Dan Cook on fly fishing for Taimen in Mongolia

A few more choice excerpts from Dan Cook's blog on the Mongolia section of his Fly Fishing Around the Globe odyssey. Fly fishing for taimen in the mid-summer, when water temperatures rise, and the river is low and crystal clear means a few changes in tactics....

"We had a great time and the trip was far from ordinary. It started off with a bang when I landed two Taimen before 11 o’clock on the first morning. The first was a baby and the second was a beauty. What made it even more rewarding was that I was literally hanging off a rock face when I made the cast. Unlike the violence involved when a Taimen takes a surface fly, when you hook a Taimen on a streamer it feels more like you’ve snagged a wheelbarrow full of bricks. It’s easy to initially mistake it for a snag. Next, you feel the massive head shakes in an attempt to lose the fly. Then all hell breaks loose."

"Even though Taimen can usually be counted on to terrorize mouse and big streamer patterns... it was time to change strategies. Although somewhat skeptical of my own intentions, I grabbed a 7 wt. Sage Z-Axis, tied on a double nymph rig and walked 100 meters downriver from camp.

First, I caught a little Grayling on the top nymph. Then I lost the whole rig on a snag in some fast water. Ignoring the urge to return to camp for a couple of pre-dinner beers, I replaced the rig and continued to fish. I felt a heavy pause in one swing and gave it a tug just in case. Next thing I know a big beautiful red tail made a huge swipe across the water and the fight was on. There were a few challenges to face in order to land this hog...

#1, I had a 7 wt. rod instead of my beefy 10 wt.
#2, the size 12 nymphs were attached by 3x tippet.
#3, there was a very strong current in the middle of the river.
#4, the river bottom was slipperier than a snail in a barrel of snot."

"After 20 minutes and a couple of deep runs into my backing and confidence (as well as chasing her about 150 meters downriver), I grabbed her tail and gently escorted her to a nearby rock for some photos. She was a beauty.... over a meter and around 25 lbs. It was probably my most rewarding catch as I had changed to somewhat unproven tactics."

Read the full blog entry on Dan's Taimen Fly Fishing experiences in Mongolia.

Dan Cook Fly Fishing Around the Globe

AEG's Fish Bum's weren't our only special guests last season. In June Dan Cook and Heidi visited us at our spring Taimen camp on the Delger.


Here's what Dan had to say:

"The fishing has been great, by the way. We have set up camp along a picturesque section of the Delgermoron. This river rivals any of the famous blue ribbon rivers in the U.S. in both productivity and beauty. Every mile or so lies an ideal pool with Yosemite-like cliffs hovering over it. In one such pool I landed a beautiful Taimen. It was definitely one of the highlights of my fishing career (as if it can even be called a “career!”). These fish are so powerful and elegant. Their coloration is marvelous.... even after you’ve seen it before. It is truly amazing to think that such a large, aggressive fish inhabits these rivers. Almost as astounding is the Lenok..... or should I say the insistent nature of the Lenok. While they certainly don’t rival trout in terms of aesthetics, these fish don’t want to take a backseat to anyone. I’ve caught at least a dozen big Lenok that have attacked the mouse imitations intended for the Taimen. It has gotten to the point that if a Lenok takes the mouse (there is a BIG difference between a Lenok and Taimen take), I just leave it be and hope the fish doesn’t hook itself. I reckon this is a pretty good problem to have."

"Fishing in Mongolia is not a straight-forward affair of purchasing a license and then going off to find a good spot along a lake or river. The country is only now recovering from the hangover effects of nearly 70 years of communism. Subsequently, the government is beginning to realize it is sitting upon a goldmine of natural resources; pristine lakes and rivers, towering mountains, unspoiled valleys and of course, the Gobi Desert. However, until the authorities get a handle on how to protect and administer these resources, the responsibility to do so falls with under-funded local provinces and people like Andy Parkinson of Fish Mongolia (www.fishmongolia.com). In exchange for a concession to run a tourism-based fishing operation along certain sections of the Delgermoron, Andy and his company protect the section from poachers and limit the environmental impact of visiting fishermen. In essence, Fish Mongolia acts as steward of the river and surrounding lands so that Mongolians and foreign travelers alike can enjoy this wondrous land. Heidi and I would like to thank Andy for allowing us access to amazingly beautiful areas along the Delgermoron and for integrating us into his operations. We can wholeheartedly recommend Fish Mongolia to anyone interested in visiting Mongolia. They can provide custom-designed fishing, rafting and hiking packages as well as many other services to visiting outdoor enthusiasts."

For the full post on Dan's blog click here: Dan Cook -Taimen on the fly in Mongolia. Thanks to Dan and Heidi for the photos, and for the wholehearted recommendation, we all enjoyed hanging out with you at camp, and wish you luck on the rest of your round the world fly-fishing adventure.

More on Dan's trip at Fly Fishing Around The Globe

Mongolia Taimen Flies Part II

Back in November I asked whether or not I should publish some of our taimen fly patterns, the response was "Do it!". My reasoning behind this is in the orginial post Taimen Flies . Here's a selection of Alberto Salvini's favorite patterns for a start.

Alberto Salvini's Mongolia Taimen Flies

Alberto Salvini fly tying in front of his ger at our Mongolia fly fishing camp. Photo: Marica Cicoria

The classic mouse pattern tied with artificial fibre instead of spun deer hair. Photo Alberto Salvini.

Alberto's mouse popper, easy to cast, floats high, and makes a splash. Photo: Alberto Salvini

Classic zonker streamer pattern, good for lenok and taimen. Photo: Alberto Salvini

Now just because I've been generous enough to share a few fly patterns, don't think you can just turn up in Mongolia and go fish; you need a permit and you'll need to book with a responsible outfitter. It will be worth it, you'll have an awesome trip. More on Mongolia Fishing Permits.

Thanks to Alberto Salvini and Marica Cicoria aka The Italians for sharing these flies.

AEG's Fish Bum 1 - Mongolia

Word is out that editing of AEG's film Fish Bum I: Mongolia is complete, and the DVD is ready for release. You can order a copy at www.aegmedia.com . AEG put together a preview of the film, which is the result of a two month expedition to Mongolia in 2007 and over 200 hours of footage, for the Fly Fishing Film Tour. I've been lucky enough to make it to a few of the shows and it certainly seems that the Mongolia Taimen film is the biggest hit.

Along with Mongolia River Outfitters, Fish Mongolia helped to organize permits, logistics and river access for the Fish Bum crew. Mongolia simply isn't the kind of place you can turn up and expect to be able to organize permits and local logistics yourself, more on that on my previous post about Mongolia Fishing licences.

Mongolian guide, Auggie, from MRO filming from the saddle.

There's been a conservation theme to the film tour this year, with several films about the proposed Bristol Bay mine, and its fair to say that Mongolia is faced with many of the same conservation issues as Mongolians are now trying to work out how to develop their rich gold deposits and at the same time protect their pristine rivers. If you like what you see in the film and want to see and Fish Mongolia yourself; supporting responsible outfitters such as Fish Mongolia, Sweetwater Travel or Mongolia River Outfitters will also be supporting the conservation of these amazing taimen fisheries.

Fish Bums, Brian Jill, Thad Robison, Chris Owens, and Auggie, exploring Northern Mongolia's Taimen rivers with Fish Mongolia

more on AEG's Mongolia Taimen fly fishing exploration

Mongolia Taimen Fishing Permits

A word about fishing licenses in Mongolia.

Mongolian Sport Fishing permit (note its the same special hunting permit that you would need to hunt big game).

We are often asked if it's possible to fish independently in Mongolia, and how to get fishing permits. Well the short answer is that its simply not possible. The long answer is a little more complex: for outfitters to get permits we need to have contracts with the local Soum authorities, which must be approved by the regional Aimag Governor. Then we can go to the Ministry of Nature and Environment to apply for our catch and release Taimen permits. All foreign tourists must have an official permit from the Ministry of Nature and Environment, only residents can get a permit to fish for 'household' purposes from the local soum village centres. These regulations apply even if you are fishing for Lenok and Grayling, not just Taimen, the only exception is in a couple of National Parks or Special Protected Areas where you can get a permit from the Park Office.

The procedure seems simple enough, but it effectively excludes independent travelers from fishing legally; and for the outfitters it means an incredible amount of work liaising with local authorities and communities, and dealing with bureaucracy. In addition the most responsible outfitters also invest significantly in local community and conservation projects.

We know this system isn't ideal, but as a responsible outfitter we have to play it by the book. We urgently need a more effective system to manage and protect the fisheries including catch and release only for Taimen. Sport fishing regulations and laws relating to Taimen conservation in Mongolia are under review and we are expecting revisions to the current regulations in March 2008, we'll keep you posted here.

Four years of sport fishing permits (note its a group permit, not an individual permit)

There are a few dodges that are taken by less scrupulous tour operators or just plain ignorant independent travelers; namely making arrangements locally with the Soum Governor or ranger, and not bothering with the rest of the licensing procedure or Ministry of Nature and Environment permits. Some do get away with it, but its still illegal, and if you in inadvertently turn up where there is an active conservation project, ranger patrol, or a legitimate outfitter defending their 'patch' you could find yourself in a lot of trouble, at the very least you might have spent a lot on money on flights and in-country travel only to get chucked off the river.

So what are we doing?

We are actively involved in conservation on the rivers we fish. To us that means working closely with the local community to support and encourage their own conservation efforts; helping them out with community projects, and exploring ways that they can benefit from our eco-tourism operation. In return they are helping us to protect the fishery. Lets just say they get very annoyed at anglers who just turn up without their approval.

On the regulation side of things we try to participate in all the Ministry of Environment policy consultations and Taimen conservation discussions in Ulaanbaatar; we also submit an annual report to the Ministry on our own fly fishing and conservation activities. We advocate ideas including catch and release only for Taimen, a simpler more inclusive permitting system, zoning of fisheries to include both public access for Mongolians and visitors, and more exclusive zones such as community-based 'concessions' where the local community hold the fishing rights and have an incentive to protect the river through partnerships with outfitters.

Our message here is this: if you want to go fishing in Mongolia, you need a permit, and you'll need to book your trip through a reputable outfitter.

Fly Fishing Film Tour

AEG's Fly Fishing Film Tour rolled into Seattle on Thursday, just as I landed stateside from Mongolia. Now adjusting to the culture shock after enduring another brutal Mongolian winter.


Heads up. The AEG Mongolia Taimen Film is looking awesome and is set for release on DVD early March, judging by the clap-o-meter at the show its going to be a big hit.

AEG's Fish Bum 1: Mongolia, on the silver screen in Seattle

Taimen Conservation and Buddhism

The Tributary Fund presents Buddha and the Big Fish


Lifeonterra.com is now showing this awesome film illustrating the link between Taimen Conservation and Buddhism, and the work of The Tributary Fund in the Eg Uur region of northern Mongolia. In linking conservation and culture, The Tributary Fund is encouraging local community members to protect their natural heritage, and is reinforcing their traditional deeply held respect for nature. As you will see their flagship project was the restoration of the Dayan Derkh Monastery, and is part of a wider conservation project involving The Taimen Conservation Fund and Sweetwater Travel.

Photo: Hay cutting at Dayan Derkh Monastery

I must admit to initially being a sceptic about the link between Buddhism and conservation, but from talking with Betsy Gaines Quammen of The Tributary Fund, and with locals from the Eg Uur area I can attest to the value of this project and the contribution it has made to conservation and environmental awareness among the local community. When I traveled to the area in 2006 I saw how proud the locals were of their Buddhist heritage, and of the fact that the monastery was being restored. They told me that once there were 1000 monks in this valley.

Re-built and re-opened Dayan Derkh Monastery 2007. Photo: Dan Bailey.

If further evidence of this successful outreach project were needed, as I walked down the main street in nearby the village this year, I was accosted by a tough looking local. He asked me if I'd been fishing for Taimen, I said yes, and explained that we were fly fishing, that we had all the correct permits, and that we always carefully released our catch. Satisfied with my answer he explained that he loves the Taimen, and if I said I'd killed one he was going to punch me out. I said thanks!

Photo: The Uur River at Dayan Derkh