Welcome, though "hardcore"... There's players here two years old that have 10-12 75's

and xp is harder here than it was in retail in most cases.
Fishing has been a mixed bag over the years. It works, it doesn't work, it sort of works, SE broke it, it works again, etc. Things have seemed stable, but it's being released in stages. Nas said he doesn't want anyone to 100 until it's ready. He says it's a 100hr game if you know where you're going and what you're fishing for, so averaging a level an hour I'm guessing. Sure seems that way. Previously, when it was glitched, it was much easier to skill up, but I missed that time. Now it seems to be the real deal.
Pick up a cheap rod and disposable bait, at least one zone in your city disposable bait will be the prefered bait. Use that, and when it's heavy, cancel. If you cancel you lose your bait/lure, so disposable bait is best. That way you won't break your rod.