Fun fishing day at Bolgoda

Last week-end Pershy from Awesome Foursome group have a great time fishing at Bolgoda Lake with our Guide Shaktivel.

"It was a fun full day in the best way to spend our Sunday at Bolgoda. We had a good day in the water with a catch of 2 Barramundi, 1 featherback and 2 Mangrove Jacks which was caught by casting lures and all the fish was successfully released back into the water.”

“A big thank you to Sportfishing Lanka and Boatman Sathivel for job well done"

Congratulations Pershy see you soon

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Amazing fishing day at Bolgoda Lake

Last Sunday with our regular Japanese anglers Hiro san & Miyazaki san, we had certainly one of the best day fishing at Bolgoda Lake.

They caught 9 barramundi, they also missed or lost 4 or 5 more and they caught countless Mangrove Jack in the 40 cm up range !!

The barramundi were so active, Hiro and Miyazaki have a double hook up. It was insane !!

Tight lines

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Another great day fishing with two expats Japanese anglers at Bolgoda Lake

Yasuhiro san and his friend were in business trip in Lanka and they decided to have a break to fish at Bolgoda Lake.

During the morning session they caught a dozen of Mangrove Jack with some big one up to 45 cm. After a delicious lunch at the villa, we started the afternoon session on Barramundi spots. At the beginning there was some wind which don't make the fishing easy, but just before the evening the wind stopped and make the Barramundi hungry. They had 3 bites and Yasuhiro san friend caught two nice Golden Barramundi.

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We finished the day to target Featherback but they were not keen to bite their lures. Anyway, all in all it was a very enjoyable day fishing at Bolgoda. Yasuhiro which is also a GT fisherman, has planned to come back with his GT tackle for his next business trip in Lanka. 
It was nice to meet you guys, I am waiting to see you again and to have fun.

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Fishing day at Bolgoda Lake with Japanese angler

Last week we have received Hayano san from Japan for a day charter at Bolgoda.

He had a nice day and caught some nice Mangrove Jack during the morning session and the afternoon he lost a big Barramundi and caught a featherback.

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It was nice to meet you Hayano san. Hope to see you again at Bolgoda Lake and take your revenge with the Barramundi ;-)

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

A nice day fishing with friends at Bolgoda Lake

Going fishing at Bolgoda Lake with some buddies like Pershy and Damith, this is the way every Saturday should be spend !

Here some pictures of our catches, Pershy was the man of the day with 2 barra, Damith was unlucky this day (for once) and caught a ladyfish. My day was not bad with some decent mangroves jacks and 2 featherback.

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Guys, I enjoyed my fishing day with you as usual and can't wait for the next one.

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Nice fishing day at Bolgoda with Jordan & his Dad

Traveling with their family in Sri Lanka, Jason and his dad who are come from Florida want to go fishing at Bolgoda Lake to catch a Wild Golden Barramundi and some Mangrove Jack.

Weather was nice and water color perfect. They start the morning session with some nice mangrove jack. Just before lunch Jordan has a serious bite of Barramundi, the fish goes in a strong rush to reach the structure, but fortunatly Jordan managed perfectly. The Barramundi jump a couple of time and finally in his last jump he manage to hook off. 
After a good lunch, we go on some other spots and Jordan finally caught a nice Wild Golden Barramundi. The end of the day fishing was slow and they only caught some small mangrove jack.

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All in all, it was a nice day, Jordan & his dad enjoyed the fishing at Bolgoda Lake and watching the wildlife, as the huge croc on our way back.
Lures of the day : Rapala Shadow Rap Shad

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Personal best GT on popping for Su Lin

Mid May, as the southwestern monsoon started to settled, our regular singaporean angler Su Lin informed me she will be in Sri Lanka in a couple of days and she wanted for one or two days fishing at sea. She wanted to do some light jigging and have a try on popping to catch her first GT. I told her the true regarding the weather forecast, but I promise her if we have a good windows we will go.


The day before her arrival, I send her an email with last weather forecast and I told her the only day we can go was on her arrival day... I knew she will arrive in the night at Colombo and she will need to wake up few hours after she arrive in her hotel. But Su Lin was so happy to go fishing, she just reply : "So, I will be waiting for you to pick me at my hotel tomorrow morning at 6 am. Thanks and see you in 12 hours".
So next morning at 7:30 am, Su Lin was doing her first cast of the day. At this stage of my report, I want to precise it was the first time Su Lin was doing some GT popping, meaning casting a 130 gr popper with heavy tackle. And to be honest, to do that after traveling from Singapore and just few sleeping hours, I was very impressed and as a captain, I really wanted she caught her first GT on popping because she was deserve it.
It's for that reason, I was more kind and patient than usual when her cast were not so good. I gave her my best tips to increase her casting distance and make sure her popper make enough noise to trigger a GT bite.
After a couple of hours of intensive cast, Su Lin has the first bite of the day and it seems to be a decent fish. She sets perfectly the hooks and the GT goes in a long rush. After a nice fight, I landed the first ever GT of Su Lin caught on popper and it was a decent 20 kg fish. Su Lin was thrilled and I feel she started to be hooked on GT popping and my feeling was confirmed by her following long distance casts.

On the next spot, she missed a shy bite, but I knew we need to wait for the tide change to found again some good activity. After lunch, I try again the spot where Su Lin caught her first GT, but nothing happen. On the next spot, as she finished retrieving her lure and was about to take it out of the water, a GT appear from nowhere and grabbed her popper. Fortunately it was not a monster fish, otherwise in this condition the end is not in the favour of the angler. Sun Lin manage well and landed her GT, not a big one, but what a bite !!! We try for a while in some deep water spots where I spotted lot of baits on the sonar, but sadly GT's where not there or did not want to play with us. On the way back I make a last drift on a good spot and I spotted some baits in surface which seem to be afraid by a predator. I ask Su Lin to cast in there direction and on the second pop, a big GT grabbed her lure in a big swirl. Su Lin was ready for this fish and strike perfectly to make sure the hooks penetrate well in the solid jaw of this big fish. But the fish was strong, maybe a bit too strong for her, she cannot put enough pressure on the GT who found the reef and broke the leader. What a pity... Anyway Su Lin was really happy of her day at sea and promised me to come back next season to have her revenge with the big GT.
As usual, it was a pleasure to have you onboard Su-Lin and I really want to congratulate you for your catch you really deserve it !!! See you soon ;-)
Capt. Nico

First GT popping experience for Ukrainian couple

Beginning May, we also have some good fishing days at sea, like the 2 days spent with Vladimir & Anastasia from Ukraine. The young couple was travelling in Sri Lanka and Vladimir as a crazy angler for predator fish in Ukraine, wants to do some saltwater fishing and especially with GT's on popping. Anastasia was also keen to have a try, but she never cast such big lures as 130 g popper.

First day, weather was beautiful and sea was also nice. After a quick casting lesson for Anastasia, we start fishing some of our good spots. On the second spot, Vladimir has a big bite close to the boat. Fortunately, the GT don't go under the boat and run straight out of the rock. Vladimir was very surprise how the GT is strength. After a nice battle, it's a 25-30 kg range GT I put in the landing net. A very good size fish for his first GT ever !!! Quick picture and we release the fish. We try some other good spots but the fish don't seem to play with us, till the tide change and in the afternoon we try some shallow water area and Vladimir was again in the game and caught another GT. Anastasia also had a bite but she lost the fish due to a slack line. Few hours before to get back the harbour, we try a last spot and Vladimir caught one more small fella.

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The next day, Vladimir came alone, Anastasia has decided to stay at the hotel for some Ayurvedic massage. Morning was a bit slow, till we fished a new area where the water was more clear, I caught the first GT of the day, just after Vladimir missed one. We stay for a while in this area and Vladimir caught another GT and missed some. The afternoon, I decide to reach the shallow water spot where we have some good activity the day before. On the first drift, Vladimir had a serious bite and the fish was running so fast, it didn't gave time to Vladimir to try to stop it and the fish goes straight in the rock and the line broke. On the second drift, it was my turn to have a bite of a serious fish and the same story happen to me !! After that we try, some other rocks in this area but sadly without success, tough to finish the day with two big fish lost, but that's fishing.

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Vladimir plan to come back with some friends to make a proper fishing trip. Waiting to see you again in Lanka to caught some GT's and to have your revenge on the big fish lost the last day !

Tight line 

Capt. Nico

Great fishing days at Bolgoda Lake with Japanese anglers : Yuzo san & Satoru san.

 Satoru san fished with us last January and caught some nice Mangrove Jack, but he was unlucky with the Barramundi. But on the first day of this trip, he caught the first barramundi ! Good start !

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A bit later and after they caught some mangrove jack, Yuzo san had a serious barramundi bite. The fish goes in long and powerful run, a bit scared Yuzo put some pressure on the spool with his thumb and lost the fish. His lure came back with a hook less and a strong split ring completely open... A serious fish for sure.

In the afternoon, he miss 2 nice golden barramundi, fortunately for him, he caught a juvenile GT and a featherback in the evening.

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Second day, on the morning session Yuzo caught another Featherback and Saturo a baby barramundi, plus some usual mangrove jack. Just before lunch Satoru caught a nice barramundi.

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On the afternoon session, finally Yuzo san caught a wild golden barramundi. We try also for featherback, but they don't seems very active, then on the last hour before back to the Villa we fished some good spots for barramundi and Satoru san hooked a big wild golden barramundi. Fish was strong, he came twice a long the boat and we saw a very big fish. After a bit of stress during the battle, I finally put the fish in the landing net and it's an absolute beast which is on the boat deck. This wild Golden Barramundi was stubby, his lenght was 89 cm for a weight of 22 lb on the Boga Grip. Satoru san was so happy and I saw his hands were shaking as the one of a kid who caught his first fish. Such a long time I haven't seen this kind of emotion from an angler and I was also so happy for him.

Last day the morning session was a bit tough due to some windy condition, but we manage to catch some mangrove jack, tarpon and lady fish. The afternoon, on the first spot Yuzo san caught a nice wild golden barramundi.

After that some serious lightning were coming fast, then we decide to end the fishing day and the trip. 
It was a really nice trip, the guys enjoyed a lot to fish Bolgoda Lake and promised me to come back soon with friends. See you soon then.

Nico-Head Fishing Guide

Japanese Gold Digger at Bolgoda Lake !!

Our regular Japanese expat anglers Sugimoto & Hashimoto came for a week-end to fish at Bolgoda Lake.

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Weather was good and the Wild Golden Barramundi active. They caught some usual mangrove jack, Sugimoto lost a very big ladyfish and Hashimoto was the lucky angler who caught all the barramundi. Another great fishing week-end at Bolgoda Lake !!!

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Lures of the week-end : Rapala Shadow Rap Shad and Shadow Rap Deep