Taimen
The biggest member of the salmonid family
Fly fishing for Taimen in Mongolia is a very unique experience. The best populations of Taimen are found in the pristine rivers of Mongolia. Situated between China and Russia, Mongolia is 7 times the size of Great Britain and with a mere 2.5 million inhabitants it is one of the most sparsely populated areas of the world. Its lakes and rivers set in the virgin steppe offer unmatched angling.
Abundant pools
Our fishery extends over 75 miles (120 km) and
has abundant pools. Many of the stretches have never been fished
before. So your fly could be the first ever to be cast on the water. We
have explored prime spots and are discovering new ones every week. In
many of them, trophy fish have already been taken on fly.
Fish of a lifetime
Taimen fishing is an exciting challenge. Every cast is a chance to catch large specimens of this indigenous member of the salmon family and maybe the catch of a lifetime!
Taimen – as the huchen (Salmo hucho) is called here – reaches trophy
size in Mongolia. The average length of 32 inches (80 cm) is already
impressive, but many of the fish caught top the 40 inch mark and the
really big ones can be a gigantic 5 feet long long (1.5 metres)..
Adrenalin surge
Taimen go for big flies, preferably with plenty of glitter. A very special experience is fishing a mouse imitation on the water surface. We guarantee you a surge of adrenalin when a big taimen attacks the mouse with explosive force. But not every attack ends with a netted fish; taimen have to be played with considerable skill. A lot of taimen are lost during the fight or simply miss the fly in their wild attack. We reckon that out of three or four contacts with taimen, one fish is landed.
And there’s lenok too!
Besides taimen, the waters we fish also hold thriving stocks of lenoks. These fish grow to 14 - 22 inches (35-60 cm) and the larger specimens also take taimen flies. Most anglers go for the big taimen, tending to ignore lenok. But anglers interested in fishing nymphs, small streamers and dry flies will enjoy excellent sport. Like grayling, lenok are shoal fish and occupy similar locations in the river.
