Fly Fishing Mongolia on a shoestring

Mongolia is an inspirational destination for many anglers who dream of hooking into a five foot long taimen on a dry fly.  But is it possible to fish Mongolia on a budget, un-guided, on a DIY trip?  The short answer is no; the permit system is such that effectively all foreign anglers have to go through licensed outfitters that hold contracts for the specific rivers where they operate.  This leaves the choice of booking an expensive guided trip through reputable international outfitters, or taking a chance on booking a cheaper trip direct with a local company that may or may not know much about fishing, and may or may not get you the appropriate licenses.

Now there is a third choice; well established, British-Mongolian outfitter, Fish Mongolia has teamed up with IF Adventures to offer more affordable and flexible Mongolian fly fishing opportunities.  IF Adventures are the company that introduced cutting edge self drive fly fishing options for New Zealand and Montana, while Fish Mongolia have been operating exceptionally outfitted float trips and more adventurous expeditions in Mongolia since 2003.

Lets face it, Mongolia is never going to be a cheap fly fishing destination considering the cost of logistics, but prices are based on a ‘what you pay is what you get’ principle. At the very least you’ll need a Russian van, driver, translator, and a fishing permit, so small groups of four or more anglers will get the best deal.

Mongolia is big, rivers are remote, many are still pristine, but some are heavily poached, taimen are elusive and a challenge on the fly, you need good local knowledge.  Options range from ‘no frills’ drive out trips in Russian vans, to horse packing into remote catchments, and logistical support and raft rental for DIY float trips.

Optimum conditions and best fishing are usually found in June, which is early summer, and the fall season in September when temperatures start dropping.  On some rivers fishing can continue well into October before it gets too cold, while in the summer months of July and August good fishing can still be found in the headwaters; this is the time to horse pack into the mountains. Be ready for an adventure.

For more information check out the trips section of this site, where you can find a selection of fly-fishing packages with local guides and outfitters available for groups of three or four, or more.  We also offer an ‘a la carte’ trip planning service for no-frills and custom trip options.

www.fishmongolia.com

www.ifadventures.com

This Is Fly Issue 18, see page 101

Mongolian Triple Crown, article by Nathan Ward in This is Fly, Issue 18.  Starts on page 101.

“The cool thing about fishing in Mongolia is that any cast you make could be the cast that hooks you up with the biggest fish of your lifetime.”

“With all the great fishing it would be easy to forget we were in one of the world’s most culturally fascinating countries.  It is necessary to take time out from fishing to experience Mongolia’s rich nomadic culture.  This is a land where iron-tough horsemen ride the steppes like banshee warriors.  This is where stoic herder families endure the globes’s harshest winters in nothing more than sturdy tents.  Here is a way of life that seems like living history.”

Features Fish Mongolia’s Delger River Camp.

Both Fish Mongolia and Sweetwater Travel are featured on National Geographic’s Hooked episode ‘Monster Fish of Mongolia’ with Zeb Hogan.

Aquatic ecologist Zeb Hogan continues his quest to find and protect the worlds largest freshwater fish in the frigid rivers of Mongolia. He will travel by plane, truck, and horseback to find the largest trout known as the Hucho taimen. This is not your everyday dinner trout. This monster can grow up to 6 feet in length and weighs up to 200 pounds. Once king of the river, the taimen is starting to disappear. And as winter approaches and temperatures drop, Zeb will be up against a tight deadline. Join him and a team of scientists, anglers, and local Mongolians as they search for the worlds largest trout: the Taimen.

Read more

Lenok, Grayling and Taimen in Mongolia Trip Report by Nathan Ward on FishMongolia.com

From the airport in Muren, we bumped our way over the grassy Mongolian Steppe past nomad tents and herds.  At first I thought “No way is there a big river hidden out here!”  But we snuck on a trackless route over a few hills and down a steep valley into a hidden canyon where a beautiful river stretched out before us.

The Delger-Muron River Valley is absolutely stunning – a wide river alternating between rapids and deep pools, a wildflower laced valley floor and big high cliffs like bookmarks on either side.  It’s one of the nicest places I’ve seen in Mongolia and there wasn’t a village for miles in any direction.  We had the entire river to ourselves.

Fly Fishing on Mongolia's Delger River. Photo: Nathan Ward

How to Teach Nomads Catch and Release: blog article by Nathan Ward on Ice Mountain Adventure Travel Blog

Fish grow big in the remote wilds of Mongolia and this was why we were here, to catch monster fish and create a feature story for a fishing magazine in the USA.  It takes a long time, 8-10 years, for a Lenok to grow to the size of the one Andrea caught.  That means surviving the -50ºF winters, rogue net fishermen, wild animals and floods for a decade.  Then we come along with a little artificial fly and catch them for fun.

We traveled into far northern Mongolia on horseback to visit the Tsataan people, a reindeer herding culture with only 600 or so people left in their entire ethnic category.  After a few days at their mountain top camp we convinced two of them to lead us to a big river we could see from a nearby peak.  “It’s just a 4 hour ride” they mimed and we set off.  It was just 4 hours, but 4 of the toughest mountain riding I have ever done.  We were really in the wild, just kilometers from the Russian border.

Tsaatan Guide in the Mongolia Taiga. Photo: Nathan Ward

NathanWard.com

The March 2009 edition of Fly Rod and Reel has an excellent article on Taimen fishing in Mongolia “Taimen in the Land of Khan” by Peter Fong.

“If you’ve seen the pictures, then you might already be lost. The angler kneeling in bewildered devotion, smiling with an awkward joy, behind a fish so impossibly large that two hands provide an insufficient cradle. Because as soon as you can imagine it, the dream begins. Your boots in that unfettered river, your eyes blinking in the boreal sun, your hands reaching into cool water, your arms bearing that implausible weight. It’s a wonderful dream, infused with just the right blend of beauty and impracticality, and alternately enhanced and encumbered by facts. Because like Paris in the spring, a taimen’s heart-rending strike exists in a specific time and a far-off place, a location so remote that the experience requires (for most people) a week’s leave and a month’s salary.”

The article sets realistic expectations of Taimen fishing in Mongolia, and explores what it is like to guide on these remarkable rivers:

“If you float 10 miles of river, casting with diligence and precision, you are likely to raise a half-dozen taimen and release one or two.  I don’t want to call this an ordinary day because drifting through Mongolia’s remarkable landscape isn’t ordinary…”

Peter guides for Mongolia River Outfitters. More thoughtful posts on his Mongolia taimen fishing experiences can be found on his blog:

Of Taimen and The River

Catch and Release in the Home of Khan

Meditation and metaphor

This ugly YouTube video shows a Belgian angler landing a Taimen from the Shishged River in Northern Mongolia.  The Taimen was released, but not before it had been dragged up the bank and rolled in the sand and silt.  This video has generated a number of comments highly critical of the angler.

“That is a despicable display of fish handling, disgraceful really”

“Poor Handling. I cringed every time you beached one of those beautiful fish. Keep sand away from the gills… it would be like having sand shoved down your throat. Keep them in the water…”

And the telling response from the angler:

“Hello I don’t understand what you mean , please tell me…”

Unfortunately this is an example of what happens when outfitters who have little or no experience of fishing organize fishing trips to Mongolia for clients who likewise don’t know how to handle and release fish properly.  The Taimen could have, and should have, been kept in the water while being released; it is possible to do this by grasping the tail with a gloved hand, or using a large net or sling.  Dragging a fish up the bank, putting your hands in the gills, hauling it up by the gills, rolling it in the sand etc will reduce the fish’s chance of survival.  In my nine years in Mongolia I have seen two floaters caused by improper handling; bad handling won’t kill every fish but certainly some will not make it.  Treble hooks only make matters worse.  Taimen are under pressure and need to be given the best chance of survival if we catch and release them.

Catch and release for Taimen is now mandatory in Mongolia, and with single barbless hooks only, but we still have a long way to go in educating anglers and outfitters.  Please follow our Taimen catch and release guidelines published here, and please choose to fish Mongolia with responsible outfitters who hire trained and knowledgeable guides.

Taimen video clip on youtube by National Geographic

Taimen Profile by National Geographic:

“The taimen is the largest member of the salmonid family, which also includes trout and salmon. These fish are fierce predators that sometimes chase their prey in packs, a practice that earned them the nickname “river wolves.”  They have gray-green heads with streamlined, reddish-brown bodies. And they can be enormous, with particularly large specimens reaching six feet (two meters) long.

Taimen, also called giant Eurasian trout, are notoriously voracious and have a varied diet that includes primarily fish, but also ducks and even mammals like rats or bats. These insatiable fish will also prey upon one another. Some large taimen are known to have suffocated while trying to swallow a slightly smaller member of their own species.”

David Gilroy examines a Taimen found choked to death trying to eat another Taimen. Photo: National Geographic News

Its a fish eat fish world:

Scientists working in the Eg and Uur rivers in northern Mongolia in 2006 found this 5-foot-long (1.5-meter-long) taimen that had choked to death on a 3-foot-long (0.9-meter-long) taimen. The taimen, a voracious and cannibalistic predator, has earned the nickname “river wolf” because it hunts in packs.

Link

Taimen's last refuge is Mongolia. Photo: National Geographic News

National Geographic article on Taimen Conservation featuring Zeb Hogan. We had the pleasure of fishing with Zeb and Brant last fall on the Upper Uur while filming for Zeb’s mega-fish series on Nat Geo TV. Excerpt:

The gigantic fish is the world’s largest salmonid the family of fish that includes salmon and trout. The species can live for more than 50 years, but they grow slowly, not reaching maturity until seven to nine years of age, experts say.   Taimen migrate to their spawning habitat and can travel as much as 60 miles (97 kilometers) up- and downstream.  But scientists using radio and acoustic tagging have shown that the fish generally stay in one place.  “That makes them vulnerable to harvest because people will know where to go to hunt for big fish,” said Zeb Hogan, a fisheries biologist at the University of Nevada in Reno

More info on taimen conservation on the Taimen Science Team Website