The Minion itself can only be caught while under the effect of the Fisher Action “Snagging”. You generally want to use “Brute Leech”, which can be bought using Gatherer’s White Scrips at any Collectible Vendor. If you don’t want to grind for the Scrips to purchase that bait, there is an alternative. You can simply head to Limsa Lominsa and purchase a “Versatile Lure”. The Merchant & Mender (Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks, X:3 Y:13) sells it for a mere 300 Gil. Added in Patch 5.2, this Lure can be used to catch the majority of fish in the Waters of Eorzea. Or at least the lower level ones from previous Expansions, the Magic Bucket Minion included! Be prepared to dust off your fishing rod, and have some patience. And not the Fisher skill Patience, just plain-old actual patience.
Fishing For The Magic Bucket
The Magic Bucket Minion is notoriously hard to catch. It has an appearance rate of roughly 0.6%. That’s minnow-scule. So here’s some quick tips to maximize the many hours you might spend in the icy wilds of Western Coerthas:
Tip 1:
The Magic Bucket will only appear on a large tug, denoted by three exclamation points (!!!) above your character’s head. Only two other fish (Mountain Kraken & Captain Nemo) in South Banepool have this marker, one being weather-dependent. If you’ve Leveled your Fisher to 71, you can use the Action “Surface Slap” to prevent hooking one of the other large fish. This means if the weather is right, the next large tug will be your Magic Bucket.
Tip 2:
It actually isn’t worth catching fish on anything other than a large tug here. Since you’re here for the Minion, the animation from catching fish actually makes it take longer. They can’t escape with your Versatile Lure anyway, so just don’t press Catch.
Tip 3:
Remember that you must use Snagging otherwise the Magic Bucket will not be catchable, regardless of bait.
Tip 4:
Try to avoid snow and blizzards in the Coerthas Western Highlands. This weather condition actually decreases your odds, since the third large fish is available during this weather. Keep these things in mind, and be prepared to wait quite a while. It can take you anywhere from 100 to 1,000 casts to actually catch the Magic Bucket. This varies greatly with luck, so even with these tricks it’ll likely take you a while – happy fishing!
