Yeolmogo, lenok, or Manchurian trout are Korea’s treasured native salmonid, and the Korean lenok is the world’s southernmost population. But you’re not going to find a lot of fishing information and outdated info may have lost its relevance. The community college of Korean fly fishing is the most reliable way to learn about lenok, and passing through its levels is mandatory. If you are a newcomer to the Korean fishing community, you will be introduced to two rivers. The first is Dongnam Creek/Stream/River ( I have heard it referred to as all of these). This is a medium sized river that will fish year round. Fishing can be up and down, but usually has a good population of cherry trout and rainbows. People will also refer to this river as “Jeongseong” (the region in which it is located). The next spot people will openly share is the tail water flowing from Soyang reservoir. There are only several hours during the day when water isn’t gushing out of the dam, but if you can figure out the flow you will be rewarded with rainbows, browns, and the occasional cherry. It’s combat fishing, so get your mind right. These prerequisites are a test, technical, heavily pressured, and skunks are common. However if you put in your time you will come out with a nice introduction to Korean trout water.
lenok need cool well oxygenated water to survive
Based on my own experience- I slogged through it, and eventually figured it out. Fishing was heavily dependent on water levels. I learned when a swung wet fly out performed an upstream dry. I learned when to skate big dries, and that a 9ft 5wt is slightly too much for the types of presentations that I needed to deliver. Two years on these waters and the angling community graduated me to mountain streams and cherry trout. My education continued, and I observed the characteristics of the streams that will hold cherries. I gained the ability to look at a map to select blue lines and explore on my own. This was all about understanding the valleys and tributaries of the major Korean watersheds. The fishing aspect of cherry trout is sheepishly easy- any dry will do.
Lenok are the last level. There are many fly anglers that don’t even bother. They know where to go, but the wading, river size, and distance to travel is a hindrance. The angling community that fish for lenok, just refer to the region- Inje, Jinbu, Bongwha, etc. No names of rivers are ever posted online, especially in English. It should be stated that nine months out of the year, the rivers are unfishable. The spring/ summer runoff is too intense and in the winter lenok rivers are completely covered in ice. That just leaves a few weeks in early spring (lenok are spring spawners) and a few months in the fall. Lenok also like to move around a lot; traveling up and down a river searching for the coolest water. It is standard fly fishing tactics if you can find them, but morning dry fly fishing (between 8am-10am) can be magical. I have never seen another angler while on the lenok rivers. I think part of that is due to the plethora of other fishing opportunities (saltwater, chum salmon, black bass, and so on) but it also might mean that the fly fishing community is aging. Lenok fishing requires a certain level of fitness and the willingness to hike a few kilometers. The local fly shop (Mr Lee at Trutta has always been good to me) is a great place to enroll, put in your time, and is the best resource if you ask the right questions.