| About 20 years ago I was window shopping | | | | decimated 95 per cent of the local fish |
| in the lovely little village of Long | | | | stocks. |
| Melford in Suffolk, England. The mile | | | | Unlike the stuffed one I saw originally, |
| long main street of mainly Georgian | | | | which had yellowed with age, the Nile |
| shops is an antique collector's heaven. | | | | Perch is silver in colour with a blue |
| Towards the top of the village is a | | | | tinge. They can grow to over two meters |
| specialist shop selling stuffed animals, | | | | and weigh over 200Kg (440 lb). As food |
| birds and fish which are not usually my | | | | the Nile Perch is a very important fish |
| type of thing. | | | | and is raised in aquaculture for this |
| My eye was caught by a gigantic stuffed | | | | reason, as well as being avidly fished |
| fish which I did not recognise, so I had | | | | for by local fishermen. They are a bit |
| to go in to have a look. The inscription | | | | oily which makes them difficult to dry, |
| on the very old glass case showed that | | | | but have a pleasant and distinctive |
| this rather ugly, but immense fish was a | | | | flavour. |
| Nile Perch of 124 lb in weight, and | | | | Many of Africa's large river basins and |
| caught by Ernest Hemmingway himself. | | | | lakes support this fish including Lake |
| Having hooked this monster it took him | | | | Maryut in Egypt which has brackish |
| over two and a half hours to land it on | | | | water, and Lake Nasser. Many people |
| the shore of the Nile, the boat he was | | | | catch the biggest fish of their lives in |
| in being too small to safely land it in | | | | Lake Nasser and it is considered a |
| any other way. | | | | centre of sporting excellence by big |
| My imagination being caught up with this | | | | game fishermen the world over. The |
| amazing creature, which looks rather | | | | largest recorded Nile Perch caught from |
| like a cross between a fat pike, a perch | | | | Lake Nasser weighed 176 kg (392 lb) and |
| with enormous and sharp teeth and a | | | | fishing from the shore with a lure can |
| freshwater shark, I could not but help | | | | bring in fish of 20 to 100 lb. |
| myself researching into this phenomenon | | | | The larger Nile Perch tend to be in the |
| of the Nile. | | | | large Egyptian lakes if you are a keen |
| I discovered that this fish, native of | | | | specimen hunter, however one of these |
| Africa, is one of the most sought after | | | | days I hope to catch one of these |
| by anglers, it being easily the largest | | | | incredible fish on the River Nile |
| freshwater fish in the world, with only | | | | itself, just like Hemmingway's Nile |
| the rare manseer in India and Mekong | | | | Perch in Long Melford, Suffolk, but I |
| catfish reaching anything like the size | | | | suspect my own Nile Perch will be a mite |
| of the Nile Perch. This fish is a | | | | smaller than his. |
| voracious predator, and when introduced | | | | Interested in this subject? |
| into Lake Victoria in the 1960`s it | | | | |