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What a catch!
By Lankika de Livera
Fish they did – to their hearts content at the Trolling Competition of the Sri Lanka Sports Fishing Club on April 2.

The Sunday Times article about trolling published on March 26 drew an enthusiastic response and as many as 90 competitors sailed off in 33 boats at 6.30 in the morning of April 2 from the mouth of the Kelani River, where it falls into the open sea. The Unagala, Pitagala and Wetiyagala fishing grounds, west of the Kelani River were the places used for trolling. These are all rocky formations under the sea where fish are plentiful.

People from many different walks of life make up the membership of the Sports Fishing Club. Their common bond is fishing and they enjoy the sport together in a spirit of camaraderie and friendship. Among the membership are about 12 doctors, 20- 25 CEOs, a Supreme Court judge, many professionals and others. All are equals here. There are also lady anglers among the active members.

Just three weeks prior to the competition, one of the club’s lady anglers Vilma Andriesz recorded the heaviest catch made by a Sri Lankan woman angler with her 62 pound paraw. She used a light line unlike the much heavier lines normally used.

The winner at the competition on April 2 with the heaviest fish weighing 50.12 pounds was the well known gynaecologist Dr. Tilak Jayaratne who won the Da Vinci trophy with his paraw(Trevally), followed by Shyam Labrooy with a paraw of 41.70 pounds. Third was Amarasena Jayasuriya with a paraw catch of 36.80 pounds.

The anglers managed to catch a variety of fish, Trevally (paraw), seer, Greater Barracuda (Jeela), Grouper (Kossa), Queen Fish (Katta) and a Barramundi (Modha). The competition was a huge success with many foreign participants as well. German national Ralph Karpinski who was one of the expatriates who took part, bagged seventh place with his 26.20 pound seer fish.

The Sports Fishing Club hopes to hold its fresh water trolling competition on the Bolgoda Lake in June this year. So all those who missed the opportunity on April 2 can look forward to this event. Details could be had from the Sports Fishing Club website– geocities.com/srilankasportfishingclub or by calling the secretary of the club Saman Hewage on 0777-731941.

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