Species › Africa › Nile Perch

Freshwater

Nile Perch

Lates niloticus · mbuta, sangara, capitaine

Water temp
75–86°F
Peak season
Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov
Best light
Dawn · Dusk
IGFA record
230 lb (104.32 kg)
Nile Perch (Lates niloticus.jpg)

Photo: Pavel Zuber · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

OverviewWhere & WhenHow to CatchGearRegulationsRecordsForecastCatches

Overview

Nile perch are massive, deep-bodied latids with a silver-grey body, a dark eye ringed with yellow, a humped back and a broad spiny dorsal, native to the Nile and the lake and river systems of West and Central Africa and famously introduced to Lake Victoria in the 1950s, where they transformed the ecosystem. They hunt tilapia, cichlids and catfish along rocky drop-offs, river inflows and submerged reefs, with the biggest fish caught in Egypt's Lake Nasser and Uganda's Lake Victoria and Murchison Falls. A 100 lb (45 kg) fish is attainable on a week-long safari, which is why anglers fly in from around the world.

Typical size10–40 lb (4.5–18 kg); 28–44 in
Trophy100 lb+ (45 kg); 200 lb+ is exceptional
Table fareGood — firm white flesh, a major commercial export; sport fish mostly released

Where & when

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Lake Nasser fishes year-round with spring (March–April) and autumn (October–November) favored for pleasant weather and active fish; Lake Victoria is best in the drier months when the water is clearer.

Lake Nasser, EgyptVast desert reservoir; the world-record waterLake Victoria (Ssese Islands), UgandaRocky islands and drop-offs with big perchVictoria Nile below Murchison Falls, UgandaFast river perch below the falls in Murchison Falls National Park

How to catch

Trolling deep-diving plugsTroll large deep-diving plugs and big lipped minnows along rocky shorelines, points and drop-offs in 15–50 ft at 2–4 knots. Hold the rod or set a heavy drag; the strike of a big perch is a dead stop followed by a run and head-shaking jumps.
Shore casting and live-baitingCast big soft plastics and swimbaits from rocky points at dawn and dusk, or fish a live tilapia on a float or heavy running rig in a river eddy below rapids. Below Murchison Falls, let the bait work the slack water at the edge of the current.

Gear

Rod6–7' heavy trolling or casting rod rated 30–50 lb
ReelLever-drag 30–50 lb-class conventional or 8000+ spinning
Line50–80 lb braid; 100–150 lb mono leader

Lures

large deep-diving plugsbig soft-plastic swimbaitsheavy spoons

Baits

live tilapialive or dead catfishfish strips

Regulations

Fishing on Lake Nasser is organized through licensed safari operators under Egyptian permits, and Uganda's Murchison Falls National Park requires a park fishing permit with catch-and-release encouraged for large fish. Lake Victoria rules vary among Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

Records

IGFA all-tackle world record: 230 lb (104.32 kg) — Lake Nasser, Egypt, 2000 (William Toth). State and regional records are kept by each fish & wildlife agency.

Frequently asked

Where is the best place to catch a big Nile perch?

Lake Nasser in southern Egypt, where the IGFA record of 230 lb was caught and fish over 100 lb are landed every season by trolling and shore casting from mobile safari camps. Uganda is the alternative: the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria and the Victoria Nile below Murchison Falls both produce fish over 100 lb in a wilder, river-and-island setting.

Bite forecast — Nile Perch

Recent catches

Posted by anglers on the live map, filtered to Nile Perch.

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