I got to spend a bit of time at Bolgoda lake this weekend when I tagged along with Nico’s group and was pretty much blown away by the experience. It’s an incredibly lush wild area sitting right alongside Colombo teaming with birds, wildlife and of course fish! Half the time I wasn’t sure whether I should reach for my camera or my rod. Nico’s guests concentrated on spinning and had great results look for his report on our Facebook page. I chose a different path, borrowed some fly gear from Nico and set out on my own for the day to explore what the area had to offer.
I concentrated my efforts around a prawn trap upstream from the main lake hoping for a Mangrove Jack or barramundi but my plans changed when I saw the featherback they were literally everywhere rising from the bottom to eat prey swirling on the surface and retreating to depths again. I cast Nico’s entire flybox at them trying to get one to eat but no joy. I did manage to pick up a few Ox-eye Tarpon on a small popper although I dropped far more than I landed only getting two of them to the boat.
After discussing my featherback woes with Nico that night he explained how he successfully targets them on lures so next time I’m hitting the water with a much better battle plan there will be no rest till this is accomplished!
