Back from Sri Lanka

[bluester]

Well that was one of the best hol's i've ever had.Stayed at Club Hotel Dolfin just north of Negombo. 26/06/07 to 11/07/07. The country is lush with veg and most people i spoke to were friendly and all willing to give as much advice as they knew, The strong winds usual for this time of year were a blessing as far as staying cool was concerned. Temp was between 29 and 37c , only had a bit of rain 1 evening and one pretty good storm which stired up the fish a little the day after. Having my own fishing tackle on holiday seemed to draw a few spectators and interesting stories from envious gents who wished they had some tackle with them. The hotel location was perfect as i had the canal on one side and the beech directly in front of my room and as an early riser i found my self fishing one of them every day exept one from 6 to 9;40 am so i could run back for b'fast befor 10.
It took me a couple of days to get a fish and i was suprised at what eventualy worked. Firstly the canal; Went trolling for 4 hrs and didn't catch, was using rapalas, shads and about 10 other trolling lures i had. I saw the heads of a couple of fish and this kept my hopefull, so no luck this time,
When i got back i saw some local kids free lining bare hooks catching small silverfish
(looks like mullet)
so I had a go and lifted a good 5 kg of fish from the water which the kids were most greatfull for (THEY SAID THEY WOULD BE A POOR BAIT).
Spent the next few days walking the canal and throwing all types of lure and spinner to no avail so started trying the surf on the other side again lures, bass wedges, tobies, baited prawns and nothing until i down sized to a set of 3 hokkies , 8 am morninig after the storm next to an esturey a Barramundi of about 8 or 9 lb and 2 seconds later a mullet of about 4 to 5 lb. I gave them away to a local man fishing with a net and just as i did he pulled the net in with a barramundi of about 40 pound , I stayed with the hokkies for most of the lure fishing after that and caught another barramundi 5lb, 3 mullet 2 - 3lb and 4 flat heads over week.
Best results bait fishing for me were on the small silverfish cut into large fillets where catfish were caught throughout the day various sizes in any rocky bay.
Lost 3 lots of tackle on a rather large fish that i couldnt land (i think its the same fish anyway) dont know what it was but it took 2 rigs into the rocks that cut like butter and then on my third attempt using 30lb line and a 4 ft wire trace it decided to run...... and run .... and run until i run out of an entire spool of line when it then shot left out to sea and to the opposite side of the breakwaster rocks and left me with about 20ft of linesnapped off (so glad i took an extra spool of 20)
Locals all said the best time for fishing is during december and jan so i may have to negotiate with my lady for another trip then but all in all great

[Ken L]

Did you fish at night for the Barra with lures ?
That's always outscorred any daytime fishing for me.

[bluester]

Hi Ken, I did but only until about 10pm The best time seemed to be at around 7:30- 8am. where i was according to tjhe locals. I usually arrived just before the local fishermen but I will have a go when i go back again. What type and size lures do you use?

[Makubwa]

Sounds really great - do you have any photos???

[Ken L]

In India, I use 5 and 6" minow plugs like the Bomber Long A, and 4 and 5" soft plastic shads like those made by Storm.
Another tactic is to fish grubs on jigheads slowly over the sand.

I don't fish at set times. Our trips are governed by the moon and tide. An hour either side og high water with a decent chunk of moon in the sky is usually productive and if all things are right, wee'll frequently set off at midnight and finally roll into bed at 5am.

Not sure how to post photo's on this forum, but there's a photo on this link http://www.indianangler.com/viewtopic.php?t=677

[bluester]

Didn't take the camera fishing with me as everything kept getting wet with the big surf and odd really big wave. (I couldn't help but want to stand in the surf to stay cool) A few of the local lads had been asking me for my mag reel, plugs, hooks and just about anything I had and with the crows looking through my bag when I did lay it down I didn't want to leave it on the beach so just took the essentials in a small bum bag, my rod and swim trunks and kind of stuck to that. I would have gone back for the camera if any larger fish started coming out as I didn't need to go far from my hotel to fish (20 yards either side) but I will be more prepared next time and take a waterproof camera I can tie to my belt.

[Ken L]

A bit off topic I know, but you have two basic options with cameras.
You can buy a cheepie waterproof 35mm from Lidl for less than a fiver, or, you can protect your ordinary camera.
I use both.
The cheepie will do a few underwater shots in daylight which is nice, but my main fishing camera is a fuji finepix digi. It fits perfectly into a clip up plastic box that I bought from Makro.
I just wrap the camera in a plastic bag, put it in the box and it's protected from dirt, dust and water until I need it. the fit is so tight thast the camera wont even rattle in the box when it gets shook up.

[Makubwa]

Yes, I do not go abroad fishing without a camera to take some fish photos - people may think I am telling fishermans tales!

[AlderneyBassman]

I've just booked 2 weeks in Nov at the same hotel as you Bluester!

Just thought I'd look up the fishing opertunities and found this thread.

I'm gonna take my Mike Ladle 4 sure spin and baitrunner reel with 30lb braid.

Didn't realise they had barramundi there, but am well chuffed they have!!

What gear did you take Bluester? Reckon mine will be up to the job?

[Estuary Perch]

November is a much better time to be on that part of the coast of Sri Lanka since the Monsoon is over by end Septembar and the sea is much calmer and the bait fish return bringing the larger predatory fish (Barramundi, Barracuda, Giant Trevally, Spanish Mackerel, etc) with them.