Digit's Fishing Guide

This guide seeks maximum skill ups while using the fish caught to create bait for subsequent fish. Its most important goal is isolating fish so that catches below your current skill level don't happen. To best use the bait fish you skill up on, you will need level 10 cooking (preferably at least level 13). Since you won't need the cooking skill until well into your fishing career, I have left that part of the guide until right before you need to start making bait. I have more luck with bait as opposed to rigs, and with this guide you can use each stretch of fishing to prepare bait ingredients for later. 
Briefly, you'll catch Hamsi (equivalent to Bastore Sardine) to make bait for Bluetail; then, you'll catch Tiger Cod to make bait for Black Sole. You'll skill up cooking to around 10-13 so that you can make the bait yourself. 
You can then go back to fishing, using your Hamsi-created bait (Sliced Sardine) to catch Bluetail in Qufim Island, where you can also use the Bluetail itself to make even more bait, Slice of Bluetail, in the exact same place to get Cone Calamary. 
After this, you'll catch Crescent Fish in Dragon's Aery and move back to Qufim Island to use your Tiger Cod-created bait (Sliced Cod) to catch Black Sole. At this point, you can use Meatballs to catch Cave Cherax; from them, you'll get Dwarf Pugils for catching Lik, Gugrusaurus, or Matsya.
==Fishing skill from 1-10: Hamsi==
Target fish: Hamsi
Location: Aht Urghan Whitegate, Port Ephramad (north port at H-6)
Bait: Sabiki Rig
You can skill up on Hamsi without pulling up monsters here in Whitegate. This also allows easy access to advanced synthesis support at the fishing guild in the same zone (for one Imperial Bronze Piece). Hamsi are the Aht Urghan equivalent of Bastore Sardines, so you should save them for use later in catching Bluetail (see below, skill levels 27-55). 
Using the Sabiki Rig, you can get up to 3 Hamsi per cast of your line. I have had significantly better bite rates and skillups here than in the alternative zones.
Alternative zones: 
Vunkerl Islet[S] (accessed by using Retrace or going to the past, then using the campaign arbiter): here, you'll want to fish from one of the bridges, again with a Sabiki rig, and you'll get Bastore Sardines, not Hamsi. Vunkerl Islet[S] fails to isolate the Sardines, as the Sabiki Rig will also pull up Quus. Although you can skill up on Quus (they cap at 19 skill), you won't be able to use them to make bait for later on. 
Cape Terrigan: Just like Vunkerl Islet[S], you will catch Bastore Sardines here with a Sabiki Rig, but you'll also pull up Quus. 
==Fishing skill from 10-29: Tiger Cod==
Target Fish: Tiger Cod
Location: Qufim Island (south or north shores both yield same fish types)
Bait: Shrimp Lure
Unfortunately you cannot isolate Tiger Cod completely. A Shrimp Lure will pull up Tiger Cod (29 cap), Nosteau Herring (39 cap), and Black Sole (96 cap). 
Alternative zones: 
Beaucedine Glacier: The same three fish will come up with a Shrimp Lure, but this is much less convenient than Qufim. 
Aydeewa Subterrane: If you have enough Tiger Cod or just want a change of scenery, you can use Insect Balls to catch Blindfish (27 cap) here. The best thing about this method is that you can totally isolate Blindfish, as only they will come up here with Insect Balls (except for a rare Lamp Marimo). The downside is that any time you spend here will be less Sliced Cod later for catching Black Sole, and you will only reach level 27 on Blindfish.
==Cooking Interlude: Getting Cooking to 10==
At some point before you move on from Tiger Cod, you'll want to get your Cooking to level 10. 
First, go to Aveline at F-7 in South San d'Oria with a bunch of water crystals. Buy San d'Orian carrots from her, and use 4 carrots with one water crystal for each Carrot Juice, which caps at 3 skill.
Then, go to Yoskolo at I-8 in Lower Jeuno with some more water crystals. Buy some Saruta Oranges from her and make Orange Juice. It caps at 10. 
Finally, buy from the Auction House (or craft, using materials from the cooking guild or Auction House) a Salmon Sub. Trade this to the cooking guild (and join them if you haven't already) to break the cooking skill 10 cap on your cooking. This way, as you make bait, you can continue to skill up (Slice of Bluetail caps at 11, Sliced Cod at 13). 
==Fishing skill from 29-48/55: Cone Calamary and Bluetail==
Target Fish: Cone Calamary and Bluetail
Location: Qufim Island (south or north shores both yield same fish types)
Bait: Sliced Sardine, Slices of Bluetail
Here is your basic strategy for this part: take some wind crystals out with you and use your Hamsi (or Bastore Sardine) and your new cooking skill to make some Sliced Sardine. Use this bait to catch Bluetail, which cap at 55. When you've caught some Bluetail, use the Bluetail to make Slices of Bluetail, which catch Cone Calamary (cap 48). To make the baits, just use a wind crystal and a single Sardine or Bluetail. 
==Fishing skill from 48-69: Crescent Fish==
Target Fish: Crescent Fish
Location: Dragon's Aery
Bait: Fly Lure
Use the Geomagnetic Fount in The Boyahda Tree to run up to Dragon's Aery. You will catch Crescent fish and only Crescent Fish. Be very patient: 41% are Didn't catch anything, 31% Items, 14% Monsters, 14% Crescent Fish.
==Fishing skill from 69-96: Black Sole==
Target Fish: Black Sole
Location: Qufim Island
Bait: Sliced Cod
Use the Tiger Cod (and wind crystals) to make Sliced Cod. Very important: you should only fish at what Great Blue, the Japanese fishing site, calls the "Other Seaside." This is at F-8 to F-9 in Qufim. At the other shores, you risk pulling up Three-eyed Fish, Cone Calamary, and Gigant Squid. But at this shore, you will isolate Black Sole when using Sliced Cod. 
==Fishing skill from 96-110: Legendary Fish and Beyond==
Target Fish: Multiple, but Cave Cherax will cap you at 110 skill
Location: Kuftal Tunnel
Bait: Meatballs
Now that you're almost capped, you can start catching Legendary Fish. You should have an Ebisu Rod by now, or at least stop here and work on getting one. With one, you can fish up Cave Cherax without breaking your rod. Use Meatballs, and trade the Cave Cherax to Zaldon in Selbina so that you can get bait for other legendary fish. Then you can us the resulting Dwarf Pugils to fish up Lik, Gugrusaurus, and Matsya. 
This is a work in progress, so please feel free send me suggestions. Or even better, make your own guide. I used Great Blue's very helpful database to find bait/zone combinations that isolated fish. That site is available in English here: Great Blue
Category:Guides