Wizard101 Epic Fish Hunting Guide

Wizard101's release of Magical Fishing finally gave the community exactly what they needed - enjoyable new content that takes time to complete. Even Khrysalis Part 2 was done in less than 24 hours by some of the top players, and yet no one has "finished" fishing.

Other Fishing Guides:

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Wizard City, Krokotopia, MooShu, & Grizzleheim Fish Guide Aquila Fish Guide Dragonspyre Fish Guide Celestia Fish Guide

Zafaria Fish Guide Avalon Fish Guide Azteca Fish Guide Khrysalis Fish Guide House Fish Guide

Seasonal Fish Guide Sentinel Fish Guide Dragonspyre Fish Spells Fishing Badges

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The Ones You're Probably Missing

Chances are, you've used a guide to assist you in finding the locations, experience, and schools of the fish around the Spiral. And if you've spend very much time, you've probably caught a decent amount. The ones you're most likely missing are the rarer fish - fish beyond the actual rank of rare that qualify as "epic" fish. And epic fish is one with a golden crown in the upper right of the picture in the Angler's Tome, and if you don't have them all or aren't sure what I mean, follow the link below to a guide that will show you.

Tips and Tricks

When hunting epic fish, I've found that, in most cases, it's more than just tossing a lure out and hoping for the best. There are a number of things you need to know when it comes to specific epic fish, and that's exactly what this guide is for. But I'm going to start out with some basics, because I'm finding that even people who have been very active in fishing the past few weeks don't know some of the simplest tricks to saving energy and catching fish.

Likeliness of Catching It seems self-explanatory, but it's going to be more relevant than ever with epic fish. Here's a quick chart on likeliness to catch a fish to break it down. As the chart indicates, using the wrong lure rank and wrong lure school leaves you unlikely to catch the fish, and when/if it gets away, you'll lose 2 energy. Using either the correct rank or correct school yields a slightly better chance at catching the fish, and you'll only lose 1 energy if it escapes. However, using both the correct lure and correct school will almost always result in your catching the fish, even without elixirs. You can always buy elixirs from the Crown Shop to help you out. These will cover you if you're not using everything correctly.  Minor Fishing Luck Elixir - 150 crowns - +25 luck Major Fishing Luck Elixir - 250 crowns - +50 luck All epic fish are rank two except for the Cranky Catfish, but this chart applies to all of them as far as I can tell. See the Cranky Catfish section for more information. I'll also be sure to update that portion as I learn more.

Clearing a Pond Throughout this guide, I'll tell you to "clear the pond." What do I mean? I mean get rid of all the fish. Some people seems to think you need to fish them out. That's not the case at all, and it's going to cost you a lot of energy.  There are a few ways to clear a pond, river, stream, or lake. First, simply run over all the fish. Getting too close scares them away. This will give new fish a chance to respawn. You'll use this a lot. Note that you can still use the method even if you can't walk in the water by waiting until fish come close to the edges, and then walking up to those edges. The other method is using a lure. There will be a few ponds in particular with fish that are either taking a long time to reach the edges or simply can't be scared away. You'll need to throw lures for these. However, don't reel them in! Just switch to another screen and work on something else as they grab the lure and run off with it. So long as you don't press anything, you will lose no energy.  Note that you still need enough energy to catch a fish to actually cast the spell in the first place, though you won't be charged the energy unless you reel in the fish. Note: There's a very useful tip in the comments from Arlen Dawneyes for saving a lot of time. Check it out.

Fish Rarity Scale

Not all fish are created equal. Some are tougher to get than others. This is not based off of my personal experiences, but rather, how the fish were designed. Trust me, you will find your "arch nemesis fish" that seems easy to everyone else and that you just can't catch. Understand that these are all epic fish, so they'll all be in the upper numbers on the scale of fish rarity. This is rarity relative to other fish. No epic fish will be easy to catch.

A simple dekoi or a school-cuda would be a one. Your Catfish is going to be a three. Rarer fish will usually be six or seven; the Bear Acuda would be a seven. Most epic fish are going to be eight to ten.

Watching for Loading

It is absolutely essential that you watch the left side of your screen when nearing a pond with fish for the first time. Assuming a fish is available in-game, if it's in the pond, it will load. If it's not, it won't. So if you've visited the Entrance Hall looking for the Sturgeon General but never found it, and you go in and see something like that loading, you know it's there for you in the pond.

Some fish will load as something similar to their originals. What that means is that the Boss Hog, for example, uses the Boar Fish design. So you won't see "Boss Hog" loaded, you'll see some sort of "Boar Fish" load again. If you've already seen it load, that's a good sign. Now that you know how to catch a fish - and that you don't need elixirs or a ton of energy to do it - let's move into specific epic fish.

Catching the Blackberry Jellyfish

"While not as sweet as some other Jellyfish, they're still nice to catch. Look for them spread all over Krokotopia." (Don't trust the description.)

Name: Blackberry Jellyfish
School: Ice
Rank: 2
Experience: 2000 XP first catch, 20 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Tall
Location: Shiritaki Temple, Shoshun Village, Mooshu
Rarity: 10
Nearby Fish: Marmalade Jellyfish (Balance), Mainstream Dekoi (Balance), Stormcuda (Storm), Grape Jellyfish (Storm)

The Blackberry Jellyfish is not a particularly difficult one to catch, it's just hard to get it to show up. It's within the Shiritaki Temple dungeon. You won't necessarily see it loading just when you enter the dungeon, you'll have to first make your way to the pond, pictured to the right. You need to defeat only one boss to open the gate and reach the pond. One there, you're looking for an Ice fish. If you see Ice with your "Reveal School" spell, you're guaranteed to have a Blackberry Jellyfish. If you're concerned about getting it or using a wrong lure, or you've not yet hit rank 5 to get your rank 2 lures, pick up a luck potion.

More than likely, however, you're not going to see the Blackberry Jellyfish your first time. Here's something you need to pick up really fast - Restarting the dungeon does not reset the fish. You can log out, log back in, switch realms, and do whatever you want to do. They won't change unless you clear the pond. (What do I mean? How do I do that without losing energy? Scroll back up.) Make sure you don't need any of the nearby fish. Once you have cleared the pond, you can mark your location, use dungeon recall, teleport to a friend in another Shiritaki Temple dungeon, or leave completely. Doesn't matter - you'll get new fish any way you do it so long as you cleared them.

Don't be fooled - you can't teleport into someone else's dungeon and have different fish. It will merge the two dungeons (only in terms of fish) and you'll either have the same or none at all depending on how you left your last pond. Ponds take 10-20 minutes to fill up with new fish.

Catching the Boss Hog

"The crooked commissioner of all the fish. Find them angrily scheming through the hazards of Grizzleheim." (Now if that's not an obvious reference, I don't know what is.)

Name: Boss Hog
School: Storm
Rank: 2
Experience: 1900 XP first catch, 19 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Regular
Location: Savarstaad Pass, Grizzleheim
Rarity: 9
Nearby Fish: Boar Fish (Balance), Balancecuda (Balance), Firecuda (Fire), Bear Acuda (Fire), Deathacuda (Death), Bone Fish (Death)

The Boss Hog, like the Blackberry Jellyfish, is not a hard fish to catch, just a hard one to find. Look in Savarstaad Pass in the area pictured to the left. You're looking for a storm fish. There's lots to catch here, and one of the things that makes this guy so difficult is the fact that you can just barely get into the water at all, so clearing fish takes time, and even if you do see him, you have to wait for him to come to the edges of the river.

The easiest way to clear fish is to wade into the shallow water and run over the fish there. At least one of the rowboats there is a housing item that you can pick up to move it out of your way. Yes, fish will swim under the boats. Like in dungeons, the fish here aren't going anywhere unless you clear them. Changing realms is no use to you. And while it may take time to clear fish and wait for other fish to swim into the shallow water or any area where you can cast, you don't have to do it all at once. You can leave and fish elsewhere and then return (Check for Storm again before you scare them away!) and clear more.

Catching the Bubba Fish

"A close cousin to the Mullet Fish. Or maybe it's more like an uncle. No one is quite sure. Typically found playing in the mud in Mooshu."

Name: Bubba Fish
School: Balance
Rank: 2
Experience: 1900 XP first catch, 19 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Regular
Location: Shoshun Village, Mooshu
Rarity: 9
Nearby Fish: Stormcuda (Storm), Mythcuda (Myth), Fabled Dekoi (Myth), Mullet Fish (Myth)

The Bubba Fish is the easiest to catch so far. Not only is it the only fish of its school in the area, but you can also actually get into the Shoshun Village water to catch it. Check the lower pond, as pictured to the right for this epic fish. You're looking for Balance. It's not too difficult to see the crimson among the purple and gold. Be sure to check back along the edge of the waterfall, as the fish do like to roam in there. If you don't see a Balance and don't need any of the nearby fish, you can clear the pond simply by running over the fish.

This pond in particular can give you trouble with respawns. You can clear the pond and come back twenty minutes later, and there might still be no fish there. Truthfully, this is a problem you'll encounter in many places while fishing. What you need to do is run around the pond (don't go in the water - there may actually be fish there) once, and they should appear. It's not a magic ritual, it's just my way of keeping busy for a few seconds while the fish show up. In some cases, you won't see them come up at all, and you'll need to switch realms to solve the problem.

Catching the Cranky Catfish

"Despite their life of leisure, they just refuse to be happy. They spend their time rage-napping and sulking in the waters of Wizard City." ("I was a fish once. It was horrible.")

Name: Cranky Catfish
School: Ice
Rank: 1
Experience: 1700 XP first catch, 17 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Regular
Location: The Commons, Wizard City
Rarity: 7
Nearby Fish: Mainstream Dekoi (Balance), Frost Dekoi (Ice), Icecuda (Ice), Firecuda (Fire), Catfish (Fire)

The Cranky Catfish is one of the most popular fish around, but also one that's tougher to catch. On our list so far, this fish is the first to be among other fish of its school, and you cannot, therefore, simply check for a school and clear the pond if it's not there. Watching for "Cranky Catfish" (separate from the normal Catfish) to load will be particularly important here. If you can wait for it to load, that's the only thing you really need to do to tell if it's there.

You're looking in The Commons for an Ice fish, though it has been reported in Ravenwood as well.

The Commons is tough not only because of having fish of the same school, but also because the pond is full of slippery, vile creatures swimming around in the pond and all trying to fool you... oh, and there are a lot of fish, too.

**Correction: I had previously believed that the Cranky Catfish was Rank 2, however, Jason Goldenshield informed me that it is the exception with Epic Fish and is only Rank 1. Now I had previously believed that using a rank 2 lure might increase your chances of catching it, but I am now believing that this is not the case based on my experiences in-game. I still believe that you need to use the correct school lure (Ice) at the correct rank (1). I will update this as I learn more.

Catching the Errol Fynn

"Suave and debonair, the Errol Fynn is famous for stealing bait and giving it to poor fish in Wizard City." (This is my own "arch nemesis fish.")

Name: Errol Fynn
School: Balance
Rank: 1
Experience: 1800 XP first catch, 18 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Regular
Location: Ravenwood, Wizard City
Rarity: 8
Nearby Fish: Mainstream Dekoi (Balance), Balancecuda (Balance), Mechanical Armorhead (Storm), Frost Dekoi (Ice), Icecuda (Ice), Archer Fish (Balance)

The Errol Fynn, like the Cranky Catfish, is not the only fish of its school in the Ravenwood pond. Not just that, but there's actually three - count 'em, three - other fish of the same school in Ravenwood. You're looking for balance. Scare all other fish away. That's at least one plus to the Errol Fynn - you can move in the water and all over around Ravenwood.

The pond extends from the Storm school to the Ice school, and you can move around catching fish there. Fish can pass under the Storm tree (somehow), and so keep an eye out there. This one is tough to spot even once you catch it.

The Archer Fish is almost identical - same school, same location, same general look, and all. The most noticeable difference is that the Errol Fynn is more orange while the Archer Fish is more of a red. While it can be a tough fish to catch, it's definitely not one to pass over.

Catching the Goldfin-ger

"Originally designed for arch-villainy, they weren't programmed with the attention span for success. Catch them plotting in Mooshu."

Name: Goldfin-ger
School: Fire
Rank: 2
Experience: 1900 XP first catch, 19 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Regular
Location: Water Dojo Pond, Jade Palace, Mooshu
Rarity: 9
Nearby Fish: Firecuda (Fire), Charred Dekoi (Fire), Dragon Eel (Fire), Mechanical Armorhead (Storm)

Water Dojo Pond in the Jade Palace. This is the pond you see before taking the path to Shoshun Village, and the area is actually labelled "Water Dojo" on the map. You can also see it highlighted to the left. However, the Goldfin-ger isn't as tough to catch as you imagine.

The Goldfin-ger is yet another epic fish surrounded by fish of its same school. You find it in the Jade Palace.

One thing that sets this fish apart is its engine - it's a mechanical fish. It moves faster than others - reportedly 2 to 3x faster. Now this doesn't mean it'll be zooming around at noticeably different speeds, particularly with all of the cattail and plants and lilies in the pond, but if you see one going quicker, that's probably it.

First and foremost, use your Reveal School spell. There will usually be two or three Mechanical Armorheads (Storm) that have the same ability to swim fast. It's important to get rid of these so that you can distinguish speeds from there. Now you need to look around. If you didn't catch whether or not this fish loaded on your left, or you've been to the location enough not to know, you'll be relying on your observation skills alone. (That's scary for some of you.) You need to look for a fish that looks like it's moving faster than others. If all else fails, simply fish all of the fish out of the pond and come back later. You can always clear these fish as well.

Catching the Musushi

"They may be a bit raw, but the Musushi are excellent fighters. They hail from Mooshu, but few have ever actually seen them." (They hail from Mooshu? Odd. The weather is usually quite nice there.)

Name: Musushi
School: Storm
Rank: 2
Experience: 1900 XP first catch, 19 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Regular
Location: Crimson Fields, Mooshu
Rarity: 9
Nearby Fish: Samurai Fish (Fire), Firecuda (Fire), Charred Dekoi (Fire), Grape Jellyfish (Storm)

The Musushi isn't the only Storm fish in its area, but it one of few. This is one of tougher fish to catch because even reaching it is difficult. You have to do the entire Crimson Fields instance except for the last two battles, and while it's only in Mooshu, it's not the 6+ battles and extensive collect/build quests that make it long - it's the talking, too. The running around will get you.

This is one that you'll want to watch for a loading screen for. Otherwise, fish out only the Storm fish (either Grape Jellyfish or the Musushi), and then use a lure to let the rest get away and therefore clear the pond.

This is one that you'll definitely want to mark or leave someone in and return to periodically while logged on. Because once it closes, you've got to go and do the whole instance over again.

Catching the Polar Bear Acuda

"The cold-love cousin of regular Bear Acudas. While rare, they're sometimes seen drinking soda in the frigid waters of Grizzleheim."

Name: Polar Bear Acuda
School: Ice
Rank: 2
Experience: 2000 XP first catch, 20 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Regular
Location: Vigrid Roughland, Grizzleheim
Rarity: 10
Nearby Fish: Tongue Fish (Myth), Troll Trout (Myth), Mythacuda (Myth), Firecuda (Fire), Bear Acuda (Fire), Deathacuda (Death), Bone Fish (Death)

The location of the Polar Bear Acuda makes perfect sense. It's at the end of the river from which the waters of Frostholm flow. Look right at the entrance of Vigrid Roughland, where the waterfall falls. This is where you catch the Polar Bear Acuda. It's not too difficult in the sense that it's the only fish of its school around, but it's tough because one very, very rarely shows up. It's an ice fish, so you'll know if you have one. Take a look at the map to the left.

This is one river that you can walk into and around to fish in, and that's a major plus. If you see no Ice (it's very blue and the water is very bright, so look closely), then clear the pond. This pond, like that of the Bubba Fish, will oftentimes appear not to have fish in it even after they should have respawned. Again, don't go in the water. Not just because there could be bears there (Who knew?), but because you might scare away your Polar Bear Acuda. Instead, switch realms and wait a few seconds (and a few more seconds - this one takes awhile) for the fish to show up. If you've waiting more than a minute, they probably haven't respawned yet.

Catching the Rune Fish

"A symbol of its origins, this ancient fish species practically has 'Grizzleheim' written all over it." (I assume that's actually what the symbols translate to on the fish.)

Name: Rune Fish
School: Life
Rank: 2
Experience: 1900 XP first catch, 19 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Regular
Location: Mirkholm Keep, Grizzleheim
Rarity: 9
Nearby Fish: Deathacuda (Death), Bone Fish (Death), Tattoo Fish (Death), Fish and Chips (Fire), Firecuda (Fire)

Cave fishing! My favorite! This Life fish in the Mirkholm Keep caves (see map on the right) is the only fish of its school here. This is another pond you can walk in, so it's easy to get up close to all of the fish there. The Rune Fish is a rarer version of the Tattoo Fish, also available only in Mirkholm Keep.

Life usually stands out among the Death and the Fire, but make sure there's nothing there. (You can look for a "Rune Fish" or "Tattoo Fish rare" to load as well.) If there's no Life fish, you simply clear the pond, and return later to check again. This is certainly one of the easier fish to catch... but getting one to show up is a different story. Because it's only a matter of finding them, come back often - these fish will sell for as much as six thousand gold a piece.

Catching the Silver Streak

"These fish really know how to motor. Probably because they actually have one. If you're lucky, you'll see them speeding around Krokotopia."

Name: Silver Streak
School: Ice
Rank: 2
Experience: 1900 XP first catch, 19 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Regular
Location: Emperor's Retreat, Krokosphinx, Krokotopia
Rarity: 9
Nearby Fish: Garrrfish (Ice), Chameleon Fish (Ice), Hammerhead Shark (Balance), Mainstream Dekoi (Balance), Mechanical Armorhead (Storm), Four-Eyed Grouper (Storm), Bone Fish (Death), Krokotopian Eel (Balance)

It seems Wizard101 is having us experience everything for these fish - ice fishing is next! Though perhaps one of the trickiest fish to get to show up, it's not too difficult to identify. For this one, go to the closest pond in the Emperor's Retreat (pictured on the map) and look for an ice fish. This is another mechanical fish (the third and final), so you're looking for one that moves faster than usual. Always use "Reveal School" here, because the pond you're looking in is one of the most diverse anywhere in the Spiral. If you find an ice fish, it's the Silver Streak; he's the only one in the pond!

The Emperor's Retreat pond is a little unique. Though you can't walk in it, the fish get very close to the sides in a number of areas, and you can go up to those sides to scare most all of them away in a reasonable amount of time. You can then use a lure to clear the remaining fish.

You'll want to look for a loading symbol for this one, but if you miss it, just keep your eyes open for a fairly fast Ice fish. You need to defeat two bosses to get here, so this is another one you'll want to mark or leave somebody in for a few minutes down the road after these respawn.

Catching the Sturgeon General

"The head of operations for all Sturgeons. They practice in Krokotopia."

Name: Sturgeon General
School: Myth
Rank: 2
Experience: 2000 XP first catch, 20 all other catches
Required Tank Size: Regular
Location: Entrance Hall, Krokosphinx, Krokotopia
Rarity: 10
Nearby Fish: Balancecuda (Balance), Mainstream Dekoi (Balance), Lifecuda (Life), Brain Sturgeon (Life)

The Sturgeon General isn't particularly difficult to spot. He's in the right pond in the Entrance Hall - a myth fish. He'll be the only Myth fish there, so if you see Myth, you know you've got a Sturgeon General. The problem is that getting a Myth fish to pop up there is very difficult. He's quite rare.

This is not a pond that you can walk to the edges of. The only way to clear it out is by using a lure (remember that you can let them get away and press nothing and you'll lose no energy).

The fish here seem to respawn frequently, but you will occasionally run into the glitch where they don't show up and you're have to switch realms. They may take a moment to show up.

Managing Your Epic Fish Hunt

Believe it or not, the more epic fish you have left to catch, the better. Because when you've got it narrowed down to a few, you're going to be doing a lot of waiting and it won't be quite as exciting. If you have several to catch, it might take you twenty minutes to "make the rounds" and check and clear each spot. (I don't recommend fishing out entire ponds for specific fish during these runs.) These fish aren't designed to be caught all in one day or even in a few days. Fishing has been out for weeks, and I have been very active in it, and I've still never caught one or two myself.

The Shortcut for All Epic Fish

If you just want to display a fish in your home or get it for the sake of having a picture, you don't need to catch it on your one character. You can get a friend to hold you spot, and teleport on all of your characters above level seven that are looking for the fish. Just have them run through the tutorial, pick up the "Reveal School" and the lure of the school of fish you're looking for, and check out the spots for a particular fish.

After you actually get one, you need a tank that matches its size. You can follow that link at the top to see required tank sizes for fish, or they're also listed here. Put the tank in your house, the fish in the tank, and pick up the tank and put it in your shared bank. Then take it out, place it, and remove the fish on your main character. Note that this yields no experience, will not make the fish appear in your Angler's Tome, and does not count as a catch for your tome or for quests. However, it's also not an exploit at all. It is entirely in accordance with the rules, even suggested until they allow trading of fish through a new panel in the shared bank.

You can also use this method to fish for Treantfish and such that you just need for crafting. You'll have plenty of energy, and will only need to use tanks to transfer the fish. The problem currently is that you'll need to catch 570 of those Treantfish to craft only one tank for each type of fish in-game, then you'll need to catch 60 other fish for other tanks. And that's just the discovered fish.

Swordroll's Secret

Okay, so it's no secret, but I was surprised to learn how few people use this method to catch those tough fish. If you've got one that's giving you trouble, you first need to evaluate the nature of the fish. Is it the only one of its school in the location? If so, that's easy, just look for the school. If not, you may have to fish out all fish of that school, which is typically easiest if you use Reveal Fish School and scare away all fish not of the school you're looking for.

Once you've done that, you have a few more options. If you've learned "Summon Fish," you can use it to reset your fishing hole and try the process over again. If you don't have it or you're out of energy, simply walk on all remaining fish to scare them away and wait for a short period of time (usually 20 minutes or so) before returning to try again. Repeat as necessary.

Undiscovered Epic Fish

There are a few in particular we aren't sure about, but that have the potential to be epic fish. A number of community members, including Kelsey Fireheart, Iri Gianthunter, and Katherine Light have loaded fish within specific areas. Here's what we know so far.

Vampire Squid - Appeared on launcher for Katherine Light, but was removed. According to Wizard101, "it doesn't exist... yet."
Warhammer Head - Loaded in Helgrind Warren
Devil Ray - Spotted on a doodle page in the Aquarium interface and loaded in Helgrind Warren
Frankenfish - Loaded by Iri Gianthunter in Unicorn Way
Gobblerfish - Loaded by Kelsey Fireheart in The Commons and Iri Gianthunter in Unicorn Way
Black Catfish - Loaded in The Commons

I wouldn't waste your time going after these fish. Not most of them, anyway. They sound like seasonal fish. Vampire Squid and Frankenfish? Those don't fit any theme so far, and Sunken City doesn't have any water, so they must be for Halloween. If there was truly a Gobblerfish in The Commons, the huge multitude of people fishing there would have found at least one.

The one fish I wouldn't rule out is the Devil Ray. I think it'd be unusual to put a fish doodle on a page if you couldn't always acquire the fish. Particularly when it's among other doodles of fish we already found.

Happy Hunting!

If you have any other tips, feel free to comment! Best of luck hunting these rare fish - they'll make for quite a collection! Thanks for reading and see you in the Spiral! Credits: Thanks to Alura Silver for the Silver Streak image, Jordan for the Cranky Catfish image, and Sophia Lifecaster for the Errol Fynn image. Thanks to Jason Goldenshield for the Cranky Catfish rank correction.