On the last day of July this year I’m taking out an 18 man Nile perch hunting safari to Lake Nasser. That’s not strictly true – three of the anglers are wives, namely Amanda (my own boss), Lynn Baxter, and Maggie Ward. Chris Smith of Video Active (Mill House Studios) is coming to film the safari and he’ll be bringing back TV quality footage, plus the wherewithal for a classy video. I’ll keep you posted on this one. 
Some well-known anglers will be on the trip, including big fish men Jim Housden and Martin Gay from Essex, and Stewart Hurst and Dave Pratt from Sheffield. Match anglers will represented by Jim Baxter, editor of the Angling Star and fly fishers by Lynn Baxter and Maggie Ward. Several others will fly fish too, including me. But for the most part we shall be bank and boat fishing lures for Nile perch and tigerfish, perhaps with night fishing for Vundu catfish as well.
We’ll be in six boats, three to each 35ft craft, plus two 50ft supply boats with galleys. Tim Bailey the safari boss will be along there directing operations, and we shall have a team of 12 Nubians, all masters on boat work.
Some of the party have been out before – Mike O’Donnell (boss of the trout farm at Pickering), Russell Manning and Geoff Neville (the last recently getting a fish of 194lbs!).
We shall be after a 200lb fish this time!
The whole trip has been splendidly sponsored by the trade, especially by Shakespeare, Harris Angling, Rapala, Masterline and Relum. And Egypt Air has helped greatly with travel arrangements.
Later in the summer I’ll tell you how we got on.
