Ever since I watched John Wilson lose a massive
Nile Perch in his ‘Go Fishing’ show
back in the 1980’s, I’ve had a yearning to try and catch a Nile Perch.
This has been tested by talking to Des Taylor and Barrie Rickards when they
were recording ‘Recollections II’,
with Des saying that they aren’t great fighters, and Barrie saying they are on
the decline.
The heyday was just after the Millennium, when
large catches of huge fish were the norm, brought about by the construction of
the Aswan dam.
When it was flooded, there was so much food. The Tilapia population
exploded, feeding the Perch and some huge Nile Perch similarly fed on the other
smaller perch, so 200lb fish could be caught.
However, as the years have passed and the locals
have developed harvesting techniques, not just for the perch but also their
food supply, the Tilapia, the size and number of fish has fallen dramatically. However, I had to find out for myself and hopefully catch one.
I contacted Tim Baily of African Angler, the
oracle of Nile Perch fishing and co-author of the book ‘Nile Perch’ with Barrie
Rickards. He assured me there were still a few fish of size worth the quest so
when a quorum of our travelling band of fishermen had an interest, we (or
rather Reg, as he is more painstaking with his planning) decided to take Tim up
on one of his trips. He told us April was one of the better months as the
Tilapia are spawning and the Perch come in to fed on them, so we set the date
for 13th to miss the Easter
premium on flights.
There were six of us in total, Reg, myself,
Nick, Graham, Abbie and Colin who was new to adventure angling in this style.
We met up at Heathrow at about 1pm and took the Air Egypt flights to Aswan, changing at Cairo,
arriving at11pm where we were met and driven to our hotel for the evening. The
hotel was large and modern but was virtually empty; we appeared to be the only
guests there. We were collected the following morning at 8am and driven to the
“marine” to pick up our boats and head off fishing.
Tim can supply various packages of tackle, and
most of us ordered one or another, but as with most anglers I know, we took
favourite reels, lures etc. My technique is to pack the tackle and see what
weight I have left for clothes.
Due to rains in Africa
in the past three weeks, the level of the lake (which is over 150 miles long)
had risen 27 ft. and the water was cold.
We were paired up onto our boats. I shared
with Colin on one called Swallow, Reg and Nick were on the second one, and
Graham and Abby in the third. So at about 10.30 am we motored off into the lake
and after about half an hour we reached the point where we could start
trolling, the preferred technique.
Midday, we met up for lunch on an island, an
idyllic spot to report our catches. Reg was the only successful angler with a
35lb perch, a great start. The days all followed a similar format. We
rose with the sun, had breakfast at about 7 am, then fished until lunch on the
mother ship further on (it moved up and down the lake between each stop so we
were always fishing virgin territory).at around 12.30-1pm. We then started
fishing again at 3.30 pm, until light fell just after 6 pm, meeting up again
for dinner on the mother ship (which had a toilet and a shower) and mooring for
the night.
Being single minded anglers, we also took rods
out before breakfast, during the lunch break and into the night after dinner. I
also found the pre-breakfast session was best for bird photography. Shame
I missed the hawk catching a fish just in front of me! We finally got to bed
just after 8 pm (with catfish lines out using a multiplier with check set). The
night sky was spectacular as there is no light pollution.
Most people said that we should be careful of
crocs, snakes, scorpions etc but we never saw any. I was disappointed and
started tracking snakes using the markings they left in the sand, but when they
hid under bushes I decided not to push my luck. Colin did see a monitor lizard
which ran and dived into the lake as soon as it spotted him. The crew shared a
joke with me saying that I would definitely see a crocodile before we left, and
presented me with this pastry one that they had made which was greatly
appreciated.
After the first lunch, I took a light
spinning rod (10’ Shimano Exage travel rod), and coupled with a fixed spool and
my trusty Ondex lures I had taken, started spinning. I had no success until one
of hosts on the boat said I should remove the red wool and first cast, I had
Tiger Fish of about 1.5 lb. I had hoped to catch a Tiger but fell in love with
their sheer ferocity and spectacular fight. Colin used a plastic lure and
one bit through it on one take. Although not big, everyone spend their
spare time fishing for them and I think we would all consider a trip purely for
Tiger Fish; they are incredible, and beautiful too.
The afternoon session drew a blank, so after
dinner, Reg and I decided to try for Catfish. My bait (Spam I had taken with
me) kept getting stripped from the hook (This turned out to be freshwater
Puffer Fish). I then noticed a stream of bubbles between Reg and the mother
ship, so Reg put on half a tin of Spam and caught his first Vundu which was
kept on a stringer to photograph in the morning.
By the end of the week I was trying to
catch a Puffer Fish but they have teeth like Parrot Fish and kept biting
through my line to a No8 hook using a traditional paternoster rig. Similarly,
Graham was fly fishing for Tiger Fish and landed one, but got bitten off many
times. Some very fine wire trace would have helped us both. We all took
wire of about 20lb for the spinners which worked very well but was too heavy
for both of these methods
The pattern of the day was now set. We found
that the morning sessions were best, around 10.30 being the optimum time. The
afternoon sessions were very unproductive with only one fish taken all week in
this session by the whole group.
I must confess I’m not the best at trolling
(being too impatient and liking activity) and soon developed the technique for
holding the rod horizontal, crossing my legs to help rest it, and then going
into a shallow sleep so that I could respond to takes and weed snags. It did
result in sunburnt ankles however! Colin and I preferred bank fishing so
we got out of the boat island hopping at every opportunity. I had my best
perch off the rocks. It appeared from below me, snatching the lure in the last
stage of retrieve and then powering away. It leapt, tail-walked, shook it head
- it was a spectacular fight just as good as I could have wished for, but this
proved to be the exception rather than the norm with Colin’s best fish taken
trolling – and he thought he was winding in weed!!
So, we had a really tough week’s fishing
but during that time, everyone (except Abbie) caught Nile Perch, but he loved
the Tiger Fish so much he just focused on them catching the biggest two at 5
& 10 lbs. Reg had the best Perch at 51 lbs, Graham at 45; my best was
42, Colin and Nick in the 30’s.
On the last night we returned to the hotel to
get cleaned up, had dinner and started our return journey the following
morning.
Things we got right
We chose a good time of year. The temperature
was in the low 30’s at the start of the week, but by the end it was 36/37
degrees and very, very hot. I wouldn’t have enjoyed that.
Tim recommends a list of items to take, which
was very helpful, but we all took a few extra items along. Graham sprained his
ankle and we had Ibuprofen and bandages for support. I damaged the sole
of my foot and between us I managed to keep it well dressed, sharing plasters
and antiseptic wipes. The extra bits of tackle, hooks, torches, pliers etc that
we all took really helped and as we fish as friends, everybody lends to one
another. Toby lures and Mepps proved very effective, as did my favourite
Ondex. Toilet rolls and tissues are always good for cleaning
things. Also the evenings were cool at the start of the week, so we
wrapped up in fleeces etc under the blankets.
We also took cameras with viewfinders rather
than screens which are virtually impossible to see in the strong sunlight.
Things we got wrong
We were advised to take braid as it is very
difficult to get in Egypt.
We all took our preferred type, but the guides wouldn’t use it as it was much
thinner than they were used to. This affected the depth of the lure when
trolling and they didn’t want to waste time and lose lures in the learning
process. We effectively wasted money and if we had found their preferred type
before purchasing, it would have been sensible. (I’ll copy Tim to ask him to
change his website information for future parties).
The guides like to use their lures, not yours,
as they know how they will perform, so don’t spend too much money on taking big
diving Rapalas. We used our smaller lures more where they are not well equipped
as most people don’t target Tiger Fish as we did. Also light wire for
traces would have helped as mentioned earlier.
The guides all told us that the southern part of
the lake further away from the population centres is better fishing. Tim didn’t
agree and said the influx of cold water made the fishing harder, but I always
tend to listen to the local guides and would book lower down next time
Holiday rating
For our party of six we paid approx £1250 each
plus just over £100 for tackle hire, but there we no extras, other than a £20
tip for Guide, and similar for the mother ship crew between them, and
dinner at the Hotel on the final night.
The food we ate on the mother ship was very
good, better in fact that most UK
pub lunches and the staff were very friendly and helpful – a very social group
of people.
We slept on the small boats which could be a problem should you wish to
take your wife, as I often do. It may not be suitable for her but was fine for
me. Also the bathroom facilities were dire. The toilet on the mother hipped
only worked when the generator started, and the pipe leaked so you were
standing in a pool of water. The shower room was basic with insufficient
space to hang clothes and keep them dry. The shower head kept falling off
and by the end of the week it wouldn’t stay up. This really does need attention
and would be easy to repair. (NB Since our return, Tim has advised me that he
has repaired the washroom facilities and apologised for the oversight.)
However, minor niggles aside, the overall
experience was excellent, and we were all blown away by the Tiger Fish. We all
thought that with the Nile Perch population declining in number and size, this
would be more than offset by adding more Tiger Fish fishing.
Also the rocks are amazing with so many
different forms on the islands. It left me wanting to know more, and as Sandy has studied geology
in the past, she felt she had missed out on that aspect.
Did I enjoy it, and am I glad I went… a
resounding yes to both questions … aided by an excellent group of companions
who all wanted everyone to catch, and there was no competitive element (apart
from Reg and I winding each other up in fun).
I must finish by thanking them for their company
over the week. Holidays can be horrific if the mix of people is wrong, but this
group really gelled and as a result, we’re now looking for our next angling
adventure.
