NILE PERCH

Trolling Rods & Reels
Trolling rods are generally a boat or up-tide rods of 20 - 30lb class and between 7' and 9'. These should be teamed with medium sized multipliers capable of holding 200 yards plus of 30lb line. Abu 7000 and 10000, Shimano TLD 15 & 20 and Penn GLS 25 are suitable.
Experienced anglers might prefer to use slightly lighter rods for trolling because many of the fish they will be catching are in the 15lb to 30lb bracket and there is not much sport involved in cranking this size fish in with a heavy rod. Lighter trolling or boat rods will be much more fun until you connect with a fish from 75lb upward, then you will have your work cut out; fighting from a boat, so long as the fish is kept in deeper water, a good angler will be able to cope.
Shore Fishing Rods & Reels
To land a big fish from the shore, you need to fish heavy. Americans and Australians generally prefer shorter casting rods of 6' to 8' and the British and European anglers will use rods from 9' to 12'. Our advice is to bring the rod you are most comfortable with. Rods should have a test curve of 3.5lb - 4lb. or a line class rating of 30lb. The reel can be either fixed spool or casting multipliers, they should be big enough to hold 200 yards of 25lb monofilament.
Line
Don't underestimate the strength of Nile perch, and the terrain they inhabit. We recommend a minimum of 30/40lb b.s mono for trolling and 20/25lb b.s line for the shore. For Tigers and smaller perch 10/15lb b.s monofilament is fine.
The debate about which line is best to use, braided line or monofilament, is still open. Two important points to consider are first braided line has no stretch. When you are fighting a strong fish that drags you over the rocks; braid brakes much more easily than mono. Mono line has the slight advantage being able to bounce off the rocks because it can stretch. Second, when braid line gets frayed it's hard to see where the damage is and you can often end up fishing with a very weak braided line with damage you do not know about. With mono it is much easier to see or feel the damaged area. We do not discourage braid type lines but it is well worth keeping in mind the disadvantages.
For the past two years I have been using Spider line Saltwater Fusion, which is an expensive braid type option but well worth the investment.


· Saltwater Fusion is an exceptionally tough line with outstanding tensile strength that remains reliable for a far longer time than monofilament.
· This line has a fine plastic type coating, which makes it easy to see when the line is damaged.
· The small diameter allows me to use reliable line strength for both trolling and shore fishing. For trolling I use 80lb b.s that has the diameter of 25lb mono. For shore fishing I use 50lb b.s that has the diameter of 17lb mono. Having 50lb line on my shore rod gives me a huge advantage with big fish that need to be stopped when they are heading for the rocks.
· Then there is also the advantage of the lines sensitivity. Because this line has no stretch I can instantly feel when there is weed on the lure even when trolling a very long line.
· When using this line for shore fishing the sensitivity makes working lures and jerk baits easier and more efficient.
Whatever line you prefer, please bring enough - at least 200m. A 30/40lb Nile perch crash-diving through rocks can easily trash 50 yards of line.

Leaders / Traces

You have a choice of materials for your trace. Heavy monofilament or fluorocarbon line, nylon coated wire, or standard multi strand wire.
Our preference is monofilament, 80 to 100lb b.s for trolling and 60 to 70lb b.s for shore fishing. Mono lacks finesse and is difficult to knot, but is strong, better camouflaged and is reliable. It also has the ability to stretch and bounce over rocks.
For heavy shore fishing we prefer either monofilament or fluorocarbon line for traces, use a minimum of 60lb b.s line, 80lb is better. If you prefer wire, which has the advantage of being thinner, use 50 to 60lb b.s for shore fishing.

Swivels & Links

We recommend Berkley, Rosco or Sampo in 100lb + b.s for heavy work, and 70lb plus for lighter shore fishing.
Even the best snap links are sometimes ripped open by big Nile perch. Although an opening snap links is rare, it happens enough times for us to recommend that snap links are not used. Our method is to attach a monofilament leader direct to the lure using a Rapala type knot, which works very well.

TIGER FISH

For Tiger fish and smaller Nile perch, you can use much lighter tackle. A carp or spinning rod of 9' - 12' with a test curve of between 1.5lb and 2lb with a good medium fixed spool is ample. Line class should be 10 - 15lb b.s. For Tiger fish and smaller Nile perch use 20/30lb b.s multi strand wire.

FLY FISHING

Fly Fishing Rods
Nile perch: 9' Tarpon type AFTM 10 or 11.
For Tiger & small perch standard reservoir type 9' 6" AFTM 7 or 8.
Fly Fishing Reels
We recommended a Sage 5401 - Tarpon reel for 10 or 11 weight line and lots of backing. Any good quality reel, which has a well-engineered disk drag, will do. The better the reel the better the chance of landing big fish.
Fly Line
Bring a selection of W.F. 10/11 lines both intermediate and fast sink each line will serve its purpose under different conditions. For smaller Nile perch and Tiger fish W.F. 7/8 floating and intermediate. The line you will use most will be a fast or ultra fast sink. You will need plenty of spare line, as big fish will take you through the rocks.

CATFISH

If you are planning to ledger for catfish at night your tackle should be heavy. Your trolling gear will double up admirably, but the line should be at least 40lb b.s to cope with abrasion on bushes and rocks. A heavy shore outfit will also cope, as long as the line is strong enough.
When ledgering from the boats you don't need any form of rod rest, and can use the ratchet of your reel for indication. From the shore you need optonics or a bait runner, and some form of pod or tripod.
The lead weight should be attached to the hook link swivel with light mono; this snaps easily in a snag.
Hooks should be strong and sharp we use circle hooks - size 4/0 or 5/0.
We use small dead baits or fillets; small perch and puffer fish take live baits. We have caught many cats on "artificial" baits. Berkley catfish bait and luncheon meat are worth bringing.