Fishing in Iran - Giant King Barbus - Spring 2016

Imagine if you will, a predatory barbel of epic proportions. Growing to a possible maximum of 200 kilograms, this freshwater giant is found only in the Tigris-Euphrates river system of Central Asia. It must surely be one of the last remaining unknowns in the world of angling today.  This is the King Barbus - Luciobarbus esocinus.

Often referred to as 'Mangar' as well, it first came to my attention during the Gulf War. Once Saddam Hussein's palace had been seized, the troops took to fishing in his ornamental lakes for a bit of fun during their downtime. Before long, images of their catches filtered through to the angling press back home. I remember first seeing the image of a British soldier cradling a huge barbel type creature in the Anglers Mail. It blew me away. I had to catch one of my own. Giant predatory barbel on lure and fly tackle sounded too good to be true!

My inspiration - caught from Saddam Husseins Lake

Back then (in the early 2000's) and indeed to this day, very little was and is known about these fish. I struggled to find out much about them other than their name and the fact that they are native to Iraq, Iran, Syria and parts of Eastern Turkey. With these countries being volatile and unstable at the time, planning a fishing trip there was never going to happen. And with that, I forgot all about it.

Things are now a little different and I got married three years ago to my lovely wife Leila, who happens to be half Persian. Back in March of 2016, after many failed attempts to get a visa, I was finally granted one. We then planned a trip to Iran to visit her family for the Persian New Year celebrations, which is the same date as our spring equinox.

Iran has some beautiful architecture

A few weeks before we left for Iran, I was trawling through fishing forums on the internet looking at fish photos....as you do! Whilst doing so, I came across an image of a fish that looked remarkably like a King Barbus and the angler happened to be from Iran. It was a light bulb moment for me. I immediately got Leila to send him a message in the Farsi language to ask about this special fish he was cradling. Perhaps there could be a chance of catching one of these impressive creatures after all?

As is typical of the Iranian culture, the response to our message was warm and inviting. The camaraderie amongst anglers can be truly wonderful at times, this was no different. It turned out that my new friend, Sina, was equally as nutty about all things piscatorial as I was. There was also an offer to join him on a fishing trip after King Barbus while we were there. He told me to bring a medium weight spinning rod, 4000 size fixed spool reel, 30lb braid, 25lb fluorocarbon leader and a minimum of twenty five Mepps no.5 Spinners. The silver ones with red spots.

That was enough for me. A decision was made. It was so tough to get a visa to travel there that we simply had to make this happen. Who knows when I'd get the chance to visit again? We swapped phone numbers and agreed that we would get in touch once we were settled in the capital, Tehran.As the day to travel arrived, I was a little nervous and apprehensive. I didn’t really know what to expect from my first visit to Iran. 

The nervousness was certainly unwarranted. We got a very warm welcome, as is customary in Iranian culture. I can honestly say, I've never eaten so much or drunk so much tea as I did during my first ten days in Iran. The new year celebrations were amazing, if a little lengthy!

Once all the family celebrations had settled down, we got in touch with Sina and arranged to meet him for tea and a smoke at a hubbly bubbly café in downtown Tehran. With alcohol being forbidden, this is all the rage with the young and trendy Tehranis.

As soon as I met Sina, we clicked. He was so passionate about his fishing and my hunch about meeting yet another strange man from the internet had once again been proved correct! He was the real deal, loved his fishing and was eager to share his passion with others. A kindred spirit for sure, his enthusiasm was truly infectious. The photos he showed me on his laptop left me spellbound. The King Barbus were simply stunning and they were all set to the backdrop of spectacular mountain scenery.

Over several cups of tea and some smooth molasses tobacco, we began planning the fishing trip. The location he had in mind was a huge lake created by damming a river in the South of the country, close to the Iraqi border. Logistically, it involved flying from Tehran down to a small regional airport and then a lengthy drive. On the ground at the other end it was necessary to arrange a boat to get us around the huge expanse of water, a boatman, food, fuel and camping equipment.

The plan was to spend 4 days exploring the dam and sleep under the stars. Sina arranged everything and assured us that we were in good hands. We were to be joined by one of his friends, Sohrab, a keen fly angler. He was keen to see if he could tempt one of these fish on his hand tied creations.

A week later and we were on our way, the flight was a little delayed but nothing too problematic. 

Hardi, our driver, picked us up once we'd landed at the other end and after a dinner of liver and heart kebabs, we all squeezed into his tiny car. He drove with his foot to the floor for 4 hours through the night, across the oil fields and desert. Other than some hairy overtaking maneuvers, the journey was mostly without incident. That is until a feral cat ran under the car as we passed through a small village. With his driving, it stood no chance!

We caught many fish in those last couple of hours between us, they were really most obliging. This enabled us to experiment with our lures a bit as well. It seemed that as long as the lure looked lifelike enough and was well presented they weren't that fussy. We had frequent double hook ups and at one point all three of us were playing fish. It was fantastic to end the trip on a high note.

It wasn't over just yet though. Mehti decided that he was going to have the final word. Just before we had to leave, he chose to have a few casts. You honestly couldn't make it up, but on his third cast he hooked an absolute monster. It was the fish we had collectively been seeking the whole trip. Talk about jammy!

The fight was a long, drawn out process and there were several tense moments where it looked like it might find a weakness in his tackle. Fortunately, everything held. The first time we saw it deep down below us was quite a moment. It was huge. We were all willing it to stay attached. Sina was literally bursting at the seams in his unique, enthusiastic way whilst Mehti played it cool. He had a big smile plastered across his face though, he was enjoying every rod bending moment.

When the fish finally hit the surface, we were all astounded at the sheer bulk of it. It truly was a monster of epic proportions. A really very special and rare creature, I was mesmerised by it and so happy to share in the moment with my fellow anglers. It was so good to see one up close.

We brought the fish into the boat and removed the spinner, then took a few photos. It's hard to put a weight on the fish as we didn’t have scales, it must have been the best part of 80 lb though. Either way, a super fish and the icing on the cake. To think that they can grow to twice this size and more is just mind boggling!

Mehti wanted to keep the fish and sell it, it's all he's ever known and how he makes his living. That's his life. It would have been a real anti-climax for us to see this incredible fish bashed around the head or left to suffocate in the bottom of the boat. We'd released all of ours. He'd never returned a fish in his life....why would he?

We all reasoned with him about how great it would be to see this beautiful creature revived and swim off to fight another day, we even discussed the virtues of fishing tourism. It took that and a few crisp banknotes to finally persuade him that it was a good idea. In the end, he released his first ever fish and I was able to get some great video and photos of this giant King Barbus returning to it's watery home.

It was a great way to end what had been the most incredible adventure. I'd had the chance to make a dream come true and come face to face with one species I never thought possible. The experience of travelling and fishing in Iran blew my expectations out of the water. Satisfied as I was with the whole experience, I'll certainly be back again. There's a monster out there with my name on it, I'm sure!

Please click on the video below for footage 

of releasing the enormous King Barbel

                                            

If you'd like to follow my fishing adventures then please look me up on facebook.....search for 'Sam Wadman' and you'll find me. Tight lines!