A dedicated Old School RuneScape player has achieved the ultimate fishing mastery by reaching level 99 using only the game's most basic equipment: the Small Net. This significant undertaking, which took the player two years and three months, involved catching a total of 532,960 fish.
This remarkable feat was accomplished by player Bosby_, who treated fishing as a secondary activity while engaged with other tasks. They primarily fished for shrimp and anchovies in a convenient location near a bank in Al Kharid. This allowed for quick disposal of full inventories and minimal disruption to their other in-game or real-world activities. Bosby_ reported an average experience rate of approximately 3,000 experience per hour due to the highly automated nature of this playstyle, which they describe as "AFK" or "away from keyboard."
The journey began on May 11, 2024, and concluded on August 7 of this year, accumulating a total playtime of 4,304 hours. Throughout this period, Bosby_ caught 275,196 raw shrimp and 257,064 raw anchovies. These beginner-level fish provide minimal experience points, contributing to the extended duration required to reach the maximum fishing level. The player maintained this challenge on a free-to-play account, incurring no monetary cost for the progression.
What started as a "joke idea" within Bosby_'s friend group ultimately became a test of dedication. Despite some detractors in the game's community questioning the accomplishment's significance, Bosby_ offered a philosophical response: "Nothing matters." The player also expressed a sense of nostalgia, noting, "I will miss catching those lil water bugs."