pole . If your fishing skill level is low , you will level your fishing skill while completing this quest ; the exact amount will vary , depending on what portion of your catches are Darkshore Grouper , but brand new fishers will skill up at least 6 times , taking them to at least skill level 7 , before they acquire the Blump pole . Other fishing poles with no explicit level requirements have an implicit level requirement in the quest to obtain them . The Arcanite Fishing Pole has no explicit level requirement , however you must be level 35 to train in Artisan level fishing in order to reach fishing skill level 300 and equip the Arcanite Fishing Rod . You can acquire it earlier , but not equip it . Competing in the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza requires 130 fishing skill in order to fish , 225 fishing skill to fish with none getting away ( it is a competition ) ( this can be done with Journeyman training , 150 fishing skill level , and lures ) , has level 31 - 40 mobs , and PvP if you are on a PvP server ( turn off your flag for this event if you are not ) ( these hazards can be handled at a low level with a group of higher level friends as guards ) . Also note that only one Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza prize is given out each week - this is effectively a seven day cool down per attempt to obtain one . The Big Iron Fishing Pole can be wielded at level 25 . Mobs in Desolace , where the Big Iron Fishing Pole can be found , are in the 31 - 40 level range . The Shellfish Trap s from which the Big Iron Fishing Poles are randomly looted also randomly spawn a hostile level 35 or 36 makrura . Strategies for obtaining a Big Iron Fishing Pole are : Auction House , high level assistance , perhaps twink gear ( but then why not just buy the pole , hand - me - down from someone ( alt ? ) who got a better pole ) , willingness to randomly loot a Shellfish Trap and accept your fortune ( then swim back and try again until you get one ) , or wait until a higher level . By level 40ish , this should not be difficult , and you probably do not need it before then . Remember that temporary shortfalls in fishing skill can be made up using lures . Fishing line . The Fishing line items produce a permanent fishing skill enchantment on a fishing pole : The fishing skill requirement to use the fishing line is the fishing skill required to expend the enchantment charge and apply it to a fishing pole . The requirements of the fishing pole are not changed , nor does an unbound pole become bound . You must be level 70 to participate in the daily fishing quests , so the Spun Truesilver Fishing Line has an implicit level requirement . The High Test Eternium Fishing Line has no explicit level requirement , and the turn - in to obtain it is not competitive ( not in the sense that only one is awarded ) . A low level character fishing in Stranglethorn Vale ' s coastal waters will require assistance . Both of these items can be obtained multiple times . You will only have a use for a couple at most for your self as you progress through pole upgrades . The vend price is a pittance relative their value , and they cannot be traded , since they are BoP items , but they can be applied to tradable fishing poles , which can still be traded after line is applied . Fishing pole with fishing line . Because the Fishing Line items produce a permanent fishing skill enchantment on a fishing pole ( consuming the fishing line ) , they can be viewed as an investment in your fishing pole . As a rule , since the fishing lines have limited availability , you won ' t want to outright waste them . Here ' s the poles with the lines applied : The four best poles are good candidates for application ; discounting the Arcanite Fishing Pole as an obvious candidate , but with severely limited availability , the next three are close in fishing skill bonus , and each has a niche - Big Iron can be traded to alts , Seth ' s has the best combat stats , and Nat Pagle ' s has the best fishing skill bonus . Also , the Darkwood Fishing Pole is so rare that , well , first off it ' s a non - issue , but if you happen to have one , it should probably be worth a fortune - even with mediocre stats . It fills a niche , and it ' s totally a seller ' s market . So don ' t feel too bad about buffing it , if you want to . The table shows that it would be a waste to apply a fishing line to a basic Fishing Pole when the Strong Fishing Pole is readily available cheaply and gives the same fishing bonus . Same for the Blump pole , when a Strong pole provides a cheap + 2 more fishing skill . Catch nine fish to skill up your fishing skill to 10 and invest in at least a Strong pole if you are going to apply a fishing line to a low bonus pole . That leaves only the Strong pole as a questionable investment of a fishing line - you may use it for many levels if you fish , but you will outgrow it , and you don ' t really need the small bonus to fishing skill that it provides while you are leveling your character and your fishing skill . Fishing lures provide much more skill bonus and are cheap . If you fished Stranglethorn at a low level and have a small stack of fishing lines , well , " maybe " wasting one isn ' t such a bad thing . ( I don ' t even recommend the Strong fishing pole , period . The small bonuses are unnecessary , and the cheap basic Fishing Pole can be thrown away when your bags get too full and is easily replaced near any auction house . ) Using a fishing pole as a weapon . A fishing pole is in the Two - handed weapon item class , and can be wielded as a melee weapon , but is not a weapon type associated with a weapon skill . When you wield a fishing pole as a weapon , your fishing skill is your weapon skill . You can observe this in your crit probability with a fishing pole wielded ; your crit will go up 0 . 04 % for each fishing skill point . Furthermore , all fishing skill buffs directly add to this . A + 100 fishing skill lure adds 4 % crit probability , and a Big Iron Fishing Pole has a 0 . 8 % crit bonus over a basic Fishing Pole . Since you can achieve 225 fishing skill at character level 10 , a fishing pole is not an insignificant weapon . Fishing poles will not accept weapon enchantments ; they will only accept fishing enchantments , such as fishing lines and lures , but these help the melee use of the pole . Fishing poles will not work with special abilities that require a melee weapon . Many special abilities do not require a melee weapon and will work anyway . Wielding a fishing pole in combat will not raise your fishing skill nor your other combat skills . Fishing poles have a durability stat and accumulate damage when used as a weapon , just like any other weapon . As a two - handed item , only one can be equipped at a time , and no item can be held in the off - hand . As you can see from the tooltips , the swing rate is slow . All are speed 3 . 0 . And , of course , there are no suitable combat stat bonuses on the fishing pole , except that Seth ' s has + 52 Stamina . The awe factor of beating someone in PvP with a fishing implement is phenomenal . See El ' s forum for more discussion about using a fishing pole as a weapon , linked provided below . As a figure of merit for combat purposes , DPS seems more significant than Skill Bonus for these fishing poles . Skill Bonus is an add onto an already big number ( discounting the exception that when you are starting out , your base skill is miniscule ) , whereas DPS is the whole deal for fishing pole DPS . Another approach to a rough figure of merit would be to calculate your effective skill for each pole with the buffs you intend to use and multiply that times the DPS , then rank the results . That would weigh both factors equally . Column FM - 1 is that figure of merit for a character with fishing skill of 225 and a + 75 fishing lure . Column FM - 2 is that figure of merit for a character with maxed fishing skill of 375 and a + 100 fishing lure . ( Can ' t equip the Arcanite Fishing Pole with 225 fishing skill ; shown in gray for comparison . ) For these two examples , the results track closely with just considering DPS alone . Lower total skill will weigh the fishing pole ' s bonuses more heavily , but very low skill won ' t be a factor . Anyone serious about trying this would want to max their fishing skill . None of these factor in the benefit of + 52 stamina in combat . A better figure of merit would weigh your total effective stamina or total effective hit point as a factor . You could estimate how much difference that would make by multiplying the Seth ' s pole figures of merit times ( your stamina + 52 ) divided by ( your stamina ) . If you want to use a fishing pole in combat , hang on to your Seth ' s pole even when you get a ' better ' pole .