114-POUND NILE PERCH TESTS ANGLER'S STRENGTH AND SKILL IN EGYPT

[Graybeard]

https://www.wideopenspaces.com/nile-perch/?



Posted by Travis Smola

4 days ago

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The Nile Perch is a beast of Africa.
Africa has some of the most incredible biodiversity on the planet and it is not just all the amazing animals wandering across the plains either. There are some truly incredible native species of fish to be found in the lakes and river basins snaking across the country. Some of these fisheries hold some of the largest freshwater fish in the world.

One of the more striking of these African species is the Nile Perch or Lates niloticus as it is known in scientific circles. Today's fishing video comes to us from East Africa, in Egypt's Lake Nasser, where this species has been extremely successful.

The guys in this video catch a few of these massive fish, capping things off with a massive 114 pounder that is a true test for any sport fishing enthusiast.

https://youtu.be/3NSb4VcSVdU

What a beast! Just look at the size of the dorsal and pectoral fins on this fish as compared to the angler's head. In case you were wondering, this fish is said to reach weights over 400 pounds. The official world record, as recognized by the IGFA, is a 230 pounder caught in December 2000 on the same lake these guys were fishing.

Lake Nasser is a noted Nile perch fishery. Over the years, this species has been introduced to many African Lakes where it previously was not found. Lake Nasser being one of them. Lake Victoria is the other major spot where they were introduced back in the 1950s. The huge lake straddles the borders of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. While the fish has been great for tourist fishing, it has been devastating for ecology because of predation on native fish stocks. Most notably native cichlids, which the Nile perch has consumed nearly to extinction in the lake. They also feed heavily on crustaceans. Nile Perch have also devastated places like Ugandan Lake Nabugabo

Texas experimented with the introduction of Nile perch to a few select locations years ago. However, those were met largely with failure. Probably for the best since Australia is an entirely different story. The fish has devastated ecosystems and is now considered an invasive species there and officials levy heavy fines on anyone trying to introduce the fish. While the fish has spread to areas nature never intended, it is native to waterways like the Congo River, Niger River, Senegal River, and of course, the Nile River. It is not exclusively a river species. It is native to waters like Lake Chad, Lake Maryut, Lake Volta, and Lake Turkana too.

The Nile perch is a fun species for anglers to catch. However it is also a cautionary tale on the dangers of spreading a non-native species to new waters.

[Ranger99]

Hopefully,  more sensible heads will
prevail and they'll leave all those fish
in foreign lands where they belong

[geezerbiker]

Personally I think they'd be the perfect solution to the Asian carp problem in the south east.  Imagine a giant large mouth bass and you've got the Nile perch.  Talipa is another African import to the US and Nile perch are supposed to be a far better eating fish.  I think they would bring anglers out of the woodwork to try for a chance at one of these.

I may be crazy but I think it's worth a try...


Tony

[Ranger99]

Tilapia got introduced here in
several lakes, and made hash out
of spawning beds for the native
game fish species. They're considered
the feral hogs of the waters.
There's no size or bag limit on them
here, and any caught are illegal to
return to the water and must be
gutted immediately. The wardens
take this very seriously and you
might as well have a pickup bed
full of illegal bass as violate the
laws regarding tilapia.
My fishing buddy and me cleaned
up a good many a while back on
one of the infested lakes.
They won't bite like native fish.
Since it's anything goes, we netted
ours.

[geezerbiker]

Odds are that's more than a 1000 miles from me or I'd be there as often as I could to catch all I could.

I live too far from the Columbia river but the state pays to catch (I think they're called) northern pike.  I've heard some guys picking up some decent cash fishing for them...  Harbor seals are causing even more problem but they won't shoot them.

I figure the rivers that are over run with Asian carp are already screwed, so why not dump in a good eating fish that will prey on the carp and get people excited to go fishing.  I'm willing to bet people would drive a long way for a chance at a Nile perch.  I know I would... 

Here in the NW they drop hatchery fish in the lakes and rivers than cannot reproduce.  IF they can do that with salmon and trout, why not Nile perch...

BTW, Nile perch are not native to that lake were that one was caught.  I've seen pix of them nearly 6' long.  They do get big...

Tony

[Lloyd Smale]

man if it tastes like lake perch let them plant them up here. Id love to filet one of those buggers. maybe they eat those crappy tasting large mouth bass.

[geezerbiker]

I've never had any but several sources say the same, it's the best eating fish in Africa.  I'm assuming they meant fresh water fish.  I know that they were transplanted from the Nile to many lakes around Africa and most notably Lake Victoria.  Supposedly they get up to 6' long in that lake...

We could do a lot worse than an invasion of Nile perch in the Mississippi River...

Tony

[Ranger99]

I'm sure they'll get here eventually
about like everything else does

[geezerbiker]

I'm sure they'll get here eventually
about like everything else does

Someone would have to plant them.  If I was rich, like really fifthly rich, I would have done it 10 years ago.  Then I would have bought a small plot of land along the river just to have a place to fish from and launch a boat...  Alas, I'm broke and I don't see that changing by much in the near future.

Tony

[Ranger99]

I'm sure they'll get here eventually
about like everything else does

Someone would have to plant them.  If I was rich, like really fifthly rich, I would have done it 10 years ago. . . .

Tony

Well somebody (s) already did here.
The TPWD says they never stocked any
anywhere in the state. We now have em
in Trinidad lake, Tradinghouse Creek
reservoir, Calaveras lake, Brauning lake,
the Rio Grande river, the San Marcos river,
The Comal river, and the San Antonio river.
According to the scientific types at the
state offices,  tilapia can hybridize with
other of the same types of fish, live in
fresh water or salt or any brackish mudhole
they can wriggle around in, and can adapt
to most any condition. Supposedly allegedly,
a cold snap is supposed to kill them off and
there won't be any danger of a reproducing
established population. Now that that's been
proven wrong, the lab coat types are scratching
their heads.
Last time I checked,  Alabama, Arizona, Colorado,
Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas all have
breeding populations of tilapia
They're here.

[Lloyd Smale]

is tilapia the same fish as nile perch. If so ive boughten it flash frozen and they can have it!!

[Ranger99]

Two different fishes
IMO I'm fairly sure we'll see some
of the big niles here before long
that is if they're not already swimming
around here already. People can't help
but meddle with things. That's how
we ended up with tilapia everywhere
and destructive predators reintroduced
where many worked so hard for years
to get them gone.
I've seen where game departments are
shocking these destructive carp that
were introduced, and a lot of people
are moaning and crying that they're
being shocked and netted

[geezerbiker]

is tilapia the same fish as nile perch. If so ive boughten it flash frozen and they can have it!!

They are not even close, 2 completely different species.

Tony