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.