That is a whopper. Looks like a goliath grouper. No way I jump in that water with a croc and hippos around.

big fish

Is this really, really really verified? At first look, I assumed is was a Photoshop fake. Perch?

Nice fish. Question though why did he have to return the body back to the river?

I agree I wouldnt have wanted to revive it if it meant I had to get in the water with crocs and hippos. But that is an incredible fish

Maybe a Yellow perch that size will bite my line! Anyway those look more like Largemouths than Perch

MONSTER perch, man. Its a shame it couldn't be released, but that is part and parcel to fishing. Sometimes things happen beyond our control.....

Amazing fish! Nile perch get really big, and this is no photoshop fake, these fish have been docomented in the 600 pound range. Nile perch are a member of the cichlid family with tilapias and oscars. This is one lucky angler and congrats to him.

I have to agree with jeff4066 this has to be a photoshop fake. Only a couple of pictures and the fish is a different size in each of them. Very convientent to catch it where he did. No one can trace. besides what did he use to catch it?? was he carrying a boat anchor?? You guys really let us down this time....

If that fish was a big as the picture, it would weigh 600 pounds. Us fisherman always tell the biggest stories and that is exactly what this fish is, ONE BIG STORY!

WOW I didn't realize Nile Perch could get this big. When I was living in FL we had Nile perch in the lakes down there and I saw many in the 10-15lb range so I know they get bigger than the yellow perch most of us Americans are used to, but to get this big I had no idea.

It gets that big. Please visit:

http://www.game-reserve.com/uganda_murchison_falls.html

"The Nile river banks from the Murchison falls National Park offer good sites for fishing in Uganda. If you have your own tackle, the Nile river banks offer you an opportunity to catch the Nile perch and the Tiger fish. The largest confirmed perch taken from the banks of the Nile on rod and line weighed 73kg, and was caught by C D Mardach in 1959. However a fish recorded as 106kg was caught in 2001 while local fishermen have always netted specimens weighing up to 160kg."

http://www.ugandansafari.com/fishing-safaris/uganda-fishing-destinations...

http://maps.google.com/ (murchison falls)

Wow....rcmich has this call exactly right...and well stated.

No animosity from me here either to anyone specific - but c'mon people? You truly show your ignorance by calling things fake right off? Do a little reasearch and have an iota of a clue before you claim something isn't real. Wow.

the_golf_guy

Actually... Even F&S has had a couple of things they've had a retraction on.

And yes, I looked first. But most of us modern people with any technical experience, or a wife that does computer graphics do not fall into the "If it's on the internet, it must be true!" category. As a (amateur) photographer, I can make things look as big or small as I want also.

Sometimes I have to research 5, 7, 10 places to verify or deny something I'm trying to find out. There's too much trash out there today. Editors, newspapers, and even TV are getting caught in hoaxes every day.

Jeff4066,

Agreed....and in no way am I in the "if it's on the internet it must be true" bucket?

Of course any one story/pic can be fabricated - but in general - and more importantly - for this particular story - if you have ANY knowledge at all you'd know that Nile Perch of this size are by no means unheard of?....and secondly, apply a tad of commone sense and attention to the angle/foreground/background of these photos it seems obvious that this is legit?

Do people get fooled? - yes....but this didn't raise my radar a single blip? Some folks need to chill on the immediate hoax-calling with very little, and very flawed, logic.

the_golf_guy

Faked photos or not the history sounds real...
Just how the cousin of a friend talks.

Coming from the midwest where a the biggest fish are catfish and carp,its amazing to see a fish that big

Those of you that are skeptics need to look up Nile perch in the encyclopedia. It says that are one of the largest freswater fish, can reach six feet in length and weigh up to 530 pounds.

When I first saw the picture, I thought it was photo-shopped! I couldn't believe that a freshwater fish could get that big. I know where my next trip for fishing is going to be!

It looks real, nile perch are huge fish, they introduced them into lake victoria and they ruined the cichlid population there, because big fish have big appetites.

that is the fakest picture ever! I don't doubt that the fish is big, but come on! Even a 5 year old could tell something doesn't look right. The guy is in the background, the fish is in the foreground...... Why not just be happy with a big fish, why make it even bigger!

People who say a fish that big should weigh more have probably never caught anything bigger than a 5lb bass or catfish at the local pond. First off if you are and a fish of the same weight are side by side the fish will be substantially bigger because human bone and muscle is denser almost by an order of magnitude. Nile Perch have been featured on ESPN fishing show "The Hunt for Big Fish". Dead specimens can be seen at museums. If you don't want to believe the internet that fish get that big will you trust a Icthyology textbook with a scientific discription of the fish?

thats a fish and a half!!!!!!

As a long time ocean fisherman and deck hand on some of the finest boats in so. calif.
we have a technique that we use to expell the gs from the bladder , with the fish on its side raise the fin and insert a needle like piece like some kind of knitting needle which is used to get major knots out of back lashes of newbies reels this technique works well on black seabass a protected species in so. calif, should also work on the giant perch. good job and next time try it out..you keep a bent rod and a wet line till next time.this is the river captain...

how in the heck is that even possible?

That looks like a huge bass but i know its not.

That thing is huge. I play a rapala video game and you can catch these on it. They almost always snap your line.

That thing doesn't even look real. It'a like a giant lake perch replica.

"I'm not picking on this commentor personally but why is it that the doubters, haters, whatever you want to call them, always have to throw down the "fake/photoshop" card? Did they ever hear of Google? They should try it next time before insinuating that another person is a liar. If they had done this, they might have found that Nile Perch routinely weigh 100-200 lbs. As big as this one was, it isn't even close to the world record.
Even if it is fake, which I don't believe it is, what's it really matter? Is it going to make an impact on their quality of life or change the way they live? Is it going to get them a raise or promotion at work? Make their spouse/significant other love them more or make them live longer? What is it? They need to get over themselves and stop crapping on everyone else's accomplishments. Someone is always going to catch a bigger fish than they catch or shoot a bigger deer than they shoot."

Your not picking on this commenter? lol yes you are and it is a good thing to think its not real especially when you don't fish in the nile are people supposed to think everything is real thats like people saying o yeah there are mountain lions in new york (when there aren't clearly) but because of those fake pictures that are out there people believe that they are all true. it does affect professors in college and anyone else who has a job say the DEC because people are believing that they are being hid in NY by the DEC like really please tell me how in the world can you hid a mountain lion like you really think that everyone would know that there is no way as of right now that a mountain lion is in new york. Come on people of course it affects others lives maybe not yours and yes you are right people should look up and read the whole article before assuming it is a hoax. So don't hate on a commenter for just assuming its a hoax why because of the 99 other percent of the time it is a usually a hoax it was a good observation by them.

wow amazing fish! glad that he came out okay sad the fish didn't make it. good job trying to release it.