Fishing is surprisingly fun!

[Travel]

Picked up fishing after you guys recommended it, and... I have to say, I'm actually having a lot of fun! I admit, I had a lot of trepidation when you guys told me to give it a shot; I'd been looking at some stuff about it online, and the way a lot of these guides talked about it made it seem much more complicated than it actually was. Thankfully, that wasn't the case; it was surprisingly easy to pick up and learn, and while I still have quite a way to go - grinding through Ocean Voyages, I'm mostly just catching fish, occasionally using Chum when I can - so far, I'm seriously considering keeping this job after I get it up to 80.

Speaking of Ocean Voyages; these things are a lot of fun! Only three Ocean Voyages, and a few hours grinding, and I'm already at level 43; going to try and go on two, possibly three more today if I can, using guides and food to get as much exp as I can. On top of this, the class quests - while not always the easiest for a meat-headed individual such as myself - do a pretty good job of teaching you how to fish properly and give you a good grasp on the mechanics.

I think the only major complaint I have right now is on Ocean Fishing, ironically. Each area requires a different bait, and there are three times of day, but I can't seem to find a consistent list of what baits are used under what conditions. Other than that, though, I'm currently feeling really good about this job; I've read that level 50 is something of a roadblock, but I'll try and burn that bridge when I get to it.

[Canadane]

Unless you are after a specific fish, all ocean baits work in all zones to catch the vast majority of fish.
Very few Ocean Fishing fish have a specific bait requirement. Most people recommend a chance as all fish seem to have a preferred bait which will lower it's hook time.

Don't forget to do the FSH class quests!

[Canadane]

Oh and to add some resources for you, for Ocean Fishing this is a nice website to help keep track of everything you can do.
https://ffxiv.pf-n.co/ocean-fishing

And if you get into Big Fishing, there's a nice checklist for that as well.
https://ff14fish.carbuncleplushy.com/

Happy hooking!

[Jojoya]

Glad to hear you're enjoying it!

[Travel]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys! I am doing the quests - they provide great exp - though I have noticed that the levels are certainly slowing down now; completed two Voyages since I made the first post, now I'm level 54. Gonna keep going, see if I can get some Commercial Survival Manuals to help me get to 70.

[Brightamethyst]

and the way a lot of these guides talked about it made it seem much more complicated than it actually was

This is really only true of Big Fishing, which is where most of the crazy RNG that people like to complain about comes into play.

[Frizze]

Yeah, big fishing or specifically seeking to fill the fishing log. Those are the activities that the guides speak of when they talk of crazy RNG and complications. Ocean Fishing is easy mode. Most fish you would need for a quest or recipe are fairly easy too.

[Travel]

Little bit of an update; at the risk of sounding like I'm bragging - I'm not, just really, REALLY happy - I managed to reach level 80 just under an hour ago! Was able to go to Endwalker and do the first Quest for that Beast Tribe I mentioned; have to say, really looking forward to what the rest of the story for it is going to be like!

Thank you, guys, so much for all of your help; I really don't think I could have made it here, this quickly at least, without your help!

[Hasrat]

Oh and to add some resources for you, for Ocean Fishing this is a nice website to help keep track of everything you can do.
https://ffxiv.pf-n.co/ocean-fishing

And if you get into Big Fishing, there's a nice checklist for that as well.
https://ff14fish.carbuncleplushy.com/

Happy hooking!

I... was gonna link Caimie's guide as well, handy if you wanna chase points (the mount is pretty attainable, imo), but... looks like that whole domain is down... and looks like this seems to regularly happen in October.. Ah well.

As for big fishing, I don't really think I'd say it's all that bad. I mean, yeah, there's layers of RNG involved, there's not a whole lot else they can do to introduce "challenge" to fishing. But, it's totally feasible to steadily work through it without too much frustration.

I've just been going one expansion at a time. I can't really remember if ARR had anything truly bothersome. Definitely there were a couple HW fish that took some persistence. And feels like I've just blazed through StB in about a month or two. Only thing left is the Ruby Dragon...

[Deveryn]

Congrats and enjoy!