Middle Earth Angling Guide

The Midgewater Stream System

The Midgewater is born in the Weather hills and flows twenty miles southwest to join it's smaller sibling in the Midgewater marshes.  The upper two-thirds of the Midgewater is a fair trout stream containing rainbow and cutthroats.  The bottom third separated from the upper by a small waterfall of ten feet contains fish identical to those found in the Marshes

The Midgewater Stream System. Copyright (c) 2002 Kent Krumvieda.
The Midgewater Stream System (c) 2002 Kent Krumvieda

The little Midgewater is a small stream that seeps from the ground to the north of the Chetwood in central Eriador and flows some fifteen miles into the Midgewater Marshes.  This stream has little fishing opportunities to recommend it.

The Midgewater Marshes are a marshland east of the Chetwood and west of the Weather hills.  It is roughly 40 miles long and 20 miles wide.  The Marshes are feed by two small streams, the little Midgewater which gives it its name and the Midgewater.  The Marsh's outflow, if you can call it that, are dozens of small intermittent creeks along it's southern terminus.  The Midgewater Marshes are infested with clouds of tiny biting midges, which can erringly find any opening in ones clothes.  The Midgewater Marsh is not continuous but a series of straggling pools and reed beds.

The ground is damp, boggy in places and pools every now and then.  Wide expanses of reeds and rushes filled with small warbling birds are more numerous than the pools.  The local bird life is diverse feeding off the seemingly endless supply of insects.  The Marshes are bewildering and treacherous, it's quagmires shifting with each rainfall.  Camping within the Marshes tends to be cold, damp and uncomfortable.  Preparations should be taken to ward of the insects or their noise and bites will prevent any worthwhile sleep.

Speaking of noise one of the worst are an evil relative of the cricket.  Named "Neekerbreekers" by none other than Sam-wise these crickets drone on an endless melody of "neek-breek", "neek-breek", "neek-breek", infinidom.  With those warnings, Midgewater Marsh holds numerous species of fish, including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye, crappie, bluegill, redear, green sunfish and channel cat.  Popular fly patterns include the Griffith's Gnat size #16-22 and cricket terrestrial, size #6-10.