Fishing for Taimen

[Billy LTL]

Have any of you men-among-men been fishing in Mongolia by chance?

The idea of putting a decapitated prairie dog on my hook in the hopes of catching a monster taimen has a certain appeal. I'm thinking about making the trip in June and would appreciate any advice.

Oh, and please spare me any purist tie-your-own flies crap.

http://www.samarmagictours.com/en_spfish.htm

Bests, Billy

[Ray Zee]

i saw a show on catching these fish long ago. they used dead mammals like you say. but from the purist crap side, why not toss a big bucktail fly down to them. this way you get a real memory and something to brag about rather than saying you caught a giant fish on a headless rodent.
i suspect you will have better success anyway as they are more likely to strike out of emotion, rather than for a piece of meat.

[Billy LTL]

I was having a bit of fun over the idea of using a rodent to catch a fish Ray.

I am exploring the idea of going to Mongolia and if I do I'll be taking my Orvis along with me.

[Glenn]

"this way you get a real memory and something to brag about rather than saying you caught a giant fish on a headless rodent."

Maybe you've been watching too many French movies...where I come from, this is EXACTLY something to brag about [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. Actually I never use live bait in fresh water, but I think it's ok as long as you catch it yourself. In that spirit, I say we grab up Pux Phil and catch us a lunker tomorrow...

[Zeno]

Got this from the website:

"You will then drift your bait through a likely looking pool or you can employ a lure that mimics a drowning rodent."

So you "drift" a drowning rodent through the pool. This sounds like a difficult procedure. Prehaps I'm wrong about this. Any hints.

And this thing about "employing a lure that minics a drowning rodent" - is there really such a lure? or is this fantasy fishing?

I can recall feeling like a drowning rodent in a certain pot-limit game awhile back but I wasn't fishing for Taimen at the time.

Good Luck in Asia. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]


-Zeno

[Billy LTL]

is there really such a lure?

A great deal of the skill involved, surely, is first trapping a prairie dog, next, getting a hook into him while he's scratching, spitting and trying to sink his teeth into you and finally, keeping him alive in the water long enough until he attracts the interest of a passing monster taimen. (I'd guess this involves keeping his little head above water if your're not going the "decapitated" route.)

Of course there's probably an entrenpeneur or two in the area in selling live prairie dogs, and hell, for an extra few bucks no doubt they'll put him on your hook for you, but I'd doubt you'd have the same sense of accomplishment without doing it all yourself.

Question - If one of these super fish will take a prairie dog as bait, or a rabbit for God's sake, would a four-inch bucktail fly really interest them in the least?

[M2d]

Forget bucktails. spun hair mice in mega proportions, thrown (not "cast") on an 11 weight would be the only way to go.