GoneFishing - Because Fishing Sucks™

What is GoneFishing?

GoneFishing is a fishing assistance program for World of Warcraft. It automates the process of casting and reeling in your fish when you catch them. It's as simple as that.

Isn't this a violation of the WoW Terms of Service (ToS)?

Yes. Using GoneFishing to fish for you is totally, 100%, against the ToS. Use this at your own risk -- you might get your account banned (and don't say I didn't warn you). However, if you are smart about when and how you use it, you probably won't get caught. See "How to not be stupid" further down the page.

What do I need to run this?

Mac OS 10.4 or later (Tiger+Leopard) is required to run GoneFishing. It should work on both Intel and PPC systems.

Why did you make this?

Because Fishing Sucks.™ Seriously, I hate it, and I don't understand anybody who can do it without wanting to gouge his or her eyes out. Then I thought to myself, "I wonder if I can make something do this for me...". And I did.

Is GoneFishing free?

Yes. The ability to fish endlessly is available free to everyone. GoneFishing never expires. There are, however, some additional features that require a $7 upgrade/donation. These specific extra features (automatic lure application & a timer option) in no way hamper your ability to fish normally, you just need to apply lures (if you use them) yourself. Nevertheless, if you are feeling generous and want to encourage updates to the program, you can find more information about upgrading here.

Sweet. Where do I download it?

Right here. And you can check out the screenshot to the right if you're interested in seeing it before you download. That's me fishing wit' mah boy Natty-P.

Now how do I use this thing?

Glad you asked. There are two main things you need to do before you can fish successfully.

Set your Preferences.
  1. Choose a good "Bobber Color". The "Bobber Color" is the color used to identify the fishing bobber on the screen.

    Navigate to the "Bobber" tab in the Preferences window, where you will see a "Bobber scan color" option with a color well next to it. Click the color well to bring up the color selection window. The best way to choose the correct color is to click the magnifying glass icon and then click on the color you want to use. The red feather on the bobber is often the best, most distinguishable color to choose. So open WoW, manually cast your line, and then choose the color from the bobber itself.

  2. Set your Fishing hotkey. This is the WoW key combination that will be pressed to make your character fish. It should be bound to your fishing ability in WoW.

    Click the "Hotkeys" tab in the Preferences window. The first hotkey at the top, titled "Fishing ability hotkey", should be set to whatever hotkey you use to cast in WoW. Enter the key to press in the text field here. If you use the default value of "1", that means your fishing ability should be in the "1" spot on your hotbar in WoW. GoneFishing will simulate this hotkey when it expects you to cast.
Configure WoW.
  1. Add the fishing ability to a hotbar somewhere and make sure it is bound to the same key-combination you entered in the preferences.
  2. Turn on Auto-Loot from the "Interface Options" window. This allows you to easily loot any fish you catch.
  3. It helps a lot to disable "Click to Move" (if you use it). Click to move often results in your character dead underwater after a false-positive...
  4. Turn your graphics up as far as you can, especially full screen glow. Higher graphics makes on-screen colors more vivid, helping to identify your bobber.
  5. Find a good spot to fish, and zoom your camera all the way in until you are in first person view. Make sure your character isn't obscuring any part of the screen.
Now you're ready to fish!.

How do I not be stupid?

Another good question. The most important thing is to not draw attention to yourself. Don't tell people what you're doing, and don't fish in conspicuous areas where many are likely to pass near you. Also, it's best to not leave the program running un-attended -- check in on it every once in a while to make sure everything is still working as expected (for example, check it during commercials). I really caution against letting it run overnight... that's begging to get caught.

ZOMG it totally doesn't work!

I promise you that it does work. See "How do I use this thing?" above. Double and triple check your "Bobber Color" to make sure you've got a good one, and find a fishing area where the lighting is uniform (ie, not half in the sun and half in the shade).

No, I mean I found a bug.

Oh, yeah, there's probably a bunch. Please drop me a line and tell me about it so I can fix it. :) Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy GoneFishing. If you have any feature ideas or questions, send me an email.