INDIANANGLER

VEMGAL LAKE


After looking for quite a while for a suitable lake close enough to Bangalore where one can fish on a daily license, I visited a lake on the way to Kolar about 50 km out of Bangalore along with a couple of friends from IA. We had a fun day fishing for catfish and have tied up with the fish contractor so that IA members can fish at the lake on payment of a daily fee.

The lake also contains carps but we did not really try to fish for them since we were having a blast catching catfish.

Directions to the lake are as given below,

License to fish at the Vemgal lake can be purchased at the fish stall next to Hoskote Lake (Cipla factory). Contact 9663020610 (Shankarappa) for more details. The license fee is Rs 200 per day and only one fish of any size may be taken home if the angler wishes to do so. All other fish must be released back into the lake.

Location of the fish stall at the Hoskote lake is,

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=13.028270 ... =0&m=a&v=2

Turn left to Narsapur from the Kolar road soon after the Kamat upachar restaurant.

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=13.133376 ... =0&m=a&v=2

Turn left from Narsapur to Vemgal

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=13.139796 ... =0&m=a&v=2

Right at this junction in Vemgal

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=13.190583 ... =0&m=a&v=2

Left at this junction to the lake

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=13.174914 ... =0&m=a&v=2

Vemgal Lake

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=13.218597 ... =0&m=a&v=2

Catfishing location

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=13.212910 ... =0&m=a&v=2

A picture of the lake,



Catch!

Looks a great lake Bops.
With a little bit of conservative activity and introduction of fish species, am sure it will turn out to be an excellent lake for fishing
Ravi

Bops what bait you use for cat fish?? we use chicken intestine which is a favourite for cats. wanted to know the bait you use.

Earthworm and chicken gut works well for the catfish.

Hi,

Please let me know if any one is planning for a trip there on this Sunday (17/05/2009). I would love to tag along.

Regards,
Subha.

Hi Guys,

I should be back sometime in mid June. Looks like a place to visit to get some freshwater action! Will post once I'm back and let's see if we can get a group together and head out

Mighty Marlin.

17 May 09, Fishing with Subha Nandi, Prabin & friends, sorry couldn't hold the fish properly as i hurt my thumb.

Sarvanan, sorry about the Thumb incident. Barring that the trip was wonderful. Wonderful place, wonderful friends and beautiful fishes. Quite a fight the 2 big catfishes put in... :)

Were the catfish caught on spinners or bait?
Regards

All on bait.

well looks like you guys had lot of fun cheers

how many in a day?
how long was ur session?

We caught more than 10 from morning 0900am to 0500pm

Nice Going guys,
Do try chicken liver too with a dash of Berkley Gulp catfish attractant and you'll catch even more ...Guarantee. I'm using it for saltwater as well and it does work easpecially if the water is murky and nothing else is biting . Do use a bit of bait elastic to keep the bait (especially if you're using liver) intact and let the attractant soak in just a wee bit and dry a little do it doesnt wash off so easily.
Happy fishing always....
Wingz

Looks like a nice place. Is the distance upto the lake only 50 KM from Bangalore ?

When you say use Chicken liver, is it used raw or cooked in some way. Might sound like a dumb question to the pro's.

Dinesh

I went there a couple of weeks back with my family, armed only with bread bait. Managed to ctach about 7 of them in a span of 3 hrs. the biggest was about 2 kgs. This place is good with plain bread bait and you should try near the bund.

Hi Dinesh,
Just raw liver and being as soft as it is you might want to use a bit of bait elastic to tie it down nicely for those longer casts or just let it dry out a bit if you're not too finicky about smells. You can also catch cats on cheese, small strips of fish with the skin on or worms. and try crushing a few pods of garlic and rubbing a bit of it on your bait ... you will be surprised ....funny fish ...cats
Incidentally, everybody goes through the learning process and one never stops learning no matter how many years one's been fishing.... there's always something new coming up. So keep asking the questions and you'll get a lot of answers

Thanks Wingz.
Cant wait to hit Vemgal soon and try out your suggestions. There is an amazing knowledge base on this site and more amazing is how willing people are to share information with fellow anglers.

Another question - whats bait elastic ?

Cheers

Dinesh

Hi Dinesh,

He said use a "bit" of elastic, not "bait" elastic. Salting the liver up should firm it up a bit.

Hello Dinesh,
Bait elastic is a elasticized thread. Many surfcasters use it to keep soft bait on the hook because soft bait tends to rip off during the power casts. Not quite sure if i could put a link on here but do google " bait elastic" and you'll see what i'm talking about. Catfish are'nt very fussy about presentation so you could use fine thread as well i reckon.
Happy fishing mate.... Good luck...and I'll look forward to pics of some pretty big catfish.
Cheers
Wingz

Thanks Wingz, Did a google and got the info on bait elastic. Your point on presentation not being important for catfish is a valuable point.

Thanks Bobby for your suggestion on salting the liver.

Hope to have something to write about here in a few weeks :)

Cheers

Dinesh

[i][quote="Wingz"].........too with a dash of Berkley Gulp catfish attractant and you'll catch even more ...Guarantee. ...
Wingz[/quote][/i]

Hi fellow Anglers
how can I get some of the Berkely attractants in India
or are there any similar products made in India. or is there any
way to home make (DIY) some sort of attractants ??? for the local types of fishes in India.
Thanks & Cheers

Ravish had been to this spot with his family, unfortunately he couldn't send me more pictures of this place.

Hey Ravish,

Nice catch. Were you near the bund or the other side?

Regards,
Subha.

I was at Vemagal Lake last weekend, I have a trip report at this link. Besides catfish we caught some carp, if someone has the time I'd like to know the species we caught, we caught two types!

Thanks Guys!
http://www.indianangler.com/viewtopic.php?t=3230

Has anyone been out to Vemgal post monsoons in 2011?

Hi All,

Its great to see some avid fishing happening here in Bangalore and that there are so many fishing spots with bag limits. I would call myself an novice at fishing as i am just newly having an interest in the sport but with a keen interest. I would love to join in on fishing trips in and around Bangalore if you dont mind so do let me know if anything is on and if its ok for me to join in.

Regards,
Andy

Bangalore Anglers,

Please let me know if the Vemgal lake still good for fishing this May. I mean does it have enough water and fish? And is it the same fish contractor near Hoskote for license?
Anyone going there this weekend (19th May and 20th May 2012) ?

Regards,
Pradeep

This lake seems to be an interesting location near to bangalore forone day of fishing action..because, one is sure of landing one cat fish..should try going there once..

Thanks guys for all the information

Dear Arokiaraj and All,

I was wondering why nobody replied to the question of mine above. Now I know.. the reason!!
Called the license vendor (Contractor Shankarappa 9663020610 ) today and he informed to my disappointment that there is no water in the lake now.
It may take a couple of months before we can see any action in Vemgal lake. Hoping..

I am planning to go to Dabguli tomorrow. Heard that there are places to fish there. Will keep all posted if I have any success.

-Pradeep

My apologies for not posting my trip details to Vemgal, i am writing this now so that its helpful to others.
I have been to Vemgal last year, it took around 1.5 hrs to reach the lake, its a beautiful location and the contractor was there, i gave him the money and i was all set to wet my fishing line.
Bait used: Atta
The lake is infested with cat fish, trust me i caught so many:), roughly 10-12 in 2 hrs time probably some were weighing 1-2 kgs, which is unusual as i am not that expert or may be i became pro just for that day.
i did not catch any other species, guess the catfish were not giving way:)
There are not much people around the lake so it was peaceful and i got one volunteer helper from a nearby farm who retrieved the catch and wanted fishing hooks and line in return which i gave some at the end of the day.
i am not a catfish guy, so never went back to Vemgal, but overall its was a good trip.

hi all , i m fairly new to Angling, i came across this post, so i was curious to know whats the latest on the lake. i m planning to go there,anyone been there recently?

( edited )

Hi rcarthik,

Please first read the forum rules and then post your thread. Also we would appreciate if you would have the courtesy to tell about yourself in the introduction section of the Forum.

By the way we do not entertain posting your contact information in the forum public page.

Please delete your contact information before the Forum Admin takes action.

Zack

Please introduce yourself.

see this link.

http://www.indianangler.com/viewtopic.php?t=4927

Anybody from Kolkata know a place to start for a novice like me?

Has anybody been to Vemgal recently? has the lake filled up?

Hi

Can Any one tell me if it's possible to fish at the lake now

Is anyone interested to fish in the lake at weekends please leave a message and let us make a plan

Hi Rajiv,
I am interested though my current fishing rod has some problems. But I would happy to join you.
Do write to me at xyz for more details.

Do not post your personal details. Instead send a Private message.

-Diwakar

Hello Folks... Are you still going to this place to Fish... If yes I would like to join you or open for other locations as well.. Please let me know..

Spoke to Shankarappa, Vemgal is still dry and no fishing around.

Just spoke to Shankarappa a few days back. Vemgal is dry and no fishing again. Any other options folks??

Sadly the closest is the Cauvery river at Srirangapatna.

We might be getting Ulsoor lake for catch and release.
One well known angler from Bangalore is working on making a deal.