Mongolia’s most scenic float trip with excellent fly fishing for Taimen, Lenok and Grayling.
Perhaps Mongolia’s best-kept fly-fishing secret, this is one of the most beautiful rivers in Mongolia; carved through limestone and granite bedrock, the valley is flanked by spectacular cliffs and rock pinnacles. Even without the chance to catch a 50-inch Taimen these float trips offer world-class trout fishing and scenery.
“Andy promised us a wild river that almost no one knew about and he delivered. From the airport, we bumped our way over the grassy Mongolian Steppe past nomad tents and herds. At first I thought, “No way is there a big river hidden out here!” But we snuck on a trackless route over a few hills and down a steep valley into a hidden canyon where a beautiful river stretched out before us. The river valley is absolutely stunning – a wide river alternating between rapids and deep pools, a wildflower laced valley floor and big high cliffs like bookmarks on either side. It’s one of the nicest places I’ve seen in Mongolia and there wasn’t a village for miles in any direction. We had the entire river to ourselves.” Nathan Ward, 2008
“We put in some 30 miles from Mongolia’s border with Siberia and floated a 60 mile section over a week, camping in yurt (or “ger” in local parlance) camps on the first and last evening, and in tents in between. The inflatable rafts with custom built frames, similar to those used on Western rivers in the US, served the purpose very well, carrying two anglers and a guide, in surprising comfort. We fished from the boats as we drifted as well as stopping in promising pools and wade fishing.” Tom Gorman, Global Angler 2005.
This is an unsupported float trip, everything we need for the week goes downriver with us, personal gear is stowed on your raft, while the crew raft brings the tents and supplies. Camping is comfortable, with individual tents or 3-person mountain tents for two to share, a dining tent, camp chairs and tables, toilet tent and simple shower. Base camps with gers (yurts) are set up at the put-in and take-out points, giving you space to organize your gear, clean up, and have a night in a bed at each end of the float.
“The first night we spent at Fish Mongolia’s ger camp, and I had to pinch myself that we were there. Poking my head out of the ger in the morning revealed an incredible vista with breathtaking scenery. While our merry band hit the river for the first time the boats were prepared by the crew. Although this was to be a float trip, Andy Parkinson has refined the experience in the extreme over his years of experience fishing this river. We were to cover approximately 40 km of river over the following six days, and no detail had been left out. The equipment boats would carry all the tents, food and accessories, and by the time we reached each camp site in the evening fires were lit, tents had been erected and dinner was well on the way. There was nothing for us to do except have a drink, and sit around the fire swapping stories of the days events.” P.M. Aardvark Mcleod Float Trip, September 2009
Each full-frame raft is equipped with front and rear casting seats and is rowed by one of our guides enabling you to fish drift-boat style from the raft. However, many of our guests prefer wading to fishing from a drift boat, so we have slowed down the pace of our float trips to give more wading opportunities; the emphasis is on the fishing not the floating, using rafts for pool-to-pool transport. This makes the trip suitable for fishing both double-handed and single-handed rods.
Available dates for 2010
Spring ‘10 Taimen Season: June 14th to 23rd, June 22nd to July 1st
Fall ‘10 Taimen Season: August 27th to September 5th,
September 4th to 13th, September 12th to 21st
Guided trips: $4450 per person
10-day package in Mongolia, 7 nights on the river with 6 full days fishing, includes domestic flight and jeep transfer, all services, permits, and two nights hotels in Ulaanbaatar. Trips limited to four to six anglers per departure.
