The Chronicles of Latcarf - Fish Tales

Zebra Eel in the Den of Rancor

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:17:00 -0800

The last time I attempted to fish up zebra eels for Fennella and the fishing guild, I got as far as the little underground pond in the Den of Rancor and turned around and went home.

The Den of Rancor is a nasty place and once I'd reached the fishing spot where I figured I could find some zebra eels, I met the two huge Den Scorpions that made the place their home. I quickly decided it was safer to not fish that day. Well, zebra eel came up again as the guild's catch of the day and since I just got my fishing skill as high as I ever will, I felt brave enough to go back there.

This time I carried the always reliable silent oil. It wasn't really too tough to get to the little pond and I knew I'd have no trouble at all if the scorpions couldn't hear me. As a matter of fact, I found the perfect little alcove where I could fish in relative safety. I kept the silent oil on and easily fished up five zebra eels with a shrimp lure and my trusty Lu Shang's rod.

I felt so good about this little outing that I figured I could let my silent oil drop off without much risk. I did and continued to fish for a little while right under the noses of the scorpions. Of course, when you've feeling over confident is when hubris steps in with nemesis following close behind. In my case, nemesis was four quick swipes of a scorpion's tail to the head (and thank Altana it didn't sting me!).

I warped back to my Mog House after the knock out and nursed my aching skull. Fortunately, I still had the zebra eels I'd caught. I hope Fennella appreciates what I do for the guild - sometimes these fish don't come easy! Next time I'll know better how to protect myself when I'm back in the Den of Rancor (hopefully not anytime soon).

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Fishing Skill 100

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:56:09 -0800

Today I've become the best fisherman I can be! On a scale from 1 to 100 - my fishing skill is now at 100. This is a day I knew was coming ever since I decided to become a professional fisherman and I certainly feel a sort of pride in the accomplishment. It happened while I was on the Selbina ferry. I'd hooked one of the nastiest Ryugu Titans I'd ever hooked in my entire fishing career and I was lucky that I'd worn my Albatross Ring so I had enough time to wrestle it in. This squirmy fish wasn't going down without a fight!

Right when I was sure I'd wore it down to exhaustion, I started to pull it in and suddenly, *snap*, my line broke. Even though I didn't land that fish I felt my skill increase as far as it ever would. Of course, this won't put and end to my fishing days. I think I'm going to spend some time looking for the silk and wood Irmilant said he could fashion into a fishing rod...

Emperor Fish at Beaucedine Glacier

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:27:00 -0800

I was off to the frozen canyons of Beaucedine Glacier today in search of emperor fish. This is the first time I had caught these fish and I wanted to be prepared. I consulted my fishing almanac finding the best bait to be trout balls.

From San d'Oria I ventured out to East Ronfaure to the Cheval River to fish up some shining trout. After I'd caught half dozen or so, I hopped down (not literally) to Raimbroy's Grocery where I bought some rye flour and distilled water from Benaige. With my cooking skills and the bonding properties of an earth crystal, it was easy as pie (well, again not literally) to whip up some trout ball paste. In fact, I crafted it right there in the grocery store (To Benaige's obvious irritation).

Finally, I made it out to the cold north and had forgotten exactly how cold it is at Beaucedine Glacier! Fortunately, most of the time was clear with a light snow flurry but a couple times the whether broke out into a full blizzard. I actually think I caught more emperor fish during the white outs! It was pretty frigid there, made worse by the two ice elements meandering around my small frozen pond - being near those things will chill you to the bone.

Back in Windurst I made the delivery to Chenon - four fish - and had many left over to sell. I am happy to be back in more tolerable temperatures!

Sandfish in Rabao

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:05:03 -0800

The sunny oasis town of Rabao was today's setting for Fennella's "catch-of-the-day;' sandfish. Sandfish are nice in that a sibiki rig can pull in up to three at a time. While they're much easier for me to fish now days than they were way back when I first started trying to catch them, they're still small and feisty little guys that put up a pretty good fight.

After I'd caught 32 of them, I stopped by to speak with Irmilant (and old fisherman who hangs out in Rabao). We spoke a little about serpent rumors and he told me more about a story I'd heard where some legendary sea monsters swallowed opal silk thread and a saber shoot branch. Irmilant explained that he is the only one alive who can fashion these things into a legendary fishing rod impervious to breakage. It sounded far fetched, but I have heard parts of this rumor elsewhere. I plan on keeping my eyes open for these legendary sea monsters. Perhaps if I should catch one, I'll have Zaldon gut it for me to see if I can find the legendary items Irmilant speaks of...

Nosteau Herring at Port Jeuno

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:31:45 -0800

Fennella had a pretty easy catch today: nosteau herring. It was no problem pulling up a stack (12) of these guys will waiting at Port Jeuno for the Windurst airship. Using a shrimp lure I was actually able to pull up some tiger cod, black sole, and a few cobalt jelly fish. I'll carve up the tiger cod into sliced cod bait and use it to catch some more black sole while working on my fishing skill. The black sole and cobalt jellyfish I'll sell at the auction house. I like when things work out nicely!

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Pipira in Lake Tepokalipuka

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:57:47 -0800

I spent some time (not much time) at one of the cutest little lakes; Lake Tepokalipuka in East Sarutabaruta. I've been here a couple times before catching other fish for Fennella. This time around, I was catching pipira and all I needed were 16. I didn't even take me a full Vana'diel day to handle that request! This fish were practically jumping out of the water for my minnow lure. I can't argue with an easy catch of the day! I guess I'll use the spare time to do some black sole fishing on Qufim Island...

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Takitaro on the Misareaux Coast

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:15:28 -0800

I had a chance to do some fishing at the foot of the most mesmerizing, yet menacing waterfall I've ever seen. Fennella's catch of the day was takitaro and they can be found at the pond at the bottom of the Cascade Edellaine falls on the Misareaux Coast.

The view was breathtaking but the fishing was a burden. Takitaro have a HUGE amount of stamina. After trying and failing to actually land any fish with my Lu Shang's rod and a fly lure, I raced back to my Mog House to grab the albatross ring I'd been saving. Without the enchantment of the albatross ring boosting my stamina, there was no way I could catch the takitaro. Even with the boost there were still a few times I lost my catch.

Fortunately I only needed three fish to satisfy Fennella and my albatross ring enchantment lasted long enough for me to catch four. I love the amazing landscape of the Misareaux Coast but the takitaro didn't give me a second to sit back and indulge in the beauty!

Silver Sharks on the Selbina Ferry

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:33:00 -0800

The Fishing Guild "catch-of-the-day" today was silver sharks. It's been a while since I've ridden the Selbina ferry and even longer since I've caught any of these squirmy carnivores. I decided I'd give it a go.

First thing I did was unpack some sliced sardine bait I'd had sitting on ice crystals in my Mog House and grab a wind cluster from my Mog Safe. After I boarded the ferry (and watch a poor young adventurer get completely knocked out by a Sea Monk), I started fishing bluetails with the sliced sardines.

After I'd caught a few bluetails, I broke up the wind cluster to get some individual crystals and used them to slice up the bluetail for bait. Then with the bluetail, I pulled up a few silver sharks. You know, I've gotten alot better since I last fished these sharks. These guys were pretty easy to reel in!

When I was done, I grabbed a sea pugil as pet and ran around the ferry like a crazy Elvaan!

My First Ryugu Titan

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 18:39:45 -0800

Well, today is certainly a red letter date! On the ferry today I caught my very first Ryugu Titan! The fish weighs in at: 340lm and 1689pz. I'm not sure how big that is in comparison to other titans but it wasn't an easy catch - that's for sure.

Since the start of my fishing career I've hooked many but never reeled in a legendary titan. You can imagine how ecstatic I was about this catch. I ran around the deck of the ferry acting like a purely insane Elvaan. After the immediate elation wore off however, it was back to fishing as usual - albeit with a much happier outlook!

Gavial Behind Drachenfall

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:54:44 -0800

I was out in North Gustaberg the other day fishing for gavial fish for the Fishing Guild. They were a pretty easy catch for me behind the Drachenfall waterfall (F-7 on the North Gustaberg map - you have to go through Dangruf Wadi to get there). A few stacks of meatballs and my trusty Lu Shang's rod pulled in fifteen or so fish. Not a bad haul as far as I'm concerned.

The cool mist from the falls plus the view of the moon from within the chasm that Zeikt Creek cut made for a relaxing outing. The roar of the water is disconcerting at first (there's so much raw power there) but once you've caught a few gavial, you kind of forget about the noise as it blends into the background.

I saw only a few other adventurers down there and fished along side a Taru named Tonytonychopper. Not much conversation but what's to be said in a landscape such as that?

Coral Butterfly on the Kazham Dock

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 13:11:17 -0700

It was a beautiful day on the Pamtam Straits! The Fishing Guild catch-of-the-day was Coral Butterfly. Fennella needed nine fish and they were a super easy catch right on the Airship dock in Kazham. The beautiful fish readily bite on a simple worm lure and they don't put up much of a fight for me. All in all, it was a relaxing fishing trip today.

Bhefhel Marlins on the Ferry

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 20:57:49 -0700

Imagine that. After all this time trying to catch Bhefhel Marlins to break clothespoles, today Bhefhel Marlins were the fishing guild "catch of the day." So, once again I was on the ferry with cold, salt air stinging my face. The catch was pretty easy. I only needed six and ended up with nine fish on one Selbina - Mhaura round trip. Surprisingly, the big guys were biting pretty frequently even though it was only a waxing gibbous moon. Not bad for a days work and a welcome break from practicing my ninjitsu.

Crescent Fish in Lake Tepokalipuka

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 20:47:00 -0700

I got to do some brief fishing in East Sarutabaruta at Lake Tepokalipuka (F-9 on the map).

The fishing guild catch of the day was crescent fish so with a little hand-tied fly lure, I plucked five of those fish out of the lake. Nice thing was that it was a full moon so the fish were biting like crazy. It made for a very brief fishing excursion!

Knightwell

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 13:50:00 -0700

I had a return to my roots today as I found myself back home in the forests of West Ronfaure. The catch of they day was red terrapin. The best place to catch those mean little turtles just happens to be Knightwell, one of my old haunts.

I bought a couple stacks of shell bugs before I left the fishing guild and I proceeded to easily fish up six terrapins using that bait. Another fisherman arrived moments after I started fishing and we conversed about the best places to fish and what catches fetch the greatest profit.

The conversation and easy fishing made the time go by too quickly and before I knew it, I was leaving my old stomping grounds. It was nice to get back to where I first started adventuring and it's a shame I couldn't stay longer.

Crystal Springs

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 23:22:57 -0700

Deep in Jugner Forest (J-9 on the map) there is a small but beautiful spring. At night, this spring (known as the Crystal Spring) glows and luminesces with a colorful brilliance that begs to be seen! It's said that at the bottom of the spring is a vein of crystals and the crystals cause a transformation in the water that gives the surface its lovely glimmer.

Crystal Spring is also the perfect place to catch crystal bass, which just happened to be Fennella's request for the fishing guild today. It was with a happy heart that I made my way to Jugner to spend sometime fishing up bass with crystals on their scales!

I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked since I only needed to catch nine single fish. With my skill and my trusty minnow lure, this was a quick and easy task. I only wish my account of this place could do it justice. You must really see it to appreciate it!