Chasing the River Tiger

Among the vast expanses of Siberia and the Far East there are many untouched corners, where their ancient overlords still reign – a bear, a tiger and a wolf. But if they are to rule over the forest, then there is a master in the taiga rivers. They call him taimen or respectfully, in the old manner, handsome.

 

Taimen is a widespread genus of large salmon fish in the Siberian and Altai rivers. This is a real river tiger - a predator, reaching a meter length and 60 kg of weight. However, there are data on larger specimens. So, it is reported that in 1943 on Kotua came across a huge taimen weighing more than a centner and a length of 210 cm. Accordingly, these giants live longer than other salmon, for example, the age of one of them, scientists determined at 55 years.

 

During spawning, the body of this fish acquires a copper-red color, which has long added a halo of mystery to a strong predator. There are many stories about a terrible red torpedo lurking in the cold depths and able to pull a gnarled fisherman into the water with one jerk. But a really big taimen is a rare luck these days, and, of course, an honorary trophy, for which the old routes are carefully studied and huge expanses of Siberia intersect on what is possible.

 

Taimen likes cold and clean water, so you will not find it near the big Siberian cities. Among the popular areas for fishermen of large specimens of this rare fish is the basin of the Lena, Amur and Yenisei rivers, as well as the water area of Lake Baikal. The locals, however, during fishing is not particularly ceremony, and the process itself is more like hunting. Taking out the taimen, local fishermen shoot at him with a rifle or rifle, if the fish only appear out of the water. Of course, sports fishing has nothing to do with it.

 

There are many “civilized” ways to catch a river tiger. And one of them begins in the Stone Age. Since then, figurines of small fish with specially made holes have reached us, thanks to which you can hang them in a horizontal position. Such baits, according to scientists, ancient fishermen lured large predators like taimen, which were then hammered with a harpoon or arcanized with loops. And if you add a hook to such a “fish”, then you will get a prototype of a modern wobbler or splash.

 

The long-known methods of catching taimen include the use of self-made gear such as water snakes, auks and torpedoes. The principle here is to throw the bait down the stream under the nose of the fish. Another method also, apparently, originates from ancient observations of the habits of aquatic predators, hunting for small animals swimming across the water surface. Tymen in this case simply swallows the prey, and sometimes drowns it with one stroke of the tail. Therefore, cunning anglers figured out how to use one of the habits of the owner of the Siberian rivers - so there was a catch of taimen "on the mouse".

 

The most favorable period for this comes from August to September, and the best time of day is dusk. Various natural and synthetic materials are used to make bait, the main thing is that its position in the water contributes to obtaining a smooth and beautiful “track”. The length of such a “mouse” is ten cm, but the imitation of the legs and tail is not of paramount importance. And principled hunters for trophy specimens can safely make a "mouse" twice, or even three times more - it is believed that large fish prefers respectively large prey.

 

Another ancient method is the usual catch "on bait". Of course, other standards of spinning fishing are also welcome - a large wobler with a small depth and, of course, traditional splendor. Good catch taimen and exotic for the ordinary Russian fisherman techniques such as fishing for spinball and pop-wobler for surface wiring.

 

If we talk about the taste of this beautiful fish, even large taimeni have an exceptional taste, and you can cook any "fish" dish from such prey. Taimena is boiled, fried, smoked, dried, made ear and dumplings, and also salted or treated with a weak marinade. A special treat is ice cream meat of a predator, slightly salted and thinly sliced, the so-called "struganina".

 

But the main result of chasing a river tiger is a sense of victory over a clever and strong opponent that can not be bought for any money. In order to feel its stubborn force hiding in the cold depths, which in one fell swoop bends the spinning rod, making the line ring to sing, people and walk kilometers of taiga. In the rivers and lakes of which somewhere there, at the depth, hides a predator with red, like fire scales - taimen.

 

Anton Gataulin