Fish of Dreams……gone!!

The end of January saw us fishing with Sami Gandour from Salty Water tackle after 4 years we have been in contact for a long while but the trip finally materialised. There were a few jittery moments with visas taking longer than usual to come though, so it makes sense to apply well in advance. They finally made it to Port Blair and we were ready to go.

The first day we were full of expectation and excitement and could not wait to get out on the water and into fish..


The boat ride out on day 1


We started of with multiple hits, the were a couple of good size fish that came up but the guys could not stay connected and the fish got away. Aneil was on his first ever GT trip and Igor on his second so we have to cut them some slack as well.


 
Aneil pulled this fish out from really shallow water 3-5 meters so as the trip progressed they got better.


Igor with his shallow water GT as well


Next morning Aneil has his first run in with a dog tooth tuna, it game him a good fight and a first experience of how the can pull…

A first doggie and a happy angler, things went down hill from here on the dogs unfortunately…


Igor with his shark he took on the Gamma stick-bait, luckily all recovered and shark released to fight another day.

Igor fighting a really big GT, after many lost strikes this morning, there were huge explosions on the poppers but no hook-ups and this is where the little extra experience can really play its part.


Utter disappointment for Igor here, big fish lost almost at the leader with both hooks gone, I had a glimpse of this fish close to the boat and would put it well over 40 kg


The “gamma” with another victim, this worked really well. 


Sami putting the Racepoint rod to the test on a decent GT


The Result


We managed to release this big barra that took the “siren” stickbait


More decent fish to boat and bigger ones lost.


I have to talk about day 4 morning because it was insane, we are jigging one of our deep spots and have a few hits, there fish marking get higher and higher in the column and we decide to try switch to poppers/ stick baits, then we had a take close to the boat it was a huge doggie..
More takes and then hook up, but we just could not stay connected, Gamakatsu GT recorders opened up, hook pulls line breaks, all on huge dog tooth tuna, but luck just did not favour us this day. Aneil had a hit that was so aggressive his popper went 6 feet into the air!!! Can you believe this…. All in all we had 6 hook ups with not one landed…..average size of fish estimated at least 50kg


As we moved away from the spot more decent fish came to the boat but not the big bad boys.




Sami with his consolation dog tooth this is a baby compared to the ones we lost, on the last session Aneil hooked a marlin on popper but it came off on the first run.
This was certainly a trip to remember, so near and yet so far, the insanity of the attacks of monster fish and pause for thought that when you land a great fish how truly lucky you are that everything came together for you as an angler that day.

 

Tight lines

Operation Singhala GT… what is coming…

I am sure all our followers are eagerly awaiting this report …..

With the boat at its destination in Krinda, we set up our gear to see what fish were about waiting to take our lures. The idea was to explore the area find potential spots and see if we could hook a few geets…

The weather was perfect, the boat is all set up and off we go, do I have expectations… I always do and that is why I keep fishing!!!, its a new area for us and exploring can pay off sometimes and sometimes it does not, I am looking for areas that have the potential to hold fish

One of the areas we came to had all the characteristics required and after a few short strikes we were immediately rewarded with a bust off for Damith, I hooked up one on 80lb braid and was bricked a few seconds later… game on!! Time for pe 10 heavy drag and the big lures so I can pull back too…..

Damith with a nice GT the first one we landed on one of the new spots

I was itching to try my new Rocket after I broke the last one in the Andaman Islands, so armed with PE10 line I cast to be rewarded after 3 pops with this nice 40 kg Singhala GT, this is my first GT on day 1 of exploring and its a very positive sign, that fish are a good size

More action followed as we found new spots and great news, most of the fish are in the 20kg range average size, they pull real hard as this is probably due to the proximity of the open ocean

Some of the reefs are quite shallow and getting the GT’s out means you have to pull too.

We found GT’s in most of the spots we tried which is great as we now have a good knowledge of where to find them.

I could not resist a cast near the light house and had an immediate hook up, it makes a great picture in a wonderful location.

Now to answer the question is there anything big around, well the answer is er… YES Yes Yes

Damith poses with the big boy that nearly broke his back, no he is not smiling…. it is 53.8 kg

A regular Lankan GT comes in

I hook up with a big boy that came up like a torpedo and smacked the popper, no messing about for sure with this fish

And getting ready for the pose after a hard fight

Decoy treble opened, one of many are these fish strong or what.

Its very good fun when big fish are around as you often wonder if you will be able to handle the next one given the way they pull.

Did we catch more? Were they big? Are there many? Well you need to watch this space to know the answers to those questions.

Tight lines till next time.

Darran can…. fish light in Lanka

What can you do fishing wise from the centre of the city, most times you have to travel to get away from it all, to the open space, the water, the forest, the silence and peace, the sense of calmness that being outdoors brings.

Not here really you can be fishing an hour out of Colombo if the traffic lets you that is!! One of the largest inland brackish water systems in the country is close and does it have fish, the answer is yes, from Mangrove Jack to Ox-eye Tarpon and of course it is a heaven for Barramundi, with its numerous fish locks. Light tackle heaven… for sure, imagine pulling one of these feisty fish on a fly rod.

Another nice Mangrove jack taken near structure on light tackle, and they make a super fillet too.

Damith with another Barramundi, I do have something to learn, I did get the solid hit a couple of times but it did not materialize into the Barramundi, I will be back… for another go, not revenge but another try, I do feel that this is fishing and you learn as you go along, its not about catching but the art of deceiving a fish with a lure that keeps me coming back for more.
And if you do not want to cast all day, you could also troll for Barramundi in the huge expanse of water as the picture below shows some friends having fun with Barramundi caught trolling.

Lets try the river-mouth says Damith to me one day there is fish to be had, what kind I ask and he says all kinds but mainly Barramundi, GT and Barracuda, hectic packing and we set off in convoy loaded up to spend the night out (camping style), I am happy to give light tackle a go after ages so my Smith KGS and Twinpower with PE 3 are the go to today

All set up on the river mouth.. waiting…. for signs of fish the tide will signal.

Life… feeding, the mullet are jumping, there is a threadfin too.., pulse is racing, take a deep breath and cast, twitch, twitch, on, again and again furious action

The action last as long as the mullet try to enter the river mouth then tapers off only to start again the next morning

Timing the waves and making sure you have good footwear that will grip well on the jagged barnacles is essential, this is great fun especially trying to get your lure into the action that is always just further than it needs to be.

Dusk is Barramundi time and soon Damith play and lands a nice one, super eating they are too, few places are left today that offer such a variety of fishing options, inshore, offshore, lagoon and river.

Knackered after casting all day, where we landed small GT’s, threadfin and Barramaundi, we set down to dine on fresh fish, Lanka style…. spicy yes yes YES, but super delicious and exchange stories, discuss life and generally have a good time as the Brits say “taking the piss”

Memories and stories to cherish for always…. back again soon.

The road to Krinda

 

We packed up the land-cruiser full, the boat was already on its way it had left Colombo earlier with the crew and headed for the Southern Expressway to Galle, this is a super highway, a scenic drive that almost puts you to sleep if it were not for the scenery of rubber and palm oil plantations that border most of the 100 plus km drive, look out for Iguanas, star tortoises and peacocks as they abound here.

Once off the expressway you are in Galle the, if were not time strapped you could take in a look around the fort or just keep driving as there is so much to see, the pretty beachside town of Unawatuna. I get numerous glimpses of the sea as we drive along, there is no evidence of the devastating tsunami that destroyed the tows all along the coast in Dec 2004, towns like like Tangalle and Matara are back to normal, so different from my last visit here in 2007.

Some places along the route scream GT, I say to my self be calm Darran and enjoy the view, lets see what it is like first.

Once you are out of busy Colombo the pace seems to get slower and more rustic, I enjoy the sights especially the numerous shrines that you pass as you drive along.

 

Mainly Buddhist in culture the peaceful atmosphere is present all around.

The view of the sea almost 270 degrees at Dondra Head

A light-house I remember well from my days of navigating oil tankers to and fro the Persian Gulf, Dondra Head, a navigation mark visible for miles out at sea.

Up goes the pulse rate again, I think of what maybe around, looking at a place like the one above, I want to fish….. like now!!!

I took this interesting picture of a local fisherman, what many may wonder is he doing so close to the shore, seated on a perch, what could he possibly catch? This friends is a secret of Sri Lanka, the sardines come close to the rocky shore, huge schools of them sometime like a moving blanket of black living mass, to escape being out in the open and thus safe from predators, they will hug the shore. So this local is picking them off expertly, sometimes hundreds a day from his perch, he sometimes also gets lucky with small GT’s or Queenies that come into the shallow chasing them.

We pass through the 3000 year old town of Tissamaharama, full of archaeological remains, what was this I wonder, but unfortunately there is nothing to tell me more about this stone structure

Or this which may have been a meeting place for discourses on religion or ……

This huge Stupa structure in Tissa built in the 3rd century BC is one on the largest and 16 most most sacred site for Buddhist pilgrims in Sri Lanka is unmistakeable as you drive by.

Our lean mean GT machine has arrived at Krinda, paperwork and off-loading, I am getting closer to a water.

Fishing boats at Krinda harbour, the boat is offloaded, paperwork done, we are almost set to wet a line.

This large peacock our morning alarm clock, one of hundreds we saw, seen mainly in the jungles of India it was bit surprising to see them all over Sri Lanka.

Tomorrow is d-day…

Sri Lanka here we come….

Sometime in June this year I received a call to come and visit Sri Lanka with the possibility to set up an operation for sport-fishing concentrating on popping and jigging, our forte.
More discussions a bit of research and the search for a suitably rigged boat and I was soon a flight to Colombo. First impressions were that getting into Sri Lanka was surprisingly simple, no hassles and well organized, getting through customs was a breeze as well although they wanted to know what was in my Bazooka rod tube….
That done I was off on my way to Colombo, a well developed and clean city with Damith who will be my host and partner with us at Sea Fishing India in this trial venture, our meeting is interesting as he likes to make his own lures and being an avid fisherman he tells me stories of big GT’s that have been caught both by local fisherman and the members of the angling club from Colombo.
A visit to see the boat and what kind of modifications it would need to make it a hunting machine. Just what is needed.

With the boat being sorted out I set off to take in some of the sights around Colombo, my base and the capital of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is a mainly Buddhist country although other religions do also happily co-exist, you will find many shrines around Sri Lanka including the famous Buddhist temple that contains the “tooth relic”.

If you like to do a little more than just fish there is great potential to explore the country that has almost everything from beaches to hill country covered with tea gardens, steeped in history from the time of the “Ramanaya”, a land inspired by Buddhism that went through the colonial era and then through almost 30 years of civil strife, to a now modern culture Sri Lanka offers the traveller a multitude of things to do.

Oriental influence at a Buddhist Temple at Colombo

The Colombo Museum a reminder of the Colonial Era

The War Memorial for allied soldiers

Independence Square

The Modern Parliament Building in Sri Lanka

The memorial to the Singhalese Soldiers from the many years of civil strife.

I cant wait to get out fishing after meeting a few local anglers who are also friends now, we wait and wait for the boat to get ready and all of us know how long that takes, oh and I must add the cuisine available is fantastic, spicy but great, there are also a great number of options for those who do not want to try local fare, so you could have any flavour of meal you like in Colombo, as well as easily get around or enjoy the night life and have a beer.