Ladyfish

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New Year fishing at Bolgoda Lake for Japanese couple.

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Around New Year time, Kiyoshi san and his wife have the habit to come fishing at Bolgoda Lake for 3 days.

This year as usual our guide Shaktivel welcomed them and put them on good fishing spots. Despite some unusual tough fishing condition, Shakti has managed to found places with activity and they caught fish every day. Biggest fish of the trip was caught by Kiyoshi san, a beautiful Golden Barramundi, his first fish of 2019 !

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Here are some pictures send by Kioshi san.

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Thanks to gave us your confidence to bring you fishing at Bolgoda lake and we are really waiting to see you again in Sri Lanka. Maybe next time for GT's

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

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Hiro & Miyazaki san back to fish in Bolgoda Lake !!!

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After their holidays in Japan our regular angler Hiro san and Miyazaki san, fished with us at Bolgoda for a day. 

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Weather was nice and fishing condition good. Miyazaki start the day with a big ladyfish and Hiro with a nice Mangrove Jack. They caught some others smaller ladyfish and Miyazaki lost a nice fish. Afternoon, I decided to go on the spots where I have insane action with our last japanese angler Fumiaki san. Hiro caught 2 barramundi, Miyazaki miss one and caught a nice Mangrove Jack. 

Like usual, they enjoyed their day fishing at Bolgoda Lake and they have already plan their next fishing days. See you soon guys !!

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

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Great week-end fishing with friends at Bolgoda Lake

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Friday and last Saturday, I decided to go fishing with some good fishing buddies at Bolgoda Lake and it has been 2 super days fishing !!!

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The Wild Golden Barramundi were very active, with multiple missed and lost, fortunately Damith our "Legend" has show us again how to catch them.

We have also good action with big size Ladyfish, which give us so much fun on very light tackle and like usual the Mangrove Jack give us some good shot with some good size up to 40 cm.

Another memorable fishing time at Bolgoda with good friends.

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

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Brian & CK from Lure Fisher at Bolgoda Lake

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Last Friday and Saturday, I have guided two Malaysians anglers : Brian and his friend CK from Lure Fisher. These 2 days fishing was good with some nice catch, like this Wild Golden Barramundi caught by CK.

During these 2 days, predators fish were active like the Mangrove Jack, CK caught a big one up to 40 cm on popper !! 

Some nice Lady Fish give good time to Brian, these fish are incredibly strong on light tackle.

Spotted Featherback was also a target fish for our anglers and they caught some nice one. We were waiting for the Juvenile GT but they don't want to show to our Malaysians how hard they fight.

It was a really pleasure to guide Brian & CK, lot of fun and good time, I know I will see you soon guys.

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Sahara & Yamada back in Bolgoda Lake

After their previous great fishing trip, where they caught some nice Barramundi and Mangrove Jack, Yamada san and Sahara san scheduled another Bolgoda trip. It was a pleasure to guide these two expert Japanese fishermen on the last trip and I was excited to be guiding them again, especially Sahara san who had lost 2 nice fish on the last day of his previous trip and was out for revenge !

When I welcomed the guys around midnight at Colombo airport it felt like a reunion of old friends. We loaded up the gear and set off for Bolgoda Lake, talking fishing, remembering fish lost or missed from the last trip and catching up on other fishing adventures. We arrived late in the night at Bolgoda and set a time of 7am to go fishing which sent everybody to bed to rest for the following day.

After breakfast and coffee, the morning of the first day we started out fishing some spots looking to target Barramundi. Sahara’s lure box looked like a mobile tackle shop! He has obviously been doing some shopping since his last visit and had plenty of nice minnows specifically for this trip. I noticed a nice Duel Hardcore Flat Minnow and advised him to start with it. After landing a couple of ladyfish Sahara san has a serious bite close a lily-pad patch and a nice 66 cm Barramundi came to the net after a couple of jumps. Great start !!! They caught some average size mangrove jack and dropped a few Oxeye Tarpon, before we headed back for lunch.

Wild Golden Barramundi Duel Hardcore Minnow Tulala rod Shimano Excense Bolgoda Lake Sportfishing Lanka

After a nap we set out to target the elusive Featherback. When we arrived on the spot we can saw them rolling on surface. Sahara san fished a lipless from Bassday and Yamada wanted to try his luck on a soft plastic. First catch was 2 nice Mangrove Jack.

Mangrove Jack spoon lure casting Bolgoda Lake Sportfishing Lanka

Sahara changed his lure for a spoon and immediately had a bite from a Featherback. The fish jumped and sadly shook the lure. We tried another spot for Barramundi and Sahara missed one close to the boat and Yamada hooked one but on the first jump the lure came free. We returned to the initial spot for Featherback and on the second cast Sahara landed one.

Featherback Knifefish lure fishing Bolgoda Lake Sportfishing Lanka

With Darkness fast approaching, I decide to fish the spot where Sahara lost his 2 big fish on his previous trip and after a couple of casts Sahara has a serious bite but the hooks didn’t set properly and he lost the fish. Damn !!! Same spot, same fisherman with the same lure and again lost, amazing ! Wonder if it was the same fish ?!

The morning of day two we were greeted with overcast weather and a little rain. We tried some Barramundi spots but without success but caught some average size Mangrove Jack and a couple of ladyfish.

Mangrove Jack release luring casting fishing Bolgoda Lake Sportfishing Lanka

Later on in the morning we found Oxeye Tarpon rolling on surface and we decided to focus on catching one. Sahara had never caught one before and was very excited to add one to his species list. I advised him to use a small silver minnow he had plenty of bites but the Oxeye tarpon like their bigger cousins have a hard bony mouth and are not easy to hook. Finally, after some perseverance, Sahara landed one which put a big smile on his face – mission accomplished ! So it was back to the Villa for lunch and a nap.

Oxeye Tarpon luring casting fishing Bolgoda Lake Sportfishing Lanka

That afternoon, we focussed our efforts on the spot where Sahara lost his fish the day before. This time we had a bit more luck and we landed two very nice Mangrove Jack and Yamada boated a Wild Golden Barramundi.

Wild Golden Barramundi luring casting fishing Bolgoda Lake Sportfishing Lanka

The morning of the last day dawned sunny and hot. On the way to reach a spot for Barramundi, I spotted an area with some bait activity on the surface and decided to try our luck. Third cast and Sahara caught a 63 cm Barramundi – good decision !

Wild Barramundi casting lure fishing Bolgoda Lake Sportfishing Lanka

We continued to fish the shallow area and again Sahara had a bite. This time the fish looked bigger and it turned out to be a nice 67 cm Barramundi. Lucky and happy fisherman!! We rounded off the morning session with some Mangrove Jack and ladyfish.

Wild Golden Barramundi Duel Hardorcore Minnow Tulala rod Fishing Bolgoda Lake Sportfishing Lanka

That afternoon Sahara wanted to try again for Featherback and asked me to bring my light spinning rod to show him how I use my "Finesse" technique to target Featherback. We arrived at the spot in the upper reaches of the lake and found plenty of Featherback rolling on the surface. Yamada fished with a lipless and Sahara with a spoon. After 30 minutes without success Sahara asked me to demonstrate my technique with a 5 cm soft plastic Bass Assassin shad and the 2g jighead. The lure is very light and sinks very slowly. The technique requires a lot of attention because if you want your lure to reach the bottom, your line needs to be little bit slack and a bite of fish can be a light « toc » you feel in your rod or you’ll see your line begin to slightly tighten. On my third cast I caught a Featherback (phew!).

Featherback soft plastic bait finesse bass assassin fishing Bolgoda Lake Sportfishing Lanka

Sahara gave it a try and on his second cast he missed one. Sahara is a really good fisherman and a fast learner, after few cast he hooked a big Featherback.

Featherback finesse fishing soft plastic bait bologna lake Sportfishing Lanka

A few minutes later Yamada had a hit on his lipless, the fish gave a good account for itself leading us to believe it was a Mangrove jack, but to our surprise it turned out to be a Black Seabream – a specie we had never caught in the Lake system before.

Black Seabream lure bolgoda lake Sportfishing Lanka

With sunset fast approaching and the light fading we decide to try another area for Barramundi. After a few casts, Sahara missed a big fish leaving us gaping at a huge swirl in the water. Yamada was up next with a nice hit, the fish ran straight into the lily pads fouling up Yamada’s line, luckily after some deft manoeuvring Yamada managed free his line and the fight was on. The fish was strong and after an intense fight a very nice 76 cm Golden Barramundi was landed.

Big Barramundi casting lure fishing Bolgoda Lake Sportfishing Lanka

By this stage the sun had set and the day was over, I asked the guys to have a few last casts, just in case and Sahara caught a 56 cm Barramundi the last fish of the trip.

Barramundi bologna lake sportfishing lanka

What a nice way to finish their trip with 4 barramundis, a big Featherback, a new specie with the black seabream and a couple of decent Mangrove jack.

This trip was a great success, guiding Yamada and Sahara will always be a pleasure and guess what ? They want to come back again ! I am waiting for you guys!

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

 

Another great fishing trip at Bolgoda Lake for our Singaporean clients

Our regular fishing customer Nicholas Han decided to make another trip with some friends to try out some fishing for the Wild Golden Barramundi and Mangrove Jacks again. With perfect weather right up to the week before their arrival we were optimistic, however just before they got in the rainy came down and the water level was high and water discoloured. We decided to concentrate our efforts on another part of the lake which we thought looked better.

Day 1 : In the morning session boat Barra 2 guided by Shaktivel chose to fish a bay where Dr Fred and Iskandar caught some decent mangrove jack and a nice barramundi. While boat Barra 1 with Nicholas Han fished around prawn trap and Nicholas caught a 6 lb featherback on his third cast and some mangrove jack.

Wild Golden Barramundi Fishing Bolgoda Lake Sri Lanka

After a nice lunch and a bit of a break we went out on the afternoon fishing session around 2 pm. We start to fish the mouth of small river, where the barramundi wait in ambush and Iskandar on Barra 1 caught a nice barramundi. On the tide change we fished around prawn trap and Nicholas on Barra 2 caught some nice Mangrove Jacks and Iskandar missed 3 nice Feather back, Dr Fred caught some nice Mangrove Jacks and ladyfish. Nicholas landed some more Mangrove Jacks and ladyfish.

Wild Golden Barramundi Fishing Bolgoda Lake Sri Lanka

Day 2 : The mission of the day was for Dr Fred to catch his first feather back on lure. We decided to fish around a prawn trap. After 4 misses in the morning session Dr Fred finally hooked a nice feather back, this fish give a good fight in the current and jumped a lot. Dr Fred was very happy and impressed by the power of the fish. At the same time on Barra 2 fishing Iskandar and Nicholas had a great session with many Mangrove Jacks landed between 4 lb and 6 lb.

Featherback Smith Bay Blue Fishing Bolgoda Lake Sri Lanka

Afternoon : Nicholas decided to go with his family on Barra 2 on a tour of Bolgoda lake and bird watching, which his young son loves. Dr Fred and Iskandar fishing Barra 1 went after the barramundi again but the Barramundi were elusive again, but they did land a couple of Mangrove Jacks, Featherback and ladyfish.

Mangrove Jack Smith Saruna Fishing Bolgoda Lake Sri Lanka

Day 3 : Morning Session, we decided to follow the same game plan as yesterday hitting the prawn traps, Iskandar fishing alone on Barra 2 had a great fishing session where he caught many nice Mangrove Jacks,a couple of Featherback, a nice ladyfish and missed a very nice barramundi just before landing. While on Barra 1 Nicholas and Dr Fred landed more feather back and mangrove jack.

Ladyfish Smith Bay Blue Fishing Bolgoda Lake Sri Lanka

Afternoon Session : Nicholas stayed in guest house to have some family time with his son in the swimming pool. Iskandar on Barra 2 decided only to go after barramundi, after trying few spots he has a big one follow, but the fish smashed his lure close to the boat just as Iskandar was taking the lure out of the water, unlucky again with the barramundi... while Dr Fred wanted to concentrate his last fishing session on featherback and mangrove jack around prawn trap. He succeeded in catching another good featherback and more Mangrove Jacks.

Till our next report

Tight lines…

Nico - Head Fishing Guide