Ben is an avid lure fisherman from Australia and comes to Colombo regularly for business. He had a weekend to spend in Sri Lanka and contacted us for a day fishing trip. He was very interesting in going after GTs in Kirinda, but it was little bit far for just a weekend so he chose to fish at Bolgoda Lake.
I picked up Ben from his hotel in Colombo at 11 am and we drove to Bolgoda Lake. When we arrived at the Ruskin Island ferry I could see the surprise in Ben’s eyes. What I love, right from when I first visited Bolgoda Lake is the wildlife and birds that you get to see within an hour’s drive from Colombo’s busy city center. Ben was very surprised to see monkeys, water monitor, crocodile, eagles and kingfisher in a very beautiful landscape so close to the Sri Lankan capital city.
When we arrived at our boutique hotel, Bayou of Bolgoda, the chef had prepared some very good club sandwiches & French fries (chips). A quick lunch and we are ready to go fishing. Ben was so excited and after a couple of cast he had a bite and a golden barramundi jump. Ben is an experienced fisherman but it was his first « jumping fish » and he didn’t know he needed to put the rod tip down when the fish jump and sadly lost the fish. At the next spot he caught a ladyfish and missed a bite from what I think was a mangrove jack. At the end of the evening, we tried on one of our favourite spots for the elusive Featherback. I gave Ben a special Featherback lure and explained how to use it. On the second cast Ben had a nice bite and a very big Featherback jump, but again, Ben forgot to put down his rod tip and lost the fish. We tried to fish a little bit late on some good spots for Barramundi but we weren’t lucky with the bites and it started to rain. On the last spot Ben caught his first tarpon.
On the way back Ben told me he enjoyed his day. He appreciated the wildlife and beauty of the lake and plans to come back for a weekend with his fishing buddy and his family.
Nico
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