Mangrove Jack

Nice fishing week end at Bolgoda Lake !!!

Last week-end, I was guiding Maeda san and Ito san, 2 Japanese anglers who work in India and have planned to come fishing at Bolgoda Lake to caught Barramundi, mangrove jack and featherback.

With the unusual rains last week of January and first week of February, fishing at Bolgoda was a bit tough due to some murky water, but we always manage to put our clients on some fish.

Hopefully for our two Japanese last week end was the first day without rain and slowly water was getting better.

Saturday morning, we try to catch some featherback, but without success, Maeda san had a nice bite but was not connected to the fish, it's only in the afternoon session we start to found some activity and Ito san caught a Barramundi and a Featherback.

Sunday, water color was much better. The morning the guys have fun with some nice mangrove jack.

Just before lunch Maeda caught his first barramundi and just after he released his fish, Ito san caught also one nice barramundi. Few minutes later, on the same spot Maeda san lost another decent barramundi. The afternoon was more tough has the current was going slower as the fish activity.

For their first fishing trip at Bolgoda Lake our 2 Japanese anglers enjoy the place, so relaxing compare to the crazy New Delhi mega city where they work in India. Definitely, they will come back at Bolgoda Lake and I have the feeling Maeda san as a GT angler will come back also to cast some big popper next time.

Guys, thanks to come fishing with us in Sri Lanka, really nice to meeting you and I am waiting to see you again soon.

Tight Lines

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Fly fishing day at Bolgoda Lake

Last Monday, I have guided Hiraki san who was visiting his daughter living in Sri Lanka. Hiraki san is a trout and salmon fly fishing lover, then he booked a fishing day at Bolgoda Lake.

As the barramundis seems to be not very active these last days, we mainly focus to target the featherback and the mangrove jack.

Early morning we reached our good spots for featherback and they were very active, rolling every where. Hiraki san was so excited to see all these fish rolling. After few minutes, he sadly missed his first fish of the day. I gave him some advice regarding the drift and the retrieve of his fly. Another featherback has took his fly, but again Hiraki san missed it. We try some others spots but the featherback were not keen to took again his fly. Then just before lunch time, I decide have a try on our mangrove jacks spots and on the first cast Hiraki san took a nice one. A bit later, he missed a bigger one and then caught a second fish.

After lunch, I decided to took our chance to focus only on Barramundi spots, but the fish don't gave Hiraki san the opportunity to hook one.

All in all was a nice day at Bolgoda, Hiraki san enjoyed a lot the fishing scenery and wildlife of Bolgoda Lake and he had fun catching our feisty mangrove jack. I know I will see you soon for another day fishing at Bolgoda

Head Fishing Guide - Nico

Fly fishing and GT popping trip for Japanese couple traveling in Sri Lanka

Hideaki san, his wife and their lovely daughter are a Japanese family living in Russia. They planned to spend 3 weeks holidays in the warm and sunny Sri Lanka for Christmas and New Year. As Hideaki san and his wife love fishing, they booked days fishing with us at Bolgoda Lake for fly fishing and at sea to target GT's on popping.

First day, they fished at Bolgoda and they have great fun with the mangrove jack and caught some nice ones. We tried to catch some featherback, but these elusive fish were not keen to play with them.

Second day, we went on sea and it was mainly Hideaki who was fishing. He had 5 bites and caught 2 Gt's.

I really enjoyed to guide Hideaki san and his wife. I have also done a bit of baby sitting with their daughter when they were fishing, but that was great time as she was so funny.

Thanks to come fishing with us and I hope to see you again somedays.

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

New Year fishing at Bolgoda Lake for Japanese couple.

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

Aussie couple had a blast at Bolgoda

Last week, I have guided Leroy from Shimano Australia and his girlfriend Rose at Bolgoda Lake and they had a great fishing day.

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They had blast with some nice MJ's, Leroy caught also a nice featherback and Rose caught a decent Golden Barramundi, who give her a insane fight on light tackle.

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Another great day fishing in our light tackle heaven : Bolgoda Lake !!!

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Great catches at Bolgoda Lake !!

What a nice fishing day at Bolgoda Lake last week guiding Ryuji san from Dehli.

Total of the catch : 3 barramundi, 1 big featherback, couple of nice mangrove jack and a nice river GT !

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It was nice to met you Ryuji san and I know you will come again soon at Bolgoda Lake for another great fishing day

Tight Lines

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Great fishing for Hiro san and his friend Miyazaki san

Our regular expat Japanese anglers Hiro san & Miyazaki san, had a good weekend fishing at Bolgoda.

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They caught some nice Barramundi like the 80 cm caught by Hiro san, but also some good size featherback and the usual Mangrove Jack with a nice 50 cm up.

Two other nice species were caught during this weekend, a black sea bream and a juvenile GT which gave a hard fight with light tackle.

It was nice to see you again at Bolgoda till your next trip

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Very good fishing at Bolgoda Lake for Japanese angler

Ryuichi san, who is living in Thaïlande has booked a week end fishing trip with us at Bolgoda Lake and he has a great trip guided by our local guide Shaktivel !

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During this 2 days, he caught 8 barramundi, plus some other species like the usual mangrove jack, Oxeye Tarpon and juvenile GT's.

Great action on the lake for a memorable trip for our japanese angler !

Congratulations and see you soon Ryuichi san !!

Tight lines

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Great day fishing for Willem at Bolgoda Lake !!

Willem was travelling to Sri Lanka and booked a day fishing at Bolgoda Lake

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Willem caught nothing less than 13 Mangrove Jack, a juvenile GT, missed 2 barra and lost a big one !!

Congratulations Willem !!!

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Waiting to see you for some GT fishing for your next trip in our wonderful Island !!!

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.

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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.

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.

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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.


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

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.

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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.


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

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 !

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.

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

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.

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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.

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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

Another good day fishing at Bolgoda Lake for Hiro & Miyazaki san !!!

A week ago Hiro san and Miyazaki san were back for a day fishing at Bolgoda Lake with our fishing guide Shaktivel and as usual they have a great fishing.
 

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The rain of days before make water color a bit murky in some area of the lake and don't make the fishing easy for them, but Shaktivel with his good experience of the lake found some good spots with clear water. Morning only Miyazaki san caught fish with 3 nice mangrove jack, one was 49 cm and give him a good fight. Hiro san just lost 2 lady fish.

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Afternoon, Shaktivel try another area and Hiro san break the ice catching a 50 cm Golden Barramundi. After that catch, they want to have a try on the featherback, which were active due to the rain of the last days. The elusive knife fish were rolling every where, but not of them were keen to bite. At sunset time, Shaktivel decided to have a try on one of our good barramundi spots and Hiro san, who has caught his personal best Golden Barramundi on his last day fishing a month ago, caught another big one of 83 cm !!!

Like he told me : "This fish was few centimeter more than the one I caught last time, but completely different fight and weight !! It was Big Mama !!
The Bomber Long -A hooks were bended and snap also was almost broken."

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Congratulation Hiro san for this very nice catch and hope to see you soon for another good day fishing at Bolgoda Lake !!

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

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

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

Insane trip at Bolgoda Lake with Big Barramundi !!!

Last week-end we received Fumiaki san and one of his fishing buddy for 2 days trip at Bolgoda Lake.

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Fumiaki fished Bolgoda Lake last October and he had a good trip, but a bit unlucky with the Barramundi... But this time Barramundi were very active and with his friend, they have had just an insane fishing trip with a total 8 barra with 2 monsters of 88 cm and 93 cm + others fish between 60 and 75 cm. 

To be honest, it's the best trip I have guided at Bolgoda, they caught these fish, but I can't remember how many they missed or lost, and especially some big boy !!!
In addition of these barramundi, they also caught some usual Mangrove Jack, with a big one at 49 cm, and plenty of Oxeye Tarpon and ladyfish.

Like ours two Japanese anglers, I will never forget these 2 amazing days fishing at Bolgoda. For them, it's just the trip and fish of a lifetime. For sure they will be back to fish at Bolgoda, but they also know it will be not like this exceptional trip.

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Anyway, this trip proof that Bolgoda Lake can offer some absolute amazing fishing days and the team of Sportfishing Lanka has decided to organise a Challenge for next season (from September 2018 to August 2019), we will pay back the fishing trip to the angler who will fish with us and will catch a 1 meter Barramundi at Bolgoda Lake !!

Then don't wait and book a day or a trip at Bolgoda Lake in search to catch the ultimate fish !!

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Sugimoto & Hashimoto are back for a week end at Bolgoda Lake

Our regular expat japanese anglers Sugimoto and Hashimoto were back at Bolgoda for the week end and they have a good fishing trip.

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Saturday, morning session was slow till Sugimoto break the ice with a beautiful 70 cm barramundi, in the afternoon he caught his first featherback, a weird fish according to him. Hashimoto caught some Mangrove Jack, but the Sunday morning he missed a first barramundi and lost a beast over 90 cm on the first jump. Fortunately, he landed some usual Mangrove jack and caught some nice ladyfish.

And Sugimoto ? He caught another nice 60 cm Wild Golden Barramundi after he missed 2 others.

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Another great fishing trip at Bolgoda Lake. Sugimoto has already plan his next fishing week end in April, see you soon then.

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Takahiro san is back to fish Bolgoda Lake !!!

Good fishing trip for Takahiro san who was coming to fish Bolgoda Lake for the second time during 3 days.

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He came back with a mission to fly fish only to target the Wild Golden Barramundi, but condition were a bit tough for flyfishing, mainly due to the wind, he didn't catch the elusive barramundi but some ladyfish and lost a very big one. Fortunately Takahiro knew, he needed some good conditions for flyfishing and in case he took with him some casting rod also and he caught some really nice barramundi in the 65 cm range, and some nice Mangrove jack.

Takahiro enjoyed again his fishing trip on Bolgoda Lake and plan to come back for his revenge on fly.

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Amazing trip at Bolgoda Lake for our regular Japanese couple !!!

Kiyoshi san and his wife live in Thailand have a very good time for their second trip at Bolgoda Lake.

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Their first trip was also good, but this time with our fishing guide Shaktivel, they landed plenty of fish and Kiyoshi san caught a superb 86 cm Wild Golden Barramundi on DUO Realis Jerkbait.

Congratulations from Sportfishing Lanka team and see you soon for another good fishing trip at Bolgoda Lake !!!

Nico - Head Fishing Guide

Great trip at Bolgoda Lake with Japanese anglers !!

We received Yamada san and 3 of his friends for a 3 days fishing trip at Bolgoda Lake.

It was a great trip for our japanese anglers, they caught Golden barramundi, their main target, and also some featherback which were active compare to the last days fishing we have before them.

Strangily the Mangrove Jack were not very active as usual, they caught some but nice size mainly up to the 40 cm mark.

Two big barramundi were missed right on the boat, it's for that you must finish to retrieve your lure till the boat !!! Anyway like I say it was a great fishing trip, with good fishing action, some fun, good souvenirs and for sure we will see you again at Bolgoda Lake or maybe for a sea fishing trip on our new boat which will be delivery in a couple of weeks now.

Nico - Head Fishing Guide