Fly Fishing in Mongolia for Giant Taimen
Mongolia on the cards?
Years ago, I was speaking to a European friend, and he told me about his fly fishing exploits in Mongolia, about how it was a real adventure and that I should try and get over there. At the time, this seemed like a far-off reality - what would make me travel all that way, for the potential risk of catching only a few fish, considering New Zealand is already a fishing paradise? Fast forward to 2024, when the invite came again to join very good Slovak friends, whom I have known for 20 years. Of course I said yes! Both are great guys to travel with, which is super important on long distance trips, plus they had been to the fishery before and got into some jaw dropping sized Taimen, otherwise known as 'River Wolf'. So, the appeal of landing one of these fish became my challenge. However, in my head I decided to keep my thoughts that this trip was as much about seeing the landscape and culture as the fishing. Mongolia has a diverse and wild landscape, and the climate can be harsh, with winters into the negative 40-50 degrees Celsius. September was a great time to be there, with moderate temperatures during the day.
Gear:
My friends gave me some guidelines on what gear to bring and flies to prepare, but you can never fully get it all correct so I took more than I needed. I had high hopes of swinging flies on a double hander; however, the flies were much too big to cast, and it was super important for quick hooksets to keep a controlled line, as these fish are big! The rod I ended up using the most on the trip was the Primal Mega CCC 9’#10, paired with a Lamson Centrefire 10 and a Airflo Cold Saltwater Floating #10 fly line. This set up worked really well to tame these massive fish, while throwing big fluff (debarbed for safety, rules & ethical reasons). Flies consisted of mouse patterns and large streamer grayling imitations and weighted bully head flies. After fishing Taupo rivers over winter and brushing up with a few saltwater trips on fly, I felt prepared enough to understand the need to be fishing 'on point' and to be ready to put in a lot of casts until it hurt. I was pleasantly surprised how well the Primal Mega handled the big rivers, big flies and controlled these massive fish in the big rivers.
Taimen:
Taimen (Hucho) are the world’s largest Salmonoid, some fish reaching over 50 years old. Known for taking out large prey, including large rodents, ducklings, mice and of course many of the grayling that inhabit the Mongolian rivers. When you think about it, they deserve a lot of respect.
Strategy:
To catch these fish with the help of my buddies, I had to understand quickly the fish’s possible location and what water I could position myself to fly-cast well at active fish. Presentation was really important while swinging or nymphing massive flies. A few fish I caught were sighted which made the whole experience that much more rewarding. The size of some of the fish went beyond the possibility of netting them, where the only way to land them was for the guide to tail the fish in the shallows. On a previous trip, my friends witnessed the guide getting tail smacked into the water - this might give you an understanding of the scale of some of these fish.
All in all, Mongolia exceeded my expectations. It was a massive effort to get there - four days from New Zealand, three flights and a full day of hardcore 4x4 driving into the northern boondocks of Mongolia, but totally worth it.
Never say never, I may get back again!
Taimen Gear List:
Rod: Primal Mega CCC 9ft #10
Reel: Lamson Centrefire 10
Line: Airflo Superflo Cold Saltwater WF10 Floating
Grayling Gear List
Rod: Scott Centric 906/4
Reel: Abel Vaya 5/6
Line: Airflo Ridge 2.0 Universal Taper
Written by Rob Vaz