Summer 2003    No. 4

Despite the war in Iraq we have had a busy summer season and as usual Lake Nasser has provided some spectacular sport for the anglers who came on safari. Three memorable captures (all released successfully) were a 205lb Nile perch caught by Peter Bond in January and in April Olivier Portrat who was on his fourth safari caught a 190lb Nile perch and then John Wilson who was on his twelfth safari in April beat his personal best which weighed in at 150lb; John’s previous personal best was a 135lb Lake Nasser Nile perch.

Until you visit Lake Nasser it is hard to realize just how big the lake really is - almost 2,000 square miles. There are literally hundreds of undiscovered hot spots and as we gain more experience we are discovering new areas all the time. This summer was no exception with only one new hot spot producing 17 Nile perch over the 100lb mark and I believe this area will provide some enormous fish during the 2003 winter season.

Tight lines

Discovery Channel

Look out for John Wilson’s film “The Lake Nasser Safari” which is currently showing on the Discovery Channel, the programme series is called Go Fishing Specials with John Wilson.

Two New TV Films

In the past six months we have hosted the shooting of two new films for television about our Nile perch safaris. In November 2002 a crew headed by Col Roberts, a well known Australian fishing photo journalist came to make a film for the Australian Discovery Channel which should inspire Australian Barramundi fishermen. The Barramundi is closely related to the Nile perch and to the inexperienced eye looks exactly the same but Nile perch can grow to five times the size of a Barra!!

Using his favorite Barra lure a Halco Crazy Deep Col caught the biggest Nile perch a hard fighting 172lb specimen. The safari was a lot of fun with these incorrigible fun loving Aussies; comments ranged from “80 pounds a pretty average specimen for the trip” to giving me a hard time about the performance of the Australian cricket team against the English. However, we did manage to keep them happy with ice cold beer on most days of the safari.

In May 2003 a Japanese film crew from Osaka TV sponsored by Diawa Japan came to make a film about Seikai Murakoshi shore fishing for Nile perch. Seiki is the equivalent personality in Japan to John Wilson in UK or Rex Hunt in Australia. Seiki is a great character and ‘tough as nails’ having represented Japan swimming in the Olympics. Although the fishing was relatively hard work during the week they were with us I am pleased to report that we got some good filming with the two biggest Nile perch coming in at 130lb & 90lb.

Originally, the director planned to produce one episode for “The Fishing” series but during the safari decided to go for two episodes one concentrating on trolling and the second about shore fishing.

Safe Destination

At no time during the recent Iraq war did the British Foreign office advise that travel to Egypt was not safe. For up to date travel advice refer to this web site: www.fco.gov.uk

It Might Have Been Another World Record?

Tim
It was a remarkable safari (particularly for a relative novice) and certainly the best fishing I have ever experienced. The information you requested about the 205lb Nile perch is: -

1) 30lb mono with 100lb mono leader
2) Perch Depth raider
3) Yes, the fish was successfully released alive

Apart from the very big fish, I was fortunate enough to land a 105lb fish and on the very last run before we set off on the last leg back to Aswan a splendid 165lb specimen gave itself up - not that easily I might add.

Although the second week was more productive than the first (not sure why) during the course of the two weeks I found that on average about 3 fish per day were landed and these, all bar a very few under and over, were between 60lb and 90lb - about 40 fish in all with 35 above the 60lb mark. I came to the lake for the peace and tranquility I always find on my visits (4 times) with any fish as a bonus. I left the lake certainly with a profound feeling of peace and tranquility and also with a premium on the bonus in relation to the fishing. I will always wish to return to the lake and maybe next time an even bigger specimen will be waiting for me - not that I will be expecting such a bonus?

Unfortunately, my holiday pictures did not survive so unable to provide. Although disappointed, I have the images firmly set in my mind and will never forget.

Happy New Year and please pass my thanks to your staff and Mohamed Elephantine in particular for a more than memorable safari.

Best regards
Peter Bond
UK - On safari January 2003

New Style Stealth Boats

In April we took delivery of our new style stealth fishing boat which John Wilson christened "Miami Vice'' - a very cool boat which anglers will find is a great platform for casting and quiet trolling.
Rahma (real name!) has a glass fiber hull 5.6m long and 1.8m wide with a 55hp engine she can carry a guide and two anglers. This boat can get from one hot spot to another at up to 30MPH which is 4 times faster than our standard fishing boats…. this will make the lake a lot smaller!
At ''hot spots'' she can be rowed quietly for successful casting and because the hull is so light trolling is very quiet. She is like a cork in rough weather very stable and handles well.
The biggest fish I have caught from this boat was about 140lb which was awesome fighting from a small boat.
Rahma has been fitted the latest Lowrance Sonar/GPS receiver the LCX-15MT which has a very detailed fish finding system and also a GPS system that provides a map of the lake and marks hot spots to within 30 feet.
This style of boat is the way we will be going in the future - the next one will be slightly bigger.

Thank You

Tim,
I thought I would write and thank you for another wonderful safari. During the Easter fortnight we caught 75 fish in total (40 for me, 35 for my friend Ray), of which 50 were caught whilst trolling.
Ray's caught our biggest fish whilst trolling with a fire tiger super shad rap (122lb). My largest was 106lb, caught from the shore on a croaker super shad rap.
Overall we had nine fish that weighed 50lb or more: 122lb, 106lb, 91lb, 73lb, 66lb, 63lb, 52lb, 53lb & 50lb.
In addition to this we had a great 7lb tiger fish.
We said we would email our photos so perhaps you would be kind enough to show them to our guide, Ahmed.
Looking forward to the next already
Regards
Stuart Atyeo
UK on safari April 2003


Dear Tim!!!
Many thanks for the most unusual pleasure we have had. The whole trip was just superb! We had marvelous time traveling with American Express; the service was of the highest quality.
We are sure you can recommend your clients traveling by train. We felt comfortable and did enjoy wonderful sights.
We are really grateful to your staff in Aswan, especially Magdi and Salah. The staff at the supply boat was also extremely helpful and most friendly.
We would like to ask if another trip in the beginning of May for 7 - 10 days is possible. We are not sure yet about the number of persons, but our friends are becoming very enthusiastic, listening to our excited impressions, and start planning a new trip this spring.
Looking forward to another safari,
Kindest regards,
Denis Kirienin
Russia on Safari March 2003


Dear Tim
Just a quick line to thank your staff for the exceptional service which I received when I spent four days on the Nasser Lake.
From the moment we arrived in Luxor, and were greeted by Sam, the whole four days went without a hitch. The fishing was exceptional. Dave Jessop's top fish was a 64 pound perch and mine was a 110 pound perch with numerous other good size fish.
Our guide, Ramadan (Black Fox), was first class. He knew where the fish were and where all the snags were and the main thing me being a non-fisherman knew how to rig a rod up.
I would appreciate if you could thank your staff on my behalf.
I will certainly recommend it to anybody wanting an adventure holiday of this type.
You are the man to contact.
Kind regards
Danny Godfrey
UK on safari March 2003

Booking A Safari

We still have space on our safaris for the coming 2003 winter season but if you are interested you should consider making a reservation reasonably soon because as the situation in Iraq settles down the safaris are starting to fill up.
The autumn and winter months from mid October through to the end of January are traditionally the ‘big fish’ months. The reason for the significant number of bigger perch during these months is because the big breeding Nile perch are on a substantial feed, building up their energy and eggs prior to spawning in late January and February, much the same as the European perch do.

For information visit our web site: www.african-angler.co.uk
Or contact us at: a-angler@link.net