Do you love grayling? Then Bob Willis' article on a trip to Mongolia will have you drooling.
Grayling are a magical fish with wonderful colour and a marvelous sailfish dorsal fin. I have always been fascinated with grayling and I know that comes from my first grayling trip. I was a young man and had been working on my Dad to walk into a grayling lake with me. He finally made the trip and it was some of the greatest fishing I had ever had. Fishing with him made it one of the most enjoyable days I had ever had and grayling became a favourite. I have searched for grayling all over the world.
When I fished Mongolia I had reached the pinnacle of grayling fishing. Not only were they in every river but there were several different types and many colour variations. I had searched for them throughout North America and had caught many of the North American form. I was ready to broaden my grayling horizon and was excited to begin the search for Mongolian Grayling. I found grayling like none I have ever seen and discovered a land that was so enchanting that I was captivated. Those discoveries are part of the story.
This painting was inspired by Khosvgol black grayling. They are the most distinctive grayling I have ever seen
There are several different types of grayling around the world and there is only one country where four subspecies exist. There are also colour variations and possibly other subspecies in the Amur and Selenge drainages. The Black Grayling of Lake Khosvgol is very local and only found in and around this beautiful lake. It is the most striking of all the grayling I have seen. Amur grayling only live in the Amur drainage and Mongolia is the only place where both of these fish can be found. The greatest challenge was getting to the fish and if you want to catch the different types you will have to travel. They exist in many rivers and are abundant in some places. But each subspecies is found in specific rivers and none of them are easy to reach. I had my work cut out for me and would know Mongolia well after my grayling travels.
There are some rivers in the country where grayling are the only fish. These rivers flow into the Great Lakes Basin of the far west. I got close to this area and did fish the western mountains. I began my grayling search on the Onon River in the northeast. This river had Amur Grayling and I was planning to fish it only once. That created a lot of pressure and I had to catch an Amur Grayling during a long float down the Onon. I fished every evening and finally began to catch them on the next to last day. I was both thrilled and relieved. The Amur Grayling I caught were small fish and I wondered where the big fish were. Those had to wait until another trip.
I knew that I would have to make special arrangements to trek around the northern part of the country to expand my search for grayling. I was able to set up a trip to the Delger River basin and then travel to Lake Khosvgol and the Eg River drainage. This allowed me to fish several western rivers and spend a lot of time fishing around Lake Khosvgol. The grayling trip turned into more than I expected and I discovered a wonderful country with people that were special. The trip started in western Mongolia on the Delger River. The Delger is a beautiful stream in the mountains of the west. Getting to the Delger was not easy and started with a flight from Ulaanbaatar to Moron. The flight was the easy part and what followed was an eight hour drive into the mountains. This was one of the areas where there were not roads and driving on the steppe requires knowing the landmarks. Our Mongolian drivers did know the way and we made it to the river about dark.
Arctic grayling were in several rivers
Fish were rising when I got to the river and I suspected they were grayling. I grabbed a sandwich and headed for the river. This is one of the few times I fished something other than a hopper. There was a caddis hatch so I put on an Adams. I started getting hits immediately and caught several fish. What a great start for three weeks in Mongolia. I fished for several days on the Delger and caught three different grayling types. The Delger was a good river for Lenok and grayling and fishing was excellent. The Delger fish averaged about a pound and a half and some got to three pounds. Nice sized for grayling but there were bigger ones to come.
It was when I left the Delger that trip became interesting. Up until that time it was just a really nice fishing trip. I left the Delger with two Mongolians friends. My friend Khishgee had agreed to be my guide and interpreter. She was familiar with this area and had worked for five years in the village of Khatgal on the southern end of Lake Baikal. She still had family in the area. Khishgee taught me about Mongolia and told me many stories about the country and history. I went to places few foreigners have seen and learned much about Mongolia. We had a driver who was a herder in the area. Ganchulun raised horses and had won the national horse race several times. Mongolians who travel the back country just take off from one place and go to another. There are few roads but there are trails and they go any direction desired. I would talk to Khishgee and she would talk to Ganchulun and off we would go. I was in good company and with people that knew the country and took me everywhere. The search was more than I imagined and turned out to be my favourite trip in Mongolia. The Grayling search began in the northwest mountains and then moved to Lake Khosvgol. I knew that each subspecies had specific water and catching all of them required fishing different areas. My quest for Grayling was a wonderful journey into a Mongolia that is known to the herders and few else. It was a place with Oboos, reindeer, and a sacred river that never freezes. I learned about Shamanism and what is was like to be with a people that believed in a spiritual connection between nature and man. The conversations were wonderful and the time went quickly as we traveled from place to place.
It took the better part of a day to drive from the Delger to Khatgal. The hardest part was getting out of the river canyon. It was very steep and some of the side slopes made it feel like we would roll over. It was an interesting start to an interesting day. After about four hours we came to several piles of rock and what looked like grave markers. We stopped and everyone got out. I ask Hishgee about the large piles of stone and the markers that identified several grave sites. She took me over to one of the markers and said that the markers were all descendants of Chinggis Khaan and that they had been at this place for hundreds of years. There were three very tall monuments with a circle of rocks around each of them. They had lasted undistributed for hundreds of years and the spot was a place of reverence for the Mongolians. It was then that we went to the large pile of stones and my education in Shamanism began. Shamanism is an ancient religion in northern Asia that believes in a spiritual relationship between nature and people. The large pile of stones was a scared rock cairn called an Oboo. It was home to the local mountain spirit and we stopped to pay respect to the spirit. We paid respect by walking around the Oboo three times and placing another rock on the pile. In return for our respect the mountain spirit would grant us safe journey and Wind Horse. Wind Horse is the symbol for prosperity. We spent about thirty minutes at this scared place and then continued our journey.
An Oboo is a sacred rock carrion that is home to the local mountain god. We added another rock to show respect and bring good fortune
As we drove on the Khatgal, I ask Khishgee about Shamanism and what she thought about the ancient religion. She told me a story about her friend that worked in an office in Ulaanbataar. She had known this lady all of her life and she was like most of the young people in the Mongolian capital. But a few years ago she was visited by a Shaman. A Shaman is a spirit that allows the spirit world to deal with the present world of people. This Shaman began speaking through her in his native language that was several hundred years old. An interpreter had to be brought in to identify what was being said. Over the next two years two other Shaman began to speak through this woman. Khishgee heard about what her friend was going through and decided that she had to see her. Her visit was a revelation as the three Shaman came to speak to her and spoke in their ancient voices. Hearing her friend talk with voices that did not sound like her raised many questions. The visit left Khishgee with a feeling that the ancient religion may be valid. We had more conservations during our time together and she taught me how the Mongolians feel and care for the land. I pondered the mountain spirits and Shamanism as we turned off a good road to find a trail to the Eg River.
My first Yellow-tailed grayling was a dandy
Not many people visit the Eg in this area except for the herders that live along its banks. I liked the Eg from the first time I saw it. It was not a large river but had enough water. It was a cold rainy day so I pulled on my raingear and grabbed my small rod. There was a herder nearby and he watched me get ready to fish. The nice thing about fishing Mongolia was that all of the water is open for fishing. All it takes is a fishing license. We drove along the river and came to a rocky area that I did not think we could cross. I had my hand on the door ready to get out when Ganchulun put the Land Rover in low and started over the rocks. We made it but seemed like we were upside down once or twice. I came to respect his judgment on driving and places to fish. He really knew the Eg and everywhere we fished was good. We got to the Eg late in the day and I fished for about three hours. It was good fishing and I caught several grayling and lenok. One lenok was a monster that took a taimen fly. I thought it was a taimen when I set the hook and the fish took off downstream. After a long fight I was able land the largest lenok of the trip. After my lenok experience I found a pool with several large rocks that looked like a grayling haven. Almost immediately I started catching some nice sized grayling. One of the largest fish I caught was marked differently. I had seen pictures of similar grayling and this was my first yellow-tail grayling. There was no question that this was a yellow-tail and I was encouraged to see a different looking fish. It was about a two pound fish and I stopped to get a picture. I saw many different grayling subspecies in the Far East but none were marked like the yellow-tail. This yellow-tail was one of several that I caught fishing the area and they do have yellow tails. I was well on my way to catching all the grayling of Mongolia.
Hishgee and Ganchulun were in the process of pitching a tent for the evening. I stopped fishing and went over the talk with them. I knew we were not that far from Khatgal and that there were many places to stay in the village and around Lake Hovsgol. It was also where Ganchulun lived and he could be home for the night if we drove the 30 kilometers to the village. We decided not to stay on the river but drove to town and planned to fish for black grayling the next day. Hosvgol black grayling only exist in Lake Khovsgol and some of the inlets around the lake. For some reason they do not venture into the outlet (the Eg River). There are a variety of other grayling in this river but not black grayling. There are taimen in the Eg so not giving this top line predator a chance for a meal makes sense. The black grayling is the only fish that I found that was consistently eaten by the locals. Mongolia is not a fishing culture and people seldom eat fish. The exception is black grayling. People have discovered how to catch them in the winter with nets through the ice. There is also some illegal netting on some of the inlet streams during spawning. Smoked grayling has become a delicacy in northern Mongolia. We tried to buy some smoked grayling at the local stores and all had run out. The black grayling spawn was occurring during the time I was there and I wanted to see what the streams look like choked with grayling. Our first trip would be to the River that Never Freezes on the western side of the lake. The River that Never Freezes is a sacred place to the local Mongolians. The mountain spirits have blessed this river with the ability to stay open all year and its waters have special powers. Anyone that drinks the water and eats a fish from the river will have good health for the year. If it is done three years in a row good health will be received for a lifetime. The spawn had already occurred in the River that Never Freezes and it was not possible to catch any fish from what was a good looking spring fed stream.
I fished the west side of Hovsgol for a day with little success. I got three hits in several hours of fishing. I ask Khishgee about the fishing in the lake and she said that when she was here years ago it was great but in the last several years it was not as good. The next day we would fish the inlets on the other side of the lake and finish the day back on the Eg. On the way we stopped for dinner at a restaurant that didn't appear to be open. Khishgee went into a ger that was close by and several ladies came out and ask us what we would like to eat. The camp where we stopped was owned by Khishgee's Aunt and we would be taken care of with no problem. That happened over and over during my time search for grayling. I have never been with better people.
Khosvgol Black Grayling look like a dark whitefish
During the long drive back to Khatgal we also stopped and visited the Reindeer People. This small group of people live in the mountains and raise reindeer. They were very kind and invited us into their tents that were not gers. The Reindeer People live in what we would call teepees. I did not get the Mongolian word for their tents but they were big and several people could fit inside. They also had some of the biggest dogs I have seen. I was told that they were wolf dogs and protected the reindeer from wolves. The reindeer are shackled at night so they do not wander far from the protection of the dogs. It was not a good day for fishing but it was an interesting day. A tough day of fishing left me wondering if the spawn was over for black grayling. If that was true it was going to be a lot more difficult to catch some of these so called ugly grayling. We got back to Khatgal late and I went to bed wondering about grayling.
The next day was voting day in Mongolia and a new parliament and president were to be elected. I found that out when we passed a small building that had horses, trail bikes, and cars all around it. I ask what was going on and was told that all of the people in the area were voting at this building. We had already driven a log way and this small building was in the middle of nowhere. But people were there voting and it was good to see. We were getting close to the Russian border and passed several vehicles with border patrol officers. I had seen them before in northeastern Mongolia but there they used horses. Here they had four-wheel drive vehicles and many more officers. We drove up the eastern side of the lake and it was very different from the other side. The western side had timber and steep areas with little space between the forest and lake. The eastern side was open with herders and some large herds of goat and sheep. We kept driving and the road steadily got worse. We crossed a small stream and there were fish everywhere. They were grayling and the spawn was on. We followed this small stream for a while until it emptied into the lake. I fished the stream mouth but didn’t see any fish and had no hits. I suggested we move upstream and we drove into the middle of a yak herd and there were grayling everywhere.
I put on a small caddis nymph and starting casting. There was not much interest. It seemed that this fish had other things on their mind. But I kept working at it and finally was able to hook a fish. My first black grayling. I was thrilled to see one and thought back to the words of a guide who had fished the area. He said that they were ugly fish. I looked at the fish that may have weighed a pound and decided it was different but not ugly. I fished for about two hours on that small stream and lost track of the number of fish that I caught. I did find out that the best way to catch them was to use a #14-16 Adams and fish it as a wet fly. I got many strikes as the fly swung across the current just below the surface and more by leaving the fly in the water at the end of the drift.
Talking horses over sweet cakes and goat milk tea
I had caught enough black grayling by early afternoon and decided it was time to head for the Eg. There would be some nice lenok as well as different types of grayling to complete a good day of fishing. But Ganchulun had a surprise. As we got close to the good road he turned off and we travelled up a hill toward a large herd of goats. There were several horses tied to a hitching rail and we stopped and got out to inspect the horses. Ganchulun explained that these were his race horses and he had to decide which one was the fastest to run in the national race in a month. There were six tied to the rail and they all looked like they could run. I raise horses so I decided to get a closer look. I discovered on several trips before that Mongolian horses are a little skittish and I approached the horses very slowly in a way that they could see me. It didn't matter. None of them wanted anything to do with me but after about ten minutes I was able to put my hand on one. It was a breakthrough but as soon as I moved a little he jumped straight sideways and ended up a couple of feet from my hand. I gave up trying to make Mongolian horse friends and walked back to Khishgee. She said that we had been invited into the trainer's ger for sweet cakes and goat milk tea. We all headed for the ger. By this time I had been in many gers but I had never been in one with seven other people. We sat down and were offered cakes and tea by a young Mongolian woman. The tea was served in a small bowl. Yak butter was offered with the cakes and you were expected to put butter on your cake. I tried a cake with butter and it was good. So was the goat milk tea. I watched the conversation from the corner. Well not exactly the corner because we were in the round and everything was in the middle of something. The men talked horses long enough for me to have two cups of tea and several cakes. It was a nice break and the rest of the day on the Eg was good.
The next day was cold and rainy and I fished a different section of the Eg. It was raining hard and I told everyone to stay in the land rover while I fished. The fishing was great and I caught many grayling and lenok using a big hopper skidding it across the surface. The Eg and Delger as well as some of the Khosvgol tributaries were all good grayling streams. I liked the Eg because it seemed to have the largest fish. That was true for both grayling and lenok but it also had many different types of grayling. Both the Delger and the Eg were part of the Arctic basin and I expected to see Arctic grayling but was surprised by Baikal black and white grayling. All of the colour variations enhanced the grayling experience.
This grayling colour variation was the prettiest fish I caught
The Siberian or Arctic grayling were in several rivers and I probably caught six or seven. The rivers in the Arctic drainages that eventually make their way to Russia and meander through Mongolia before they flow into Russia.These rivers are part of the Selenge Drainage and I guess I should have expected Baikal white and black grayling. The Selenge is the main inflow to Lake Baikal and those grayling do leave the lake. Not a lot has been written about the grayling in this part of Mongolia but they are varied and many. Arctic grayling in this part of the world are known as Siberia grayling but are the same fish genetically. The Siberian grayling in Mongolia are marked differently than those of the Russian and the North American form. The fish in Mongolia did not have as many spots as the ones in North America and I caught several that had no spots. The grayling that I consider somewhat difficult to catch is the namesake of Mongolia. The Mongolian grayling grows to the largest size of all of the grayling subspecies. They are not really difficult to catch once you get to where they live but there is the rub: getting to them is a challenge. These fish are relic grayling that were left landlocked after the Tertiary Geologic period and only inhabit the rivers in the western part of the country. These rivers do not flow into the ocean and make up what is called the Great Lakes Valley. Rivers in the area flow to the south and terminate in a series of lakes. These rivers do not have the variety of fish as other Mongolian rivers but they do have Mongolian grayling. I was able to catch a few Mongolian grayling but it would have been much easier to fly to the west and fish. The problem with that was that it would have taken several days and there was only one grayling type to catch. I was satisfied with the success in the rivers I fished.
It was nice to see all of the different types of grayling. I caught several colour variations that may or may not have been subspecies. I think several new subspecies will be found in Mongolia when more of the rivers are sampled. There were many different looking grayling everywhere I fished. There were yellow ones, spotted ones, and fish with splotches. The exception was Khosvgol where everything I caught was a Black Grayling.
Watching a grayling chase a fly skidding across a river was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had with a fly rod
I didn't know what to expect in the beginning but I met Khishgee and Ganchulun and had a great time with my new Mongolian friends. I enjoyed talking and travelling with people that knew the country and had experiences to reflect upon a different way of life. There are few people from Mongolia that fly fish. I did give Khishgee some lessons and she fished for a while one day. She said that the fish didn’t like her and put down the rod. That same day on the Eg a herder approached me and asked if he could have some flies. He didn't speak English but at least that was what I thought he wanted. He had a spinning rod and pointed to the end of the line which had nothing attached. I gave him minnow flies and several mouse flies and when he left said "you good". That made my day.
I did find all of the Mongolian forms of grayling and maybe even more as yet unnamed subspecies during my grayling trip. Everyone I told about a trip to Mongolia to catch grayling thought I was crazy. Many said that it was a long way to go for grayling but I was after more than grayling. I was searching for adventure and found a fascinating experience. I have managed to catch grayling all over the world and found the best place to catch them was one that gets few visitors and little consideration as a grayling destination. My Mongolian grayling adventure was more than catching many forms of large grayling. I learned about yaks, the Russian occupation and life in rural Mongolia. Wonderful fishing was part of something extraordinary in a part of the world that I never thought I would visit.
Bob Willis is a fly angler and author who travels the world in search of fish. For more details be sure to visit his website - The North American Trout Site