Contents
Overview
Fishing is one of the most accessible skills in the game — no dangerous content, no expensive gear requirement, and a choice between AFK comfort and active optimization depending on what kind of session you’re after. It also feeds Cooking directly, so nothing you catch along the way goes to waste. There’s no real quest wall blocking progress either, which puts it in a different category from skills that demand a specific unlock before you can even start training seriously.
Fishing hands out passive Strength and Agility XP at roughly a 1:10 ratio once you’re doing Barbarian Fishing. Over a full grind to 99, that adds up to a genuinely meaningful amount of free combat stat progress you weren’t specifically working toward.
Getting Ready
A few things are worth sorting before you commit to a serious grind, rather than discovering them mid level and having to backtrack.
- 1
- Start Barbarian Training before you hit 48
Speak to Otto Godblessed, south of Barbarian Outpost near Baxtorian Falls. You need 48 Fishing plus 15 Agility and 15 Strength to begin, though actually fishing at 48 is painfully slow — don’t rush into using it until 58.
- 2
- Unlock the Fishing Guild at level 68
It grants a passive +7 Fishing level boost while you’re inside, effectively letting you fish content 7 levels early. Most players undervalue how much this matters.
- 3
- Get the Angler outfit
Full set gives a 2.5% Fishing XP boost, and it’s faster to earn through Fishing Trawler than Aerial Fishing. It’s also required to catch Minnows later.
- 4
- Upgrade your harpoon if you’re using one
A Dragon harpoon adds a passive +3 Fishing boost, and the Crystal harpoon from the Gauntlet is best in slot for any harpoon based method.
Leveling Route
Barbarian Fishing genuinely unlocks a better fish tier at 58 specifically — leaping fish, which is the point most players actually consider the method worth starting. Fishing from 48-58 works, but expect noticeably slower catch rates until then.
Barbarian Fishing
This is the backbone of any serious Fishing grind, and it comes in two distinct flavors depending on how you want to play.
- 1
- AFK Barbarian Fishing
roughly 50,000-70,000 XP/hour, genuinely low-effort once you’re set up. The reasonable default for most players.
- 2
- 3-Tick Barbarian Fishing
close to double the XP/hour of the AFK version, but demands constant, precise attention. It’s a real skill to learn on its own, not something you pick up by accident.
Don’t feel obligated to learn 3-tick fishing just because it’s faster on paper. The AFK version still gets you to 99 — it just takes longer in exchange for letting you actually do something else while it runs. Pick based on what you actually want out of the session, not just the biggest number.
Money Making Methods
- 1
- Minnows (level 82+)
the strongest GP/hour option once you qualify, though it requires the Angler outfit and fluctuates with the live market, so check current prices before committing serious time to it.
- 2
- Karambwan (level 65+)
solid profit, and the 1-tick version pushes XP rates past 100k/hour, but it’s a fully active method with zero AFK time.
- 3
- Infernal Eels
a strong profit option that stays genuinely AFK friendly, at the cost of somewhat lower XP/hour than the faster methods above.
Tips & Tricks
Sort your prep before you start the real grind. Barbarian Training, the Fishing Guild, and the Angler outfit are all things you’ll wish you’d done earlier if you skip them and dive straight into leveling.
Match your method to your actual attention span for the session. AFK Barbarian Fishing and 3-tick Barbarian Fishing produce wildly different XP/hour, but only one of them lets you watch something else while you play.
Do Tempoross occasionally if you’re getting burned out. It breaks up the monotony of a long Fishing grind and hands out Spirit Flakes, which convert regular Angler gear into Spirit Angler gear.
Check current prices before committing to a GP focused method. Minnows and Karambwan profit both move with the live market — a number that looked great last month isn’t guaranteed today.
Related Guides
- OSRS Money Making Guide — where Fishing methods fit into the broader GP/hour picture
- OSRS Ironman Guide — Fishing is a genuine early game lifeline with no Grand Exchange to buy food from