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Dr Hicks and President Carter
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Dr Hicks with Taimen
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The Carter Hicks Fishing Party
Last September, a fishing group made up of five members from Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia made its way to Anchorage, Alaska to begin a Mongolian experience. I was part of that group, as was President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn.
I have been fly fishing with President and Mrs. Carter for about 34 years, as has one other member of our group. The others have joined us more recently. Our fly fishing adventures have included fishing for peacock bass and bone fish in Venezuela, golden dorados and rainbow trout in Argentina, permit and bone fish in Guanaja Bay, Honduras, and large rainbow trout in Kamchatka, Russia. We have also fly fished trout streams in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Colorado.
Why Mongolia? The Eg-Ur River in Mongolia is home to Taimen, which are the largest of the trout (salmonid) species in the world. The record is 62 inches long weighing 93.5 pounds.
After a 7 ½ hour flight from Anchorage to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, we boarded a Cold War era Russian helicopter for a 2 hour trip to the fishing camp in one of the most remote places in the world. The helicopter landed in a meadow adjacent to our camp which is owned by Sweetwater Travel, a guide service based in Montana. We stayed in comfortable gers that were heated with small wood burning stoves and accommodated 2 people. Our meals were prepared and served in a very nice centrally located cabin.
The landscape and weather were very similar to North Georgia in the fall. The leaves were beginning to change color and the temperature ranged between 35 and 60 degrees. There was little humidity as we were at about 4,000 ft. elevation. The Eg River was wide and very easy to wade with moderate currents.
Our day of fishing would begin about 8:00 a.m. with breakfast in the cabin that consisted of a good choice of western food cooked to order, including eggs and pancakes. We would then get all of our gear together and head out with our guide and two fishermen per boat. Some would go upstream and some downstream. When our guide got to the spot he thought would be productive, he would beach the boat on gravel or sand bars.
We would then wade out to about knee to waist deep and begin casting. A typical cast would be about 90 degrees toward the middle of the river and then let the fly drift downstream on a tight line with a slight jerking motion on the line with the free hand. This allows the fly to skip on top of the water and splash a little imitating a creature trying to swim across the river.
Taimen feed on other fish and small animals in the river. They can be very acrobatic when they strike, coming out of the water completely and diving onto their prey. We used large feathered artificial flies and when a Taimen struck, you were in for a very exciting fight to land these large fish with a fly rod. Most of the Taimen caught were in the 30 to 36 inch range with one measuring 40 inches. As always, our fishing is catch and release.
We spent seven days fishing before the helicopter arrived to take us back to Ulaanbaatar for our trip home by way of Anchorage. During dinner on the last evening in camp, Mrs. Carter asked, “Where are we going next year?” Stay tuned!
