Introduction

Most anglers who visit Lake Nasser for the first time will catch the largest fresh water fish of their life; practically everyone achieves this goal and has an angling adventure they will never forget.

Lake Nasser is the greatest venue in the world for wild Nile perch, which only exist naturally in the African river systems and lakes. By comparison with other lakes in Africa Lake Nasser is remote and sparsely populated, this isolation has allowed the lake to maintain an excellent head of big Nile perch. While your lure is in the water you literally don't know if the next fish is going to be a 10 pounder or over 200lb.

The Nile perch is the largest freshwater fish in the world accessible to anglers. The Guinness Book Of World Records lists an incredible 232kg Nile perch caught by local fishermen on Lake Victoria. The largest reliably record Nile perch from Lake Nasser is a fish of 176kg (392lb). The largest Nile perch caught on an African Angler safari was 6'2" long and had a girth of 4'11" Gerald Eastmure, a 78-year-old tea planter from India, landed this huge perch. There were no scales big enough to weigh the fish, which has been estimated to be 125kg (275lb+).

Research shows that Nile perch have a better chance of reaching record sizes in lakes rather than in river systems and there is every indication that there are massive fish still living in Lake Nasser.

Lake Nasser also provides amazing opportunities for shore fishing. As John Wilson put it "Another interesting experience is shore fishing... Where else for instances can you work artificial lures from the shore anywhere in the world either in fresh or salt water and encounter fish in the 20 - 100lb plus category. Nasser is quite unique in this kind of experience believe me."

To date (August 2002) our top three shore records are 179lb, 120lb and 110lb.

Nile perch are the main target species but Lake Nasser also abounds with hard fighting Tiger fish and the enormous Vundu catfish.

Tiger fish thrive in the lake and of the two species the most common is Hydrocynus forskalli that grows to 7kg (15lb+). Tiger Fish are related to the South American Piranha and just one look at their vicious teeth, leaves you in no doubt that they are savage predators. The size and strength of a Nile perch is one thing, but for sheer sport on light tackle a Tiger takes a lot of beating. Not only is the tiger a beautiful fish, but also its ferocious elegance will get any angler's adrenaline going, few fish have such a fierce fighting energy.

Catfish also provide an exciting challenge. There are 18 species found in the lake, two of which are of interest to anglers these being the Bagrus and more notably the legendary Vundu. If you hook a Vundu it really will give you an unforgettable fight. The local fishermen talk of specimens that can achieve weights of well over 100lb; the largest Vundu we have caught to date is a 78 pounder (summer 2002).

We are very aware of the importance of practicing sensible conservation on Lake Nasser and as such we follow a strict catch-and-release policy, with the exception of some of the smaller fish we keep for eating.

African Angler Top Twenty

The largest reliably record Nile perch from Lake Nasser weighed 176kg (392lb). The largest Nile perch caught on an African Angler safari was 6'2" long and had a girth of 4'11". Gerald Eastmure, a 78-year-old tea planter from India, landed this huge perch. The available scales measured up to 220lb which was not enough; this perch has been estimated to weigh 275lb plus.

Marked IGFA on chart - These are the three largest fresh water fish ever caught on rod & line that have been ratified by the IGFA (International Game Fishing Association) as world records. The 230lb fish is the existing all tackle world record Nile perch and the 213Lb and 210lb Nile perch are preceding all tackle world records.