How to Get the Salty Title: Complete Accomplished Angler Achievement Guide

The "Salty" title is one of the most prestigious titles in World of Warcraft. Displayed before your character name, it tells everyone you are a master angler who has conquered every fishing challenge the game has to offer. Earning it requires completing the Accomplished Angler meta-achievement, which spans dozens of sub-achievements across multiple fishing activities. This guide walks you through every requirement and the fastest strategies to complete them.

Accomplished Angler: The Requirements

The Accomplished Angler meta-achievement requires completing all of the following sub-achievements:

Achievement	Requirement	Difficulty
Master Angler of Azeroth	Win the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza	Hard (competitive)
One That Didn't Get Away	Catch one of several rare fish	Moderate (RNG)
The Oceanographer	Catch 33 different saltwater fish	Easy (time)
The Limnologist	Catch 28 different freshwater fish	Easy (time)
The Lurker Above	Fish up The Lurker Below in Serpentshrine Cavern	Easy
The Old Gnome and the Sea	Win the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby	Hard (competitive)
The Fishing Diplomat	Fish in Orgrimmar and Stormwind	Easy (risky for opposite faction)
Old Crafty / Old Ironjaw	Catch Old Crafty (Orgrimmar) or Old Ironjaw (Ironforge)	Moderate (RNG + faction risk)
The Coin Master	Fish up all coins from the Dalaran fountain	Easy (time)
The Scavenger	Fish up various items from floating wreckage	Easy (time)

Achievement-by-Achievement Breakdown

Master Angler of Azeroth (Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza)

This is widely considered the hardest sub-achievement because it requires winning a server-wide competitive event. The Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza runs every Sunday from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM server time. You must be the first player to catch 40 Speckled Tastyfish and turn them in to Riggle Bassbait in Booty Bay.

Strategies for winning:

• Set your Hearthstone to Booty Bay before the event starts
• Scout the coastline beforehand to plan your fishing route
• Fish the southeast coast of Stranglethorn — fewer aggressive mobs, though potentially more players
• Use the best fishing lure available to minimize failed catches
• On PvP servers, bring friends for protection or fish at the far northern end where fewer players go
• Be prepared to attempt this multiple weeks — competition can be fierce

One That Didn't Get Away

This achievement requires catching at least one of several rare fish. These are extremely low drop rate catches that can come from open-water fishing in various zones. The eligible rare fish include:

• 15 Pound Mud Snapper
• 22 Pound Lobster
• 52 Pound Redgill
• 68 Pound Grouper
• 103 Pound Mightfish
• Rockhide Strongfish
• Steelscale Crushfish
• Dark Herring

The good news is you only need to catch one of them. The bad news is that each has a drop rate well below 1%. The best strategy is simply to fish a lot — the more casts you make, the better your odds. Many of these rare fish come from open-water fishing in level-appropriate zones.

The Oceanographer and The Limnologist

These two achievements require catching a wide variety of saltwater (33) and freshwater (28) fish respectively. There is no trick to these — you simply need to fish in many different zones across multiple expansions to collect all the fish types.

An efficient approach:

1. Open your achievement tracker and see which fish you are missing
2. Look up where each missing fish can be caught (Wowhead is invaluable here)
3. Plan a route that hits multiple zones per session
4. Fish in each zone until you catch the required species, then move on

Most players complete these naturally over time, but if you are targeting them specifically, a dedicated session of zone-hopping can knock them out in a few hours.

The Lurker Above

This achievement requires fishing up The Lurker Below, a raid boss in Serpentshrine Cavern (SSC). You need to fish in the "Strange Pool" in the center of the Lurker's platform. The boss will eventually spawn from the water. You do not need to defeat it — just fish it up.

In modern WoW, you can solo this at max level. Walk into SSC, clear to the Lurker's platform, and start fishing in the pool. The Lurker spawns after a few catches. This is one of the easiest sub-achievements.

The Old Gnome and the Sea (Kalu'ak Fishing Derby)

The Kalu'ak Fishing Derby is a Saturday event (similar to the Stranglethorn Extravaganza but in Northrend). You must catch a Blacktip Shark and turn it in first. This event exists in Wrath of the Lich King content.

The competition is typically less fierce than the Stranglethorn event, but the same principles apply: prepare your Hearthstone, know the fishing spots, and use the best lures available.

The Fishing Diplomat

This achievement requires fishing in both Orgrimmar (Horde capital) and Stormwind (Alliance capital). For one faction, this means infiltrating the enemy capital. In practice:

• Alliance fishing in Orgrimmar: Sneak in through the back entrance near the Valley of Honor. The fishing spot is the pond in the Valley of Honor. You can often fish for a few minutes before being noticed.
• Horde fishing in Stormwind: Enter through the canals. The canal waterways provide multiple fishing spots. Try during off-peak hours.

You only need to catch one fish in each city. A stealth class (rogue, druid) makes this significantly easier.

Old Crafty and Old Ironjaw

Old Crafty is a rare fish caught in Orgrimmar, and Old Ironjaw is a rare fish caught in Ironforge. You only need one of them for the meta-achievement. Like One That Didn't Get Away, these are low drop rate catches that require patience.

• Old Crafty — Fish in the Valley of Honor pond in Orgrimmar. Horde characters can farm this safely. Alliance players need to be sneaky.
• Old Ironjaw — Fish in the Forlorn Cavern in Ironforge. Alliance characters can farm freely. Horde players need to infiltrate.

The Coin Master

Fish coins from the Dalaran fountain until you have caught every coin type. There are copper, silver, and gold coins referencing various WoW characters and lore figures. This is purely a time investment — fish the fountain until you have them all. The coins have a good drop rate, so this achievement usually takes 1-2 hours of dedicated fishing.

The Scavenger

Fish up various items from floating wreckage pools. These are the "Debris" and "Wreckage" pools that spawn along coastlines and contain items like bolts of cloth, leather, gems, and other salvage. Fish enough wreckage pools to collect all the required items.

The Stranglethorn Vale coastline is one of the best locations for wreckage pools. Combine this with Tastyfish farming for the Extravaganza to double up on progress.

Optimal Order of Completion

Since some achievements are time-gated, plan your approach in this order:

1. Start the Extravaganza immediately — This is weekly and competitive. Begin attempting it as soon as possible since it may take many tries.
2. Do the Kalu'ak Derby — Also weekly (Saturday). Alternate between this and the Extravaganza.
3. Work on Oceanographer and Limnologist — Fish in varied zones during the week between tournaments.
4. Farm The Lurker Above — Quick solo trip to SSC. Takes 15 minutes.
5. Do The Fishing Diplomat — One quick trip to the enemy capital. 5 minutes if you are fast.
6. Farm Old Crafty or Old Ironjaw — Can take 30 minutes to several hours depending on luck.
7. Complete The Coin Master — Dalaran fountain fishing for 1-2 hours.
8. Complete The Scavenger — Wreckage pool fishing along coastlines.
9. Let One That Didn't Get Away come naturally — It will happen eventually through your other fishing.

"The Salty title is not just an achievement — it is a statement. It says you have mastered every aspect of WoW fishing and had the patience to prove it."

The road to Salty is a marathon, but each sub-achievement is satisfying in its own right. Track your progress, plan around the weekly tournaments, and enjoy the journey. When you finally see that green "Accomplished Angler" completion flash across your screen, you will know you have earned one of the most respected titles in World of Warcraft.