Taimen Fishing in Mongolia 1997 News and 1998 Forecast by Jeff Vermillion
.
 Ron
Meek and I have just returned from an action-packed season in
Mongolia. It feels great to be back in the U.S.; however, even now,
just days after our return, I can't help but feel a bit of nostalgia for
the untamed feel of the Mongolian landscape, the kindness of the Mongolians
and, of course, the sight of happy clients doing their best to control
their adrenaline with a 50-inch fish hot on their mouse patterns.
Incredibly, I have never seen a mouse move so fast or so far. I guess
it's a good thing these fish aren't smart.
1997 was our third season in Mongolia. Once again we have learned a lot about Mongolia - its rivers, its fish and its environment. Also, a lot has changed since we started in 1995. We have built a dining lodge from hand-hewn, native larch pine and a fully equipped shower building. We have hired a professional chef and have a number of other improvements planned for 1998. Quite simply, at this point, taimen fishing in Mongolia is a comfortable fishing adventure, perfect for anyone. This year our weather, though often not suitable for shorts, was excellent. During the entire season we had just two days with rain. The rest of them were the sunny fall days and cold nights that Mongolia is famous for. However, please keep in mind that our camp elevation is 4,000 feet and that we sit at about the same parallel as northern Montana; consequently, during September and October, the weather can change very quickly. Layered clothing is essential. If you come prepared for potentially cold fall weather, a temporary cold front or inclement weather won't affect your fishing. The taimen fishing report for 1997 was spectacular, with some wild highlights. Charles Nelson, "Schreiner", landed a 53-inch taimen in a stretch of river no wider than 70 feet (landing it took four bends and a quarter mile of river!). Wilder yet was that the fish he hooked was one of two monsters that moved in and took position so close to him that he couldn't cast. In a moment of bewilderment, he put his rod tip down into the water with two feet of line out. He worked the fly back and forth with his rod tip, the fish grabbed the fly, and the fight was on!
Later the same week, Bev Holt, of England, cast from
the boat toward a particularly suspicious lie with a mouse pattern.
A 50-inch fish exploded on the fly and Bev set the hook. After fighting
the fish for a few minutes, the fish got off. But taimen are hungry
and pain means little to them - on the very next cast, the fish came back.
Thanks to good reflexes, Bev got his fly out of the danger zone in time.
On the next three casts he raised the fish in unreal swirls and out-of-the-water
strikes but somehow never got the hook into the fish. On his next
cast, there was no question the fish had it and Bev set the hook like a
champ. The fish raced off, the rod exploded, and the fly popped out.
I looked around the boat for another rod but no luck except for a four
weight lenok rod. So we agreed we might as well try and, on the very
next cast, the same fish smashed the mouse and somehow everything held
together. After a long battle, we managed to land it - definitely
not a fish I would like to tackle again with a 4-weight rod!
The lenok and grayling fishing this year was great - especially during the caddis and mayfly hatches of the late fall. Our largest lenok of the year was 30 inches, though probably the average was around 18-inches. Lenok in the 20-24 inch range were a daily occurence. Grayling averaged around 12-inches - our largest was about 18-inches. The lenok and grayling fishing was fascinating in many regards. First, we found that it was difficult to get clients interested in lenok after they caught a glimpse of their first taimen and, second, we found that lenok were either on the bite or off. When they were biting , the fishing for them was a blast. When they were turned off, it was difficult to keep fishermen trying for them. Ron and I agreed that if a client were to go after them for a full day, he might expect between 10-30 lenok a day. 1998 looks to be another exciting year for
taimen fishing in Mongolia. Our October 1997 exploratory revealed
an abundance of promising water and wild, unfished territory. Predictably,
the river south of our 1997 camp turned out to be some of the wildest country
we have explored yet. The river runs through a canyon with car-size
boulders and some huge taimen pools. It was here that Jean Kendall
caught her big fish. Below this the river braids out into a valley
walled in by 6,000-foot peaks lined with larch, birch and cottonwood forests
in full splendor. The braids provided some very interesting fishing
on our exploratory trip. There is nothing more exciting in the fishing
world than sight-fishing a mouse pattern to a 50-plus pound fish in really
skinny water.
The rivers accessible from the camp
are reminiscent of Oregon's Deschutes River, though smaller. From
the camp we have jet-boat access to 140 miles of fishing water. Perhaps
one of the wildest memories I have from Mongolia is rounding the bend of
one of the rivers to see a herd of bactrian camels on the river's edge
right in our fishing hole. Nothing could have seemed stranger to
a guide from Montana.
In addition, this region has great lenok and pike fishing. For 1998, we are planning a number of day exploratories each week to fish local tributaries with prolific numbers of lenok and grayling. The lenok here average 16-inches, with a number of fish over 20-inches. They love classic dries or popped mice. On a small fly rod it should be a blast. The pike can reach 30 pounds and inhabit backwaters of the river. It was a successful season in Mongolia and we are really looking forward to 1998. Please feel free to inquire about client references from any of our 1997 weeks - at this point our clients are our best endorsement. Most of them agreed that fly fishing for taimen in Mongolia was their wildest and most enjoyable fishing adventure yet. After all, where else in the world is it possible to catch a 60-pound salmonid on a dry fly, surrounded by the breath-taking vistas of fall in Mongolia?
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