''It was awesome to be able to line up with Lisa," Fisher said. ''It was just like being at home and I'm really looking forward to the final.
''It was a massive experience and I'm also really looking forward to taking all that stuff I've learned into the K4 tomorrow."
Fisher, who finished second to Carrington at the nationals in February, admitted she was ''shaking like a leaf" on the start line for her heat.
''It was absolutely terrifying. But I sat down with Rene (coach Rene Olsen) and had a little debrief and laid out some things I needed to work on for the semi. I just tried to stay relaxed and not freak out too much."
Carrington won her first World Cup title on the Duisburg course in 2011.
Since then, she's won 13 of the 14 major K1 200m races she participated in, including Olympic gold in London in 2012. Her only defeat in that time was also in Duisburg in 2012, when she finished second behind Hungarian Natasa Douchev-Janics.
Douchev-Janics has also made tonight's final, alongside Azerbaijan's Inna Osipenko-Rodomska, European Champion Sarah Guyot (France), Ukraine's Anastasiia (crrt) Todorova and Poland's Marta Walczykiewicz.
Wellington paddler Marty McDowell will race the C final of the K1 1000m, the event he recently qualified for Rio in, after finishing sixth in his semifinal.
McDowell qualified for the semifinals with a strong second-placing in his heat, leading for much of the race before Bulgaria's Miroslav Kirchev reeled him in, but couldn't stay with the leaders in the semifinal.
Denmark's René Holten Poulsen won in 3:35.848, with McDowell clocking 3:42.033.
Meanwhile, Christchurch's Scott Martlew missed the opportunity to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, after finishing fourth in the B final of the KL3 200m.
Fisher and Carrington will race their K1 200m final at 11.05pm (NZT), with Carrington backing up with her K1 500m heat later in the night. The K4 start their regatta at 2.50am Sunday (NZT).
