The Angler's Guide to Fishing in LOTRO by aethelberht Sources: The Angler's Guide to Fishing in LOTRO Fishing Trophy Pictures We would like to thank aethelberht, Lothainaa, Notaforumguy007, Harp, Amonceleb, borgiered, Whyah and Meeko.

Fishing Guide

This guide will attempt to show what can be caught when (and where, if location does matter as the Dev Diary says); what poles, bait, and other equipment is available and how it helps; what new titles and recipes come with it; and any other information of value (or not) to the budding anglers of LOTRO. Additional input and data always welcomed!

To begin fishing, simply go to your local Hobby Master. Two that are known include Estmar Bolger in the Bird & Baby Inn at Michel Delving, and Haldor in the Last Homely House near Bilbo in Rivendell. The Hobby Master will teach you how to fish and give you a basic fishing pole.

Fishing Trophies

Items	Fish Trophies	Barter
Giant goldfish Trophy	Colourful Charr Trophy	50 salmon Trophy
Barbarous Barbel Trophy	Superb Smelt Trophy	Bright Bitterling Trophy
Brawny Bullhead Trophy	Cunning Catfish Trophy	Delightful Dace Trophy
Gleaming Grayling Trophy	Magnificent Minnow Trophy	Ruthless Rudd Trophy
2-Pound Salmon Trophy	4-Pound Salmon Trophy	6-Pound Salmon Trophy
10-Pound Salmon Trophy	15-Pound Salmon Trophy	20-Pound Salmon Trophy
40-Pound Salmon Trophy	50-Pound Salmon Trophy
Sturgeon Group Trophy	Trout Group Trophy	Darter Group Trophy

Fishing by level

Begining Level	Catchable	Value	Uses	Level Through
1	Weeds	1c	No Known	N/A
1	Goldfish	1c	No Known	5
5	Rusty Dagger	1c	No Known	N/A
6	Minnow	1c	No Known	20
10	Bitterling	1c	No Known	30
10	Ball of Gunk	2c	No Known	N/A
10+	Salmon*	--	All Are Trophies	varies*
17	Charr	1c	No Known	40
21	Dace	1c	Cook Recipe	51
27	Barbel	1c	No Known	60
31	Smelt	1c	No Known	71
35	Catfish	1c	Cook Recipe	80
50	Rudd	1c	No Known	90
50	Rusty Hammer	1c	No Known	N/A
55	Bullhead	1c	No Known	100
58+	Darter*	25c	No Known	varies*
60+	Trout*	25c	No Known	varies*
62+	Sturgeon*	25c	No Known	varies*
65	Old Boot	2c	No Known	N/A
66	Grayling	13c	No Known	111
77	Houting	13c	No Known	120
86	Perch	13c	Cook Recipe	132
90	Rusty Mace	1c	No Known	N/A
99	3-Spined Stickleback	13c	No Known	140
106	9-Spined Stickleback	13c	No Known	150
110	Drift-wood	1s 70c	No Known	N/A
117	Golden Mullet	13c	Cook Recipe	160
125	Rusty Sword	1c	No Known	N/A
125	Flounder	13c	Cook Recipe	170
133	Carp	13c	No Known	180
148	Pike	13c	No Known	190
149	Dirty Skull	1s 70c	No Known	--
156	Largemouth Bass	13c	Cook Recipe	Through Max
172	Rusty Axe	1c	No Known	--

* These fish offer many variants that differ by location and fishing level.

Table of Rare Fish By Region/Zone Level

RARE FISH	LOW ZONES Ered Luin, Shire, Bree	MID ZONES Lonelands, ND	MID-HIGH ZONES Evendim, Trollshaws	HIGH ZONES Forochel, Angmar, MM
Salmon	2-lb Fishing Level 10	4-lb (FL20)	6-lb (FL30)	10-lb (FL40)
	15-lb (FL50)	20-lb (FL70)	30-lb (FL80)	40-lb (FL100) 50-lb (FL151)
Darter	Redfin (FL60)	Blackfin (FL85)	Longfin (FL80)	Orangefin (FL70)
	Bandfin (FL65)	Greenfin (FL73)	Bloodfin (FL87)	Firebelly (FL 90)
		Splendid (FL100)
Trout	Brown (FL57)	Bull (FL80)	Cutthroat (FL75)	Redband (FL70)
	Speckled (FL85)	Red Spotted (FL80)	Rainbow (FL90)	Golden (FL90)
	Lake (FL95)
Sturgeon	Dwarf (FL51)	Shortnose (FL69)	Green (FL75)	Fringebarbel (FL70)
	Shovelnose (FL80)	Pallid (FL80)	Lake (FL88)	Starry (FL90)
			White (FL100)

TROPHY FISH FOR DECORATIONS: Many fish have a rare "trophy" counterpart with a nifty name ("Giant Goldfish," "Magnificent Minnow," etc.) that can be caught, starting a few levels above the regular fish. If you catch one (you'll know it - the text is purple), a fishing taxidermist (there's one in Bree-Town near the vault) will mount it free as a wall decoration for your home. The decorations are tradable, so a potential moneymaker if rare enough. Check out the taxidermist to see what trophies are available.

Most fish can be caught virtually everywhere in the LOTRO world. However, a few fish species offer several variants, related both to fishing levels and zone level. In order to catch them, you must be the appropriate fishing level and fishing in an appropriate zone of the world. Since these fish are quite rare, numbers are still iffy as of 5/1. So far these fish all appear to be worth 25c each. And none yet appears to have any use. Note: Zone levels are approximate. As more info comes in it'll hopefully be much easier to define where you can catch what.

The Use of Bait

There are 3 types of bait: leech, nightcrawler, and red wiggler, supposedly increasing in effectiveness from first to last. Bait can be bought from Fishing Suppliers (see Bait Vendors below). After repeated tests through about Fishing Level 70, bait doesn't seem to work. No consistent improvement in catches. More tests to follow.
**** Note on bait: Through all levels and all types of bait, including Book 14 update, there remains zero evidence for consistent improvement in fishing time, catch quality, # of trophies, # of zone-specifics, anything. Bait simply doesn't seem to work. Current suggestion: save your money. ****

Possible (P) & Known (K) Special Fishing Locations

Ettenmoors (K) - Nothing to fish except weeds
Carn Dum (K) - Even though the waters instantly kill players, you can still get a range of fish from them (bug)
Uru, IB in Barrow-Downs (P) - Reports of some areas fishable and some areas not; need more details from folks
Thorin's Hall Rep Area (P)- NPC describes "legendary" fish where he's fishing
Forochel, Western side near wrecked ship (K) --- "Where water bubbles & boils" can catch Icebay Salmon for Forochel Rep (see Quests above)



POLES

• Basic Pole -- Given by hobbyist when you first learn the hobby
• Yew Pole -- +1 fishing level (player-crafted, recipe at Novice Woodworker)
• Well-made Yew Pole -- +3 fishing level (player-crafted, recipe at Novice Woodworker)
• Lebethron Pole -- +4 fishing level (player-crafted, recipe at Expert Woodworker)
• Well-made Lebethron Pole -- +5 fishing level (player-crafted, recipe at Expert Woodworker)

GEAR

• Fishing Vest -- Outfitters
• Fisherman's Shirt & Waders -- Quest Reward in Forochel

So far, gear is all cosmetic. No clothing known yet that adds any fishing buff.

**** Note on poles: There is good evidence that a +5 pole can help you level-cap quickly in early levels. However, the bonus quickly drops off and is unnoticeable after about level 40-50. Poles with a bonus do not let you catch above your level.

• Estmar Bolger
  Location: Michel Delving, Bird & Baby Inn
  Purpose: Starts you fishing with quest to find Misty Bolger in Bywater
  


• Haldor
  Location: Rivendell, Last Homely House
  Purpose: Starts you fishing with quest to find Garbert in Tal Bruinen
  


• Henry Oakeshott
  Location: Bree, Scholars' Stair Archives
  Purpose: Starts you fishing with quest to find Joy Bloomer in Staddle
  


• Refkell
  Location: Thorin's Hall, near Bard
  Purpose: Starts you fishing with quest to find Nokki S. of Noglond

• Misty Bolger
  Location: Bywater, N of town near small footbridge
  Purpose: Fishing Supplier, bait vendor

• Joy Bloomer
  Location: Staddle, by Little Staddlemere
  Purpose: Fishing Supplier, bait vendor

• Nokki
  Location: Ered Luin, South of Noglond
  Purpose: Fishing Supplier, bait vendor

• Garbert
  Location: Tal Bruinen, Trollshaws along Bruinen S of Ford
  Purpose: Fishing Supplier, bait vendor

• Rusu
  Location: Forochel, Suryi-Kyla
  Purpose: Reputation Vendor sells Flounder recipes

• N/A
  Location: Forochel, camp up hill near road to Ja-Rannit
  Quest: "Fisherman's Friend"; Level 48; reward: "Fisherman's Shirt & Waders"

• Nora
  Location Forochel, Suryi-Kyla
  Quest: "Empty Larder"; Level 47; Must catch 10 "oily fish"; reward: 23s 80c, 500 Rep

• Taiop
  Location: Forochel, Hylje-Leiri
  Quest: "Bounty of the Sea"; Lvl 46 (repeatable); Catch 12 Icebay Salmon "where sea bubbles/boils"; reward: 37s 52c, 500 Rep

Titles and Levels

• Apprentice Angler --- Reach Fishing Level 10
• Journeyman Angler --- Reach Fishing Level 50
• Expert Angler --- Reach Fishing Level 100
• Master Angler--- Reach Fishing Level 150
• Lord/Lady of Streams --- Reach Fishing Level 200
• Compleat Angler --- Catch 50lb Salmon
• Darter Group Trophy --- Catch All 9 Darter Varieties [1]
• Sturgen Group Trophy --- Catch All 9 Sturgeon Varieties [2]
• Trout Group Trophy --- Catch All 9 Trout Varieties [3]

Deeds

• Salmon King--- Catch 50lb Salmon (Hidden Deed, only shows in log when you catch one)
• Darter-master --- Catch All 9 Darter Varieties
• Sturgeon-master --- Catch All 9 Sturgeon Varieties
• Trout-master --- Catch All 9 Trout Varieties

Recipes Involving Fishing - Cooking

• Fried Dace w/Mushrooms
  Stats: Apprentice (+2 Will, +6 if critted), recipe from Novice Cook

• Catfish Cakes
  Stats: Cooking, Journeyman (+6 Will, +14 if critted), recipe from Novice Cook

• Perch Fillet
  Stats: Expert (+12 Will, +23 if critted),recipe from Expert Cook

• Golden Mullet Chowder
  Stats: Artisan (+18 Will, +32 if critted), recipe from Expert Cook

• Bass with Carrots & Onions
  Stats: Master (+24 Will, +41 if critted), recipe from Expert Cook

• Flounder w/Bacon
  Stats: Artisan (146 Morale & 110 Power every 30 sec/300 sec), recipe from Forochel Rep Supplier Rusu--Friend Standing

• Baked Flounder
  Stats: Artisan (146 Morale every 30 sec for 300 sec),recipe from Forochel Rep Supplier Rusu--Ally Standing

• Flounder Fillet
  Stats: Artisan (110 Power every 30 sec for 300 sec),recipe from Forochel Rep Supplier Rusu--Kindred Standing

Bugs, Known (K), Suspected (S), and Possible (P)

15-lb Salmon Info Typo (K) --- If you have more than one 15-lb salmon in your inventory, it suddenly becomes "12-lb salmon" in the text
20-lb Salmon Info Typo (K) --- If you have more than one 20-lb salmon in your inventory, it suddenly becomes "16-lb salmon" in the text
3-Spined Stickleback Info Typo (K) --- Text description misspells "dorsal" as "dorasal"
Carn Dum Fishing (K) --- Even though the waters in Carn Dum are insta-death to players, they can still be fished for a nice range of healthy catches!
Fishing Buffs from Bait (S) --- Bait does not seem to contribute in any appreciable, consistent way to fishing ability
Fishing Buffs from Poles (S) --- Higher-end poles seemingly not actually adding full (or any?) amount to fishing level
Forochel Rep Supplier Recipes (S) --- Forochel Rep Supplier sells better recipes at lower reputation level, worse recipes at higher
Hobby Level Indicator (K) --- Sometimes doesn't turn from blue to yellow even if a player has capped for the day
Hobby Text in Character Panel (S) --- Only describes the way a hobbit can spend a lazy but productive day, seems a dis on elves, humans, and dwarves
Level Cap Reset (P) --- Supposed to reset at midnight Eastern; might be off by some hours on some computers
Selling Trophies to Vendors (K) --- Vendors will not buy your trophy fish until they've been mounted, even though they have an assigned value
Trophy Plaques Disappearing (K) --- Sometimes trophies placed in homes have their plaques disappear, leaving only the fish visible; hook issue?

Fishing Catch Tests

FISHING CATCH TESTS ON LIVE SERVER
(1) Test by Rillas of fish caught at Falathlorn Homesteads vs. Fords of Bruinen: Sat. 4/26. Fish Lvl 31, +5 pole, no bait, 100 catches
...Falathlorn (foredawn/morning): Junk - 27; Salmon or lower - 31; Charr or higher - 42; # of trophy fish - 12
...Fords (afternoon/eve): Junk - 16; Salmon or lower - 50; Charr or higher - 34; # of trophy fish - 9
Conclusion: This test is interesting. Fords offered far less junk, but also far more low-level fish. Could this be location-related? time-of-day-related? Or just one of those things? I'll try another test in same locations, same time of day for a better idea.

(2) Test by Aethelberht of fish caught at Falathlorn Homesteads vs. Fords of Bruinen: Sat. 4/26. Fish Lvl 32, +5 pole, no bait, 100 catches
...Falathlorn (foredawn-morning): Junk - 21; Salmon or lower - 46; Charr or higher - 33; # of trophy fish - 11
...Fords (afternoon-evening): Junk - 13; Salmon or lower - 48; Charr or higher - 39; # of trophy fish - 9
Conclusion: I tried repeating Rillas' test, same pole, no bait, same time of day. The only differences are: (1) My level, 1 higher; (2) I have no house, so was just visiting. My results were quite different. But the Fords were pretty close. Maybe fishing in your home neighborhood gives a buff. Hard to say, but worth a look. This is a good test to redo once folks get fishing levels above, say, 100 or so.

(3) Tests by Aethelberht & Rillas at similar levels & rods to see differences in bait: Sun. 4/27. Fish Lvl 41-42, +5 pole, 100 catches
...Rillas, Thorin's Hall (dusk-midnight), Lvl 41, no bait: Junk - 14; Salmon or lower - 33; Charr or higher - 53; # of trophy fish - 10
...Rillas, Thorin's Hall (late watches-morn), Lvl 41, no bait: Junk - 18; Salmon or lower - 33; Charr or higher - 49; # of trophy fish - 10
...Aeth, Hobbiton pier (late watches-morn), Lvl 42, leech bait: Junk - 16; Salmon or lower - 35; Charr or higher - 49; # of trophy fish - 11
...Aeth, Hobbiton pier (evening - midnight), Lvl 42, red wiggler bait: Junk - 14; Salmon or lower - 31; Charr or higher - 55; # of trophy fish - 13
Conclusion: Good batch of numbers. Rillas' two tests are quite similar, and my first test is again extremely similar. What's odd is that I'm 1 level higher and using bait. This test suggests that leech bait has no effect. My second test with red wiggler also didn't move my fish counts very much. But they did help me catch fish more than 10% faster. What usually takes 40-41 minutes to catch 100 fish took a bit less than 36 minutes with the red wiggler. I felt like my toon was just flying. Made the fishing more fun, if not a lot more profitable.

(4) Another test of red wiggler vs. no bait. Both tests were of 100 catches, Hobbiton pier, Level 52, +5 pole. Here's the scoop:
...With red wiggler: Junk - 13; Salmon or less - 32; Charr or better - 55; # of trophies - 9; Total fishing time: 37:30
...With no bait: Junk - 18; Salmon or less - 19; Charr or better - 63; # of trophies - 11; Total fishing time: 39:30
Conclusion: The red wiggler just didn't help me statistically. Sure, a few less junk, but way less good fish, and also less trophies. The 2 minute time savings is too narrow to be meaningful. After many of these tests, the best evidence is starting to suggest that bait has no effect, at least through Fishing Level 52. I'm eager to see what other people are finding. This might be a bug that the Devs should know about.

(5) Test of +0 pole versus +5 pole, Tues. 4/29. Both tests were of 100 catches, Hobbiton pier, Level 62, no bait. Details:
...+0 pole: Junk - 8; Salmon or lower - 25; Charr to smelt - 43; Catfish or better - 24; # of trophies - 13; Total fishing time: 37:00
...+5 pole: Junk - 13; Salmon or lower - 17; Charr to smelt - 53; Catfish or better - 17; # of trophies - 11; Total fishing time: 38:30
Conclusion: Data speaks for itself. The +5 pole did nothing good for me on this test. By every comparison it was actually worse than my +0 test. Certainly no definitive evidence that a better pole makes a positive difference. Will keep testing.

(6) Test of home neighborhood versus "public" waterway, Tues. 4/29. Both tests were of 100 catches, Level 61-62, +5 pole, no bait. Details:
...Rillas testing "Home" @ Falathlorn river: Junk - 7; Salmon or lower - 30; Charr to smelt - 49; Catfish or better - 14; # of trophies - 15
...Aethelberht testing "Public" water, Hobbiton: Junk - 13; Salmon or lower - 17; Charr to smelt - 53; Catfish or better - 17; # of trophies - 11
Conclusion: Earlier tests suggested that maybe the "home" neighborhoods offered a good fishing buff. Hard to see that here. Did give less junk and a few more trophies. But the fish caught overall were lower quality. There's no real "wow" here, though the junk difference is interesting. Still need to do more tests as fishing levels increase. Can't see anything consistent & definitive yet.


(7) Test of MD racetrack pond, two testers with identical stats, Wed. 4/30. Both tests were 100 catches, Level 72, +5 pole, no bait, night-morning. Details:
...Pyroluna's test: Junk - 11; Regular fish - 60; Trophy fish - 6; Rare/25c fish - 3; Recipe fish - 20
...Aethelbert's test: Junk - 16; Regular fish - 58; Trophy fish - 12; Rare/25c fish - 1; Recipe fish - 13
Conclusion: Just a good indicator that -exactly- the same gear & conditions can still provide quite a range of results, though within some general guidelines. Nice cautionary tale to triple- and even quadruple-check a seemingly great spot/pole/bait before drawing conclusions. I've been guilty of not taking my own advice several times so far!

(8) Test by Aethelberht at Eavespires, NW Evendim, Thurs. 5/1, red wiggler bait vs. no bait. 100 catches, Level 82, +0 pole, afternoon-evening.
...Red wiggler: Junk - 12; Regular fish - 59; Trophy fish - 12; Rare/25c fish - 0; Recipe fish - 17
...With no bait: Junk - 11; Regualr fish - 57; Trophy fish - 9; Rare/25c fish - 1; Recipe fish - 22
Conclusion: Again, no blowout difference from no bait to the supposed "best" bait. In fact, with no bait I caught more recipe fish, a rare fish, and 2 high-level 30lb salmon (only 1 30lb salmon with the red wiggler). This seems like another test that suggests bait ain't working.

(9) Test by Rillas of location, Angmar vs. Ered Luin, Sat. 5/3. 100 catches, Level 101, +5 pole, no bait. Details here.
...Aughaire, Angmar: Junk - 18; Regular fish - 53; Trophy fish - 9; Rare/25c fish - 3; Recipe fish - 17
...Falathlorn, Ered Luin: Junk - 13; Regular fish - 63; Trophy fish - 8, Rare/25c fish - 2; Recipe fish - 14
Conclusion: From the safest place in LOTRO to one of the most dangerous, the general spread is consistent. Evidence now strongly suggests location doesn't matter except for catching specific variants of rare fish.

(10) Test by Aethelberht of red wiggler bait vs. no bait, Sat. 5/3. Eavespires (NW Evendim). 100 catches, Level 102, +0 pole. Details here.
...With no bait: Junk - 11; Regular fish - 66; Trophy fish - 7; Rare/25c fish - 1; Recipe fish - 15; Fishing time - 36:45
...Red wiggler: Junk - 13; Regular fish - 52; Trophy fish - 7; Rare/25c fish - 2; Recipe fish - 26; Fishing time - 37:45
Conclusion: Using red wiggler, more than 1/4 of all fish were recipe fish. This is a big jump from no bait, and quite different from my test at level 82 (see below). Luck? Or design? Guess we know the answer: need more tests. Gah.

(11) Test by Rillas of +5 pole vs. +0 pole, 5/4. Falathlorn, Ered Luin. 100 catches, Level 111, no bait. Details here.
...With +5 pole: Junk - 17; Regular fish - 62; Trophy fish - 5; Rare/25c fish - 2; Recipe fish - 14
...With +0 pole: Junk - 18; Regular fish - 52; Trophy fish - 8; Rare/25c fish - 2; Recipe fish - 20
Conclusion: No evidence of better catches with +5 pole.

(12) Ongoing tests of +0 pole vs. +5 pole levelling alts from 1 to 11. Test updated 5/5. Details here.
I have begun to create alts with the sole purpose of levelling their fishing skill from 1 to 11, then destroying and recreating them. There will be an equal number of tests using a +0 pole and a +5 pole. Any and all anglers are welcome to post their results; I'll keep the tally together on the details page.
Conclusion: Still testing.


(13) Ongoing tests by Telab to look at catch-type averages over time. Test updated 5/6. Latest details here.
Starting at level 70 Telab has level-capped, made 100 catches, and recorded overall spread of catches. Currently at 600 catches.

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