Drift Net Fishing Guide (230k XP/HR) OSRS


Date	2022-03-23
Type	guide
Video	youtu.be/Hs2ur8jhnto

Summary

A guide to Drift net fishing on Fossil Island, a combined Fishing and Hunter training method that Gnomonkey calls incredibly underlooked. It covers requirements, setup, the tagging basics, speed techniques such as the net-removal method, and the rewards.

Outline

0:00 Intro: Drift net fishing as a combined Fishing and Hunter method, with Gnomonkey's rates
0:19 Requirements, supplies and attire
1:57 Location and entering the underwater area
2:22 Setup: tile indicators, nets and Driftnet plugin tag timeout
2:45 Basics: tagging fish with the trident so they swim into nets
3:18 Bank method for full nets
3:57 Tile block method
4:26 Net removal method
4:47 Loot and costs
5:09 Fossils
5:25 Conclusion: best for alts and early Hunter levels

Topics covered

Drift net fishing

(0:00) Gnomonkey calls Drift net fishing an incredibly underlooked training method that he only recently learned was decent; it is one of the combination training methods on Fossil Island, giving Fishing and Hunter XP together.
(0:00) Gnomonkey obtained 90k Fishing XP per hour and 120k Hunter XP per hour from Drift net fishing and says higher is certainly possible.
(0:29) Drift net fishing needs a minimum of 44 Hunter and 47 Fishing; the XP rate scales up until 70 Hunter and Fishing, which gives the maximum rate, but there is no hard drop-off at lower levels.
(0:29) Gnomonkey says Drift net fishing is the best XP rate for Hunter alone from level 47 up to at least level 73, when black chinchompas become available.
(0:29) At bare minimum stat requirements the OSRS Wiki shows 64k Fishing XP and 80k Hunter XP per hour for Drift net fishing, which Gnomonkey says is on the lower end.
(0:57) Drift net fishing requires any Dragon harpoon or any Trident variant (Seas or Swamp), which Gnomonkey says could be a challenge on an Ironman.
(0:57) Drift net fishing needs the diving apparatus from the Recipe for Disaster Freeing Pirate Pete subquest, a flippers drop from Mogres, and full Graceful.
(0:57) Use about a hundred drift nets an hour; buy drift nets, stamina potions and numulite at the Grand Exchange beforehand, and bring the nets in noted form.
(1:30) Gnomonkey's Drift net fishing attire is Graceful body, legs and gloves, fishbowl helmet and diving apparatus, and flippers, which provide infinite oxygen and the ability to run.
(1:30) For the Drift net fishing inventory Gnomonkey brings eight to twelve stamina potions, a stack of numulite and his noted drift nets; he says the activity also benefits from a ring of inurns (as transcribed) if you own one, but he is not buying one for his alt.
(1:57) Drift net fishing is next to the seaweed patches on Fossil Island: take the boat north of the island out to sea, right-click the boat and choose dive, then head to the cave with a mermaid and pay to enter.
(1:57) Entry to the Drift net fishing area costs 200 numulite for the day or 20k numulite for permanent access.
(1:57) Enter the Drift net fishing area without the trident equipped and equip it once inside the main area.
(1:57) Right-click Exchange on the mermaid to store drift nets and withdraw them as you use them, then set a net over each barrier; each net holds up to ten caught fish before it needs to be removed.
(2:22) In the RuneLite Driftnet plugin Gnomonkey raises the tag timeout to a higher tick number, setting it to 40 ticks.
(2:45) In Drift net fishing a fish must be tagged with your trident to be caught in a net; fish tagged outside the tile markers swim directly into a net given the chance, and XP is given for each fish caught in any net.
(2:45) Gnomonkey's Drift net fishing priority is tagging any fish near a net first, then moving on to the further ones until more appear closer; a fish tagged inside the markers can still be caught if it wanders near a net.
(3:07) If a fish wanders near a full drift net and tries to enter, its tag resets as though you never tagged it.
(3:18) The intended way to deal with a full drift net is to open it and click the bank icon, paying some numulite for the mermaids to bank the catch; this is required if you want medium clues or fossils, and the fish themselves (mostly anchovies and sardines) have very low monetary value.
(3:42) Removal method found by Gnomonkey's clanmate Saxer Pillar: hold the one key down (with software or a physical wedge) and click the full net, then click it again a tick later to remove and replace it with zero delay; this loses a minor amount of loot but speeds XP by ten to twenty percent.
(3:57) Gnomonkey's tile block method: when a net fills, stand on a marked block tile to keep fish away from the net until you replace it, then move so they all enter in single file immediately, which boosts XP rates.
(4:13) Fish tend to clump up by the entrance; if you can tag and also move through them, this frees them to path around, possibly towards a net, which can boost XP.
(4:13) Final efficiency tip: remove nets before they are full if they are close to full and many fish need attention at the other net; Gnomonkey says this is a nuanced technique he was not yet using in the footage.
(4:26) A friend of Gnomonkey (named Saxer Pillar in the transcript), using the net removal strategy, reached 100k Fishing XP per hour and 130k Hunter XP per hour with some practice.
(4:47) Banking the catch in Drift net fishing yields a lot of fossils, some medium clues, and roughly 100k gp in loot per hour.
(4:47) Drift nets cost about 200k gp per hour, so Drift net fishing is not profit; Gnomonkey says sacrificing the loot for more XP is worth it if you can do a low moneymaker such as herb runs.
(4:47) Drift nets cost about 1.25 gp per XP at level 70 Fishing and Hunter, and a bit more at lower levels.
(5:09) Gnomonkey says Drift net fishing is an okay source of fossils if you bank the loot, but recommends finishing the Fossil Island museum via sulliuscep woodcutting on an account since that is the best fossil source in the game.
(5:09) Gnomonkey says the point of Drift net fishing is basically to pay for efficient Hunter and Fishing XP, and that it benefits from quick net removal.
(5:09) Drift net fishing has zero pet chance for either Fishing or Hunter, which Gnomonkey says makes it particularly good on an alt since you do not care about those pets, or if you already have the heron.
(5:25) Gnomonkey says Drift net fishing cannot really be beaten for the early Hunter levels.

Hunter

(0:00) Gnomonkey gets 120k Hunter XP per hour from Drift net fishing, which he says competes fairly well with dedicated intensive Hunter methods on its own.
(0:57) If you want more Hunter XP alongside Drift net fishing, buy supplies for birdhouses so you can do a birdhouse run while nearby when they are ready.
(1:30) Gnomonkey wears a digsite pendant when doing birdhouse runs on Fossil Island alongside Drift net fishing.

Fishing

(0:00) Gnomonkey gets 90k Fishing XP per hour from Drift net fishing, which he says competes fairly well with dedicated intensive Fishing methods on its own.
(0:00) Gnomonkey says the combined Fishing and Hunter XP rate of Drift net fishing is absurdly fast, especially given the maximum rate needs only 70 Hunter and 70 Fishing.