For those of the angler persuasion, the March version update of Final Fantasy XI will see a total revamp to the fishing system. To streamline the fishing process, a new symbol-based layout has been developed, where tapping the directional button corresponding to the direction indicated by arrows on screen will weaken the hooked fish. In addition to the basic silver arrows, gold arrows to indicate a chance of putting a bigger dent in the fish's stamina and light bulbs to indicate moments of fishing instinct will also be introduced.

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From the official Final Fantasy XI forums:

[dev1191] Fishing System Renovation

Fishing will undergo the following adjustments with the implementation of the March 2014 version update.

Reeling in a Catch

The stamina of prey will now appear above characters' heads, and arrow icons will display that show the direction in which one's rod should be pulled while reeling in prey. Pressing the movement key that corresponds to the displayed direction a single time will gradually tire the fish out. Furthermore, one's rod will automatically return to a neutral position after pressing the key, so there is no need to continue holding it down. The icons will always correspond to the same movement keys, regardless of the direction in which characters or the camera face.

* In this instance, pressing the left movement key once will reduce the prey's stamina.

* Even though the camera is facing the angler's face rather than his back, the arrows still display on the left in this situation, and the left movement key must still be pressed to reduce the prey's stamina.

* Either pressing a key that corresponds to a direction different than the icons display or pressing a key when the rod is in a neutral position will cause the fish to recover stamina.

Types of Icons
The functions of the two arrow types—silver and gold—are explained below.

Silver Arrows
Silver is the default icon color.
Pressing the applicable key while these icons display affects the stamina of one's prey in accordance with the attributes of his equipment, fishing skill, and the prey itself.

Gold Arrows
Gold arrows denote special chances to gain the upper hand over one's marine adversaries.
The benefits from successful chances also take precedence over successful attempts with silver arrows.

• Lucky Timing
  These chances are denoted by gold arrow icons. Successfully timed attempts reduce the stamina of one's prey to a greater extent than with silver arrows, while failed attempts cause one's prey to recover less stamina than normal.
  
  The likelihood of players receiving these golden opportunities depends on factors such as characters' fishing skills, the skill differential between characters and their prey, the phase of the moon, time of day, the affinity of prey for one's rod, moglification, and equipment.
• Fishing Instinct Adjustments
  In addition to the traditional effects that enable anglers to discern what prey they have on the line when fishing instincts come into play, a certain visual effect will display around the angler's head, golden arrow icons will be more likely to appear.

• Skill Level-related Adjustments
  Should there be a stark contrast between the skill of anglers and the rank of their prey, the following will occur depending on the situation.
  • If anglers are vastly more skilled, their prey will continually suffer damage and put up little resistance before being reeled in.
    
  • If anglers' skills fall overly short of their prey's rank, it will be granted the effect of Regen and will be more difficult to reel in.
  Furthermore, in the event of a critical bite, a bonus will be granted to one’s fishing skill, thus changing the degree to which an angler may reduce the stamina of his prey.

Finally, myriad other adjustments, such as a reduction to the maximum waiting period before hooking prey and the abolition of frame rate restrictions, are also scheduled to be implemented.