I haven't seen or found a lot on the fishing subject in these forums. If there are tons, I apologize for a duplicate post and for my inability to find others. Anyway...

I'm disappointed with fishing. It is, in one word, boring. Here's why:

• It's nearly completely dependent on RNG. The only controllable variable is the type of water I'm fishing in.
• There are no equipment or skills that help me fish in any way. There is one food I can consume that helps me see the fishing holes, but that's barely a help at all, especially during the day.
• There is nothing involved in actually catching fish except pressing a button when the time is correct.
• Filleting fish is terribly time consuming.

So, fishing is boring. The only thing I can choose when fishing is the type of water I fish in. Since the type of bait I use is dependent on the type of water, that's not even a choice. Plus, even though there are two types of bait for each type of fishing spot, neither is better than the other as far as I understand it. So, what's the point in having two? What's the point in having one? We have regular ol' "bait," but there's no point in purchasing or using it even if you got it for free since there a relatively high chance you won't catch squat with it. So, it's useless. There's nothing else that can be changed by the player when fishing except for consuming the only fishing food I know of which simply lights up fishing spots similar to mining nodes if you have the appropriate skill. But, it's food, so it only lasts so long and, since it's food, the buff gets overwritten if you decide to eat something else. The actual fishing itself is just a boring mess because all that's done is pressing a button when something is on your line and hope for the best. You could also hope other people happen along and partake in this travesty called fishing in order to boost the rewards gotten from it, but that's a lot of hope. I wouldn't ask anyone else to join you, though. That's just insulting.

So, here are some things that would like to see, in no particular order:

• Let's have a fishing skill line! Possible passives would be increasing the chances for gunny sacks and other rewards, the ability to light up fishing holes like other mining skills, fishing hireling, an area of effect boon to help other people around you who are fishing with you as well as yourself, being able to fillet more fish at a time, and increasing chances for Perfect Roe when filleting.
• Change the way bait works! Bait is pretty redundant. I don't mind seeing bait that's specific for a particular type of water, but if we have more than one, then there needs to be a differentiating factor. Does this bait catch higher quality fish? Is it better for nabbing gunny sacks or furniture types? Is it possible to catch multiple basic fish with it? I want to choose bait based on what I want to fish for in addition to where I plan to fish at. Also, get rid of that basic bait. It actually ruins the fishing experience as it stands at the moment if one uses it. Once you learn that the other bait actually catch fish, you never use the basic ever. EVER. The basic baits should be the worms, chub, insect parts, and guts.
• Equipment with fishing in mind! This actually goes for any crafting profession. I want equipment that helps with mining and/or crafting. I don't see how it would help with crafting what with the way crafting works in ESO, but definitely mining. Speed up my mining/fishing, allow me to get more or better stuff, etc. One's equipment doesn't have to ONLY be about combat.
• Craftable bait! This would be perfect for other professions. I want to be able to craft those different types of bait such as what I listed previously. I don't see why improving the fishing experience can't involve other aspects of ESO.
• Fishing specific food! Like equipment, food and drink doesn't need to solely revolve around combat. Let me have some kind of fishing/mining buff.
• Make it more exciting! Mining is mining. Chopping wood is chopping wood and pulling weeds for alchemy or clothing is just so. The most exciting craft farming is for leather which involves battle as it's the only regular way to obtain the materials apart from deconstructing and heavy sacks. I don't think there's really any way to make those things more fun and their simplicity in gathering makes them perfect for what they are. It's dangerous to get materials, but if you're quick and cunning, you can get away relatively unscathed. Plus, if you have the champion points, you can cut actual gathering time in half. In other words, gathering materials for the crafting professions really isn't boring, though I probably wouldn't call it exciting. However, fishing is different. Fishing is an activity that involves more thought than "where do I want to fish?" It involves thought in bait and timing on the line. But, it also involves the battle between man (or woman) and fish! I want something that represents that in ESO. I want to not just an improvement of bait and location and equipment, I want to be able to fight for that fish in some way, to keep me involved in the fishing process instead of waiting for the extended controller feedback or audio queues.

Fishing in ESO doesn't have to be boring. It doesn't have to be a necessary, but evil grind-fest. It could be a fun experience. The last improvement I listed would probably be the most difficult of all to implement, but even without making the actual catching of fish some kind of mini-game, the other improvements would dramatically improve the fishing experience. Everything else in the game makes me feel good about what I'm doing: I'm a master gatherer, master crafter, I'm great at combat or support, I run dungeons or trials really well... If I spent the same amount of time fishing as I did with other activities other people would not be wrong in thinking that I was bored out of my mind the entire time. I want to actually be good at fishing because the game makes me feel that way, not because someone sees a boat in my house. That thing is only proof that I spent way more time mindlessly pressing one button more than other buttons all over Tamriel. Thanx for reading!