Surface Eats & Eternal Blue Skies in Mongolia

Few experiences pull me in quite like a multi-day float trip. Add the chance to cast large surface flies to apex predators and I’m all in!

When our friends and partners at the Eg Ur Taimen Camp proposed an exploratory float on the upper Eg River in Mongolia, aimed at developing a new multi-day float and camp program above their Eg Ur Taimen Camp, I knew it was something I wanted part of.

This summer, I joined a group of like-minded anglers for a week-long float on the Eg River, which is the only outflow from Lake Khövsgöl, Mongolia's largest lake. The Eg winds over 250 miles through pine and larch forests, rolling hills, and braided valleys before eventually reaching the Selenge River and ultimately, Russia’s Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest and largest lake by volume, holding close to 22% of the world’s fresh surface water.

Flying from Ulaanbaatar to Mörön, you could see long ribbons of blue lines weaving their way through the green valleys and low hillsides below. The landscape was wild and beautiful, and only the small white Gers of the nomadic families gave signs of human presence. It was exactly the right ingredients that make a multi-day float so compelling to me.

Before this trip, Mongolia had long been on my list. I was genuinely excited for the taimen, lenok (their local trout), and grayling. I was equally excited to visit the land of Genghis Khan, see the famously clear “Eternal Blue Sky”, and travel by 4x4s and rafts through one of the least densely populated countries in the world.

Admittedly, I also had a misconception of taimen. I knew taimen as apex predators of the river, often coined “river wolves”, and that they are aggressive feeders capable of taking down mice, ducklings, and even salmon. But I held a misunderstanding that they were rather stationary, and their holding lies were well trodden paths.

I have come to understand the very opposite is true. We rotated boats and guides each day and on my second day I had the pleasure of meeting one of the guides, Gonzo. He was a fisheries biologist, and I used my captive audience to pepper him with questions while he rowed us down the river. Gonzo shared that taimen in the 30 to 40 inch class could travel 100 miles a year throughout the system. Mature taimen above 45 inches could also be upwards of 20 years or older and would cover tremendous distances in their lifespan. Conservation groups and biologists have learned this from decades of mark-recapture studies to track their movement across Mongolia and Russia, and we were fortunate to watch Gonzo tag one during our float. Much like the steelhead and salmon of my home waters, taimen depend on vast stretches of interconnected river habitat that are critical to their survival.

Taimen fishing is a game of covering water. We hit the banks repeatedly with oversized surface flies on 9-weight single hand fly rods until our shoulders wore out. More than a few flies were lost in the trees trying to get tight to the bank. We were constantly searching as we floated, and there were no guaranteed holding lies.

All flies were provided by the guides and seemed to be selected more on their size, profile, and movement than a particular prey. To me, they mimicked all the food options at once that a taimen could encounter for an easy meal and caused a great deal of disturbance on the water. The time of day didn’t seem to matter much to the fish either or even being the first fly through wasn’t really the differentiator.

When you found one, it was an explosive eat and you had better be ready. Fish would fly out of the water to attack the fly, and every single eat was memorable. The smaller taimen would come back if you missed the set, but the bigger fish only gave you one chance. If you were staring off into the spectacular scenery (which I was guilty of on many occasions), you might as well just put your rod down and enjoy the view.

Taimen fishing is never a numbers game and we had appropriately matched expectations on catch rates given we were floating a long stretch of water that was not yet commercially operated on. However, we were all impressed by the quality of the fishing and we managed to move fish every day. Everyone in the group landed taimen throughout the week, and we found fish of all age classes from twenty inches to four feet. Those who could nail the strip set had the most success; lifting the rod with a trout set is a big no-no!

Lenok and grayling were also productive early in the week until an afternoon thunderstorm blew through that added too much color to the water and shifted our focus back to taimen.

As much as I love the fishing, camp life is what a great multi-day river trip is all about. Our evenings were spent hanging by a fire, sharing stories from the day’s adventures, and enjoying a sip of remarkably good Mongolian vodka. It also helped to have friends that are talented musicians and they serenaded us with an acoustic guitar – it doesn’t get much better than that!

Of all the great stories that have come from this trip, a highlight of the experience was the encounters with the locals we had along with the river. Despite the remoteness, nomadic herders were a regular presence in the countryside, and every encounter was met with warmth and curiosity.

One memorable evening, a grandfather arrived at camp on a motorcycle accompanied by his granddaughter and two grandsons, all four somehow sharing the same bike. Head guide Big Gana served as our translator, and we were able to enjoy a simple and meaningful exchange. They brought gifts of local aaruul, a traditional nomadic food made of fermented milk curds dried in the open sun. Fortunately, we were able to reciprocate, Aaron from our group packed coloring books and candy for the children. It was the kind of genuine interaction that reminds you travel can be about much more than fishing.

Looking back, Mongolia exceeded every expectation I had for it. The surreal evening light, authentic cultural exchanges, camp life, and top-water fishing combined to create an experience that was well worth the long journey.

A sincere thank you to Big Gana, Little Gana, Gonzo, the Sweetwater team, and the camp crew who supported us along the way.

Building from this trip, Sweetwater Travel and the Eg Ur Taimen Camp is working out the details to offer an Upper Eg float program in the coming season. For anglers interested in experiencing Mongolia’s remarkable fishing, they will offer two distinct options: a jet-boat-based experience from their Eg Ur Taimen Camp and a multi-day float through the upper reaches of the Eg River.