After a great GT fishing trip in Kirinda the Jerrys had planned to finish their trip with two days fishing at Bolgoda Lake.
Day One : Early in the morning I met the guys on the pontoon where I was waiting with the Barra Boat. Quick check of tackle: rods are little bit long but the action seem good for the predators of Bolgoda Lake. Lure box is fine : with plenty of different kind of minnow – now it’s time to go.
I reach the main lake and start at some spots where I had good success some days before. We fish one of my favorite spots for Mangrove Jack but unfortunately the fish are not so active, despite a large amount of bait. There are a few swirls behind the lure but no proper bites. I decide to move to another area. After a 15 minute drive we start fishing again on the lookout for Barramundi. Big Jerry catches an average size Mangrove Jack.
The area is quite so I suggest checking to see if the elusive Featherback are active. We reach the spot and see a few Featherback rolling on the surface. The sight of the fish rolling make little Jerry crazy, he tries all the lures in his box to catch one of these Featherback, but the knife-fish don’t seem interested. We head back to the Villa for some lunch and a small nap before coming back to that spot later in the afternoon.
Around 2:30 pm we leave the pontoon for the Featherback spot. There are a few quick stops at some Barramundi spots with a couple of small mangrove jack. Finally, we arrive at the spot. The Featherback are there, untiringly rolling on surface. The Jerry’s never give up and cast their lure in the hope to have a bite of Featherback. But definitely, they are not active, finally little Jerry catches a decent Mangrove Jack. This first day was really tough, but I was confident with my plan for the next day.
Day Two : I follow my plan to fish the main lake where I have seen many baits and I decide to concentrate our effort there. On the first spot little Jerry misses a nice bite. At the second spot he catches a mangrove jack, another one and another one again, for a total of 7 Mangrove Jack. Big Jerry catches one and misses some.
We try another spot for Mangrove Jack and the Jerrys have a double hook up of nice Mangrove Jack.
After that, I decide to change the area to try some Barramundi spots. On the third cast little Jerry has a serious bite with a long rush, for sure a Barramundi. After a nice fight, he lands a nice barramundi. Quick picture and we release the fish.
We continue to fish the spot and it’s big Jerry who has a very serious fish, very long and powerful rush. We start to see the fish on the surface, it was a big barramundi in the 7/8 kg mark, but unfortunately on the last rush the fish was off, the lure comes back without the treble hook from the tail, split ring open. Very sad ! We try some other spots without success. Big Jerry catches a jumping Giant Herring and little Jerry a small Mangrove Jack to finish this very good morning session.
For the afternoon session, I decide to stay on the main lake. On the first spot there’s no activity so I try the spot where we had the Barramundi bite in the morning again and big Jerry catches a nice Barramundi.
On the next spot he had another one but again it got off. Unlucky ! We finish the day at some mangrove jack spots and little Jerry catches his 14th Mangrove Jack of the day.
The 2 days trip with the Jerrys was really a pleasure. Lots of fun onboard, we laugh and joke throughout the trip and enjoy every minute. It was a really good trip ! Hope to see you soon in Lanka guys.
Nico - Head Fishing Guide
Species Caught: Mangrove Jack, Giant Herring, Barramundi
Rod: Major Craft
Reel: Daiwa
Lures: Maria, Ima, Duel, Rapala