Fishing Guide Levels 30-100 by SledgeKujata

I have a very simple plan to get you to 100 fishing in 
the least amount of time. There is a more up to date guide on my 
Website along with more information on fishing in general.
Feel free to let me know what you think.
Fishmonger-Owner
==A. RINGS==
Fishing rings... Pelican, Albatross, and Penguin. You don't need them 
but they help. With these rings I went from 55 fishing to 100 in under 
2 months. The Pelican Ring is the most important. With this ring I got 
a minimum of a level a day all the way to 100. Albatross Ring and Penguin Ring
are good if you need a little extra time or a bit more muscle. I would however
recommend saving the Penguin and Albatross rings for the Ebisu Fishing Rod quest if you plan to do it. 
Speaking of rods...
==B. LU SHANG'S==
 
Lu Shang's Fishing Rod is a must, especially for this guide. Get it as soon as you 
can, period. I'm sorry, but if you complain about slow skillups or "too 
small"/"lost catch due to lack of skill" messages and you don't have the 
Lu, it's your own fault. Stop trying to skill and get it. At around level
30 fishing I got tired of getting messages instead of fish so I stopped 
leveling and started questing. This was my strategy... 
1. Farm a decent amount of gil in comparison to how much Lu is selling for(1/3-1/2 AH selling price).
2. Head out to Knightswell in West Ronfaure with as much insect Insect paste as you can hold while still being able 
to hold your fish. 
3. Fish your 200 a day limit and turn them in. 
4. Head over to the AH and buy every reasonably priced stack of moat carp you can and turn them in. 
5. Repeat step 4 at every other Auction House.This is what I did and I had my Lu in about 2 weeks. 
I'm sure some people out there cant afford, refuse to, or are just too lazy to farm and/or spend
any gil on this rod. That's fine, more power to you and good luck.
NOTE: If you don't want to buy any from Auction House it will take you a minimum of 7 weeks and 1 day. (assuming you only catch moat carp) So if you want it in 2 weeks you would have to buy 600 stacks of moat carp. As of 9/22/09, ffxiah.com shows that if buying at Jueno, Stacks range from 3k-5k across the servers. So that's a minimum of 1,800,000g to 3,000,000g 
That Math:
For 7weeks 1 day. (200X7)/10000
For 2weeks. 200X7X2=2,800 fish. So 7,200/12=600 stacks. Cross Server: 3,000gX600= 1.8 Mil, 5,000gX600= 3 Mil
-Soulcrave
==C. IN DEPTH GUIDE==
Now that you have a Lu in your possession and assuming you are in the
neighborhood of level 30 fishing (I'm not going into detail on places
to fish pre 30 because you can skill almost anywhere at those levels.).
Head to the Ferry in either Selbina or Mhaura. Your first target will 
be Gugru Tuna, you can catch these with Minnow, Sinking Minnow, 
Peeled Lobster, Sliced Sardine or Shrimp Lure I suggest using a minnow lure because 
it will catch the next 2 fish on my guide as well, resulting in a higher 
chance for skillups. they will get you to level 41.
 
Now I feel I must pause and explain something. I mentioned earlier 
about the Pelican Ring being a godsend. However, I do not recommend using 
this ring on the Ferry. To me it just seemed wasteful. I went through 2 of 
these rings form 66+.
 
Lets move on shall we, Next I would suggest Cone Calamary, these cap at 
48, and they skill you up fast. I do believe catching these gave me the 
fastest skillups out of any other fish. And again you will be using a Minnow Lure.
 
Now you can go one of two ways, Bluetail or Shall Shells. If you need a break from the 
Ferry now is the time to jump ship. you can head over to Buburimu Peninsula with either
a Rogue Rig or a Robber Rig. If you are content with the Ferry you can stay aboard and 
fish for Bluetail, your bait of choice will be a Minnow lure.
(go figure)These cap at 55, they can be a bit of a pain to catch sometimes though.
I would recommend saving these fish as you will need them for bait for our next target. 
If you have cooking skill of at least 14 (probably even a little lower) grab
some wind crystals and head back to the Ferry.
Your next target is Bhefhel Marlin
and you will be catching them with Slice of Bluetail. These cap at 62. Now with these
marlin I would suggest turning them into Zaldon in the selbina Fisherman's guild to
get the Pirate's Chart and Brigand's Chart needed to get the Albatross Ring and Penguin Ring.
Next on the list is Noble Lady, these cap at 66 and you can catch them with a Minnow,
Sinking Minnow, or Shrimp Lure. I would suggest catching these until you are capped on them at 66.
 
Now is where my guide is probably gonna swerve off the beaten path. 
If you don't already have one, go pick up a Shrimp Lure and head to Nashmau. 
You will be targeting Mercanbaligi which cap at 86 and Ahtapot which cap at 90.
Here is where your Pelican Ring will really shine. I was getting 1-4 levels a 
day here. These fish are the ToAU equivelant to Bastore Bream and Grimmonites. 
However, the bite rate is much better and there is no aggro or fished up monsters 
to deal with. If you have a Penguin Ring or an Albatross Ring you can use either of
these along with your Pelican Ring to make bringing them in a bit easier if you are
having trouble. Just NPC these fish, Mercanbaligi sell for 600 gil each and Ahtapot
sell for 700 gil each to NPC. I am 100 fishing and I still catch these as my money
makers when the Auction house is flooded. You avoid the AH all together, Instant gil, no dealing with undercutters or
RMT influence on the AH. I would stay here until as close to 90 as you can.
 
Next on our list is Black Sole. These cap at 96. I fished them in Qufim Island
using a Sinking Minnow to single them out. The bite rate on these guys is horrible.
I think the only fish with worse bite rates are Lik and Gugrusaurus. Be persistent
and don't give up. Your Pelican Ring and Penguin Ring or Albatross Ring will prove their
worth to you here yet again. I recommend staying here until 96 depending on Black Sole prices on your server. If they aren't worth the time involved I would recommend skipping this step.
 
Now that we are ending our journey it is becoming harder and harder to find
reliable fish to skill on but fear not, I have the answer. We will now be heading 
back to Nashmau. This time we will be targeting Pterygotus. they cap at 99. You 
will need to pick up some Lugworms which can be purchased conveniently enough on 
the ship to Nashmau from the fishing guild on the ship. These are another fish 
that you can just NPC right there on the dock for a decent price, and again you 
can get plenty of use out of your Fishing rings.
 
Now it's time to grab some Meatballs and head back to the Ferry. You will be 
targeting Ryugu Titans and Titanictus for that last killer level. I highly 
recommend 74+ Woodworking from here on out. Especially if you are planning to quest the Ebisu Fishing Rod.
==D. WORDS OF WARNING==
1. Don't forget the "Command/blockaid on" .
2. Make sure you don't try to fix your Lu close to docking.
3. Don't attempt a fix if there is anything on board that can aggro you.
4. If your Synth is interrupted you can say goodbye to your Lu.
5. Staying out of parties is also a good preventative measure to insure 
safe Lu synthing due to the fact that some AoE job abilities and songs/spells
can also interrupt your synth.
==E. QUICK REFERENCE==
30-41: Gugru Tuna > Ferry > Minnow
36-48: Cone Calamary > Ferry > Minnow
48-53: Shall Shells > Buburimu Peninsula > Rogue Rig, Robber Rig
48-55: Bluetail > Ferry > Minnow
55-62: Bhefhel Marlin > Ferry > Slice of Bluetail
60-66: Noble Lady > Ferry > Minnow, Sinking Minnow, and Shrimp Lure
66-86: Mercanbaligi > Nashmau > Shrimp Lure
66-90: Ahtapot > Nashmau > Shrimp Lure
90-96: Black Sole > Qufim Island > Sinking Minnow
90-99: Pterygotus > Nashmau > Lugworm
99-100: Ryugu Titans and Titanictus > Ferry > Meatball
==F. FINAL NOTE==
I hope you get as much use out of this guide as I did. If you have any
questions or comments feel free to leave me a message on here. You can also contact me 
in game on the Kujata Server, my characters name is Sledge. I hardly ever
log out so if you don't get a reply I am not ignoring you, keep trying. 
The road to 100 can be a long one. You just have to keep your chin up and
be persistent. Good Luck to all you Fisherpersons out there, Keep fighting the good fight.