WoW Forever Fishing for Gold: Tanaris Crates vs Deviate Delight

Quick answer: WoW Forever fishing makes steady pocket gold, not "insane" gold. In Tanaris you need 205 Fishing to cast and 300 for a 100% catch, and the simplest way there is 225 base skill plus a vendor lure: Bright Baubles (+75) gets you exactly 300, an Aquadynamic Fish Attractor (+100) gets you 325. Wowhead's Forever data logs 3,632 Tanaris catches, and containers are only about 2.4% of them, roughly one per 42 catches. Savory Deviate Delight is a trap for profit right now: US auction houses list 9,801 of them at a median of about 2 silver.

Checked November 12, 2026 against Wowhead's WoW Forever database (Tanaris and The Barrens zone fishing tables, item and spell pages, and the Forever Fishing overview updated Nov 10). Prices are medians from our own auction house tracker, captured Nov 12 across 8 US and 8 EU Forever markets; the method is explained in our auction house prices report. Prices move daily; treat every gold figure as a snapshot, not a promise.

How much gold does Tanaris crate fishing really make in WoW Forever?

Less than the hype. Old Classic guides sell Tanaris as a crate jackpot. The live Forever numbers say crates are a small bonus on top of ordinary fish.

Wowhead's Forever zone page for Tanaris states that its waters "have been fished 3,632 times". Here is what those catches were:

Catch	Share of Tanaris catches	US AH median (Nov 12)
Raw Spotted Yellowtail	36.89%	0.65s
Firefin Snapper	10.88%	0.62s
Stonescale Eel	10.10%	1.99s
Raw Winter Squid	10.05%	8.0s
Big-mouth Clam	9.66%	not listed
Raw Rockscale Cod	9.17%	0.09s
Raw Glossy Mightfish	8.81%	4.25s
Mithril Bound Trunk	1.90%	container
Oily Blackmouth	1.32%	1.12s
Ironbound Locked Chest	0.28%	container
Heavy Crate	0.22%	container

The math: if you sold every fish at today's US median after the 5% auction house cut, 100 Tanaris catches are worth about 1.6 gold in estimated sale proceeds, before lure costs, failed-listing deposits or any Luremaster bonus, assuming a 100% catch rate and one fish per catch. Winter Squid alone is half of that. The three container types add a few tens of silver per 100 catches on top, and most of that comes from trunks whose loot is still Classic Era data.

That is our arithmetic on snapshot prices, not a field-tested gold-per-hour result. The catch shares are pooled across all logged Tanaris fishing, so your own session can differ by spot and time. The 5% is the faction auction house cut; Gadgetzan's neutral auction house took a bigger cut in Classic. It also assumes the auction house absorbs your fish. With 13,123 Spotted Yellowtail already listed in US markets, expect slow sell-through on the cheap fish.

For scale, our profession cooldowns guide found a single US Arcanite transmute worth about 24.69 gold of profit. Fishing is what you do between those.

What do Tanaris crates and trunks drop in Forever?

Check the sample size first.

• Heavy Crate ("Venture Company Supplies"): Wowhead shows Forever loot from only 10 opened crates. Those had Mithril Casing (4 of 10), Solid Blasting Powder (3), Goblin Rocket Fuel (2) and Inlaid Mithril Cylinder (1). At US medians that comes to roughly 40 silver per crate. Treat it as a hint, because 10 crates is a tiny sample.
• Ironbound Locked Chest: it is locked, so a Rogue has to pick it or you need a key. Wowhead says it "hasn't recorded WoW: Forever drops for this yet", so its loot table (Bolt of Silk Cloth, Heavy and Thick Leather, Bolt of Mageweave, grey gear, the odd green) is Classic Era data, unconfirmed in Forever.
• Mithril Bound Trunk: the most common container, at 1.90% of catches. Its loot table carries the same warning, Classic Era numbers only: mostly Bolt of Mageweave, Thick Leather and Rugged Leather, plus grey vendor gear and rare greens.

So the "Mageweave and greens" story is real, but in Forever it still rests on Classic Era loot tables. Bolt of Mageweave trades around 32 silver in US markets today. It's a nice drop, not a jackpot.

What Fishing skill do you need for Tanaris?

Wowhead's Forever zone table puts Tanaris in the bracket with Feralas, Azshara, Un'Goro Crater and Western Plaguelands. That bracket needs 205 Fishing to cast and 300 for a 100% catch rate. Below 300 you will see fish get away.

Here is the simplest way to reach effective 300:

• Train to 150 with any Fishing trainer. Apprentice covers 1-75 and Journeyman 75-150.
• Buy Expert Fishing - The Bass and You for 1 gold from Old Man Heming in Booty Bay (/way 27.4 77.0). It requires character level 20 and 125 Fishing and raises the cap to 225.
• Fish to 225 in Stranglethorn Vale or Dustwallow Marsh. Both zones give a 100% catch rate at 225.
• Apply a lure. Bright Baubles gives +75 for 10 minutes, so 225 + 75 = 300, exactly the 100% threshold. The Aquadynamic Fish Attractor gives +100 for 5 minutes (325), which leaves headroom. Both are usable from 100 skill, and neither needs a special pole.

Older guides add a Big Iron Fishing Pole (+20) on top. It still works, but in Forever it requires character level 25, and US markets currently ask around 17 gold for one. You don't need it for Tanaris.

You don't need Engineering for the lure either. Forever's Wowhead page lists the Aquadynamic Fish Attractor as sold by vendors in more than 20 zones, including Thunder Bluff, Undercity, Stormwind City and Zephras Isle. Buy it from a vendor: the US auction house median is about 3.5 silver across 4,860 listed, which is more than the vendor charges.

For the full 1-300 route, see our WoW Forever fishing leveling tool. The Artisan quest from Nat Pagle needs character level 35 and 225 Fishing.

Where is the best WoW Forever fishing spot in Tanaris?

Fish the east coast, which is the blue line on the map. Steamwheedle Port is the safer northern anchor with vendors, and the auction house is in Gadgetzan.

Be careful about "the coast is all neutral mobs." In Classic, Lost Rigger Cove on the east coast is a Southsea pirate camp, and those pirates attack on sight. That is carried over from Classic and we haven't confirmed it in Forever, so scout it before you park a level 20 alt there.

Classic guides also tell you to cast only into Floating Wreckage pools. We couldn't confirm those pools for Forever: we found no Floating Wreckage pinned in Wowhead's Forever Tanaris object list, and one of Wowhead's Floating Wreckage pages says its location is unknown. The 3,632-catch table above is all Tanaris fishing, not pool-only. If you find wreckage pools, fish them, but don't plan a session around them.

Is Savory Deviate Delight still worth gold in WoW Forever?

Not right now. The pirate and ninja costume food is still fun, and the fish is easy to catch. But the market is flooded.

• Savory Deviate Delight: 9,801 listed across US markets, median about 2.2 silver.
• Deviate Fish: 7,778 listed, median about 1.9 silver.
• Recipe: Savory Deviate Delight: median about 2.25 gold, with only 133 listed in US markets.

The recipe (Wowhead spell 8238) uses 1 Deviate Fish and 1 Mild Spices. Mild Spices runs about 0.14 silver on the AH, so crafting barely beats selling the raw fish. The only real gold in the Deviate chain is the recipe itself. Wowhead's Forever loot data shows it dropping from Barrens mobs such as Greater Plainstrider and Savannah Prowler, at rates around 0.1%. If one drops while you level, sell it.

As for catching the fish: Deviate Fish was 16.13% of 17,343 logged Barrens catches in Wowhead's Forever data, and the Barrens give a 100% catch rate at 75 Fishing. Catch them for Cooking skill-ups, not for profit.

What did Forever change about fishing itself?

Not much, according to Wowhead's Forever Fishing overview: "Fishing itself has not been changed that much". What changed sits around it:

• Luremaster is a five-rank Legacy perk. Wowhead's description reads: while using a lure, "you have a 25% chance to catch an additional fish". Since Tanaris fishing runs on lures anyway, it is the one perk that directly raises your haul. Our Legacy system explainer covers how points are earned.
• Most cooked food now grants 5% bonus experience from kills, and many fish recipes were buffed. Raw fish sells best to players leveling Cooking, so check our Cooking calculator before you dump stacks.
• Several Classic fish foods now give temporary Fishing skill, from +3 up to +18.
• The Stranglethorn Fishing Tournament now rewards the first 50 players instead of only the first, and the prize always includes the Arcanite Fishing Pole (+35 Fishing).

Should you fish for gold in WoW Forever?

Yes, if you treat it as a filler activity. No, if it's your main income.

• Good fit: alts parked between profession cooldowns, players leveling Cooking anyway, and anyone who wants low-attention gold with almost no costs.
• Better gold elsewhere: higher-value routes in our WoW Forever gold farming guide, herbalism and mining routes, hyper-spawn grind spots, or the class picks in best class for gold farming.
• Pearl bonus: Big-mouth Clams are almost 10% of Tanaris catches. Open them for Zesty Clam Meat and a chance at pearls. Our Iridescent Pearl guide explains which pearls are worth keeping.

If you're still choosing a main profession to pair with Fishing, start with best professions to pick in WoW Forever.

Short on time for the grind? timesaver.gg can cover the gold or the levels while you fish for fun.

• WoW Forever Gold: US and EU realms, startup capital for your fresh character.
• WoW Forever Power Leveling: any range from 1 to 60, played by hand on the quest route.
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FAQ

What Fishing skill do I need to fish in Tanaris in WoW Forever? 205 to cast and 300 for a 100% catch rate, per Wowhead's Forever zone table. 225 base skill plus Bright Baubles (+75) reaches exactly 300; an Aquadynamic Fish Attractor (+100) reaches 325.

How often do you catch crates in Tanaris? In Wowhead's 3,632 logged Forever catches, Mithril Bound Trunks were 1.90%, Ironbound Locked Chests 0.28% and Heavy Crates 0.22%. That's about one container per 42 catches.

Can a level 20 character fish in Tanaris? Yes. The Expert Fishing book needs character level 20, and both lures only need 100 Fishing. A Big Iron Fishing Pole isn't needed, and it requires level 25 anyway. Tanaris is a level 40-50 zone, so stay away from hostile camps.

Is Savory Deviate Delight profitable in WoW Forever? Not at current prices. It sells for about 2 silver in US markets, with nearly 10,000 listed. The recipe, at about 2.25 gold, is worth more than anything you can cook from it.

Where do I buy an Aquadynamic Fish Attractor in Forever? Wowhead lists vendors selling it in more than 20 zones, including Thunder Bluff, Undercity, Stormwind City, Orgrimmar and Zephras Isle. The vendor is usually cheaper than the auction house.

Do Tanaris crate drop rates come from Forever or Classic? The catch shares come from Wowhead's Forever data. The loot inside Ironbound Locked Chests and Mithril Bound Trunks is still Classic Era data, and Heavy Crate contents come from only 10 Forever openings.