Fishing lure
Fishing lures are consumable items that allow you to increase your fishing skill for a short amount of time. Since Warlords of Draenor, some lures known as fishing bait instead increase the chance to catch specific kinds of fish or other items. Some fishing hats also simulate the use of a fishing lure without consuming an item.
Traditional lures
Lures of various qualities and types temporarily increase overall fishing skill (in all fishing skill tracks). Some may be bought from vendors, some are found as loot, and some are crafted by professions such as engineering.
| Lure | +Skill | Min skill | Length | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 [Glass Fishing Bobber] |
+2 | 0 | 10 | Racial capital fishing dailies |
 [Shiny Bauble] |
+3 | 0 | 10 | Vendors (50 )
|
 [Aquadynamic Fish Lens] |
+5 | 50 | 10 |  [Stendel's Bane] (Westfall)
|
 [Nightcrawlers] |
+5 | 50 | 10 | Vendors (1 ), various undead
|
| [Flesh Eating Worm] |
+7 | 100 | 10 | Rotted One (Duskwood) |
 [Bright Baubles] |
+7 | 100 (Classic fishing) | 10 | Vendors (2 50)
|
 [Aquadynamic Fish Attractor] |
+9 | 100 (Classic fishing) | 10 | Vendors (2 50)
|
 [Sharpened Fish Hook] |
+9 | 1 (Outland fishing) | 10 | Outland dailies |
 [Glow Worm] |
+9 | 1 (Northrend fishing) | 60 | Northrend dailies |
 [Feathered Lure] |
+9 | 75 (Cataclysm fishing) | 10 | 1 Cataclysm Cooking |
 [Day-Old Darkmoon Doughnut] |
+10 | 1 | 10 | Darkmoon Faire |
 [Heat-Treated Spinning Lure] |
+10 | 1 (Cataclysm fishing) | 15 | Engineering |
 [Worm Supreme] |
+10 | 100 (Draenor fishing) | 10 | Draenor fishing |
Fishing lures create a temporary buff to fishing skill as an enchantment on a character's fishing pole, which is equipped in the fishing journal interface. These buffs stack with enhancements to fishing skill from other fishing gear. Only one lure can be used at a time, including fish-specific bait.
Traditional fishing lures increase fishing skill to be able to fish in a more difficult location or to be able to fish there reliably. Higher skill increases reliability, meaning fewer junk items will be fished up. Fishing skill above the skill required for 100% catch rate in an area is wasted, so it is not always beneficial to equip a lure. However, high level fishing areas such as Uldum may still produce junk even at maximum skill, so fishing lures are always useful somewhere.
Fishing hats
The 
[Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat], 
[Nat's Hat] and 
[Nat's Drinking Hat] are equippable items, not lures, but using them "pulls a lure from the hat" and allows it to be applied to the pole like any other lure. Their cooldown period allows the lure to be re-applied immediately after expiration, so the character can continually benefit from the lure-style bonus without the need to consume further items. It may still be advantageous to consume a stronger lure or a desired type of bait.
Bait
Variety-specific bait lures have been available in most expansions since World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor. In some expansions they bias fishing catches towards a certain type of fish, while in others they enable catching of rare or special fish which would normally be impossible. The process of catching rare fish to obtain an 
[Underlight Angler] is particularly known for its complex use of baits. Bait lures are compatible with traditional lures; both can be applied to a pole at the same time.
Draenor
Bait for Draenor fish is a simple affair, increasing the appearance rate of the given type of fish. The bait items are fished up from the same zones the corresponding fish can be caught in. Bait does not mimic the other effects of fishing from pools of the corresponding type, namely the potential to fish up lunkers (or 
[Felblight]).
- * These baits work in the garrison fishing pond, and can also drop from the Frostdeep Cavedweller and Lunarfall Cavedweller.
Draenor fish must be filleted to get their flesh for cooking. A 
[Bladebone Hook] can be attached to a pole in the same manner as a lure to perform this process automatically upon catching the fish. It is not itself a lure, and can be used at the same time as bait and traditional lures.
Broken Isles
Rare fish of the Broken Isles cannot be caught without specific bait. These items can be caught in the Broken Isles, with chances that can be increased by an 
[Arcane Lure]; it can also be caught from a 
[Hyper-Compressed Ocean]. They can also be purchased from vendors using tokens fished up nearby, or traded with other players.
The exact mechanism of the bait varies; some are traditional lures while others take the form of character buffs. Several items work in pairs, where the first item is fished or purchased, then used in some way to obtain the actual bait. A few baits involve interacting with NPCs or objects, and two reveal hidden fishing pools. They all have a very short duration.
Dalaran
Marcia Chase, next to the Dalaran fountain, sells eight baits that theoretically help fish up all the fountain's coins to complete 
[The Wish Remover].
Kul Tiras and Zandalar
The only bait for the fish of Battle for Azeroth is the 
[Scarlet Herring Lure], which claims to help catch 
[Midnight Salmon]. However, this may be a joke item, as its name is a pun on "red herring". This lure is crafted with leatherworking and is one of the only reusable lures.
Shadowlands
The Shadowlands have simple baits for each fish, which are purchaseable from vendors and fishable themselves. There is also the special 
[Aurelid Lure] used to summon a rare monster.
| Item | Region | Source | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
 [Lost Sole Bait] |
Any Shadowlands | Fished, vendor | Increases  [Lost Sole] chance
|
 [Iridescent Amberjack Bait] |
Ardenweald | Fished, vendor | Increases  [Iridescent Amberjack] chance
|
 [Pocked Bonefish Bait] |
Maldraxxus | Fished, vendor | Increases  [Pocked Bonefish] chance
|
 [Silvergill Pike Bait] |
Bastion | Fished, vendor | Increases  [Silvergill Pike] chance
|
 [Spinefin Piranha Bait] |
Revendreth | Fished, vendor | Increases  [Spinefin Piranha] chance
|
 [Elysian Thade Bait] |
Any Shadowlands | Fished, vendor | Increases  [Elysian Thade] chance
|
 [Precursor Placoderm Bait] |
Zereth Mortis | Fished, vendor | Increases  [Precursor Placoderm] chance
|
| [Aurelid Lure] |
Dimensional Falls in Zereth Mortis |
Baroness Vashj | Spawns fishing pool which summons Hirukon upon any catch |
["The Brokers Angle'r"] fishing rod increases the chance to catch the fishable bait items in the realm, with the exception of [Precursor Placoderm Bait].
Dragon Isles
The Dragon Isles has several simple bait items, crafted with skinning, which increase the incidence of certain fish. There is also a special lure that allows "fishing up" an elite lava worm in the Waking Shores.
| Item | Fish | Effect | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
 [Aileron Seamoth Lure] |
 [Aileron Seamoth] |
Increases Seamoth catch chance. | Skinning |
 [Cerulean Spinefish Lure] |
 [Cerulean Spinefish] |
Increases Spinefish catch chance. | Skinning |
 [Scalebelly Mackerel Lure] |
 [Scalebelly Mackerel] |
Increases Mackerel catch chance. | Skinning |
 [Temporal Dragonhead Lure] |
 [Temporal Dragonhead] |
Increases Dragonhead catch chance. | Skinning |
| [Thousandbite Piranha Lure] |
 [Thousandbite Piranha] |
Increases Piranha catch chance. | Skinning |
| [Islefin Dorado Lure] |
 [Islefin Dorado] |
Increases Dorado catch chance. | Skinning |
 [Lava Spices] |
Enkine the Voracious | Allows Enkine to be summoned by fishing south of Obsidian Citadel. | Drop |