If you’re looking for a fly fishing adventure in an extraordinary destination, then you should add Mongolia to the list. No crowds, great guides and a chance to unwind with some big fun and big fish. This is Mongolia – fly fishing for taimen.
Heading to the land of Chinggis (Genghis) Khaan and the Nomadic Tribes is an experience in itself; combine this with a fishing rod and the world’s largest Salmonidae and you have an incredible journey.
Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world, and outside Ulaanbaatar the vast wilderness is sparsely populated by nomads who live off the land tending their animals as they have done for hundreds of years. Northern Mongolia sits at the top of two of Asia’s major watersheds, and it’s here that intrepid anglers will find two large rivers representing over 400 miles of taimen habitat. These rivers, in some of the most remote and spectacularly beautiful places in the world, offer quite different fishing experiences but share a commonality of great service, productive fisheries, spectacular scenery, and waters well suited to fly fishing.
Taimen live up to their name as the River Wolf, they are effective and brutal hunters. They will often lie in wait and ambush the next struggling fish, rodent or bird to cross their path or, like a pack of wolves, they can be witnessed hunting in numbers across the shallow flats at the tail of a pool. The can be explosive and if you are lucky enough to hook one, the fight usually involves aerial displays and gill-flaring head shakes.
The taimen are not the only quarry in these waters and the fly fishing for grayling, lenok trout, Amur trout and Amur pike should not be overlooked. Each has its own idiosyncrasies and will feed freely and aggressively to surface flies in the right conditions.
Fishing is not the be all and end all of a trip to Mongolia, it is a journey filled with immense landscapes, friendly people and a rich and colourful culture. For those looking to explore the country more we can arrange additional day and multi-day trips from hiking and horse trekking through to local culture tours and visiting important historical sites.
Mongolia video highlights:
The taimen fishing in detail
Our partner on the ground, Mongolia Rivers Outfitters, runs a series of trips to fish for this stunning quarry. With a vast conservation area of prime taimen water, they have designed several float options that allow anglers to fish great water while resting large areas to avoid over fishing. Between June and August they are based in north-central Mongolia at the Fish Mongolia operation and between September and October they are in eastern Mongolia at the Mongolia River Outfitters operation. Read on for dates and availability.
Fish Mongolia
Fish Mongolia operates on western Mongolia’s most awe-inspiring taimen and trout stream. This beautiful freestone river flows for over two hundred miles through a magnificent canyon. The limestone and granite cliffs rise hundreds of feet above the river. Steep gorges filled with larch and birch forests cascade towards the valley floor. Extremely large taimen lie in wait within the easily negotiated rapids and rock gardens. Banks covered with willows give way to deep pools, sparkling braids, and wide gravel bars. The scenery and fishing are both world class.
These float trips (which can be taken individually or combined) cover hundreds of kilometres of a wonderful fly-fishing river. Departures are limited to small groups of four to six anglers. A new stretch of water is fished every day and anglers stay in stream-side camps every night.
Fish Mongolia – Headwaters expeditions
This expedition is among the world’s unique angling experiences, a wonderful cultural odyssey and a true adventure of a lifetime.
The river here is extremely isolated and strikingly beautiful. Steep, forested walls frame the boulder filled stream. The high-country river is very well protected and holds ancient taimen that rarely see a fly. The Headwaters Expedition is about quality, not quantity. You fish meticulously, quietly walk/wading accompanied by a professional guide. There are some enormous fish in these waters. When the river is clear, there are opportunities to sight fish for extremely large taimen reaching 60 inches. The trout fishing is generally spectacular.
During the first morning on the river, the local team load up camels and horses and everyone journeys into the remote headwaters together. The camels carry all the gear, including boats and on the trip upstream guests either hike or ride horses (you need to be physically fit to participate in this expedition). The route has a gradual elevation and several river crossings.
Over the next week, anglers work downstream covering a good amount of water each day. The first few days involve walking and wading downstream, the last couple of days are spent floating through the upper canyon.
The camps are a mix of expedition tipis with simple furnishings and well appointed seasonal ger camps. Each camp has a dining tent or ger with a wood stove and a hot shower.
This rugged trip is limited to only four anglers per departure. It’s a wonderful adventure and great for anyone with a reasonable level of fitness looking for something out of the ordinary and an opportunity to explore a remote and highly productive stretch of wilderness river.
Fish Mongolia Headwaters Expedition and Classic Canyons Combination
2024 availability
August 2-18, 2024 – 1 spot available
2025 availability
June 28-July 13, 2025 – 2 spots available
August 8-23, 2025 – 3 spots available
Headwaters Expedition
2025 availability
July 13-22, 2025 – 2 spots available
August 8-17, 2025 – 3 spots available
August 17-26, 2025 – 3 spots available
Fish Mongolia – Lower Canyon Adventure
This canyon float trip is perfect for anglers looking to explore amazing stretches of productive wild water in a bit of comfort. The trips accommodate four to six anglers and groups float downstream each day between a string of well appointed ger camps. The cosy gers are furnished with traditional artisan pieces, full linen and lovely Mongolian wool blankets. The camps have a shower ger with plenty of hot water. Meals are often taken al fresco allowing anglers to chat and relax during the beautiful, long evenings. Waking on a cool summer morning to a warm crackling fire and a fresh cup of coffee delivered to your ger on a grassy Mongolian meadow is unforgettable. The river which flows through western Mongolia is a beautiful freestone river shadowed by limestone and granite cliffs rising hundreds of feet above it. Steep gorges filled with larch and birch forests cascade towards the valley floor. Extremely large taimen lurk here within the easily negotiated rapids and rock gardens. Banks covered with willows give way to deep pools, sparkling braids and wide gravel bars. Numerous lenok trout lie in wait for a big dry fly to float by and offer tremendous light tackle sport. It’s a great mix of remote location, incredible fishing, world class guides, fascinating culture and charming wilderness accommodation.
Fish Mongolia – Classic Canyon Adventure
This is the original Fish Mongolia adventure, full of incredible scenery and great fishing. Days are spent floating through some of the most scenic wilderness on the planet on sections of river loaded with trout and grayling and where every riffle and pool has potential for a truly enormous taimen. Every step of voyage offers a glimpse of the nomadic lifestyle that has changed little over the past thousand years. Each evening, anglers are accommodated in cosy, well-appointed ger camps along the river.
2024 availability
July 5 – 25, 2024, 2024 – 3 spots available
July 2 – August 4, 2024 – 2 spots available
August 14-24 – 3 spots available
2025 availability
June 16 – 26, 2025 – 2 spots available
July 6-16, 2025 – 6 spots available
July 16-26, 2025 – 4 spots available
July 24 – August 3, 2025 -6 spots available
August 13-23, 2025 – 3 spots available
Mongolia River Outfitters
This operation in the remote eastern part of the country is based on a river flowing over 250 miles through a lush landscape that holds fantastic numbers of taimen, lenok, Amur trout, and Amur pike. The pastoral landscape is punctuated by tall cliffs, forests of larch and Siberian pine, and extremely healthy grasslands. The stream is constantly changing with a variety of shallow runs, deep pools, quick riffles, and long braids, providing fly anglers with endless opportunities to encounter big fish. The three float trips here cover the headwaters, upper and lower stretches of a superb fly fishing river. Anglers can connect any of these trips to experience two or even three week float trips. With new water explored every day and lovely stream-side camps these offer exciting fishing, great scenery and fascinating culture at a relaxed river pace.
Mongolia River Outfitters – Buryat Headwaters Expedition
Designed for adventurous travellers who don’t mind just a little ‘roughing it’ this expedition covers the very remote upper third of the taimen sanctuary. A maximum of four guests have nearly 100km of taimen water to themselves for a week. Anglers experience a new stretch of river daily, floating between the Nordic style tipi tented camps strategically placed along the river. There are some very, very big fish here and lots of shallow runs, tight river channels, ripples and pools to explore. As well as taimen this is a good choice if you are interested in finding large Amur trout which are fun to target on a light weight rod and will often hammer a mouse fly.
2025 availability
Aug 31 – Sept 10, 2025 – 4 spots available
September 9-19, 2025 – 2 spots available
Mongolia River Outfitters – Upper River Adventures
This is a classic fly fishing trip and offers a wonderfully scenic river, a very productive fishery and cosy accommodation in traditional Mongolian ger (yurt) camps every night. The landscape is one of rolling mountains covered with pine and larch while thick forests of poplar and willow fill the river bottom. The river alternates between grassy banks, woody islands and pebbled shores. As well as taimen there are good populations of pike and trout here. Besides the fish there is some lovely wildlife viewing here, with roe deer along the banks and large whooper swans and flocks of waterfowl on the river.
2024 availability
Sept 18 – 27, 2024 – 1 spot available
Sept 23 – Oct 2, 2024 – 2 spots available
Mongolia River Outfitters – Lower River Expedition
This is perfect for adventurous anglers keen to explore where very, very few others will. The lower part of the river is home to some of the most diverse and intact grasslands of Mongolia, surrounded by birch, pine and larch forested mountains. The fly fishing for big taimen, trout, lenok and pike is outstanding. Its remote nature means anglers are accommodated in tipi tents so it’s suited to those happy to ‘rough it, although still in some style!’ The river is wilder here than the upper section. There are massive cliffs where hungry taimen lurk, waiting in pools for unfortunate rodents to slip into the water, the back sloughs are a haven for big Amur pike and it’s just a wonderful chance to fish in an extraordinarily remote environment.
2024 availability
September 15 – 26, 2024 – 1 spot available
October 5 – 16, 2024 – 4 spots available
2025 availability
September 24 – October 5, 2025 – 6 spots available
For more information on Mongolia taimen fly fishing trips please contact Alex Jardine or call our office on +44(0)1980 847389.