First WatersSichuan · Hainan · guided expeditions
If you are weighing Mongolia for taimen, Kamchatka for wild rainbows or Bhutan for mahseer, there is a fourth option none of those lists carry. Western Sichuan holds white-spotted char and snow trout in granite torrents above 2,400 m — and unlike the Tibet Autonomous Region, Aba and Garzê ask a foreign traveller for no entry permit. In the tropical rivers of Hainan, native snakehead take the popper.
These rivers are on no catalogue: we scout them ourselves.
Get the 2027 expedition dossierGroups of four anglers · 2027 departures · no commitment
01 · Western Sichuan
Chengdu, then the road west. Light-line nymphing in granite torrents in the shadow of the Tibetan plateau. White-spotted char and snow trout, on waters that have never seen a fly.
02 · Hainan
Tropical rivers falling from the island's central mountains, and an ambush predator that erupts on the surface. Channa maculata andChanna asiatica, native to China, not to be confused with the Southeast Asian toman. On moving water, never a reservoir.
03 · Sichuan · fishing & culture
The same Tibetan plateau, at two speeds: the torrents on the nymph, and the cultural road that leads to them. Chengdu and its pandas, the monasteries of Aba, Sichuan cuisine. To travel with company, or to see China as much as fish it.
Strict no-kill: systematic release, barbless hooks, target species listed. We never target an endangered species; the Sichuan taimenis on none of our trips, and we don't sugarcoat the state of China's rivers.
Groups are limited to four anglers. Leave us your details and you'll receive the full dossier (itineraries, waters, tackle, budget) as soon as it's ready. No commitment.
