13 July

Fishing trips in Egypt

If you think Egypt consists only of sand and pyramids, you are missing a lot of adventure and beauty. Egypt now is one of the best fishing destinations you can ever visit in the world. A great vacation in Egypt should include some fishing trips for more excitement. Egypt has all types of water that will make all the fishing lovers very satisfied by being in this country. In this blog, we will introduce you to everything about Fishing activities in Egypt and how you can practice it freely.

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Fishing history in Egypt

For your own knowledge, Egypt considered one of the first places to introduce this activity (Fishing) from the very beginning on earth. It starts from the ancient Egyptian existence beside the Nile. In ancient Egypt, they used to catch the smaller fish with dragnets made from willow branches or basket traps.

They also used hooks and lines as an advanced fishing way, the fisherman couldn’t use the fishing rods and started putting clay to the hook using his finger to give the hook some weight.

The ancient Egyptian used to put bread or dates as bait in the hook and after catching the fish they used to clubbed it and put it in baskets to use later.

Fishing Spots in Egypt

Egypt has many different places that you can go fishing from, fresh water at the great Nile river, saltwater at the red and Mediterranean seas, and so many lakes. Here is a part of the fishing spots in Egypt:

The Nasser Lake
Sharm El Sheikh
Hurghada
Marsa Alam
The Nile
The Mediterranean Sea
The Gulf of Suez

The freshwater in Egypt present at the largest rivers on the planet, the Nile River. This great Nile river passes through desert areas, its many branches forming one of the biggest river deltas in the world with an area of 24000 km2. There are more than 2,000 fish species in the Nile waters with so many different divers in colors, shape, and sizes.

Most of the fishermen prefer to go fishing at the Red Sea coasts which are located in Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh, and Marsa Alam. Those 3 places are considered the best fishing spots in Egypt.

Then the Egyptian lakes are open to fishing for all the fish species, the fishing environment there has its own taste and you can find there so many kinds of fish that will amaze you.

Lots of many different places are allowed for you to fish in Egypt, from the fresh Nile water to the coastal areas with saltwater. You can start your trip by renting a boat and go for a big journey or even you can start fishing at the right of the dock. Fishing is much easier in Egypt as you can go fishing right next to your accommodations since lots of hotels are on the Nile shore.

Fishing at Lake Nasser

Directly in the Nile middle reaches there was a huge reservoir created in an area of 5120 km2 and with 130 meters depth called lake Nasser.

Lake Nasser is the largest human made lake in the world. This lake has spectacular fishing spots in a massive length with 310 m. If you’re looking for a remote place to relax and do your favorite hobby, Lake Nasser is the perfect place to do that.

Lake Nasser is a host for more than 32 species of fish plus Nile river crocodiles, people can catch about 80,000 tons of fish every year from this lake. Lake Nasser was created in 1960 at the same time with the High Dam of Aswan.

The trolling rods used in the lake should be from 20 to 30 lb and between 7 and 9 feet, this is to be able to catch the bigger fish that weigh more than 200 yards of 30lb line.

You can find the largest freshwater fish in the world in Lake Nasser, it also has clear and beautiful water and you will definitely enjoy it’s view.

The Fishing Seasons in Egypt

To get the best out of the fishing experience in Egypt, you better go from January to March. But there is an exception for the Red Sea coasts, you can go fishing there at any time of the year as the temperature there is always high in winter and rains very rarely. So if you’re a professional or even a beginner fisherman, you will always find a place for your fishing hobby in the Red Sea cities of Egypt.

The Egyptian Fishing Equipment

In the ancient days in Egypt, fishermen used to catch fish with weir-baskets and dragnets made from willow branches. After some time they start using hooks, lines, and harpoons, these hooks are about eight millimetres and eighteen centimetres. They also used to have the bread or dates as bait.

Then the big nets start to appear and use it for commercial fishing to focus more on the quantity. For trolling, shore fishing and line fishing, the fishermen used the normal standard equipment as the other places in the world.

The trolling rods used for shore fishing should be from 10 to 12 feet with big reels to be able to hold at least 200 yards of line. The lines should be strong enough to catch the heavy fish found.

Types of fish in the water of Egypt

Egypt has different kinds of water spots and each spot has its unique fish species.

You can find in the Red sea lots of interesting and unusual colors of fish, like Barracuda, Albacore tuna, Wahoo, Goatfish, Grouper, Sailfish, Trevally, garfish, and so many amazing marine fish species.

At the freshwater of lake Nasser you will find a massive fish species that will amaze you. Among these species are the Nile perch which is one of the largest presnovodnykh fish in the world that can weigh up to 170 kg. You can also find some other types like tilapia, African catfish, tigerfish, the famous Nile crocodile, and the legendary giant Vundu.

You can just come to Egypt and try your luck of which species you can catch everyday.

Fishing Tournaments in Egypt

Fishing takes an important place in the Egyptian hobbies and there is a special tournament made only for the Fishing hobby called The bass tournaments. This tournament is very famous in Egypt and all the fishermen make sure to participate in it.

To be able to participate in the bass event, you have to be registered at a fishing association. These fishing events happen in a specific time every year to avoid damaging the bass population of the lakes and it’s totally prohibited for everyone to troll or jug at any ski areas.

You can enjoy your hobby with some competitors but without harming the environment.

Fishing rules and regulations in Egypt

Like any other activity there should be some rules and regulations to make sure everything is going right without infringing on harm to anything else.

So, the fishing rules and regulations in Egypt are:

The fishermen are only allowed to fish for a limited quantity per day. This depends on the fish types.
The fishermen are prohibited to catch any small fish.
The boats should anchor away from the shoreline at least 100 feet away to respect the humans privacy.
Swimming is not allowed except in the areas with security.
Skinny dipping is totally prohibited
The chemical treatments in all types are totally prohibited under any circumstances.
There should be Night lighting within the permitted areas for some security issues

If you as a fisherman could break any rules at any circumstances, you may get arrested or you can get no entry to the lakes in the future.

Egypt is like a beautiful dream for all the fishermen in the entire world. You can easily go fishing with a little planning at the best water spots in the world and spend the best fishing vacation ever. In Egypt you will find very unique and a blast fish species to catch, whether you are a freshwater fishing lover or a deep sea fishing adventurer, you will definitely find what you love. If you still think that Egypt is nothing but sand and desert, you should have changed your idea by now!

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 Verified Trip of a lifetime We just got back from a family "trip of a lifetime" to Egypt: 3 couples arrived in Cairo from different parts of US and Canada, at different flights and times, and yet the reception and arrival coordination and documents arrangement could not have been smoother. All was arranged, and the trip was custom designed by Ahmet from GAT Tours. We were a bit apprehensive considering the issues in the Middle East, but really there never has been a moment of concern and a complete feeling of safety as we were chauffeured, flown and sailed to the various destinations of this great country of Egypt. We visited the important sites around Cairo : the fantastic, new, Grand Egyptian Museum, the pyramids, the Sphinx, Civilization Museum, the market, Citadel, and other sites. Our hotel was first class. Our voyage down the Nile from Luxor was in upgraded suites (courtesy of GAT) on top of the line Sonesta Cruise line : gourmet meals in absolute comfort! We were lucky to have Asmaa in Cairo and Simon in Luxor and Aswan to guide us through the exhilarating sites of Karnak Temple, Valley of the Kings, Kim Ombo, Edfu, Abu Simbel etc. in a very knowledgeable and entertaining fashion. WOW !! What a trip. GAT Tours made it happen. George C.
  
 
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 Verified Cairo and Nile Cruise This was an excellent tour! GAT Tours planned every detail and was very accommodating. We were initially going to cancel the tour considering the recent instability in the Gulf Region, however, the tour manager (Ahmed Omar) ensured our safety. We felt very safe in the hands of our tour guides (Asmaa - in Cairo and Simon in Luxor/Aswan). Both tour guides were extremely knowledgeable, personable, engaging, and advised us well on how to save time and money at the various sites and markets. Strongly recommend Asmaa and Simon as tour guides! Our travel/logistics person (Seif) was also great. He ensured our transportation, pick-ups, and meals were all on time. Everyone operating the tour was accessible and responsive via iPhone. The tour guides really showed us how rich their culture (ancient or modern) is. Highly recommend this tour: Six adults (incl. 2 seniors). My personal favorites: Valley of the Kings, GEM, and any of the evening tours of the temples!
  
 
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 166 days ago
 
 
 Verified Good experience overall It’s a mixed review of the tour and I will divide it into office staff and guide & drivers. Ahmed Omar in Cairo office helped us with our 5 days-Nile cruise and associated sightseeing. He was very prompt, polite and professional. As we didn’t get the morning flight on the day of our cruise, Ahmed helped us book a Luxor hotel for the night before. He also asked us for a personal favour and we obliged. Ahmed was thoughtful and offered to arrange ‘meet and greet’ at Cairo airport, in addition to the pick up on our return to Cairo after the cruise. Mr Mina met us at Cairo airport for helping with visa, Sim and money exchange. Despite Ahmed’s assurance that we would be helped with exchanging money, Mr Mina was walking out without doing that. When my wife pointed that out, he tried to blame us for not reminding him, which was not very nice! At Luxor airport, we were expecting My Ayman, but someone else came, which is fine. He was helpful and went to the hotel with us and next morning picked us up from hotel and dropped us at the cruise. We chose Sonesta star goddess for our trip and Ahmed had arranged everything. The guide Mohamed Refaat met us at 3pm. He said was a freelancer, and that he was given to us because he is a close friend of Mr Ayman. We found difficult to understand his English initially and his knowledge was just ok. He spent 20 minutes outside the Karnak temple talking about canals etc and as a result we had to rush at the end. He didn’t offer to take photos, but obliged whenever we asked. He repeated himself a lot and was not very interesting or engaging. We did think of calling the office to change him but didn’t. In Aswan, he said that we should pay for the felucca ride which was included. And then went on to say that we should pay the driver as he is not paid well and that we have to spend a lot during our Abu Simbel trip. On the final day, Mohamed went to our cruise reception and asked the person to give us an envelope and then turned around and told me to give them tips, before he leaves. That was very disrespectful behaviour and we were angry. Then we went to Abu Simbel and throughout the journey, he mostly chatted with the driver or slept. The driver, Kareem, was holding his phone with his left hand and talking while driving on the highway, which we found quite scary. Despite clearly telling Mohamed that we will not take out money using our card and that we will exchange money when we return to Aswan, after our trip finishes, he kept asking us to take money out throughout the day whenever he saw an ATM, very irritating behaviour. It left us with a bad taste. On the positive side, he was always on time, was friendly and did the basics. There were other little negative things like the car didn’t have water or tissue box, though it was sorted after informing Ahmed twice. It would have been good if someone from Gat tour contacted us directly to see if we were ok. We had to keep texting Ahmed for all minor issues, and he was always prompt. The representatives for Aswan airport and then again at Cairo airport were all on time and professional. So overall it was good. Gat tours is recommended but the guide Mohamed is definitely not.
  
 
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Fishing trips in Egypt

You will read in this article

Feeling Lost ?

Fishing history in Egypt

Fishing Spots in Egypt

Fishing at Lake Nasser

The Fishing Seasons in Egypt

The Egyptian Fishing Equipment

Types of fish in the water of Egypt

Fishing Tournaments in Egypt

Fishing rules and regulations in Egypt

Your Journey, Your Way

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