Martyn Lloyd
Senior Member
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Nile Perch Heaven – Lake Nasser Oct 2011</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Wednesday 12<sup>th</sup></b> – A 5am alarm got me up nice and early for the long trip back to Egypt. Right on the limit with weight, the case was packed with fishing gear and the one spare pair of trousers and four shirts were packed in the hand luggage. Stuff clean clothes, I was off fishing and every ounce possible of the baggage limit was tackle! </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Everything went smoothly and in no time the plane touched down in Luxor. I met my friend Ibrahim who runs operations from the Egyptian side and we sat in the bus discussing tactics while waiting for the rest of the party to arrive an hour later on the Gatwick flight. Eventually all six anglers were reunited in the airport and we headed off to the first nights accommodation. Some previous clients had got a bit miffed with the incessant attention of street vendors in Luxor so we were taken to a hotel on the east bank of the Nile, away from the usual tourist areas. It was an incredible place, made so much better with the top floor restaurant offering breathtaking views across to the Valley of the Kings.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br><span style=""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/951f8fb4.jpg"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">£4 for a main course was too much to resist so we each had two to sample the local fare! A few beers and an apple shisha later it was time for bed.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/55b1db6c.jpg"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Thursday 13<sup>th</sup></b> – The bus collected us at 6am for the arduous trip to Aswan. Believe me, nothing will prepare you for this journey. The driving in Egypt is manic and looks incredibly dangerous to westerners. Overtaking with oncoming traffic round blind bends is just an everyday part of the journey. Four long hours later we drove up the side of the High Dam to be greeted with our first view of lake Nasser…………..I was home!</p> <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/c11dc60d.jpg"><br> <p class="MsoNormal">The crew were waiting by the boats and I was touched by their welcome. I introduced our party then was greeted by warm hugs off the guys who remembered me and welcomed me as a friend. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Gear was loaded onto the supply ship, I jumped on a fishing boat and we headed off into the vastness of the lake. The sheer amount of fish in Ramla bay has to be seen to be believed, there are millions! I had been promised the ride out in the fishing boats after witnessing the amount of fish in the main channel in April. The skipper assured me that it was nothing compared with the High Dam bay and I wanted to see it for myself!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/6f00254d.jpg"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Just over an hour later we stopped at the end of Ramla and began fishing (no fishing is allowed anywhere near the High Dam, it is a high security area guarded with machine guns, missiles, tanks and even fighter jets!). Within five minutes Paul had a hit which we were convinced was weed but no, 300 yards into the first troll and he`d broken his Nasser duck with a small (2lb) tiger fish! We trolled down the lake running a variety of lures but by the time we pulled into our first overnight stop at Fox Island we hadn`t had another hit. The second boat had a small perch so it was a good start.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Friday 14<sup>th</sup></b> - `Proper` fishing started, the first full day on Nasser. We were heading south. The Egyptian autumn sees the lake begin its annual flooding when the authorities allow the lake level to rise. This is a signal for the fish to move to deeper water so the main lure used in spring, the infamous Super Shad Rap, becomes secondary. These are the days when the Big Ernie, Depth Raider and Russelure come into their own. We began the day with Raiders on but after a fruitless hour or two Ibrahim passed me a lure, a perch pattern Ernie and suggested we gave it a whirl. I was running braid on my gear (an outfit I bought after the previous trip) so the lure would really get down and work hard. No more than two minutes after resuming the troll the rod slammed over and my first fish of the trip went vertical! A stunning perch guesstimated at 20 was soon on the boat. What a call off Ibrahim!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/a6a1bbca.jpg"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The afternoon was a lot slower (I`m sorry, I can`t recall what the other boat caught or even what the others on my boat had. Next time a diary is essential!) and it was the only fish I hit.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Saturday 15<sup>th</sup></b> – We carried on south and I hit two fish in the morning. One, around 9lb, was boated, the other threw the hooks in mid air (a common occurrence!). A large tiger fish also hammered into my lure as I was reeling in for a weed check. Easily double figures, it gave a very acrobatic jump and then was gone. A hit-to-land ratio of 5 or 6 to 1 is good going with tigers! We entered a favourite area of mine near a place called Stater Mountain. Just offshore there is a small island. We trolled this and our of the blue I got hit by an absolute animal. The lure was running at 7m, the depth was 13m with no weed and no nets. There was no doubt what this was, a huge Nile perch. Unfortunately my name was not on that fish as, ten seconds after making contact it spat the lure out! These fish are capable of that and its quite worrying! They are that powerful that they`ll hit a lure, clamp down on it for a few seconds then decide to spit it out. No amount of pressure off the rod will move that lure in its jaws, quite a daunting thought! Sometimes when they spit the lure out a hook catches but most times the angler ruefully reels in wondering just what he got hit by!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We stopped for breakfast (usually taken at around 12-1pm!) then Ibrahim suggested we try the far side of the lake, an hours travel away! Always one to try new things and having complete faith in the skipper I agreed and we chugged off to the east bank. First bay, James got hit on an Ernie. A small fish but Ibrahims hunch had once again paid off. The east bank is usually desperation tactics and reserved for trips when the west is not producing so we were very pleased with a quick fish. We trolled back round, covered the area once more then headed to the other side of the bay and the exit shelf. That’s when another animal rose from the depths and inhaled my lure! It didn`t feel quite as heavy as the first but still powered off for a few seconds before spitting out the Ernie………….bugger!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Sunday 16<sup>th</sup></b> – One boat east bank, one boat west. I had got everyone up at 4am so we could make the crossing (really we should have spent the night on the east bank but communication with the supply ship was lost the previous afternoon). The wind was howling down the lake and, by the time we got to the west bank we had lost our potential dawn advantage. We were keen to keep searching for the fish on this side. Active spots are the holy grail for the Nile perch angler. They are incredibly hard to find, not surprising really, the lake is 340 miles long and in places 20+ miles wide! </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The unforgettable gurgle of the engine as it makes a turn is something which I will always remember. It stayed in my mind after the previous trip and I relaxed into the day listening to this unmistakable sound. A couple of small fish were caught but it was a very quiet day on my rods. One memorable moment was when we went to do a spot of shore fishing. We trolled over an area and Ibrahim uttered a very surprised @#*$ (you get my drift!). Not more than 10yds from the bank in 40 metres of water was a huge group of large perch sitting at all depths. We moved out, made the turn, then went back through but the fish had gone, the boat must have spooked them. I noted the spot and vowed to return!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The overnight stop was at a famous spot, the Wall. Anyone who has seen John Wilson catching a 60lb shore fish and getting his CD chased in by perch will have seen this area. We hoped to shore fish it the next morning but there was a bloody net all the way down…………</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/28ee11d2.jpg"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Monday 17<sup>th</sup></b> – Back to the `Cliff`. I asked Ibrahim if we could sneak into the area so I could take them by surprise. Areas like this don`t just contain fish occasionally, I was absolutely convinced we had bumped into a proper holding area. I would have preferred to have parked the boat further from the spot crept in silently but, thanks to a pike drift float and a small talapia could cover the area reasonably well from the boat. Out of respect for the other guys I contained my selfish indulgence to one drift of half an hour then reeled in to go searching once more. It is a spot I will revisit next trip, this time on <b>my</b> terms!!!!!! </p> <p class="MsoNormal">That afternoon I hit a bit of a wall. Being used to changing tactics regularly I went through a hard hour of questioning everything. Was the boat noise spooking fish? Was the drone of the boat traveling down the braid to the lure? Was my luck that awful that I wasn`t going to get another chance? I tried to seek solace in the feeling of those two big fish but failed, I was exhausted and feeling low. Theres a time on Nasser when you feel like you`re fishing but theres also a time like this when you feel you`re just dragging a piece of plastic behind a boat. I was definitely in the latter mode! Nasser is about time and patience, more intense than on waters back home. Keeping the faith is a 24 hour job and very tiring. The harder you try the further away you are from catching! Mentally it’s the greatest test I have endured in fishing. The sunsets are a bit spectacular though!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/9965375b.jpg"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Tuesday 18<sup>th</sup></b> – Final day. Another long trip across the lake saw us trolling new areas. A long net appeared on the lake following a sharp shelf. Ibrahim went towards it to investigate the depths. They looked good. We made a turn and Carls Ernie got hit hard. A low double perch! This fish gassed up so we headed for the nearest shore to revive the fish. This can take ages, corners cannot be cut. Half an hour later the fish powered off into the depths and we powered off back to the spot. Next troll the same again and Carl boated a fish of 27ish. By now I just wanted to get that perch Ernie and stamp on it! Next run through a hit, next a hit, both to the other rods. Finally my rod twanged back as a fish slammed the lure from underneath creating the Nile perch equilivant of a drop-back! At last, action! Concentration quadrupled, alertness heightened. Three days without a hit, the low points were forgotten in an instant, we had found an active spot! The rod hooped over as the now trusty Ernie got slammed! At 18lbs it was more of a relief than a joy to catch. The fish gassed so we headed for shore for a successful revive and some nice pictures. Back out, back on the spot. Bobbys lure got hit, he missed it. A split second later I was leaning over the rod with my hand on the line as I tried to put my sunglasses into the shirt, the rod doubled over and line ripped from the spool. Braid cut into my hand then the pressure eased, the fish had dropped it. I swore loudly and instantly the rod went over again, the fish (or another one) had come back for another chew. This was in a different league and fought with fury. It rose from the water but was too big to jump, the head shake was a sight to behold. I heard Ibrahim say `50, easy 50`. I fought it hard and got it within 30 yards of the boat. Once more the line cut through the water as the fish rose from the lake attempting to eject the lure. It looked even bigger! It is a sight that will stay forever, that monster shaking it head……………and the lure popping out! </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I laughed, genuinely laughed. The whole situation was so surreal I couldn`t believe what I had been attached to. Ibrahim consoled me but I didn`t need it, that’s fishing. I wasn`t even bothered when he re-appraised his initial estimations and said that the perch was in excess of 75lbs! (Later on the boat Halim said that Ibrahim had whispered that it was close to 100lbs and in all fairness I think that’s a good estimate. The lure was large but it looked tiny in that colossal mouth).</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lures back out, the spot went quieter. We went on wider sweeps and got more hits. A lure change was called for and I put this monsterous beast on, a lovely looking bronze metallic HRT floating diver. First turn it got inhaled as another powerful perch made a mistake. It fought hard but I wasn`t hanging around and we soon boated a new pb for me, a lovely fish of 45lbs. Unfortunately the photos of this fish are rubbish and I`m still angry about the lack of effort shown by my fishing partners in capturing my biggest freshwater fish on film. I spent the week clicking pictures from all angles and the one time I really wanted the favour returned, it wasn`t. Still, its in the past.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/227be763.jpg"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/8ead30e1.jpg"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/fc0591dd.jpg"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The fish was returned without a problem and we carried on. A change to Russels bought an immediate response and Carl boated a fish of 32lbs. For some reason I forgot to grab the camera…………………… </p> <p class="MsoNormal">We stayed out all day and hit that area hard. By the close of play we had a 2 hour run up the lake to the supply ship, arriving way after dark and completely shattered. In total we had taken six fish from that small area and must have had aborted hits off another 15 to 20!!!!!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I`d have loved to have had a celebratory beer that evening but we`d run out!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Wednesday 19<sup>th</sup></b> – The trip home started at 7am. We got up and the boats pointed north for the two hour run to Aswan. We arrived at 9 and said fond and emotional farewells to the crew then jumped in the bus for another `interesting` road trip back to the airport and a few hours later, England.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The trip had once again been brilliant. I had learnt a lot and felt more at home on Nasser. I`d taken a GPS which had run the entire week. Spots had been marked, fish (where possible) had been waypointed as close as possible to the hit. I just hope I`ve got all the info saved and can transpose it onto a map of the lake!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">My head is now full of ideas for the next trip! </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/0616c766.jpg"><br><br><br><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/tarponator/0e6f5bdd.jpg"><br><p><br></p>
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