Interview With A Mongolian Fishing Guide: Undral Lhagvaa

Hello, what's your name?

Sain Bainu (the traditional Mongolian greeting). My name is Undral Lhagvaa

Hi Undral. How old are you?

I'm forty six.

What of your family. Are you married? Do you have children?

Yes, I am married to a lady called Byambaa and I have four children; three boys and one girl. Two are still teenagers at school. My eldest son is a mining engineer.

Where were you born, and where do you live now?

I was born in Ulaanbaatar and that is where I still live.

How long have you been a fishing guide, and where do you work?

I have been guiding fishing holidays in Mongolia since 1993. Most of the fishing holidays are to nothern Mongolia; the Selenge River, Lake Khovsgol and the Darkhad Depression. I also guide in central Mongolia, the White Lake is a favourite, and the Onon River in eastern Mongolia.

How did you become a fishing guide?

Fishing was a hobby for me as a boy. I was happy when I found I could make a living from it. The more I saw of visitors fishing and their techniques, the more it became a passion. Now I wouldn't want to do anything else.

Did you need to do any special training?

The only training I needed in those days was given on the job. Every fishing trip has been a learning experience. Some things I have only been able to learn from clients.

What do you do when you are not guiding?

There is not much other work available so mostly I stay at home. I meet up with other fishing guides and sometimes go hunting.

What do you most enjoy about being a guide?

Everything! I love the travel, being outdoors, socializing with the fellow anglers and, of course, the thrill of a fish on the line.

Sounds great. What's the biggest fish you have ever caught?

A Taimen. It was 156 centimetres long. We release all the fish caught so there was no chance to weigh it.

Is this the biggest fish caught on one of the fishing holidays you guided?

No. One angler beat me by just one centimetre. 157 centimetres - I could hardly believe it.

What was your most memorable moment guiding?

It happened early June last year. I was to guide six 'new Russians' to the confluence of the Five Rivers. They only had five days in Mongolia and were therefore meant to take a return helicopter ride to the fishing grounds and back.

Just when the group was to take off for the fishing area the heli-company, although it is privately owned, got orders from the Ministry of Emergencies not to take off but to have the machine available for possible rescue duties. Apparently, over two hundred people had been reported missing in a blizzard that had pounded the North-eastern part of the country for the previous thirty hours.

Without the helicopter we were now short of time and the clients were really not happy. We had to take an exhausting fourteen hour drive, arriving the next morning. Luckily, the fishing was really good with a record (for us) catch of a twenty two kilogram Taimen . The client took over thirty minutes to land it. It was a good trip evn though the weather stayed quite miserable until the end when the helicopter finally arrived to take us back to Ulaanbaatar. All's well that ends well.

For anyone who doesn't know Mongolia it is worth noting: there are only a few helicopters in the whole country and they have to serve many needs; and the weather is very unpredictable. One can expect severe snow storms even in June.

Would you like for your children to become guides?

Not really. One angler in a family is plenty.

What one piece of equipment should anglers coming to Mongolia make sure they bring?

A mouse lure. The bigger Taimen cannot resist these, especially as the sun sets and the strikes are ferocious. Such great sport.

If you had the chance, where would you like to go, either for general travel or for fishing?

Somewhere abroad - perhaps New Zealand. I recently saw a fishing video from New Zealand. Definitely I would go for the fish, and also because it is sooooo far away from Mongolia.

Thank you Undral. That's an interesting insight into your life as a fishing guide in Mongolia. Let's hope more people decide to take a fishing holiday in Mongolia and keep people like you busy.