Show what a taimen fish looks like. Taimen - Encyclopedia of fish. Taimen and a slender figure

The salmon family has many wonderful representatives, one of which is the taimen fish. In Russia, the giant is found in large reservoirs of Siberia, Altai, and the Far East. Taimen is not only a valuable prey for fishermen, but also a predator with an interesting way of life and habits. Massive catches of the handsome man led to the extinction of the species, and there is a good chance that in ten years the taimen will completely disappear, remaining only in the memory of anglers. What is so special about the behavior of the fish, where do the giants live and how can they be caught?

A feature of the taimen is its size, because the predator grows all its life, reaching one and a half meters in length. The weight is also impressive - often a handsome man, caught in a large pond, where there were all conditions for living, has a body weight of more than 60 kg. Fishermen claim that this is far from the limit, but, alas, there is no evidence.

Taimen has a long powerful body, the head is slightly flattened from the sides, the description of the appearance of the giant can be completed with a large mouth. The main threat to the rest of the inhabitants of the reservoir is large numerous teeth. Thanks to them, the predator acquired another name - red pike.

The color of the handsome man is silver, with small dark patches. The anal and caudal fins are bright red, on the belly, back, chest - gray. the fish changes color, acquiring a reddish color with a copper tint.

A relative of the common taimen is the Sakhalin taimen. The fish are similar, but there is a difference - the Sakhalin giant lives only in the expanses of the Sea of ​​​​Japan, robbing the Hokkaido River or Sakhalin reservoirs for spawning. The shade also distinguishes them - fish from Sakhalin reservoirs has a darker color.

Giant Habitat and Basic Diet

Where is the giant handsome? Most often you can meet taimen in the Yenisei or Amur basin, Lake Baikal is another haven of the giant. The south of Siberia cannot boast of large specimens, since the areas are densely developed by people, which led to the small number of the family. The predator prefers cold and powerful northern rivers, where you can find lenok, which has similar habits. It will not be possible to find representatives of taimen near the Arctic Ocean - cold waters prevent the accumulation of fat, which is so necessary for taimen for wintering.

What is important for taimen in a river reservoir? The predator prefers rivers in which there are:

The taimen has no competitors in any reservoir - the predator feels like a sovereign owner of the ichthyofauna. He feasts on more than one fish; a mouse or a squirrel overcoming a water obstacle can also become prey. In search of food, he is not afraid to attack a dog, there is almost no chance for a four-legged animal to stay alive.

Interesting! Taimen attacks everything that moves within its reach, without even trying to distinguish nutritional value. A stick floating by, geese and ducks naively considering themselves safe, even stones - in the stomach of a predator there is a place for everyone.

Spawning of taimen and features of behavior in different seasons of the year

The onset of summer heat in Siberia coincides with cold air currents moving from the upper reaches. Taimen sensitively hears temperature changes and immediately goes up the river to look for colder places. Often his instinct turns out to be erroneous - melting ice or awakened springs become the sources of such flows. It is not always possible to get into the icy waters of the tributary; the giant hunts all summer at the mouth, in anticipation of the autumn cold.

Important! Taimen's desire to get into the icy waters can end sadly for the fish, because experienced anglers are well aware of this feature. By checking the water temperature in the lateral tributary and the main mouth, the probability of fish presence can be determined. If the temperature is sharply different, fishing will be successful, no fluctuations are felt - it is better to try your luck elsewhere.

In autumn, the taimen goes to wintering. Perfect option for the giant - deep-sea rivers. If the tributary abounds in ridges or pits, then it is likely that it will remain here all winter.

In spring, the taimen goes up to spawn along the tributary. The spawning ground is chosen cozy - the bottom should be without silt, with large quantity pebbles. The female independently prepares the nesting site by digging a deep hole in the pebbles. There are usually fewer males, so fierce fights can take place before the mating games, the winners of which rightfully receive a reward - a female.

After spawning, predators return to their permanent habitats. Often, hundreds of kilometers have to be covered for spawning, but in the summer the fish will certainly return.

Catching taimen - what you need to know when going fishing

Before you go for the coveted prey, you should know that the taimen is one of the representatives of the Red Book, and you can catch it only after agreement with local authority or in places specially designated for sports methods of fishing. Another rule is to release large specimens, leaving small or wounded ones. Thanks to this, it is possible to save the population, because large fish will produce much more offspring than small ones.

Interesting! In Mongolia, despite a large number of taimen in the rivers, giants are not caught or even eaten. ancient belief states that the use aquatic predator brings misfortune to the house.

Tackle preparation

When choosing tackle for taimen, you should stop at a two-handed spinning rod with a length of at least 3.5 m. The rod will withstand a large predator, but even without hoping for a trophy specimen, it is better not to take smaller tackle - even small representatives of this family strongly resist.

Photo 2. Reliable spinning with a multiplier.

It is better to take a thick fishing line, at least 0.7 mm, otherwise just one bite is enough for the desired prey to calmly break loose and go in search of more suitable food. A similar tackle is also suitable for fishing lenok, but in this case the line can be taken a little thinner.

When completing fishing tackle for taimen or lenok, you should carefully choose a reel - it’s good if it is no less powerful and reliable than a rod. Another important point– fishing line on the reel should be at least one hundred meters. Even if it is not possible to catch taimen or lenok, then there is an opportunity to starve them out.

Thanks to the gluttony and greed of the predator, there are no problems with baits. You can use these:

1. "Pig".
2. "Kem".
3. "Kolskaya".
4. "Baikal".

Important! Tackle for catching taimen from an experienced fisherman who goes on a night hunt for a giant will certainly have a popper in the kit. Most often, this is an artificial mouse, which will certainly be tempted by a predator.

Timing

It is better to go fishing immediately after spawning, the predator actively feeds before the appearance. If the tackle allows you to fish even in winter, you can continue fishing until spring. An active bite of taimen or lenok can be observed before severe frosts - the inhabitants of the reservoir tend to stock up on fat.

Photo 3. The mouse is the best bait for taimen.

Despite the voracity, sometimes the taimen refuses to grab the bait. The main reasons for this behavior are sharp. The fish tries to transfer activity to the night or morning hours - that's when you should go hunting for the giant.

The handsome taimen is the coveted prey of every fisherman, but do not forget that the more we take from nature, the less remains. Sometimes it is better to send a valuable trophy back, thereby increasing the opportunity for descendants to admire the river giant, the number of which decreases every year.

Taimen (Yakut. Bil, tiisteekh (Olekma), Young taimen - Tiisteekh uola (Olekma)) - a genus of large salmon fish. Small specimens have 8-10 dark transverse stripes on the sides of the body; small x-shaped and semilunar dark spots are common. During spawning, the body is copper-red. It is widely distributed, in almost all large rivers and lakes of Siberia and the Far East, also in Altai, for example: in the rivers Bukhtarma, Kurchum. Like other salmon, the taimen is a predator, reaching 1 m or more in length and 60 kg in weight. It is reported that in 1943, a taimen weighing 105 kg and 210 cm long was caught in the net on Kotui. Taimen live longer than other salmon: the age of the taimen caught in 1944 in the Yenisei, near Krasnoyarsk, was determined at 55 years. His weight was 56 kg.

There is also Sakhalin taimen (Hucho perryi) - the only anadromous species in the genus taimen. It lives in the Sea of ​​Japan, spawning in the rivers of Hokkaido, Sakhalin and Primorye.
Taimen is a predator ideally adapted for killing. The large taimen has no competitors in the river. But in order to feed himself, he has to constantly hunt. And he does it very cleverly.

Once, when opening a taimen caught (this time not by me) with an ax, I took out three pieces of chum salmon weighing 4-5 kilograms each from the stomach. Can you imagine what kind of creature it was, capable of swimming, carrying 15 kilograms of prey in its stomach ?! It is a pity that at that time it was not possible to weigh that taimen - I think that it would have been a good hundred kilograms. I helped two Evenks get him out of the net. Taimen, apparently, had been sitting there for a long time, exhausted and did not show resistance. It was stuck in the net with only one gill cover, and therefore it was necessary to proceed carefully. For help, I was allowed to take from him the stomach, which is considered a delicacy. So I had to work with an ax. By the way, when you open large taimen, you find strange objects in their stomachs - large stones, pieces of bark, sticks. I don’t know for sure what makes the taimen carry these burdens inside itself, but there are, however, here I have a couple of guesses. He apparently grabs sticks at night, confusing them with something alive floating on the surface. Well, the stones, most likely, are captured by accident, when prey is attacked at the bottom.

I repeat, the taimen is an ideal predator - a large, uncompetitive owner of the reservoir, who does not at all consider fish alone to be his prey. It devours mice, squirrels, rats swimming across the river... Even dogs, not to mention geese and ducks. By the way, on this ability to grab objects moving on the surface of the water, the most exciting - night - fishing "for a mouse" is based, which I will talk about in detail.

For all its aggressiveness and in the absence of competition in the river where it lives, the taimen is a very gentle creature, so to speak, and it is not difficult to destroy it. First of all, like the grayling, it can only live in clean water. Not representing a value as a fishery - a large taimen never moves in a flock, almost always lives alone or in pairs in pits, under rifts or in deep channels - it turned out to be very vulnerable to an ordinary spinner. Brings the fish all the same greed ...

Taimen is a big fish, even very big, and according to the laws of nature, it needs a lot of food. The larger the specimen of fish, the higher the requirements for the food base. And one more thing - the amount of energy spent on hunting for prey should not exceed the amount of energy received from prey. Actually, the whole complex picture of the modern distribution and behavior of these fish is based on this simple arithmetic. Where there are large stocks of small salmon species - grayling, various types of whitefish, and in the Far East migratory salmon, there should be taimen. Where potential prey is concentrated near obstacles in the form of rapids, whirlpools, underwater ridges, sharp changes in depth, there should be a taimen. And it has also been noticed that if there is something outstanding and beautiful on the river - a large threshold, rocky outcrops, a reach, an arrow with a scythe in the area where the largest tributary flows, a bottomless pit, or something like that, then there should also be a taimen. Somehow it turns out - this fish is associated with beauty. And taimen fishing is a beautiful activity.

The most famous modern habitats of large specimens of this fish are the Yenisei basin, the Baikal basin, the Lena basin and the Amur basin. Moreover, in the Amur and its tributaries, large taimen has been preserved mainly on the territory of Mongolia in the upper reaches of Khalkhin Gol and Onon. In the same place in Mongolia, the Shishkhid-Gol River is very promising for the search for trophy fish. This is the longest tributary of the rivers forming the upper Yenisei, so it can be considered the beginning of the great Siberian river. On the border of Russia and Mongolia, Shishkhid-Gol forms a long 80 km canyon, practically not visited by anyone except rare rafting groups of water tourists, and its lateral tributaries in this area are completely closed places for people - this is the kingdom of taimen, preserved unchanged from ancient times .

The more northern regions of the Sayan Mountains and other mountain systems of southern Siberia, unfortunately, are already densely developed by man and therefore there is no very large taimen here. And around the big cities - Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Ulan-Ude, Yakutsk, Mirny, etc. for hundreds of kilometers taimen and as a species is absent. This fish had a very bad time in the gold-bearing regions of Siberia - on the rivers of the south of the Yenisei-Lena watershed and the Magadan region. Here they not only exterminated it physically, but also changed the very habitat of the fish. Now, even in the places abandoned by artels, the process of restoration of the population of these fish is not observed or is very slow.

The farther north, the better the taimen - he loves cold clean and fast northern rivers. The temperature and oxygen content of the water determine the degree of suitability of the reservoir for fish habitation. But there are serious geographical limitations in this process, north of the Arctic Circle, taimen is becoming smaller and smaller, and even in completely uninhabited areas of the coast of the Arctic Ocean, this fish is no longer there. Under the conditions of a short polar season open water, another month and that's all, the taimen cannot have time to accumulate the fat necessary for wintering. Yes, and the food base here in the rivers for large predators is poor, only the Arctic charr can successfully exist, anadromous fish feeding mainly in the sea and going to spawn in the rivers. Taimen could not adapt to salt water.

The most famous places in the northern regions, where there is a lot of taimen, including trophy ones, are located in remote and hard-to-reach places in Yakutia and Evenkia. Moreover, there is almost in any rivers, but prefers reservoirs with a length of 400 - 600 km, there is such folk wisdom in large rivers and the taimen is larger. There are exceptions to every rule, and there is whole line reliable stories about summer accumulations of large 30 kg fish in small rivers in completely unremarkable places. In such cases, taimen simply became hostages of their instinct to always choose the coldest water.

During the period of catastrophic summer heat, which is typical for most regions of central Siberia, a sharp rise in temperature and a drop in the water level in rivers, a protective mechanism is activated in taimen. The fish determines where the chill comes from, and this most often comes from the upper reaches, and rushes there. The source of such deception is the springs at the bottom and the waters of melted swamps on permafrost. If the fish cannot be raised into the tributary, then it will still stay in the area of ​​​​the mouth of a cold stream. The original local method of catching taimen is built on this love for cold water. The fisherman climbs up a large tributary of the Yenisei or Lena, for example, whatever the Bakhta, and stopping at the mouths of rivers and streams measures the temperature of the water in the main channel and lateral tributary, most often it is enough just to put your hand overboard in one place or another. If the difference is significant, it is worth stopping and leaving the spinning, if not, then it is better not to waste time. The time for such a hunt is the end of the flood, the beginning of summer. It is hunting, because often the local population uses a simple trick to quickly catch large taimen - as soon as the fish appears above the water, they shoot at it from a gun, or a small-caliber rifle. And in Buryatia, on the rivers tributaries of the Amur, taimen are shot during the spawning period, when pairs of fish remain for some time in the area of ​​nests with caviar, and are clearly visible in shallow pebble sections of the channel, where the breeding process actually takes place. Of course, these unpretentious crafts have nothing to do with real sport fishing, and it is all the more strange to hear about the recommendations of this kind of ways of playing fish from the lips of people who call themselves experienced time-hunters and experts in taiga life. All this is pure killing of a beautiful strong and rare fish.

Ways to catch taimen

Taimen with its size, beauty and unbridled disposition has always excited the mind of a person, and gave rise to a desire to get the desired trophy in any way. In this regard, it is necessary to mention the so-called "semolina fish". Of the few ancient fishing tools that have come down to us, composite and solid bone hooks are mentioned in the archaeological literature, and the main design with a beard was already known in the Paleolithic.

Harpoons found in excavations different designs, including specialized arrowheads for fish. But the most interesting of the ancient fishing attributes are life-size figurines of small fish with holes for hanging in a horizontal position. In this they differ from other fish figurines with holes in the front, which are still used for mystical purposes by the shamans of Western Siberia. So, according to many reputable scientists, these figurines served to attract large predators. When the fish swam up to the bait, they hit it with a harpoon, shot with arrows or lassoed with a loop of horsehair. This method of catching, throwing a loop, is still found in Western Siberia. It is quite possible that the loop tightened on the gills of the fish was the prototype of the nets that appeared in later times. And the semolina fish themselves were essentially the first spinners or wobblers. It remained only to connect them with a hook. Since these finds are found mainly on the territory of Siberia, it can be assumed with a high degree of certainty that the object of catching was the most common river predator of that time in this region - taimen. The ancient methods of catching taimen can probably include various types of tackle that exist now - water snakes, torpedoes, auks. Everywhere One principle is to throw the bait under the nose of the fish using the force of the current, similarly to kites. The bait is different from a simple dead fish to modern wobblers. Often the angler hooks a whole string of various baits and spinners to his water sled. Another ancient method of catching a mouse can sometimes be observed as a taimen hunts for small animals crossing water barriers. Sometimes he just immediately swallows the prey with a gurgle, and sometimes he drowns with a sharp blow of the tail and then attacks the victim under water. The sounds of such taimen fun are heard well along the river, and serve as a direct indication of the presence in this place taimen. You can also estimate the size of the future trophy, if it resembles the sounds of a person splashing in the water, then the taimen is obviously more than 20 kg. Small timeshats attack like lenks, with a slight splash, without much noise. The most favorable period for such fishing is August - September. And although it is commonly believed that best time mouse hunting in the evening twilight, but the taimen hunt animals during the day. The Mongols even make special white mice for this purpose - the best, in their opinion, for daytime hunting for taimen. By the way, it is in the flat areas of the Mongolian rivers that the main food of taimen is often not fish, but rodents in the mass found along the banks. From a small taymeshenka, when stroking the belly in the direction of the pharynx, you can squeeze out up to 10 gopher hamsters and other steppe living creatures. 20 kg taiga taimen easily swallow two or three squirrels or chipmunks. Well, you can imagine what 50 kg of fish are capable of - for them, the muskrat is just a great snack before dinner.

Of course, the first mice for catching taimen were natural, followed by pieces of wood covered with sandpaper. With the advent of polystyrene and other foamed synthetics, they began to make artificial animals from non-synthetic wool, and also use synthetic wool. Now most mouse lovers use micropork to make blanks that are already remotely reminiscent of the prototype, and the taimen are not caught on this, and even very well. The requirements for a drowned man are the most modest: length 10-12 cm, weight 50-60g, the shape and position of the bait in the water should help to obtain an even and beautiful mark on the surface of the so-called mustache. But the imitation of real whiskers, paws, tails and other details is not required. The indicated sizes are something average, everything will be caught from 5 kg or more, including lenok and very large grayling. On the trophy, you can safely put a super mouse twice, or even three times more, as a rule, a large fish will prefer a large bait. In general, with these artificial animals a lot funny stories. Once a company of Krasnoyarsk fishermen was descending along a small Siberian taiga river. We stopped at a good place, where a large tributary flowed to the left, forming an extension with a hole, and a little lower there was a rift.

It was clear to everyone that there was definitely a taimen here. But only one small fish of 5-6 kg caught on the lure. Before the traditional evening mouse game, we decided to arrange a parade of mice - there was a lot of laughter. The first prize for absurdity was given to a product called a mole. This plush giant really looked like a mole, but twice as big, had a nose with a button, four wide paws and was armed with three giant tees, fun is 200 grams no less. The poor owner of the animal listened to many interesting remarks about himself and about the pet. At dusk it began - at the rift, taimen tumbled in burdocks and rushed at the beautiful elegant mice of experienced anglers like animals. Who caught a fish for 8 kg, and who for 15, there were more specimens but left. Only the unfortunate mole-breeder remained without a catch. Throwing the carcass of an animal into the river without the risk of breaking the spinning with a test of 10-30 was unrealistic, and even if it was done simply by hand without a rod, there was not much sense. Firstly, the sound of the fall was terrible, and when retrieving, the trail did not in any way resemble a swimming rodent - it just turned out to be some kind of bunch of grass. The whole company had one water boat for catching grayling, and generous friends offered to simply lead the recalcitrant beast with the help of this device into the mouth of the riffle, where large taimen often thumped - let it swim. So they did, then they sat down to dinner and forgot about the mole. At night, when everyone was already asleep, there was a terrible blow to the water, then heart-rending human cries, again a splash, and then everything was quiet. When we looked out of the tents, we saw the wet and unfortunate owner of the mole by the fire. It turned out that he did not lie down, like everyone else, but stubbornly sat at the spinning leaning against the willow flyer and waited for a miracle - he would suddenly bite. The miracle happened unexpectedly, the taimen caught almost simultaneously with the blow and pulled the loose rod into the water. The fisherman boldly rushed to save the whole economy, caught the spinning, but at the same time he caught his foot on the low willow and, unable to resist, dived into the water head first. Under water, he felt only one jerk of a large taimen and that's all ... The ship, the mole and the taimen sailed away in an unknown direction. For the rest of the campaign, the victim hopelessly threw into the river all the largest that was left in his fishing arsenal, but alas - in vain, miracles are a rare thing. And the rest of the participants in the story were already looking doubtfully at their graceful rodents, and some were even quietly interested in the address of the store where the wonderful thing was bought.

Another well-known ancient method, elementary live bait fishing. In Mongolia, it is practiced very widely by rare local fishermen. Everything is simple - spinning, a fishing line sinks an olive at the end of a tackle of the simplest design. Often the fish is attached as follows: in the region of the tail bulb, a hole is carefully pierced so as not to damage the spine, live bait is considered several times more effective than dead. A nylon twine is threaded into the hole. To prevent the live bait body from being cut, the tail is tied with a fixed knot. The resulting ends are attached one to the spinning line, the other is passed under the gills and attracts the tee inserted into the mouth. Catching resembles a running donk, which in fact is this design. The best places are considered stretches with a moderate current and pits at the end of the jets. The stubborn Mongolian comrades, during joint expeditions for taimen, tried all the time to compete with the simple standards of spinning fishing. Practice has shown spinning with a lure tool to be much more effective, although the losers made excuses - they say, the live bait of the wrong breed. And there is some truth in this. Since Taimen are really gourmets and love to eat the most delicious fish. In most Siberian rivers, these are different kinds whitefish - Pyzhyan, Chir, Muksun, Valek. Tugun and Ryapushka. Moreover, the size of the bait often does not matter. Species with a high fat content and tender meat, such as Chir and Tugun, are preferable to dryish Rolls, but there is no place for dietary grayling in this list of taimen delicacies at all. It is interesting that Danube taimen also demonstrate such legibility in food. There are no whitefish there, but there is a goby podkamenshik for the sake of which, according to the stories of the Yugoslav taymesatniks, an evil predator is ready to even jump out onto the shore. There is even a whole range of foam rubber steers with a load for bottom stepped wiring. Truth gossips claim that all this is borrowed from the practice of domestic inventors of foam rubber, and only in order to hide obvious plagiarism, a myth was invented about tasty gobies, and Yugoslav foam rubber began to be painted under them. I don’t know how things are with bulls, but the Yugoslavs are great masters in the manufacture and use of wobblers for taimen. Their piece personalized products are now sold in Moscow and everyone who tried to catch taimen on them was satisfied. It should be noted that the taimen is perfectly caught on a large wobbler with a slight depth not only during the day, but also at night. And this way of fishing finds more and more fans. In the Khabarovsk Territory and Yakutia, self-made three-link structures ranging in size from 17 cm and more (almost up to 30) are successfully used. And we can probably say with confidence that in conditions of depths of more than a meter and a moderate current, wobblers are a worthy competitor to traditional spinners, both spinning and oscillating. But in powerful jets, deep pits, and in sections of rivers where stones overgrown with algae are scattered, simple wobblers do not work well. Any touch of vegetation and the bait stops playing. Spinner in this regard is a more subtle and reliable tool. True, there are popers and similar wobblers without a deepening plate for surface wiring, and slowly people are mastering this yesterday's exotic for Russian fishermen. And taimen react very well to bait splashing on the surface - they are caught. So one of the largest taimen caught last year, weighing about 34 kg, was caught on a superficial Rapalovsky red and white wobbler without a plate. Still, from the exotic, I would like to note a bunch of rubber with a head with two baubles on a yoke and a single hook called a spinball. There were so many smiles and distrust at the beginning, but it turned out that the whole structure seemed to float on the current and itself was able to go around obstacles, in the form of stones at the bottom, it was perfectly controlled, and most importantly, the taimen really like it, it is only necessary that the rubber band be red.

But exotic is exotic, and riding taimen without spinners is just making the fish laugh. Especially it makes no sense to list all types and names - we will focus only on popular favorites - Bluefox No. 6 is red or yellow, less often white has always been liked by taimen, but, unfortunately, not only by them. That's why you need #6, and attach the biggest tee, it is desirable that harmful grayling and small lenok do not touch the bait intended not for them. Perhaps from the atypical taimen spinners, two petal designs with a weighted core should be noted. In Mongolia, such white-yellow taimen tandems are sometimes tempted more often than other classical designs.

In deep flat water areas there is no alternative to large lures, and the best method of using them is rafting on a boat, practically dragging the lure along the bottom. In such a situation, "Professor" or our old "Norich" is good. The last pure lure work is powerful rapids with strong jets. Here the angler is faced with a choice, either to use the same super-heavy oscillating salmon baubles, or to take jigs like “castmaster” and “triangular”. In the first case, the lure is better seen in the stream, but throws it to the surface, in the second case, it is seen worse, but you can use the lure in the deepest layers. In short, you need to experiment and try. It is still waiting for its discoverers to catch taimen on a jig, the first results of timid attempts are encouraging. On sandy and pebbly pits under the rifts, the jig caught the classic spinners into a clean one. Here is how it was. The water in this place was so transparent that the silhouettes of a dozen small taimen were perfectly visible at the bottom. As soon as the first baubles and silicone snot of the participants of the competition got into the water, the bites of the most aggressive fish immediately followed. Captured aggressors were released downstream so as not to interfere. The fishing was carried out with varying success, and the score was approximately equal, but when a couple of experienced taimen remained in the pit, no changes in spinners and wiring methods could seduce them. A jig with a green vibrotail held at a relatively long distance was immediately attacked and captured. Victory on all counts. But unfortunately, underwater placers of stones with cracks in which fishing line and bait easily wedged are common in Taimen rivers, although it is very difficult to catch such places with spinners.

The technique of fishing and bait is certainly an interesting topic, and you can talk about it a lot and for a long time, but the main thing is why all this is being started - a meeting with taimen. To do this, topographic maps worn to holes are spent in the evenings in the kitchen, old boats tested in numerous routes are patched up, strange and incomprehensible words are pronounced - Delkuma, Deltula, Tembenchi. To do this, they get into debt and swear with their superiors because of vacations, cross gigantic spaces on all modes of transport, endure vile, bad weather, grumbling of fellow travelers: “what’s wrong” and other inconveniences of camping life. All for THIS. In order to only see the edge of the caudal fin, red as a carrot, flashed over the water for a moment, when at sunset, on the taiga stretch, a huge fish will effortlessly wriggle out of the depths. In order to feel how she stubbornly does not want to go to the surface and everything presses and presses in the depths. In order to hear the squeal of the friction of the reel, the creak of the rod and the ringing of the fishing line stretched like a string, and the pounding of the heart in the ears. And then ... ... the line will sag lifelessly and the tension on the other side will die. And now you have to start all over again and it is not known how long to wait for the repetition of these moments can be a lifetime. Or maybe everything will be different.

Taimen is not just a fish of the salmon family. This is its largest representative, reaching a length of up to 2 meters. Such a fish can weigh up to 80 kilograms. It is believed that larger taimen exist, but there is no officially confirmed evidence of this.

Taimen has a slender and beautiful body. Its shape is perfectly streamlined. Narrow and elongated body, covered with small scales. The head of a taimen resembles a head in structure. After all, it was not without reason that he received the name in the Urals - "red pike". From the sides and top, the head of this fish is, as it were, slightly flattened. The mouth is large, just huge, powerful, it occupies exactly half of the head. The entire jaw is strewn with sharp large teeth, the ends of which are bent inward.

Taimen is able to move very quickly. And his own structure helps him in this - the fins are displaced and located near the tail, and their blades are very large. The tail is powerful and strong.

In general, taimen has similarities with salmon and. This fish took its huge size and lifestyle from salmon, and the taimen owes its body structure to trout.

The color of the taimen directly depends on the habitat. In general, it is usually silvery in color, but can take on brownish-red hues, as well as greenish and grayish. But at the same time, his abdomen is always light, and black spots are always present on the back and sides.

The caudal fin is very beautiful - red, with a small notch. The anal fin is the same color. But the dorsal - dark gray, pectoral fins and abdominal - light gray. During spawning, the taimen acquires a copper-red color. And in young individuals, transverse dark stripes are present in color.

It is clear that the whole appearance of this fish suggests that the taimen is an ideal predator. Large, with a huge toothy mouth and a powerful tail - he knows no competition. No wonder they call him "master of the rivers". After all, he eats not only fish. It devours both mice and squirrels that swim across the river, waterfowl - ducks, geese, etc. Taimen can even grab a dog, not to mention water rats and other small mammals.

It happened that even stones and sticks were found in the stomach of a taimen. Apparently, this fish does not really understand who to hunt. There are enough sticks, confusing them with something living, floating on the surface, but it captures stones, perhaps by accident. Nobody really knows.

These fish, as mentioned at the beginning, are impressive in size. They can grow up to 1.5-2 meters in length, and their weight can vary between 60-80 kilograms. But, it is clear that such instances - a rarity. Before such huge size only adults grow.

Taimen grows all his life, but their life is not always so long. The largest taimen was caught in the Yenisei - 210 cm in length and 105 kg in weight. But this is rather an exception. To gain 45 kg, the taimen must live 55 years. BUT the average size taimen 7 years old - 60-70 cm, and weight up to 4 kg. These are usually caught. And up to 7 years, you also need to manage to live with our human needs.

Among salmon fish, taimen can truly be called a giant. It is extremely difficult to catch even a 10-kilogram monster. And taimen weighing more than 10 kg is already considered piece goods.

Taimen is a very strong fish. Large taimen can knock a person out of the boat with one blow of the tail, so be careful, because even experienced fishermen do not always cope with them.

taimen habits

Taimen feed all year round, even in winter, except for the spawning period. After spawning comes the time of intense zhor. This usually happens in June. But it doesn't last long. For the rest of the summer, the taimen behaves passively and goes to those places where cold tributaries flow and springs from the bottom. Because taimen feel better in cool water. AT warm water the taimen becomes lethargic and less active.

In the fall, it again starts intensive feeding of the mass. This period falls on September. During this month, the taimen behaves very defiantly. It was at this time that he quickly gains weight so that in winter, when food is scarce, he can eat at the expense of his fat reserves.

Taimen lives in lakes and rivers. Young fish gather in small flocks, and large adult fish prefer loneliness, but sometimes form pairs.

Taimen - "water tiger", so the fishermen also call it. And, perhaps, there is a reason. Of course, basically, their diet is fish. These are perches, minnows, roach, graylings and others. But this is not the whole list of his diet. Squirrels, mice, frogs, ducks, and geese become its victims. It is dangerous for small animals to be even close to water, because at any time the “water tiger” can attack on land, unexpectedly abruptly emerging from the water, like a crocodile.

Young individuals feed on invertebrates - for example. Also, sculpins and others go to their food. A large taimen will not disdain even its own juveniles.

Taimen lives in fresh water. He is more comfortable in the northern regions, where rivers flow with cold and clear water. Likes cold-water lakes and fast currents. Never goes to sea. In Russia, taimen is caught on a vast territory - from the Cis-Urals (basins of the Pechora and Kama rivers) to the eastern outskirts of Yakutia and the south of the Far East (the Yana, Aldan, Tugur, Uda, Amur rivers with their tributaries).

Taimen is distributed along all significant rivers of the Asian part of Russia, in lakes Baikal and Zaisan, occurs in small numbers in the upper Kama, but much more of it in the tributaries of the Kama - Vislen, Kos and others, in the Ufa River and its tributaries - Ai, Krasnaya and others , in the upper reaches of the Belaya River with tributaries, in the upper reaches of the Ob River and its tributaries - the Biya, Katun, Veikar, Sob and others, in the rivers Lozva, Type, Tavda and their tributaries. There is a taimen in the rivers Chusovaya, Vishera and their tributaries.

Quite common in Siberian rivers - Angara, Malaya and Bolshaya Belaya, Onot, Urik, Oka (but in smaller numbers).

In Transbaikalia, taimen is preserved in the rivers Onon, Vitim, but it is noteworthy that in the territory of Mongolia in the same river there is much more taimen.

On the territory of Russia, taimen is also found in the source of the Biya River (Lake Teletskoye, Altai Republic).

In Buryatia, the taimen lives in the Uda River. Also caught in the rivers Turka, Barguzin, Maksimikha.

In Primorsky Krai, it is quite widespread in the rivers flowing into the Sea of ​​Japan - Avvakumovka, Margaritovka, Milogradovka, and is also found in Lake Khanka.

An interesting fact is that the locals of Mongolia do not fish where the taimen is found. According to local beliefs, having caught a taimen, a fisherman is doomed to trouble.

Taimen are distributed over a large area from the Urals to Yakutia. These fish live in all major rivers of Siberia and their basins.

There are no taimen only in Indigirka and Kolyma.

The original home of these fish are the Lena, Amur, Yenisei, Podkamennaya and Lower Tunguska rivers.

There is fish in the basin of Lake Baikal, in Altai, Sayan Mountains, in mountainous areas belonging to the South Siberian region. But these places are well mastered by man, so you can’t catch a trophy there. Hundreds of kilometers from major cities taimen is not found at all.

The taimen also lived in the Volga, into which it fell from the Kama. But that was until people built reservoirs and dams.

Taimen loves the cold, but outside the Arctic Circle you will not see this fish either, even if there is no person there. The fact is that beyond the Arctic Circle, the period of open water is very short. During this time, the taimen does not have time to accumulate fat so that in the winter, in case of a lack of food, it can eat the accumulated fat reserves. The largest number individuals live in rivers with a length of 400 to 600 kilometers. And trophy specimens can most likely be found in the hard-to-reach places of Evenkia and Yakutia.

Taimen is a sports object, however, in many regions of Russia, its extraction from a reservoir is illegal. Taimen is listed in the Red Book of Russia, the Red Book of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, the Red Book Irkutsk region. Also in Bashkiria and Komi, this miracle fish is listed in the Red Book.

Sexual maturity in taimen occurs when it grows up to 65 cm in length. starts in the spring.

At the beginning of spring, after a long winter, fish swim away to the headwaters of the river in which they live. Taimen spawning grounds are arranged on pebble soils that are clean without any silt. On the river bottom, the female taimen digs a hole in the pebbles up to about 50 cm deep. This is the so-called nest, in which the fish lays eggs. The eggs are usually very large and reach up to 5.5 mm in diameter. Lays approximately 10-30 thousand eggs. And fry usually appear somewhere in a month. It depends on the temperature of the water.

Spawning grounds are usually located very far from feeding grounds. This distance can reach more than one hundred kilometers, and in the spring taimen make huge spawning migrations. During their journey, they have to overcome great difficulties and rather big obstacles.

Immediately after spawning, taimen swim to deeper places in the river. They can stay in pools or pits all summer, until autumn. There they gain strength and work up their weight.

And by autumn, the taimen leaves these places and begins to move to the wintering grounds.

The color of taimen during spawning is copper-red with tints.

Do not forget that it is forbidden to catch taimen fish during breeding.

Taimen has never been commercial fish. From time immemorial, it has been caught only by amateur fishermen. But over time, skills and fishing gear improve. Human needs are changing, and not for the better.

People have learned to catch this fish so skillfully that it has completely disappeared from the western habitats. In other areas, the number of taimen has decreased significantly. And large taimen, where they were found, they say, disappear completely. Therefore, conscious and conscientious fishermen, having caught their trophy, film their feat on camera so that they have something to show to their friends and relatives, well, or just as a keepsake, and release their prey, having experienced, according to them, extraordinary pleasure. After all, you give life to almost equal in strength and remain the winner.

Catching taimen without permission is strictly prohibited. Fishermen manage to get a permit issued by the relevant authorities, but not in all regions.

Nevertheless, fishing for taimen is very exciting and reckless, because this is the most noble type of salmon, the meat of which is very valuable, pink or red.

Catching taimen is a very exciting activity. This fish in the collection of trophies of any angler will take a worthy place of honor.

Fishing for taimen is one of the most time-consuming and costly, but there is little that can compare with it, because it brings amazing sensations.

At present, going after taimen is a real feat, because this fish lives in places where the human foot has almost never set foot.

Such a giant is best caught in May-June or from the end of August to November. Fishing is excellent in the period after spawning, as well as from September until the ice covers the river. These days the taimen feed intensively.

according to the fishermen

• Fishermen have long noticed that the best time is morning and evening dawns. There are frequent bites throughout the day, but in cloudy, gloomy, but calm weather, usually in autumn. In sunny weather, the taimen takes the bait much worse.
• When the water becomes cloudy or the water drops, the bite usually worsens.
• It has also been noted that if small taimen (up to 1 kg) are chasing and pecking at lure, then you will not catch a large fish in this place. Because, according to experienced anglers, large individuals usually go in pairs, less often alone. And the young are united in small flocks. Therefore, the fishing sign that if you catch one fish, then in a short amount of time another one of about the same size will appear is valid and based on the lifestyle of this fish.
• Also, anglers believe that with a waning moon, the taimen takes worse than in the new and full moon.
• The most convenient cool time for catching taimen are morning hours - from 9 to 10 hours and evening hours - from 17 hours.
• If the taimen begins to jerk briefly, often float up, then this indicates that the tee has stuck badly. The fish can easily get away from you. In this case, it is necessary, albeit at risk, to make a second vigorous sweep.

Basically, the fish stays on the bottom, so you need to catch taimen from the bottom. On the surface of the water or from the middle of the taimen comes across less often. Taimen often indicates his presence himself.

Every dawn with the noise and splash of water, it floats to the surface, can abruptly fly out of the water, and then again go into the depths.

Amazing unforgettable sight! He can pop up once or twice.

And also on fine days, the taimen impersonates deafening blows of its powerful tail on the water surface - this is how it chases fish at dawn in calm weather. Where you saw him or heard him, he must be caught.

There are quite enough ways to catch taimen - fly fishing or live bait, spinning on spinners, wobblers and of course on an artificial mouse.

They catch taimen on spinning mainly with the onset of spring.

Since fishing for taimen involves overcoming long trips along mountain rivers, spinning should be easy and comfortable. Nowadays, rods of the light and ultralight class are often used. But this is already extreme, it is better to use a middle-class rod. Fishing line is better than “braid”, a time-tested company. The diameter of the fishing line is approximately 0.18 - 0.28 mm.

Experienced fishermen advise using a rod 2.7 m long or more - you have to cast the bait at a considerable distance. It is better to put the reel on the spinning multiplier or inertialess power. And the use by fans of the classics of an inertial coil with a large drum of the Nevskaya type often leads to serious hand injuries.

Some tricky modern novelties with all sorts of wisdom should not be taken. According to the fishermen, it is painfully often that they fail at the very peak of fishing.

The material of the spinning rings must also be durable, for example, silicon carbide (SiC), aluminum oxide (Al2Oz).

Pay attention to the fact that there is no need for a leash when catching taimen, since this fish is not able to bite the line, such is the peculiarity of the structure of its teeth.

Also, the success of fishing can largely depend on the carbine. Try to use brass or iron frame molds. This also applies to fishing for taimen in winter.

Use sinkers rounded, elongated. The bait should be chosen by examining the reservoir where you are going to fish. With an intense flow of the river, it is preferable to use heavy oscillating baubles. On the great depths, where the current is already less strong, "castmasters" of large sizes will do. The color of the lure must be natural. You can't fool Taimen. Mostly used brass spinners, with a yellow tint.

baubles on taimen

In summer, spinning on a lure is best caught in the early morning or evening before dusk. When the taimen goes through a period of zhora, he is not picky at all and is not very picky about spinners, he takes almost everything. But still, the angler should have a varied supply of spinners ready. Because taimen, like all fish, can behave in such a way that you can’t figure it out right away. It happens that the taimen ignores the oscillating baubles, but willingly takes the spinning ones. It happens that it bites only on white or only on yellow or two-color baits.

Novice anglers often believe that only large spinners prefer taimen. But fishing experience shows that even for solid trophies, small "turntables" with a petal length of 40-45 mm can be suitable. An example is Mepps Lusox.

Or spinners with a length of no more than 90-110 mm. For example Mepps Syclops, Abu Garcia Toby and the like.

The jaws of taimen are very strong and powerful, so carefully check the strength of the tees.

Large spinners, 10-12 cm, should be used closer to autumn. A lot of experienced spinning anglers use homemade spinners.

For example, the fishermen of Irkutsk use "devons" for catching taimen, which are made of tin and painted in greenish-brown colors, with one tee in the tail, which is fixed. Now industrial enterprises have begun to produce Devons of excellent quality. In the photo on the left is a Devon produced by the Russian Spinner company.

Good results are obtained by catching taimen on wobblers. See about catching wobblers. In autumn they catch on a tackle, with a local fish - char. When catching large specimens, it is imperative to have a hook.

taimen "on a mouse"

Taimen eats not only fish, but also likes to hunt all sorts of small rodents. Witty anglers have come up with a lure that imitates a mouse. Previously, such a bait was made from ordinary wood, which was covered with sandpaper. But over time, new lightweight materials were invented, which are successfully used at the present time.

The size of such an artificial mouse for taimen is 10-12 cm and somewhere around 50-60 g. The diameter is about 5 cm. The "mouse" can be smaller or larger. The shape should be streamlined so that it can easily and beautifully slide through the water, and in principle it is not necessary to imitate a mustache, paws and tail. "Mouse" can be made with your own hands from cork, hard foam, sponge rubber. And the blank can be sheathed with the skin of some animal or, on extreme case, cloth. In order for the “mouse” to fly further when casting and not rotate when moving in the water, a thin lead plate is attached to the abdomen.

“On a mouse” they usually catch taimen in the dark, although during the zhor period, he can grab this bait during the day. The "mouse" leaves behind a small, but attracting the attention of a predator, groove on the water in the form of a "whisker". She must stay afloat. On the water, the “mouse” is carried out more slowly than the lure.

At the moment of impact, winding should be stopped for a while. As soon as you feel the push (and you will understand it right away), you need to quickly cut. It is necessary to bring the taimen to the shore quickly and get it with the help of a hook by the back.

If you are going to catch taimen “on a mouse”, you still need to choose the most even shore (as far as possible), a place where calm current and there are no overhanging plants and bushes.

"On the mouse" taimen goes better in dark nights. In the moonlight, bites are uncertain and by no means frequent and may stop altogether.

hauling taimen

Taimen's bite, despite its size and formidable appearance, is cautious. And the grip is sharp. Beginning anglers often confuse the bite of taimen with a hook. Then comes the jerk.

It is necessary to hook right away, take the fish out slowly. If the taimen pulls to the side, then it is necessary to give the line slack in time, and if the fish went to the shore, it is necessary to rotate the reel as soon as possible.

Playing some trophies can take several hours, taking all the strength and nerves from a satisfied angler. The fish frantically rushes from side to side, rushing with all his might against the current. And, it happens, according to the fishermen, to sink to the bottom and, pulling the fishing line, quickly rushes to the surface of the water and, soaring into the air, strikes with a powerful tail from all over. Amazing picture! Basically, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe fight is always limited to the place of its bite.

Taimen often uses a rather cunning trick. It goes to the bottom and lies between the stones. Fishermen in this case drive him to the surface with blows to the rod, but not strong. Or they throw stones, thereby scaring the fish.

An adult taimen, descended from the lure or pulled ashore and released, in soon usually don't take it anymore.

taimen fishing in winter

In general, it is generally accepted that taimen is an exceptionally heat-loving fish, and therefore there are no chances for fishing in winter. But after all everyone knows, the main thing - there would be a desire. The fishermen proved that the taimen bites, although not so well, but still takes the bait throughout the entire cold period of the year.

During the winter, taimen is more likely to be caught in the northern regions - this is the main condition that must be remembered.

Searching for taimen is a simple process, because in Russian reservoirs the water is clean and transparent in winter, and watching fish becomes much easier than in summer.

Tackle for taimen must be chosen based on the experience of professional anglers who already know everything about such fishing, both disappointments and tears of happiness from catching, who have many kilometers behind them in search of this fish, have passed.

For catching taimen in the winter, a zherlitsa is well suited, while some special design device does not have to have tackle.

The design of the girders is suitable, consisting of a strong fishing line and a tee, which is wound on a reel. The zherlitsa must be fixed on the ice, and as well as you can, otherwise all previous efforts thrown at catching taimen may be in vain. Also, the reel can be tied to a wooden block, while placing it in the hole in a position across. Look at the designs of the vents.

For live bait when catching taimen in winter, large, grayling, or lenok is well suited. But fishermen have long noticed that lenok remains active much longer in time than other fish, so draw your own conclusions.

Remember that tackle should be checked once a day.

Artificial baits, spinners, balancers can also do an excellent job. After all, experienced fishermen claim that large taimen are caught well on artificial baits, only for such fishing you will need very strong, reliable and proven hooks.

Beware of hand contact with the fishing line, otherwise a serious injury may occur, because the taimen pecks extremely sharply and powerfully. It is necessary to extinguish jerks of taimen either with a fishing rod or with the help of a reel brake, which will also be useful in winter fishing.

Taimen must be dragged onto the ice not with the help of a reel, but simply by stepping back from the hole. And so that the edge of the ice does not cut the fishing line, the edging of the holes must be rounded. All this, of course, is troublesome. But one wrong move can put your entire fishing business in jeopardy. If you managed to bring the taimen to the surface of the water, that is, to the hole, carefully pull the fish out with a hook.

where to catch taimen?

Taimen should be looked for near the mouths of small rivers and streams that flow into the river. He can also enter the rivers themselves, if they are suitable for his life.

Taimen can keep below the islets on the confluent streams that wash the island. Also, this fish stands in front of the pits and after them, behind stone slabs lying at the bottom of the reservoir, behind large stones, behind many artificial structures, near rifts or a stormy and strong stream of water, along the banks below and above the pits, if they are in the riverbed .

Taimen are caught in a quiet but deep current, as well as in places where reflux. In a shallow backwater, you rarely meet him, but during the period of intense zhor, the taimen also enters places unusual for him, actively chasing prey.

The most famous modern habitats of large individuals of taimen are the basin of the Yenisei, Lena, Amur, as well as Lake Baikal. Unfortunately, the areas of the Sayan, Altai and other mountain systems of southern Siberia are densely developed by man, and therefore you can hardly find large taimen in these places. And around such large cities as Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Ulan-Ude, Yakutsk, Mirny, etc. for hundreds of kilometers taimen and as a species is absent.

The farther north, the better the taimen, as he loves clean, cold and fast northern rivers. But north of the Arctic Circle, taimen comes across less and less. And although many areas of the coast of the Arctic Ocean are not inhabited by humans, there is no taimen there, since a short period of open water is not enough for this fish to accumulate fat, without which it simply cannot survive the winter.

In the northern regions there are well-known places where there is a lot of taimen, including large specimens. But they are located in the most remote and inaccessible places in Yakutia and Evenkia. Moreover, taimen can live in rivers of any size, but no less than 400-600 km long.

During the heat, which can come quite unexpectedly in the conditions of the Siberian climate, the taimen rushes to those parts of the river where there is cold. And these are springs and waters of melted swamps on permafrost. And also the taimen keeps in the area of ​​the mouth of a cold stream.

Taimen is a large and powerful fish and, according to the law of nature, it requires a large amount of food. And the larger the trophy, the higher the feed requirements. Therefore, where there are good stocks of small salmon species such as grayling, many species of whitefish, you should look for taimen there. Where potential food lives - near obstacles in the form of rapids, whirlpools, underwater ridges, sharp drops in depths - there is also taimen.

Anglers also noticed that if there is something outstanding on the river, for example, a large rapid, a reach, an exposed rock, or something like that, then there may be a taimen.

composition and benefits of taimen fish

The composition of taimen is not as rich as we would like. But it has something for which all types of salmon are valued. These are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including Omega-3, as well as a protein that is much easier for us to digest than meat protein.

Taimen also contains vitamin PP, macronutrients sulfur and chlorine, trace elements nickel and molybdenum - in a small amount, more chromium and fluorine, and taimen is quite rich in zinc. Despite the fact that salmon are famous for their rich calorie content, there are very few calories in taimen - only 88 kcal per 100 g of fish.

The fisherman needs to know that during spawning, taimen meat does not shine with taste. There is almost no fat in it, which is consumed very quickly during this period. The most nutritious middle-aged taimen is not old, but not young either.

taimen recipes

Many fishermen believe that the best way to cook taimen is to moderately salt it. With such meat, at least snacks, at least salads, at least eat it right. The main thing is not to spoil it. Do not oversalt and undersalt. But everything comes, as they say, with experience.

There is a dish of Siberian fishermen called "Crystal". This is a broth for which only the heads and fins are taken. All this is usually cooked over high heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Then they cool, filter, add raw chicken protein, a little pressed caviar. After that, the broth becomes transparent, like crystal. Then put a couple of hot pepper pods and dill. This broth is not eaten, but drunk with breadcrumbs. On such a broth, if desired, you can also cook the “royal” fish soup by putting pieces of taimen, salmon, sterlet or other noble fish into it.

There are fatty layers between the muscles of taimen, which is why its meat is so tender. It is this fat, rich in PUFAs, that makes taimen the healthiest food.

In Siberia, taimen heads are also eaten, and completely. Usually we throw away fish giblets, and they are also eaten there. But they, as well as heads, can only be used if the fish is very fresh and there is no doubt about it. When the taimen is gutted, the heart, liver, cleaned stomach and bladder are thoroughly washed. And then all this is fried in a pan with the addition of a sufficient amount of oil, as well as seasonings and salt until crispy.

Taimen can be bought in ice cream form. This is better to cook with the addition of carrots, onions, parsley, black and allspice peas. Cut the fish into large pieces and pour salt water, add all the other ingredients and cook for about 20 minutes. Usually eaten hot, with potatoes or salad. But if someone likes cold fish, then, please, cold taimen goes well with table horseradish and fried porcini mushrooms.

Grilled taimen is good. On a spit, taimen is also fried in large pieces, with salt and ground allspice, it’s good to pour it with melted butter. You can serve with wild garlic, green onions and in general with any fresh vegetables!

Taimen is delicious and baked in the oven. Baked with mustard seeds. The fish fillet is cut into steaks about 3 cm thick and weighing less than 100 g. Thickly coat the pieces with mustard seeds, and then breadcrumbs with chopped parsley. Then put in a mold, spread with butter on top and put in the oven, heated to 180 degrees. We recommend baking for about 10 minutes.

You can also smoke taimen. Smoked taimen is truly considered a delicious delicacy.

taimen fish

Taimen ... This "owner" of the rivers of the Yenisei, Lena, Amur and other basins is a desirable and prestigious prey for a fisherman.

The law of nature is well known - the larger the animal, the more food it needs. Taimen is very gluttonous. A predator that keeps all living things in a pond in fear, because of its instinct itself becomes vulnerable.

And in this case, sometimes it is important to save taimen. After all, it is always pleasant to release a predator into its native element when a victorious fisherman gives life to an equal but defeated opponent.

There are legends about fishing for taimen. From year to year, the taymeniad is replenished with new pages.



What kind of fish is an ordinary taimen? Where does she live? What kind of lifestyle does he lead and what does he eat? The answers to these and other questions can be found in our publication.

What kind of fish does the common taimen belong to?

Taimen is the largest fish in the world. Some individuals are able to reach sizes of the order of 2 meters in length. Moreover, their weight can be up to 80 kilograms. Common taimen refers to residential fish. In other words, representatives of the species constantly live in the same body of water, whether it be a river or a lake. The reproduction of taimen also takes place in habitable, well-known territories, in contrast to the same salmon, which resorts to seasonal migrations to reproduce offspring.

Appearance

Common taimen refers to a species within which there are no significant external differences between individual individuals. Regardless of the habitat, way of life and nutrition, all taimen have:

• An elongated, elongated body, characteristic of predatory fish.
• A somewhat flattened head from the sides and from above, vaguely similar to a pike.
• A wide mouth that can open up to the gill openings.
• Several rows of extremely sharp, inwardly recurved teeth.
• Small scales of a silvery shade.
• Rounded dark spots all over the body about the size of a pea.
• The dorsal and pectoral fins are of a grayish tint, as well as the anal and caudal fins of a pronounced red color.

Taimen fish in Siberia are often called red pike. The fact is that with the onset of the mating season, adults change their grayish color to copper-red. After fertilization of eggs, the taimen again returns to its usual appearance.

Habitats

The largest number of common taimen is observed in the water bodies of the Far East and Siberia. Within the territory of European countries a small number of such fish are found in the Kama and Pechora river basins. However, in last years information about the capture of taimen in local water bodies is becoming less and less common.

Representatives of the species prefer clear, cold waters. northern rivers with fast flow. However, the common taimen does not enter regions near the Arctic Circle. The reason is the extremely short summer period, which makes it impossible for such predators to store enough fat for wintering.

Evenkia and Yakutia are the most remote, hard-to-reach regions where common residential taimen is found. Here, representatives of the species live not only in rivers, but even in the smallest lakes.

Lifestyle

Unlike anadromous fish, the common taimen inhabits deep holes near the coastline. In the daytime, such a predator rests under the branches of trees hanging over the water. Sometimes in one "dwelling" there is a whole flock of fish. With the onset of night, they go to the shallows, where there is a rapid current. In the early morning, the common taimen begins to splash and play on river rifts, hunting for small fish.

The wintering of the predator takes place in deep water. Often the taimen stands under the ice, only occasionally emerging to the places of formation of glades in order to saturate the body with oxygen. Some naturalists claim that representatives of the species are able to make loud rumbling sounds from under the water, which can be heard at a distance of several meters.

Food

Active feeding of common taimen occurs throughout the year, with the exception of the spawning period, which occurs in the middle of summer. Having fertilized the eggs, adults again gain fat.

When the water in the habitat warms up noticeably, the taimen show reduced activity in the search for prey. The predator becomes somewhat lethargic and passive. At this time, he occasionally hunts small fish in cold tributaries of rivers or near springs. By autumn, the fattening of taimen increases. Thus, the predator is gaining weight, preparing for wintering.

The basis of the diet is fry and some invertebrates, in particular, the common taimen likes to hunt small burbots, graylings, and sculpins. Sometimes frogs, rodents that swim across a pond, and even the offspring of waterfowl become prey of a predator.

Lifespan

How long does the common taimen (hucho taimen) live? With an abundance of food and the presence of optimal living conditions, such predators are able to exist for more than two decades. There are known cases of catching taimen, whose age, presumably, was 30 years. However, such long-livers are extremely rare.

reproduction

Young taimen become sexually mature when they reach the age of 5-7 years. The active phase of spawning falls on the spring-summer period. The predator spawns in sections of rivers where there is a small pebble substrate, and the water depth reaches no more than half a meter.

The females of the common taimen are comparatively infertile. This is where several factors come into play. Depending on body weight and age, female individuals are able to lay from 6 to 40 thousand eggs.

As spawning grounds, the taimen chooses the upper reaches of the rivers, as well as swift tributaries. The approach of sexually mature individuals to such areas is often observed after the ice has melted, when the waters warm up to 7-8 ° C. At the same time, much more females than males come to the spawning sites. Eggs are laid in a pebble-stony bottom, after which they are fertilized with milk.

Taimen extermination

Taimen has no enemies in the natural environment. However, its population is steadily declining due to poaching. This species is vulnerable and is listed in the Red Book. In most cases, catching such a predator is strictly prohibited. However, taimen fishing is still possible according to the official license. At the same time, the sports principle is used, according to which, after catching the fisherman, he can take a picture with his catch, and then release it. Only non-viable individuals are allowed to be taken for consumption. Taimen become such, oral apparatus and whose bodies were severely mutilated during the trapping.

Reasons for the decline in the number of the species

The common semi-anadromous taimen is gradually disappearing from the habitats characteristic of the species. The phenomenon is caused by the following list of problems:

1. Changes in the chemical composition of water due to climate warming. With atypical jumps average annual temperature the surrounding space, even by a few degrees, a decrease in the population of such predators is necessarily observed.
2. Fires - lead not only to warming of water, but also change the pH index when ash and burnt wood get into it. Water gradually acquires an alkaline composition. Such a phenomenon negatively affects the population of not only taimen, but also other fish that belong to the category of salmon.
3. Anthropogenic human activity - the creation of reservoirs, hydroelectric power plants, the use of fertilizers in agriculture leads to the destruction of organic matter in river waters. Not only microscopic organisms suffer, but also plants that saturate the water with oxygen. All this leads to the fact that it becomes difficult for taimen to adapt to the newly formed habitat conditions.
4. Mining - such fishing causes turbidity of water, a change in its chemical and physical parameters. This kind of activity also often leads to the destruction of depressions in the river substrate, where taimen live. Usually, in sections of rivers that are used for mining, there is a complete disappearance of salmon.
5. Water pollution by waste from industrial enterprises - the ingress of polluted effluents into rivers leads to the extermination of certain biocenoses. Often this causes the disappearance of prey characteristic of taimen. The habitats of this predator are gradually populated by pike, which is picky in the choice of food and can actively breed in a wide variety of environments.

culinary value

Taimen is considered a real delicacy. The fillet of such fish is moderately juicy and tender due to the presence of fatty layers between the muscle tissues. The optimal solution taimen salting is considered, during which the meat acquires a special, specific taste, which is in perfect harmony with other products in the composition of cold appetizers and salads. Refusal of heat treatment in the preparation of such fish allows you to save many valuable trace elements. In addition to pickles, taimen is often grilled, and is also used to make fish soup.

amateur fishing

As noted above, the common taimen is caught only according to the license. Fishing of such a predator is possible on a lure. The optimal biting is observed in the early morning, when representatives of the species show increased activity in the search for prey.

During the period of zhora, the predator is not too picky in the choice of food. Grab taimen in such periods is capable of almost any lure. The rest of the time, these fish are quite picky. They react mainly to rotating baubles of a colorful shade.

Experienced anglers believe that taimen bite especially well on baits. big size. However, as practice shows, the passion for using only large spinners in most cases does not allow counting on the success of the fishery.

Taimen has strong, extremely strong jaws. Therefore, special attention in the preparation of gear is paid to the creation of strong tees and the choice of thick fishing line. Otherwise, the predator can tear off and pull the bait.

Being engaged in trout fishing, numerous spinningists use devices that imitate a mouse as a spinner. predatory fish often prey on small rodents that swim across water bodies. Therefore, the choice of such bait seems justified. Noticing the bait in the form of a mouse, the taimen tries to drown it out with its tail, after which it swallows it with a swift jerk.

Finally

So we found out what the common taimen is, told about its habitats, nutrition, reproduction, lifestyle. Finally, it is worth noting that such fish, like other representatives of the salmon family, looks extremely attractive in terms of fishing. However, in most regions it is under the strictest prohibition. Instructive is the attitude of the inhabitants of the Far East towards such a craft. The local population deliberately refuses to catch and eat taimen. According to beliefs, such activities bring misfortune.