Siberia: Tugur’s Pre-historic Taimen

Siberia:

Tugur’s Pre-historic Taimen

Hucho Taimen can reach six feet in length and weigh more than one hundred and fifty pounds. Just those two statistics tell you all you need to know about why Ilya Sherbovich and, to a lesser extent I, have spent the better part of two decades searching for these incredible pre-historic salmonids.

By: KEITH ROSE-INNES // Photos by SERJ TSAPLIN and KEITH ROSE-INNES

Ilya, the proprietor of the Ponoi River Company, developed a fascination for taimen following a journey to North-Eastern Siberia in July 2002. Two years later, I entered the scene. While stationed along the Ponoi River in the Kola Peninsula, Ilya extended an invitation to join his upcoming major expedition. Little did we anticipate that this would mark the inception of a 17-year pursuit of taimen, taking us as far as south-eastern Russia in the quest for that elusive colossal taimen. It’s been an odyssey characterized by extensive research and local folklore as we endeavoured to pinpoint which rivers – out of hundreds of thousands – might potentially harbour giant taimen.

Historically, taimen inhabited a vast territory spanning from European Russia (the Volga and Pechora River basins) over 6000km to the east (Yana River and Amur River basins). Although they are no longer as abundant or widespread as in the past, Russia still boasts a taimen habitat encompassing over 10 million square kilometres, focusing on all river and stream environments with consistent flowing currents. Typically, taimen migrate from larger, deeper rivers to smaller, shallower streams. We considered all of these factors in our pursuit, along with the usual variables such as weather and the guesswork of water levels, which can only be assessed upon reaching the river. The phrase “a needle in a haystack” would be an understatement, and perhaps too daunting a challenge if we were not constantly mindful of these statistics.

Research and logistics

Working his way through the haystack over the last 17 years, after significant research and exclusions, Ilya has organized expeditions to fish the Lena, Dyanyshka, Menkere, Undyulug, Dzhardzhan, Kuranakh-Siktyakh, Uel-Siktyakh, Muna, Natara, Sobolokh-Mayan, Eekit, Besyuke, Olenyok, Keimyar, Pur, Kharbusonka, Bytantai, Tugur, Konin, Koninikan, Munikan, Ulgi, Bytantai, Kharbusonka and quite a few rivers we might just keep to ourselves. The biggest challenge with Siberian taimen exploration is logistics, and to cover the above-mentioned list of rivers, Ilya would require and solicit the use of various logistical solutions of gargantuan proportions. This includes an incredibly skilled Ponoi team who had to mobilize our group of anglers for 118 days of fishing, over 11 trips in those 17 years.

My induction into this amazing adventure kicked off in 2005 with the charter of a former Soviet plane en route to Tiksi. This town is one of the furthermost northern settlements in the world situated on the northern coast of Yakutia, in the Arctic Circle, and perched on the shores of the stormy Laptev Sea. Two MI8 helicopters whisked us away and over the immense Lena River delta that has its source in the northern Central Siberian plain, from where it flows northeast before emptying into the Laptev Sea. As we flew upstream on the Lena and over to the upper reaches of Olenyok river, for most of us I think it was the first of many reality check moments as it dawned on us how vast Siberia is and how challenging the search was going to be. We sat silent, each man spellbound by the great green tundra carpets of lichen and moss cut by an incomprehensible amount of water that slowly dissipates into majestic clear rivers just waiting to be fished.

During that 2005 excursion, we dedicated two weeks to exploring various tributaries of the Lena and Olenyok rivers. Drifting downstream on rafts, we navigated tumbling waters and glided over a silver-dappled paradise, methodically fishing each pool, and absorbing the river’s breathtaking beauty.

Describing the spoils and magnificence of this region would be an endless endeavor; at every turn, there lay a different rapid or pool that evoked images of distant locales around the world.

The pinnacle of our journey occurred when Ilya’s boat stumbled upon a pool nestled in a tributary of the Lena teeming with fish. It was here that he and I had our inaugural encounter with a sizable taimen. Ilya successfully landed a fish weighing 39 lbs 10 oz, earning him the IGFA 20lb tippet class fly-fishing record.

While this was one of many taimen caught during the trip, what resonated most profoundly with each of us was the intense sense of humility we experienced immersing ourselves in the splendor of Siberia’s natural world. This encounter ignited within us a fervent desire to explore even more of Siberia in our pursuit of the elusive monster taimen.

Fast forward 10 years (and a few more trips)

In 2014, Ilya started hearing about the massive taimen that were said to live in a remote watershed 500 miles northwest of the city of Khabarovsk, deep in the Russian Far East, on the rivers of Konin and Tugur.

The first trip to Tugur in October of 2014 resulted in nothing big being caught after seven days of fishing in water conditions that would seem perfect to encourage big taimen to feed. Rather than a story of success, we enjoyed a week of vigorous casting, split fingers and stiff backs.

A normal person would without question give up the hunt, taking into account the amount of days spent casting huge flies into hundreds of Siberian rivers resulting in not a single take on most of those days. The proof of the taimen monsters’ existence was however there to see as the owner of the Konin lodge Mr. Alexander Abramov had a bunch of framed pictures on the wall of massive taimen that had been caught using conventional methods.

The Tugur River

Inspired by the photos seen at the Tugur and following an invite from Abramov, Ilya was back in 2015. The days quickly flew by with not a single fish hooked or landed and it would seem no amount of good luck, skill, and effort would prevail. A bit of bad luck did the opposite and a belt of cold weather had set in cancelling the helicopter flight out, which gave Ilya another day’s grace.

“We knew there was a possibility of catching a taimen over 100lbs”

Snow and sleet couldn’t hold him back from one more attempt. And then it happened. Ilya hooked and landed the first 30kg plus hucho taimen. It was a pivotal moment that we would all come to acknowledge at a later stage emphatically announced that these monsters can in fact be caught on fly. This amazing fish was large enough to be awarded the IGFA 20lb tippet record weighing in at a massive 30.4kg’s.

The Konin and Tugur rivers had proven that this was the place to do it. Always keen to go bigger, we knew there was a possibility of catching a taimen over 100lbs.

Back re-exploring

Old Russian folk tales suggest that the Lena River system holds fish up to 200lbs, which meant that Ilya wasn’t finished with this area, and a year later the team was re-assembled and we were back re-exploring. This time we did everything on a larger scale so that no stone would be left unturned. It was a trip that would extend over 15 days and 11 rivers. We experienced rivers in flood, rivers in prime condition with no taimen and finally a river full of incredible numbers of taimen. The most impressive fishing was in the same section of river we had fished 11 years earlier with very little success, which sparked another reality check. A key lesson learned is that you can’t rule out rivers previously fished with no success, as these fish migrate in numbers causing them to stack up in pools rather than spread out through the whole system.

The trip resulted in some incredible taimen fishing with a large portion caught on mouse patterns, but still we failed to find a monster. Never mind that as a group we had only achieved the 30kg mark once after fishing 29 rivers on 8 trips over 14 years. By that time, it became obvious that the Tugur-Konin system was the place to do it. So, in 2019 we came back for another crack at it. The saying that difficult rivers are synonymous with big fish is certainly the case with the Tugur and Konin as the banks are lined with logjams and fallen trees.

Some sections are impenetrable with highly stacked trees and a labyrinth of channels, others only navigable after a lengthy chainsaw session. The rivers meander at a steady pace but never too fast, there are no rapids and large rocky areas to define any distinctive lies. The riverbed comprises mostly sand, gravel and small rocks raising the question as to why these big fish would choose these sections of river in the first place. Local taimen grow large enough to feed on and engulf an entire adult salmon. These rivers enjoy strong runs of chum salmon, which is the main source of sustenance for these massive fish.

Unanswered questions

Unbeknown to us this trip was to be vastly different. We fished the same water, but with improved tackle and refined techniques and this time a big fish was caught almost on a daily basis.

Why had they been so difficult to catch? - and why hadn’t we been successful on the occasions we fished there before? Could it be that the reason we failed before was that they are active for a short period of time and with food readily available they feed heavily and then enter into a catatonic state while digesting? Is it a matter of being in the right section of river just as the salmon arrive allowing you the opportunity to fish for these monsters before they have gorged themselves? Was the metamorphosis of fly patterns playing a role as it’s likely that your fly competes with a fresh, full-sized salmon every time it’s in an area that holds a taimen? At that stage the specifics were irrelevant as each 30kg plus fish accompanied a flurry of celebratory vodkas.

Broken leaders (and records)

Time flew by and soon it was the last day of an already successful week. We were heading an hour and a half downstream to an area I had fished unsuccessfully on the first day. I can’t explain how relaxed I felt without a single bit of pressure to catch another fish. It had been a week of incredible proportions as I had held several great fish up to 35,5kgs (78lbs) and witnessed our other group members catch taimen exceeding 30kg. Being content with the trip and set on enjoying the last day, I took my time, messed around with some huge fly combinations to make sure I would get down and the fish would see it, took some photos, and started fishing just after 11am. The sun had come out making the experience even more enjoyable until my third cast came to an abrupt stop and the line was wrenched through my fingers breaking the 30lbs maxima tippet, leaving behind two burnt train tracks on my index and forefinger. “Shit!”

I had been broken off by a big taimen and following the trend of the previous days I expected that to be the only action I would have for the day. I messed around with some more fly combinations trying to match what I had broken off, took some more photos, and had a vodka or two to drown my sorrows before starting fishing again.

A few casts later I was hooked up again and minutes later we landed a fin perfect fish of 31kgs (68lbs). We collected all measurements needed for the scientific data records and took some close-up photo of the right cheek as all taimen have unique markings.

The river comes alive

Out of the corner of my eye, to my amazement I saw the vast stretch of glassy water started showing distinctive light bow waves which I initially mistook for a wind line. A few minutes later the same thing but this time it was definitely a fish. The fish were hunting in the pool which is something I thought I would never see! A few casts later I was hooked up again.

We landed a similar size fish, weighing over 30kgs, took photos and released the amazing creature. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of both gratitude and guilty gluttony that exceeded any will to continue fishing. We continued to watch the pool for a while and noticed a few fish roll on the other side of the river that supported a cut bank packed with fallen trees.

The chase became more intense and visible as glassy water flowed out over the shallow tail of this massive pool making it easier for the fish to hunt. My guilt trip subsided just enough for another chance to catch one of these waking fish that seemed to be larger than what I had caught so far.

A different animal

We ottered the boat out by cleating it to the side handle making just enough casting space. I made a short cast and then a full one into the area I had seen the movement. The fly swung momentarily before I was hooked up to a fish that behaved completely differently to the others, as it headed downstream at a rate of knots.

We dropped anchor and drifted out of the pool before using the motor to get to the opposite bank where we could pursue the fish on foot. I could feel this fish was much bigger as the head shakes were more violent and the runs longer.

Fifteen minutes later I had my first glimpse of it as Sergei, my guide, swept with the net. On his first attempt, he managed to get half the fish into the net. With a couple more jerks the fish was gently massaged as far as it could go into the net, which was three quarters. It was so long that 30 cm of its tail had to remain out of the weigh sling. It measured 159 cm, with a girth of 76cm and weighed in at 109 lbs.

Wet with the fish’s explosive departure I was officially done. How could you finish on a better note? Marking the end of my fishing for the week, I cut my fly off and saved it to place in a framed picture. Shell shocked with disbelief at what had just happened, we went back up to collect the anchor and while untying watched more giant fish hunt for a while before heading back to the lodge. On arrival I could see that I wasn’t the only one who had had an experience beyond expectations. My room-mate Steve Estella was also grinning from ear to ear. He had also caught a real monster measuring 153cm, with a girth of 78cm, weighing close to 100lbs.

World records scattered

For most of the group it was the end to an amazing week’s fishing, but for Ilya and Max Mamaev, Ponoi Head Guide, the trip wasn’t over as they were invited by Abramov to stay for an extra few days. Max and Ilya would fish unguided and rely on their years of experience to figure out where to fish. Both had landed trophy fish during the week, so the pressure was off. Through trial and error, they hit a rhythm of deciphering where these big fish would hold. They fished a multitude of unnamed pools, some holding no fish but at least a few times a day they found pools that produced.

“It was like something freakish out of the Guinness Book of Records”

Ilya and Max each passed the 40kg mark before their second day. The final list of fish they caught is obscene, like something freakish out of the Guinness Book of Records.

Having realized how unique the fishing was, Ilya decided to experiment with some lighter leaders and managed to land three fish that were submitted to IGFA for world records registration: 12 lb class, 29.62 kgs (65-pound, 5-ounce), 138cm; 16 lb Class, 43.98 kgs (96-pound, 15-ounce), 163cm; 20 lb Class, 46.12 kgs (101-pound, 11-ounce), 164cm.

One final monster

It was the last day and the team planned to fish a couple of pools before heading back to the lodge. As the fog lifted from the river, they headed to a section of river that had been named “monster pool” by Max earlier in the week. They fished through the pool with no action. In disbelief they discussed moving to another pool before deciding to give it a few more casts.

Ilya made a cast and let the fly swing before moving it slowly to feel a constant tension as if he had snagged the bottom. Like all really big fish, there was a pause before a large head shake and a run that headed off towards a logjam on the opposite bank.

After 25 minutes and a fight that had taken them 200 meters downstream, the fish wouldn’t budge until it slowly moved to the river’s edge where Max was ready with the net. He attempted to net the fish but couldn’t fit it completely into the net.

Once the fish was subdued, they immediately realised that this was the biggest fish they had seen during the trip, but just how big was it? It measured 164.5 cm in length with an 85 cm girth. Keeping the fish in the water, they pushed it gently into the fish sling and lifted it with the scale attached.

The numbers quickly rattled past the 40 kg mark and up and over the 50 kg mark before settling on 52,12 kgs, which meant it is the first 50kg+ taimen ever caught on fly and the biggest taimen properly measured and weighted, and a new IGFA All-Tackle World Record.

That night a fair amount of vodka was sacrificed in thanks to the Tugur River Gods for finally delivering the payload on an amazing 17-year journey that had seen us fish the most remote and beautiful places. The Siberian winter had started setting in and it was time to head home. The atmosphere that evening overwhelmed the team as they sat spellbound by the experience of spending weeks surrounded by the sheer beauty of one of the last few untouched places on the planet and of getting to grips with the ancient beasts that call it home.

TUGUR-KONIN LODGE

Tugur-Konin Lodge was built and is currently controlled by a prominent Russian angler and entrepreneur Alexander Abramov. Nicknamed “Taimen Tsar” Mr.Abramov has created a unique fishery for giant taimen on the Far East of Russia where rivers and tributaries are guarded and fish are protected. Giant taimen now have a safe haven.

The Wild Salmon Center, Khabarovsk Wildlife Foundation and other partners have succeeded in winning the approval of the new Tugursky Nature Reserve, which will protect 197,000 acres of critical habitat within the Tugur watershed in the Russian Far East Khabarovsk Region.