I wish they would make fishing skill mean more, I've felt kind of ripped off ever since I've capped my skill...It's a bit heartbreaking to see a low level fishing bot mosey on up next to me and catch the same stuff I'm targeting.
You wouldn't see a level 1 crafter making stuff that was level 100 cap, in fact your not even allowed to try. So why can a level 1 fisher with a Lu Rod practically catch any fish in the game.
A change that would only allow you to only catch fish that are 20 skill away from you would be great, it would give people who put the time and effort into fishing more opportunity to profit, and also give them a stronger sense of pride in their craft. Not to mention it would hurt all the fish RMT out there for a while.
I know it's always been this way but it's just wrong.
I really want to agree with you, but it's very hard to support that.
The most obvious reason would be because there is fish beyond level 120.
Another reason is that it being fishing, you have the world to explore and find fish you want to catch. That is why its open to all levels for the most part.
I agree that someone with level 0 fishing shouldn't be with people with level 50 fishing, or someone with level 30 fishing at level 80 fishing spots. It just is hard to prove why they shouldn't be there.
For the most part the majority of fishers NPC fish. It is instant gil, no waiting and nothing sits for days an gets sent back to you. The prices are always stable, not always the best but stable and that is a good thing.
As a fisher who skilled up to 100 on PS2 I also have the same opinion that people should earn their way up to 100, but sadly that also can't be justified anymore because of abyssea and "easy mode" whether you agree with that label or not. People really don't want to spend months leveling fishing the old fashioned way and although I don't agree with how they are doing it, I guess it brings more people fishing which I don't see very much anymore and like to see someone out fishing other than me (gets boring never seeing anyone fishing near you).
Also, one of the rules in this topic is absolutely no bot talk period, and I know you're not generally talking about bots but still. I don't see RMT as much as a problem now, I haven't seen any obvious RMT in over two years now. I'm sure on the most popular servers there might be some I'm just saying that I don't notice it. I also mostly hang out at ebisu spots too though so that would explain why.
Just because others bot, and others use this fact to claim that fishing skill is too easy and shouldn't be an accomplishment (past drama on this site) doesn't make your own personal accomplishment any less valuable. Other peoples actions shouldn't determine the worth of yours, and if you did it on your own the way you should you should feel proud enough for what you've done. It might not be seen as that by the community but who cares, only opinion that should matter is yours.