The taimen is the river wolf: a salmonid that grows past one and a half metres and takes a mouse pattern off the surface like a predator, not a fish. Mongolia holds the last healthy populations, on strictly permitted rivers in the north. We fish them on the fly, catch and release, from a private riverside camp or on a float trip with our own rafts, cook and guides, moving camp ahead of you each day.
The season is short and the permits are few. August and September, when the water cools and the big fish feed hard before winter, is the only window, and September is the best of it: larch turning gold along the banks, frost on the tent in the morning, a full sky at night.
Lenok and grayling fill the hours between taimen. Beginners are welcome; our guides have taught first casts to people who landed a metre of fish the same week. Rods, flies and waders are on the raft.
