Fishing in Evenkia

Region: Russia, Eastern Siberia, Evenkia

Activity: fishing, rafting

Season: July — August

Evenkia (Evenkiysky District) occupies a vast territory of 767 thousand square kilometers (296 thousand square miles) in the northern part of Krasnoyarsk region, from the Podkamennaya Tunguska river in the south to the Taymyr peninsula in the north.

The geology of the region, as well as its flora and fauna are completely unexplored and still pose a mystery for scientists. Even in Russian geology the large territory of the Kotui river headwaters bears the name “Pole of Inaccessibility”. The territory has not been commercially exploited, nor is it planned to be in the near future. According to scientists, it is the cleanest area in Russia.

The climate of the region is severe, distinctly continental. Spring, summer, and fall together last for about 3 months (June, July, and August); the rest of the year is winter. Despite the permafrost and polar latitudes the amount of sunlight received during the summer is more than in the tropics. Average daytime temperature in July is between +10 and +20 C (50 and 70 F); average nighttime temperature is between +5 and +10 C (40 and 50 F). The water temperature is between +8 and +12 C (46 and 53 F).

The rivers and lakes abound in various fish, including rare ones (taimen, brown trout, nelma, sturgeon, sterlet) and widespread (pike, grayling, sig, pond loach). The per capita availability of fish drastically exceeds the norm as there is plenty of fish and very few inhabitants. But Evenkia is famous not only for the quantity of fish, but also for its quality. The largest taimen in Russia was caught in the KotuiRiver in 1943. It was more than 2 meters (6 feet) long and weighed 104 kg (229 pounds). In the MoieroRiver, a tributary of the Kotui, our group caught a taimen that weighed 25kg (55 pounds), and this is just the beginning of good fishing in this vast region, unexplored by fishermen.

We offer fishing trips on the river Kotui and its tributaries – the Moierokan and Moiero rivers.

Itinerary

Day 1 (Evening). Departure from Domodedovo airport in Moscow to the city of Krasnoyarsk.

Day 2. Layover in Krasnoyarsk, departure to the Tura settlement (by plane). Arrival at Tura, helicopter transfer to the Moierokan river (420 km or 260 mi. from Tura). Setting up a campsite.

Days 3-4. Rafting down the Moierokan river until its confluence with river Moreiro (24 mi or 40 km). Fishing for taimen, sig, and pike. Sleeping in tents.

Day 5. Camping at the mouth of the Moierokan river. Fishing in the mouth of the river, possibly going up the Moreiro river by motor rafts (possibility depends on the water level) and fishing below the waterfall on the Moreiro river (5 km or 3 mi. from the confluence of the two rivers). Sleeping in tents.

Days 6-7-8. Rafting down the Moreiro river (70 km or 43 mi.) through “the Moreiro stream pools” until the beginning of the Irbuklinsky cascade (the mouth of the river Kochokan). Fishing for taimen and sig in the stream pools and in the mouths of tributary rivers. Sleeping in tents.

Day 9. Helicopter transfer to Tura. Departure to Krasnoyarsk. Layover in Krasnoyarsk. Departure to Moscow.

What’s included: Helicopter transfer to the river and back, camping and rafting equipment (2 rafts), 2 Team Gorky guides, meals during the river trip; insurance; satellite phone; walkie-talkies.

Not included: Airfare to and from Tura, meals before and after the river trip, alcohol during the entire tour. Fishing gear. Accommodation and meals in Tura if departure for or from the river trip is delayed due to the weather conditions.

Team Gorky provides the following equipment:

16-feet motorized rafts; motor fuel; life jackets, dry bags (120 l or 31 gal per fisherman for packing personal belongings), 2-person tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, campfire and cooking equipment, dishware, first aid kit, Iridium satellite phone for emergency communications, walkie-talkies for communicating between rafts, GPS navigator, route maps on the scale of 2 km in 1 cm.

Recommended personal equipment and clothes:

High boots or waterproof waders, waterproof jacket, thermal underwear or wool sports suit for rafting (might get wet), sports suit for camping (preferably with tight fitting cuffs on wrists and ankles), boots or sneakers, hat that covers the ears and is made out of heavy fabric, with a mosquito net, anti-mosquito repellent with no less than 30% of N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, personal medical kit, hunting knife with documents to allow carrying it on a plane, photo- and video cameras in waterproof boxes (Pelicase or similar), personal hygiene items.

Recommended fishing equipment:

1. 2.7-3.0 m spinning rod with an inertia-free spinning reel and a 0.15-0.2mm line. For catching lenok and taimen of up to 10 kg with a fishing lure of 10-20 g.
2. 2.7-3.0 m spinning rod with an inertia-free spinning reel and 0.22-0.3 mm line. For catching taimen with a fishing lure of 20-40 g. The fishing rod has to be quite rigid, as taimen has very thick lips that are difficult to pierce while hooking.
3. Fishing lures for gralying and medium-sized lenok – white and yellow spinnerbates (Mepps #2-3 or similar). Fishing lures for large lenok and taimen – mostly white-and-red treble hooks of 20-40 g, also white-and-red MEPPS #5-6 or similar lures. White-and-red mouse lures and wobblers have also proven to be effective.