Sea Turtle

Sea Turtle is a rare aquatic mount added in patch 3.1 of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. It is one of the most iconic means of transportation in the game and can be obtained exclusively through fishing from schools of fish. The mount increases swim speed by 60%, but grants no speed bonus on land. In the Vashj'ir zone, while under the effect of "Sea Legs", swim speed is increased to 300%.

The Sea Turtle is a large green turtle on whose shell your character sits. The mount features smooth swimming animation and unique underwater sound effects. On land, the turtle moves slowly, which is offset by its superior performance in the water.

• Iconic status — the Sea Turtle is one of the first mounts obtained through fishing. It symbolizes the owner's patience and persistence, as getting it can take hundreds of hours
• Practical value — the 60% swim speed bonus makes the mount useful for traversing the water-covered areas of the map. In Vashj'ir, the speed reaches 300%, turning the turtle into the best means of transportation in that zone
• Collectible value — the mount counts toward mount-count achievements and is a must-have for serious collectors
• Available without restrictions — no riding skill is required to use it. The mount is available from level 1 and has no race or class restrictions
• Account-wide — once learned, the mount becomes available on all characters on your account

The Sea Turtle is caught from schools of fish (fishing pools) in certain zones. Fishing in open water is pointless — the mount drops exclusively from schools.

1. Learn the fishing skill from any trainer. The skill level does not affect the mount's drop chance — you can start fishing even at skill 1
2. Get the "Find Fish" ability, which displays schools of fish on the minimap. It is learned from the Weather-Beaten Journal, which can be obtained from daily fishing quests
3. Head to one of the available zones (see the table below) and start fishing from schools
4. Cast your line right into the center of a school — if your bobber lands outside the pool, you will catch ordinary fish from open water
5. On a successful catch, the Sea Turtle will land in your bags as an item. Use it to learn the mount

The Sea Turtle can be caught from any school of fish in the following zones.

Northrend (Wrath of the Lich King)

• Borean Tundra — Musselback schools
• Howling Fjord — schools of various fish along the coast and in inland lakes
• Dragonblight — lakes with schools in the southern part of the zone
• Grizzly Hills — river schools
• Sholazar Basin — schools in rivers and lakes
• Crystalsong Forest — schools by the bodies of water

Cataclysm

• Mount Hyjal — Mountain Trout schools
• Uldum — fish schools by bodies of water
• Twilight Highlands — schools along the coast
• Vashj'ir — underwater schools
• Tol Barad Peninsula — coastal schools

Pandaria (Mists of Pandaria)

• The Jade Forest — river and lake schools
• Valley of the Four Winds — schools in rivers
• Krasarang Wilds — coastal schools
• Kun-Lai Summit — mountain lakes
• Townlong Steppes — fish schools

Darkmoon Faire

• Darkmoon Island — shipwreck debris and coastal schools. Available only while the faire is running (the first week of every month)

Garrison (Warlords of Draenor)

An alternative method of obtaining it — through the cave dweller in the garrison pond. This requires:

1. Build and upgrade the Fishing Shack to level 3
2. Fish in the garrison pond until you catch a Lunarfall Carp (Alliance) or Frostdeep Minnow (Horde)
3. Use the bait to summon the cave dweller — a murloc that, when killed, may drop the Sea Turtle

Choosing a Zone

The most efficient zones for farming are those where schools of fish are clustered together and spawn frequently:

• Howling Fjord (Northrend) — two lakes in the northern part of the zone each contain several schools located close to one another. Recommended as one of the best farming zones
• Borean Tundra (Northrend) — a lake in the center of the zone with a good density of schools
• Sholazar Basin (Northrend) — numerous bodies of water with a dense distribution of schools
• Uldum (Cataclysm) — high density of fish schools
• Kun-Lai Summit (Pandaria) — compact routes between schools

Recommended Route

1. Choose a zone with a high density of schools
2. Use a flying mount to move quickly between schools
3. Activate the "Find Fish" ability to display schools on the minimap
4. Make 3–5 casts in each school (after 3–5 catches the school usually disappears)
5. Fly to the next school
6. Schools of fish respawn approximately every 10–15 minutes after disappearing

Preparing to Farm

• Wear a fishing hat or other items that increase fishing skill to reduce the number of failed casts
• Free up space in your bags — with full bags you may lose the mount
• Enable auto-loot in your interface settings
• At level 90 you will easily reach any zone and quickly move between schools

Farming Math

With a drop chance of around 0.01–0.03%, statistically you will need between 3,000 and 10,000 casts. At an average rate of 50–80 casts per hour (accounting for travel between schools), farming can take from 40 to 200 hours. However, RNG is RNG — some players get the mount within the first few hours.