Fisher: Stats mean absolutely nothing

[Squand]

basically 403 is all you need

That isn't the conclusion I've come to.

Here is my supposition to how it works.

There is a loot table of fish with various catch rates. When you cast your line it rolls to see which one you're going after. There is some counter that is kept so you don't get the same fish over and over. And so you can clear out the fish in that area. If you fish long enough in one spot, the fish leave the area.

There is a minimum requirement for Gathering, and a min requirement for HQ. If you meet the Gathering req you have a 70% chance to hook. Every 3 points of gathering gives you 1% higher chance to hook. If you meet the HQ rate you get 1% HQ and every 10 points of peception over that gives you 1 point of hq rate up until you hit 15%.

If you hook the fish, the fish will roll against it's slippery rating to see if it can get away.

Ultimately we will never look under the hood, and we will never know for sure.