OSRS F2P Fishing Guide: Fastest Methods from Level 1 to 99

Free-to-play Fishing has an unusually simple answer if experience is your only concern: catch shrimp until level 20, then fly fish trout and salmon for as long as you want to keep training.

The higher-level fish are not upgrades in the way that a rune weapon replaces an adamant weapon. Lobsters, tuna, and swordfish are caught more slowly and require more banking. Their value comes from producing food or money, not from improving Fishing experience.

The real decision is what you want to accomplish alongside Fishing. You can drop trout and salmon for the fastest conventional experience, cook them for simultaneous Cooking progress, bank them for food, or train Fishing, Cooking, and Prayer together in the Ruins of Camdozaal. Each option is valid, but each gives up something different.

This guide explains exactly what to do from level 1 to 99, which locations are worth using, when banking is sensible, and why several popular high-level fish are weaker training methods than they initially appear.

New players can also use the MMOWire OSRS hub and our OSRS beginner guide alongside this page.

OSRS F2P Fishing Guide Index

Jump directly to the section you need:

• Best F2P Fishing Route
• Choose Your Fishing Goal
• Fishing Equipment
• Levels 1-20
• Levels 20-99
• Barbarian Village
• Lumbridge Fly Fishing
• Drop, Cook, or Bank?
• Fishing and Cooking Together
• Tick-Manipulation Fishing
• Camdozaal Fishing
• Profitable Fishing
• Lobsters
• Tuna and Swordfish
• F2P Ironman Route
• Common Mistakes
• Routes to Level 99

The Best F2P Fishing Route

For maximum conventional experience, the complete route is:

1. Use a small fishing net to catch shrimp from level 1 to 20.
2. Continue catching shrimp and anchovies after level 15.
3. At level 20, buy a fly fishing rod and a large supply of feathers.
4. Fly fish trout until salmon become available at level 30.
5. Continue fly fishing trout and salmon to level 99.
6. Drop the fish rather than banking them when experience is the priority.

Fishing Level	Recommended Method	Approximate Conventional XP
1-15	Shrimp with a small fishing net	Approximately 1,500-3,000 XP per hour
15-20	Shrimp and anchovies	Can approach approximately 7,500 XP per hour
20-30	Drop fly-fished trout	Approximately 13,000 XP per hour at level 20
30-50	Drop trout and salmon	Approximately 25,000-34,000 XP per hour
50-70	Continue dropping trout and salmon	Approximately 34,000-41,000 XP per hour
70-99	Continue dropping trout and salmon	Approximately 41,000-50,000 XP per hour

Experience improves at the same fishing spot because your chance of successfully catching a fish increases with your Fishing level. You do not need to unlock a new fish every ten levels to keep progressing efficiently.

The main F2P Fishing insight: Level 20 unlocks the fastest normal training method. Everything unlocked afterward is primarily an alternative for food, profit, Cooking, Prayer, or lower-effort banking.

Choose What You Want the Fishing Session to Produce

A player chasing level 99 should not use the same setup as someone collecting food for combat. Decide what matters before choosing the location.

Goal	Recommended Method	Main Trade-Off
Fastest normal Fishing XP	Drop trout and salmon	No food, Cooking XP, or profit retained
Fishing and Cooking together	Fly fish and cook at Barbarian Village	Lower Fishing XP than immediate dropping
Fishing, Cooking, and Prayer	Ruins of Camdozaal	Very low Fishing XP
Banked food	Cook trout and salmon, lobsters, or swordfish	Banking sharply reduces Fishing XP
Profit	Lobsters or tuna and swordfish	Slow experience and long banking routes
High-intensity XP	Tick-manipulated fly fishing	Frequent inputs and greater mechanical difficulty

This prevents a common mistake: selecting a method because it is described as profitable or efficient without considering the value of the time being lost.

If you can earn more money through another activity, it may be better to drop trout and salmon for faster Fishing levels and make GP separately. Our OSRS money-making guide

F2P Fishing Equipment and Supplies

F2P Fishing uses only a few tools. There is no need to carry every Fishing item at once.

Method	Required Tool	Consumable
Net fishing	Small fishing net	None
Bait fishing	Fishing rod	Fishing bait
Fly fishing	Fly fishing rod	Feathers
Lobster fishing	Lobster pot	None
Harpooning	Harpoon	None

Buy Feathers in Bulk

Every trout or salmon consumes one feather. A player training entirely through fly fishing can use roughly 600 feathers between levels 20 and 40 and around 225,000 from level 20 to 99.

Buy more than you expect to need so the session does not end because the inventory runs out of bait. Feathers are stackable and use only one inventory slot.

Bring an Axe Only When Cooking

Barbarian Village has a permanent fire beside the fishing area, so an axe and tinderbox are unnecessary there.

Lumbridge has nearby trees but no permanent fire beside every useful fishing position. Bring an axe and tinderbox when you intend to cook the fish locally.

Do Not Carry Unnecessary Items

When dropping trout and salmon, the ideal inventory is simply a fly fishing rod and feathers. Every additional item reduces the number of fish caught before the inventory must be cleared.

Levels 1-20: Finish the Early Grind Quickly

Use a small fishing net at any convenient net-fishing spot. Shrimp are available at level 1 and anchovies begin appearing at level 15.

The goal is not to optimize these levels perfectly. Level 20 arrives quickly, and fly fishing is substantially better.

Draynor Village

Draynor Village has fishing spots close to a bank and is useful when keeping or cooking the catch. Low-level Dark Wizards can attack players with a sufficiently low combat level, so very new accounts should watch their health.

Al Kharid

Al Kharid provides another relatively convenient banking option. A level-14 scorpion can occasionally wander close to the southern fishing area and attack vulnerable players.

Port Sarim

The fishing spots southwest of Port Sarim avoid the Dark Wizards found at Draynor. The fish can also be sold at Gerrant's Fishy Business, although selling to a shop generally provides less value than banking and using the Grand Exchange.

Should You Cook the Shrimp?

Cooking the catch is reasonable on a fresh account that also needs its earliest Cooking levels. The time investment is small, and the food may be useful during early quests or combat.

Drop the fish when reaching level 20 as quickly as possible is more important.

Levels 20-99: Fly Fishing Trout and Salmon

At level 20, switch to a fly fishing rod and feathers. Trout provide 50 Fishing experience each. At level 30, salmon enter the catch table and provide 70 Fishing experience.

This remains the fastest normal F2P Fishing method to level 99. Lobsters, tuna, and swordfish have higher experience per individual catch, but their slower catch rates and banking requirements produce lower hourly experience.

How to Drop Fish Efficiently

1. Enable Shift-click dropping in the game settings.
2. Begin fishing with an inventory containing only the fly fishing rod and feathers.
3. Allow several fish to accumulate.
4. Shift-click the fish between fishing actions.
5. Click the fishing spot again immediately when the character stops fishing.

You do not have to wait for a full inventory before dropping. Clearing fish gradually can reduce idle time and make the session feel less repetitive.

Expected Experience

Fishing Level	Normal Drop-Fishing XP	High-Intensity XP
20	Approximately 13,000 per hour	Approximately 23,000 per hour
30	Approximately 25,000 per hour	Approximately 45,000 per hour
40	Approximately 30,000 per hour	Approximately 53,000 per hour
60	Approximately 37,000 per hour	Approximately 68,000 per hour
80	Approximately 44,000 per hour	Approximately 81,000 per hour
99	Approximately 50,000 per hour	Approximately 90,000 or more per hour

These are comparison figures rather than guaranteed results. Fishing-spot movement, dropping speed, missed actions, and the chosen manipulation method all affect the final rate.

Barbarian Village Is the Best All-Purpose Location

Barbarian Village is the most practical location for players who may alternate between dropping, cooking, and banking fish.

The fishing spots are located beside a permanent fire. This allows players to cook trout and salmon without carrying an axe or tinderbox.

The area also has several transportation advantages:

• A skull sceptre can teleport directly to the Barbarian Village area.
• Canoes provide transportation along the River Lum.
• Players with 57 Woodcutting can create a waka canoe and travel to Ferox Enclave.
• The nearby Stronghold of Security provides additional account activities.

Best Uses for Barbarian Village

Use this location when:

• You want to cook the fish before dropping them.
• You want to alternate between Fishing and Cooking.
• You have access to useful canoe transportation.
• You do not want to carry firemaking supplies.

For pure drop fishing, either Barbarian Village or Lumbridge can work. Choose whichever is less crowded and easier for you to reach.

Lumbridge Fly Fishing

Lumbridge provides several fly-fishing spots along the River Lum. It is convenient for new accounts because the area is familiar, safe, and connected to the canoe network.

The Cowbell amulet provides another nearby transportation option for accounts that have completed The Ides of Milk.

Cooking at Lumbridge

Bring an axe and tinderbox when cooking beside the river. Cut a nearby tree, light a fire, and cook the trout and salmon before dropping or banking them.

Barfy Bill can store an axe, and a bronze axe also spawns north at Groats' farm. This makes it possible to recover the required tool without returning to a bank.

Lumbridge or Barbarian Village?

Location	Best Feature	Main Limitation
Barbarian Village	Permanent fire beside the fishing spots	Can be crowded
Lumbridge	Easy access and canoe transportation	Requires an axe and tinderbox for local Cooking

For Fishing XP alone, the difference is usually smaller than the time lost searching for a perfect world. Use the location that lets you begin training immediately.

Should You Drop, Cook, or Bank Trout and Salmon?

What you do with the catch determines the real method being used.

Drop the Fish

This is the fastest conventional Fishing route. Drop each inventory and continue fishing.

Choose this when:

• Fishing XP is the only priority.
• You already have sufficient food.
• You plan to train Cooking through another method.
• The value of trout and salmon does not justify banking time.

Cook and Drop the Fish

Fish at Barbarian Village, cook the inventory on the permanent fire, and drop the cooked fish. This can produce roughly 20,000 or more Fishing XP and approximately 30,000 Cooking XP per hour at suitable levels and efficiency.

The combined experience is useful for a new account even though the Fishing rate is lower than immediate dropping.

Cook and Bank the Fish

Cook at Barbarian Village, create a waka canoe, travel to Ferox Enclave, bank the food, and return by canoe.

This requires 57 Woodcutting and substantially reduces the Fishing rate. Use it only when you genuinely need the food supply.

Bank the Raw Fish

Banking raw trout and salmon can maintain a supply for later Cooking. It is rarely the best long-term choice for a main account because both fish are inexpensive and the bank trips add considerable downtime.

Catch Handling	Fishing Speed	Secondary Value
Drop raw fish	Fastest	None
Cook and drop	Moderate	Good Cooking XP
Cook and bank	Slow	Cooked food stockpile
Bank raw	Slow	Future Cooking supplies

Training Fishing and Cooking Together

Training two skills simultaneously is not automatically more efficient. The correct comparison is the total progress being made against the time added by Cooking and banking.

Cooking and dropping trout and salmon at Barbarian Village is the strongest combined option for most F2P players. The permanent fire eliminates woodcutting and firemaking downtime.

Recommended Combined-Skill Routine

1. Bring a fly fishing rod and feathers to Barbarian Village.
2. Catch a full inventory of trout and salmon.
3. Move to the permanent fire beside the fishing area.
4. Cook the full inventory.
5. Drop the cooked fish.
6. Return immediately to the fishing spot.

This is useful when both Fishing and Cooking are below your target levels. Once Cooking becomes less important, return to dropping the raw fish.

Do Not Bank Food Without a Use

Thousands of trout and salmon sitting in the bank are not automatically valuable. F2P combat eventually uses stronger food, and the fish may never be consumed.

Bank enough for current needs, then prioritize experience rather than accumulating supplies simply because dropping them feels wasteful.

High-Intensity F2P Fly Fishing

F2P players can accelerate fly fishing by using repeated actions to shorten or control the skilling cycle. Depending on the setup, this can increase rates from approximately 50,000 conventional XP per hour near level 99 to around 90,000 or more.

Possible F2P manipulation actions include:

• Eating cooked fish between catches.
• Using a needle on leather while carrying thread.
• Using snow produced by eligible holiday items.

General Method

1. Stand beside the fly-fishing spot with feathers and the required manipulation item.
2. Begin the repeated action that establishes the shortened cycle.
3. Click the fishing spot at the correct point in that cycle.
4. Drop fish between catch attempts.
5. Repeat without allowing the normal five-tick fishing cycle to take over.

The exact rhythm depends on the selected action. Start slowly and confirm that catches are occurring faster before trying to drop an entire inventory between cycles.

Is Tick Manipulation Worth Learning?

Use it when maximizing Fishing experience is genuinely important and you are comfortable maintaining frequent inputs.

Normal drop fishing is better when you want a relaxed session. An intensive method only saves time when you can perform it consistently for a meaningful portion of the grind.

A sustainable rate matters more than a theoretical one. Gaining 45,000 XP per hour for three hours produces more progress than gaining 80,000 XP per hour for twenty minutes and quitting.

Camdozaal Fishing for Fishing, Cooking, and Prayer

Fishing in the Ruins of Camdozaal becomes available after completing Below Ice Mountain. This is not a competitive method for Fishing experience. Its value comes from training Fishing, Cooking, and Prayer through one repeatable loop.

Requirements

Fish	Fishing Level	Cooking Level	Prayer XP
Guppy	7	7	4
Cavefish	20	20	7
Tetra	33	33	10

How the Method Works

1. Take the nearby small fishing net or bring your own.
2. Catch fish at the Camdozaal fishing spot.
3. Take a knife from beside the preparation table.
4. Prepare the fish at the table for Cooking experience.
5. Offer the prepared fish at the nearby altar.
6. Receive Prayer experience and repeat the loop.

Prepared fish can be ruined when the player's Cooking level is too low. Tetra stop being ruined at level 61 Cooking. The Preparation buff from Ramarno's Shard Exchange can reduce this problem earlier, while the Fishing buff slightly improves catch performance.

Expected Experience

At suitable Cooking levels and with decent execution, the method can provide approximately:

• 5,600 Fishing XP per hour.
• 7,400 Cooking XP per hour.
• 2,400 Prayer XP per hour.

These rates are poor if Fishing is the only target. They become more reasonable when Prayer is the actual bottleneck.

Who Should Use Camdozaal?

Use Camdozaal when:

• You need F2P Prayer experience.
• You want to train three skills without buying supplies.
• You are an Ironman conserving bones or GP.
• You prefer self-contained account progression over maximum rates.

Do not use it merely because it appears to be a later Fishing unlock. Fly fishing remains far faster.

Is F2P Fishing Good Money?

Fishing can provide starting GP, but it is generally a weak dedicated money-making skill in F2P. Banking routes are long, catches are slow, and food prices change with Grand Exchange supply.

Check current prices before committing to a method. The raw value of a fish does not show the complete hourly profit because banking time and mixed catches must also be considered.

Shrimp and Anchovies

Banking shrimp or anchovies can produce a small amount of early money. Draynor Village is the most convenient conventional bank, provided the Dark Wizards are not dangerous to your account.

This is suitable for purchasing basic tools or equipment. It is not a serious long-term money maker.

Why Selling to a General Store Is Usually Worse

General stores normally pay less than other players through the Grand Exchange. Selling fish to a nearby shop saves banking time but sacrifices value.

This can be acceptable when the goal is uninterrupted Fishing rather than maximum profit. It should not be confused with the most profitable way to sell the catch.

Levels 40-99: Lobster Fishing

Lobsters become available at level 40 and are caught with a lobster pot. The standard F2P location is Musa Point on Karamja.

They provide approximately 90 Fishing experience per catch but are caught slowly enough that hourly experience can remain around 12,000 or slightly higher.

How to Bank Lobsters

1. Bring a lobster pot and enough coins for the ship fare.
2. Travel from Port Sarim to Musa Point.
3. Catch a full inventory of lobsters.
4. Return to Port Sarim by ship.
5. Use the Bank Deposit Box near the Salvaging station.
6. Return to Karamja and repeat.

Players who have completed The Corsair Curse and Dragon Slayer I can use the Corsair Cove Resource Area as an alternative that avoids repeatedly paying the ship fare.

When Lobsters Are Worth Catching

Catch lobsters when:

• You need level-12 healing food.
• You want a familiar, low-effort banking method.
• You accept slower Fishing experience in exchange for retained value.

Do not switch from trout and salmon because level 40 makes lobsters look like the next training tier. They are a food and profit option, not an XP upgrade.

Levels 50-99: Tuna and Swordfish

Tuna are available at level 35 and swordfish at level 50. Both are caught from the same harpoon spots, meaning the inventory contains a mixture rather than only swordfish.

Fishing at Musa Point can produce approximately 17,000 Fishing XP per hour under ordinary conditions, although the exact result depends on level, banking, and catch distribution.

Banking Route

Use the same Port Sarim ship and deposit-box route described for lobsters. A harpoon is the only required Fishing tool.

Cooking on Karamja

Players can bring or buy a tinderbox, wield an axe, cut nearby trees, and cook the catch on the island.

This creates Fishing and Cooking experience but adds several steps:

• Cutting logs.
• Lighting fires.
• Cooking the mixed inventory.
• Dropping, selling, or banking the result.

Selling burnt fish to the general store for zero coins can sometimes clear an inventory faster than dropping each one individually, although it provides no value.

Are Swordfish Worth It?

Swordfish heal 14 Hitpoints and remain useful F2P combat food. Catch them when the food itself matters.

For Fishing experience, trout and salmon remain substantially better. For money, compare the current value against other F2P activities before committing a large number of hours.

F2P Ironman Fishing Route

F2P Ironmen should care more about the usefulness of the fish than its theoretical Grand Exchange value.

Recommended Progression

1. Net shrimp and anchovies to level 20.
2. Cook enough early fish to support quests and combat.
3. Fly fish trout and salmon at Barbarian Village.
4. Cook part of the catch until Cooking reaches the desired level.
5. Drop fish once the bank contains sufficient food.
6. Complete Below Ice Mountain.
7. Use Camdozaal when Prayer progress is more important than Fishing XP.
8. Catch lobsters or swordfish only when stronger food is specifically required.

Do Not Bank Everything

Ironmen often keep items because replacing them later requires gathering them again. That does not mean every trout or salmon should be banked.

Estimate how much food the account will actually consume in its current stage. Keeping a few hundred useful fish can make sense. Banking tens of thousands while severely slowing Fishing may not.

Camdozaal Has Greater Ironman Value

The Camdozaal method avoids purchasing Prayer supplies and combines three otherwise separate grinds. Its poor Fishing rate is less important when the account genuinely needs all three skills.

Common F2P Fishing Mistakes

Assuming Higher-Level Fish Give Better XP

Lobsters and swordfish provide more experience per catch but are caught much more slowly. Trout and salmon remain the fastest conventional route.

Banking Trout and Salmon Automatically

The catch has little value compared with the time spent banking. Keep what the account will use and drop the rest.

Training at Camdozaal for Fishing XP

Camdozaal is a Prayer-focused hybrid method. It should not replace fly fishing when level 99 Fishing is the primary objective.

Buying Too Few Feathers

Running out of feathers ends the session immediately. Purchase a large supply before beginning a long grind.

Cooking at Lumbridge Without Preparing

Lumbridge requires access to logs, an axe, and a tinderbox. Use Barbarian Village when you want a permanent fire with fewer steps.

Members have access to Tempoross, Barbarian Fishing, karambwan, Leechfin, and several other methods covered in our OSRS P2P Fishing Guide.

Using Tick Manipulation Without Practicing the Rhythm

Rapid clicks alone do not create higher rates. A poorly maintained manipulation cycle may provide little improvement over normal fishing.

Fishing for Profit Without Checking Prices

Grand Exchange values change. A method that was profitable in an older guide may no longer justify the banking time.

Keeping Fish With No Planned Use

A bank full of low-level food is not meaningful account progress if the food is never cooked, sold, or consumed.

Recommended F2P Fishing Routes to Level 99

Route	Progression	Best For
Fastest Conventional Route	Shrimp and anchovies, then dropped trout and salmon	Players prioritizing Fishing XP
High-Intensity Route	Early net fishing, then tick-manipulated trout and salmon	Players willing to maintain frequent inputs
Fishing and Cooking Route	Early fish, then cook and drop trout and salmon at Barbarian Village	New accounts training both skills
Prayer Route	Early fly fishing, then Camdozaal when Prayer becomes the priority	Players who need three skills and accept low Fishing XP
Food Route	Trout and salmon, then lobsters or swordfish as needed	Players building combat-food supplies
F2P Ironman Route	Cook early fish, use Barbarian Village, add Camdozaal and stronger food selectively	Self-sufficient accounts

Fastest Conventional Route

1. Catch shrimp from level 1 to 15.
2. Continue catching shrimp and anchovies to level 20.
3. Purchase a fly fishing rod and a large feather supply.
4. Fly fish at Barbarian Village or Lumbridge.
5. Drop the trout and salmon.
6. Continue the same method to level 99.

Fishing and Cooking Route

1. Cook shrimp and anchovies through the early levels.
2. Move to Barbarian Village at level 20 Fishing.
3. Catch a full inventory of trout and salmon.
4. Cook the fish on the permanent fire.
5. Drop the cooked fish rather than banking every inventory.
6. Return to raw drop fishing once Cooking reaches the desired target.

Prayer-Focused Route

1. Reach the Fishing and Cooking requirements for Camdozaal.
2. Complete Below Ice Mountain.
3. Catch guppy, cavefish, and tetra as they become available.
4. Prepare the fish at the nearby table.
5. Offer them at the altar for Prayer XP.
6. Return to fly fishing when Fishing becomes the main priority again.

Food-Collection Route

1. Use trout and salmon for the early and middle levels.
2. Cook and bank only the amount needed for current combat.
3. Catch lobsters at level 40 when level-12 healing food is useful.
4. Catch tuna and swordfish after level 50 when stronger food is required.
5. Return to fly fishing whenever faster Fishing levels matter more than supplies.

Level 20 Unlocks the Method That Can Carry You to 99

F2P Fishing does not require a complicated progression chart. Shrimp and anchovies cover the first 20 levels, while trout and salmon provide the best conventional experience for the remainder of the skill.

The meaningful choices happen around that route. Cook the fish when Cooking progress matters. Bank them when you have a real use for the food. Use Camdozaal when Prayer is more valuable than Fishing speed. Catch lobsters or swordfish when you want the food or profit, not because their higher requirements make them look like superior training methods.

For most players, Barbarian Village is the strongest all-purpose location because it supports dropping, Cooking, and canoe transportation. Lumbridge remains a convenient alternative, particularly for new accounts.

There is no problem with choosing a slower method when it advances another goal. The mistake is believing that the slower method is also the fastest Fishing route. Decide what the session is meant to accomplish, then use the method that delivers that result directly.

Players considering the additional methods available on members worlds can read is OSRS membership worth it?. Our article covering whether OSRS is worth playing in 2026 also explains the game's wider progression and current appeal.

Written by: Drew B.
Last verified: July 2026
Game version: Current live Old School RuneScape
Testing note: This guide combines current game mechanics and researched training comparisons. MMOWire has not benchmarked every route under identical conditions. Experience rates vary with Fishing level, fishing-spot movement, dropping speed, banking, Cooking, tick manipulation, and player attention.