Eorzea Database

A follow up with a few more notes.
With my method you can typically expect to catch anywhere from 0 - 3 Ruby Shrimp every Patience II.

There'll typically be a 2/3 ratio of Blockheads to Shriekers per catch, and when you desynthesize the three you gain from a Triple Hook, you can expect anywhere from 0-3 cloth, typically getting 0 or 1.

My stats at the time of writing all these is: Culinarian Desynthesis 544.91 - Gather Rating 2840 and Perception 231 with a GP of 855.

Use most your Angler's Art for GP gains so you can Chum more during your Patience II windows.

This is not a quick nor fast way to gain money.

Best way I've found is the Shrieker Fish, it's up at all times so no need to wait.

Here's the quick process:
1. Teleport to Tamamizu
2. Blue Merchant for Live Shrimp
3. Go to Hells Lid
4. Patience II and Liberal use of mooching.
5. Large Ruby Shrimp? Spareful Hand until you have three it (lvl 91).
6. No wait for Hi-Cordials and Some Angler's Art to get back to 700 GP
7. Use a ruby shrimp as bait, tripple hook the catch - do not use patience at all at this stage.
8. Repeat 4 to 7.

Notes:
It's not useful to use surface slap, snagging hook or anything like that. There's a good chance of getting Grinning Anchovies and Hellyfish instead of shrimp.

When you do fish using the Ruby Shrimp, you'll typically get Blockheads most of the time with Shriekers being not too uncommon, there are other surprises that can happen but rarely.

The drop rate of cloth is bad regardless.

Recommended level - 91 - You can quickly level to this point with ocean fishing if you can stomach the monotony.

1/ Lavender Beds
2/ Clear skies > Fog (best) / Fair Skies > Fog (ok)
3/ Catch (large) Ala Mighan Fighting Fish with Midge Basket
4/ Mooch for 22 to 36% success rating for catching the Sweetnewt
5/ Culinary desynthesis rate of success for Cotton Cloth is 36%

Good luck, sweeties!

Got two cloth from two Sweetnewt in The Lavender Beds (around Docks) with lvl 60 gear. use Midge Basket for bait. Used Patience II followed by: HQ Cordial(Hi-Cordial better), Chum then Cast. Need to mooch Allagan Fighting Fish (!) to get Sweetnewt (!!!)
Use a Tinker’s Calm before Desynthesis for a slightly increased chance of getting this cloth.

If it ever was sold for white scrips, it no longer is. At least not at the Rowena's Representative in Kugane.

According to the item page for Tome of Icthyological Folklore - Othard, the Shrieker is one of the fish unlocked by learning the tome. You can also confirm this in game by looking at the Fishing Log for Hell's Lid. This is sold by Rowena's Representative in Kugane (near the big aetheryte), and other locations as well, for 250 white gatherer's scrips.

According to the item page for Tome of Icthyological Folklore - Othard, the Shrieker is one of the fish unlocked by learning the tome. This is sold by Rowena's Representative in Kugane (near the big aetheryte), and other locations as well, for 250 white gatherer's scrips.

RNG must hate me if this is meant to be fairly common. Been fishing for hours and I rarely seem to get this from my mooches. Nothing but Blockheads here; 5 Shriekers and 32 Blockheads across 3 hours of fishing.
ilvl 518
Gathering: 2592
Perception: 2112
Fishing around Hells Lid going clockwise around the coast as the fish become wary of my presence.
And yes, I have the tome.

Fairly common. After you mooch if it takes about 20 or more seconds to get those 3 exclamation points, then it's probably it.
I have above the minimum required desynth level and took a Tinkers Calm + Bacon broth (both normal quality) and managed to get 3 cloths out of 5 fishes

Can also be obtained by desynthesising Sweetnewt after you fish it from The Lavender Beds.

Shrieker can only be caught after acquiring the folklore book correct? OP mentioned it's a common fish so I wanted to verify :) Thank you!

Easiest way to obtain Desynth Shrieker
Pretty common fish can be caught at Hells Lid
Sweetnewt, Olgoi-Khorhoi, and Lone Ripper(never tried this one personally I just hear people say its possible) all big fish that can slip your hook so I wouldnt recommend them unless you live in the lavender beds makes sweetnewt that much sweeter.

Got one from Monk ilevel 90 retainer quick venture.

The Lone Ripper and Sweetnewt can give this from desynthesis as well.

Get from desynthesis Olgoi-Khorkhoi, Sea Breeze Summer Halter but another way to obtain this are unknown.