THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

At Abu Simbel it was a very quick turnaround. The gear
was taken off the mini bus, put straight onto one of the
boats, and we were away down the lake to set up camp
on one of the islands which we were informed was
technically inside Sudan.
There were three boats in all. Two for fishing with some
supplies onboard each, plus a third full of camping and
cooking gear which the support crew also slept in, the
idea being to work our way back up the lake to an
agreed rendezvous point a week later, fishing and
camping along the way.
But that would start the following morning. For day one
we would remain on the island with an evening boat trip
planned. In the meantime, we were free to wander and
fish, which is exactly what we did.
To better understand the situation, a little of the history
and geography of Lake Nasser itself might help. With a
surface area of over two thousand square miles, a length
of three hundred and forty miles, and a width of twenty
two miles at its widest point, this is one of the largest
man made reservoirs anywhere in the world.
Constructed between 1958 and 1971 under the
Dress to blend in: PW, small Tiger Fish
instruction of Colonel Nasser, the Aswan High Dam
across the River Nile has impounded this huge volume
of water, which amongst other things produces much of Egypt's electricity through hydro-generation.
What it has also done is create a very stable and productive habitat for fish like nile perch and tiger fish,
both of which can grow huge in these parts, and were the main reason for us being there.
That first day on the island was a real eye opener. As with the rest of the desert in these parts, it was a
mix of sand and rock, with an area of beach adjacent to the camp.
We'd been advised to take along heavy duty spinning gear as well as trolling outfits and large plugs.
Wire traces too, which, when you look at the dentistry of a tiger fish, it's blatantly obvious why.
We were also advised to swap the trebles on the various large heavy spoons for quality 6/0 single hooks,
which again we did, and off we set as a loose group along the beach to throw out a few lures in the runup
to the boat fishing later on the edge of darkness after we'd eaten.
We'd been informed that the beaches would most likely produce tiger fish, and that if we wanted to
target nile perch, to stick to the deeper rock marks. But nothing could have prepared us for what was to
come.
I stayed with the group that fished the beach. Not really knowing how best to approach things, we all
opted for different strategies to compare notes, if or when any success came along.
The water was like gin, so you could see if anything was interested, but we saw nothing. Not even a
follow. Then suddenly, one of the lads was shouting followed by lots of splashing about and leaping as
this huge toothy bar of silver repeatedly took to the air. He'd cracked the code.
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