'It was THIS big, honest ...'

What strengths must it possess in order to combat the extraordinary currents and relentless volumes of Nile water?

Sport fishing is the world's greatest excuse for visiting far-out places, and there can be few places in the world quite as magnificent as Murchison Falls in the central African country of Uganda, where the big catch is the Nile Perch.

So forget the massive but slightly "tired" perch of the big lakes such as Nasser and Victoria, and instead make your way to Murchison Falls National Park, where the fish have no choice but to pack on extreme muscle to combat the ferocious conditions which engulf them.

For when the mighty Nile is unceremoniously squeezed through the tiny gap that is the Falls, it literally detonates with a force that is frankly terrifying.

Stand above the falls and you can feel the earth move with the sheer volume of water rushing beneath you, but in truth it is not until you make the long trek down to the level of the plunge pool that you can appreciate what a simple staggering part of the world this is.

If you want an excuse for going to Uganda, to stand atop and below these falls is to me reason enough.

The fact that one of the world's mightiest freshwater fish congregates below the charging water is like the icing on an already tempting slice of cake.

Africa is a continent that allows us to safely discover true wildness and complete other-worldliness, within sensible travelling times from our little island.

Heaven knows I spend a large part of my working year on the lookout for "excuses" to get myself back over there for work purposes.

Gearing yourself up to catch the mighty Nile perch is like going into battle, so prepare accordingly.

If deftly dropping flies in front of wily trout or bonefish is your thing, then perhaps the lack of subtlety and need for a degree of brutality here is going to turn you off.

But if as a fisherman you want to experience anything that is different from the norm, then I implore you to travel out here. Your fishing life may simply never be the same again The vast plunge pool and its associated currents, back eddies and seething maelstrom of coloured waters can be a scary place to fish indeed, I spent hours just looking at the water, wondering how on earth a fish could live and feed so happily here.

Take good footwear and trust in your step, for this is one place you just do not want to fall in; turbulent waters and numerous huge crocodiles are reason enough...

Then as the water runs from this massive pool and begins to slow, you'll find plenty of bays, points and pools in which to try your luck (for often the perch lie just out of the main current where the smaller fish congregate in vast shoals).

Small fish are nothing more than food to these giant predators and often you will suspend a small baitfish under a simple float and then let this tasty morsel work its way seductively along the natural path of the current, waiting all the time for that float to bob and then charge away. Another heart-stopping technique for catching them is to use the same heavy spinning rod and reel, but instead cast and retrieve big lures right into inviting looking spots. Early morning and late afternoon seems to be the time when the perch really switch on, but in truth a fish can turn up at any time. That hit on a lure is like reeling into a brick wall that wants to cream off like a scalded cat. A certain level of fitness is required for fishing out here, for it is a stiff walk up and down to the falls, often in stunning heat and cloudless African skies.

Is there anywhere on earth with bigger skies than Africa? There are various safari lodges within the National Park, but to me the most fun is pitching camp in the simple, often unoccupied campsites at the top of the falls.

When I go halfway around the world for my fishing, I want to feel part of it all; I want to hear the river as I sleep, I want to hear the grunting of the feeding hippos, and I want to wake up with an African dawn.

Nothing quite feels like that first cup of coffee as the world wakes up to another day in paradise.

I would point out that my trip was spent with a professional guide, Alastair Brew, a man so used to this kind of thing that moving across this fabulous country to pitch camp in a remote place like this is as normal to him as you and I booking a hotel for the weekend.

He simply inspires confidence, and the fact that he is a staggeringly skilful angler completes the package for me. He has spent years of his time chasing monster Nile perch and it is essential to tap into this level of knowledge and skill if the likes of you and I are going to head overseas to chase big fish.

In fact I would go as far as to say that trying to fish this part of the world without professional help is asking for trouble.

So just how big can these fish get ? Well, if it helps, I have seen photos of fish of over 200lbs come out of the Falls, which is more than many anglers who fish for them weigh...

We had fish around 80lbs in my brief few days, and most trips I know of reckon to see fish up around this size and often much larger.

Remember, these are wild, freshwater fish, not artificially reared carp or stocked; you'd do well to remember you are playing with serious nature here, and indeed, in one spot we wanted to fish, a monster crocodile was sunbathing itself.

But if you can pull yourself away from the fishing, and do try to, ask Alastair to take you on safari a few miles down the road; unspoiled, a lack of crowds, and with plenty of animals to gawp at, this also affords you a view of the Nile as it exits Murchison Falls and begins its slow passage through Africa.

While I feel the most fun to be had fishing this part of the world is from the river banks, it's also great fun to hire a boat with a local boatman and head back up toward the falls.

Not only does this give you a different view again of that extraordinary view, but it also gives you access to the other river bank for fishing. But that is another story...