If you are looking for an unusual, exotic fly-fishing trip, the River of Shadows is the trip for you!  This river is located in Mae Hong Son province, Northern Thailand.  Trips can be arranged through NG River Guides in conjunction with Montana Fly Company (MFC).  The trip originates in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai.

I was fortunate enough to meet the president of MFC, Adam Trina, who arranged for me to take a tour of his fly tying factory in Chiang Mai.  The factory employs over 200 fly-tiers producing flies sold world wide.  As a fly-tier myself, it was illuminating to watch how flies are tied commercially.

After the factory tour I met my fishing guide Bobby from NG River Guides.  I had arranged for a minivan and driver who drove Bobby and I to Mae Sariang, which is Bobby’s home town and is located near the River of Shadows.  The road trip to Mae Sariang was about 4 ½ hours from Chiang Mai and travels through several towns and farming communities.    The last portion of the trip climbs up mountains and has over 1600 corners, making for an exciting start to this adventure.  After arriving at Mae Sariang, we transferred our supplies and equipment to a four wheel drive truck for the final stage of the journey, where the destination was a Karen village high in the Valley of the River of Shadows close to the border of Myanmar. The precipitous road to the Karen village was long and torturous for both man and truck were one wrong move or mis-judged corner could plunge you into the valley below.

When we arrived at the village we were greeted by the Head Man who had arranged a home stay and hot water shower for me, which was much appreciated by this visiting fisherman.  The bathroom was rustic but adequate with squat toilets.  While I took my shower, Bobby was busily preparing the evening meal consisting of rice, pork, eggs, chicken and stir-fried vegetables, all of which was delicious.

This was followed by tea or coffee, dragon fruit and other local fruits for dessert.  The food was served on a table that was 6 inches off the floor which made it difficult for me, as sitting cross-legged on the floor is not something most North Americans can do with ease, especially an older fisherman like myself.  I was kindly given a small bench to sit on which helped tremendously.

After the meal everyone in the home was serenaded by 3 charming village children singing songs of their cultural heritage with musical accompaniment, a wonderful way to close my first day of the fishing trip.  Bedding, which was provided by NG River Guides, was very comfortable and I didn’t wake up until the roosters started crowing at 4 AM!  Shortly after this, the village began to come to life while I lay there and thought of fishing for Gold Mahseer on the River of Shadows.

After breakfast and thanking the Head Man for the kindness the village showed us, we walked from the village down to the Mae Ngao River were I discovered that I would be spending the next 2 days fishing the river on a bamboo raft.  We loaded the raft and discovered that it wasn’t stable enough with the 4 of us on it (the 2 pole men, the guide and myself) and the equipment.

Additional bamboo poles were attached to the raft. Remarkably this was accomplished in only ½ hour using riverside bamboo and skilled machetes use by the pole men to complete the work.

The Mae Ngao River is about 20 meters (60 feet) wide at this point with many large boulders which the pole men had no problem negotiating while poling down the river.  Bobby explained what was required for fly presentation: casting to a likely looking spot with a short drift through the lie and then re-casting to the same spot once or twice.  So started a lovely day drifting down this beautiful river, casting as close to the bank as possible. My first fish was a Blue Mahseer, a little fish of 1 pound full of fight and beautiful colors.
During my first days’ fishing, I managed to catch 10 or more fish ranging in size from 1-8 pounds, although the river is known to have fish up to 15 pounds!  I also caught a fish called a Burmese Trout, which looks similar to a North American trout.  Some fish would run hard and fast down river when hooked or duck back to their original lies and would be almost impossible to move.

Most of the fishing was done from the raft but there were many places were I wet-waded the river, fishing long deep pools, corners, submerged obstructions, rocky banks or shaded overhangs.  Accurate casting was required to place the fly at the edge of overhangs without getting hung-up on the vegetation.

Stopping for riverside lunches, the pole men would cut boughs for me to sit on.  I was then served a large split bamboo plate filled with rice, pork and chicken.  Cold drinks were also provided with local fresh fruit for dessert.

The second day was a wonderful repeat of the first, highlighted by an exciting section of the river where the pole men negotiated white water rapids and showed incredible skill maneuvering our completely submerged raft through the roughest part, with Bobby and myself hanging on for dear life!

I discovered that the river is divided into protected and non-protected zones.  The protected zones are leased from the Karen communities by Montana Fly Co. and are the zones that I fished.  The non-protected zones are fished by colorfully clad villagers using hand nets and fish traps set in the river.

I can’t say enough about the quality of the guiding and the pole men’s skills which made the trip down The River of Shadows both safe and enjoyable.

The third day I wet-waded the La River, a smaller river located northeast of Mae Sariang.  The La River has 2 different species of Mahseer, the Cave and the Thai.  Here the fish were more wary than on the Ngao River, so far more cautious wading and careful casting are required.  This river has a light sandy bottom and fishing is always done up-river.  As we crossed the road bridge into the small Karen village, we stopped to look into the water and saw more than 100 fish in the 6 ½ -13 pound range, holding below the bridge.  Reason enough to bet my blood surging!

Entering the village, we found the villagers very friendly and at lunchtime Bobby and I were treated to a delicious meal in one of the villagers’ homes. During the days’ fishing, I caught Blue, Gold, and Cave Mahseer, the largest being 2 1/2 kg.

So if you are looking for a different fly-fishing experience, the Mae Ngao and La Rivers would be great choices, ones that I would recommend whole heartedly. If you decide to take the challenge, contact NG River Guides at:  www.thailand-fly-fishing-guides.info or email ngfishing123.

Trip Report and images supplied by;

Clive Jackson

Edmonton, Alberta Canada