3 Answers from travellers
Mostly posers now. Real stilt fishing was practical decades ago; then tsunami damage + modern boats + declining stocks reduced the actual practice. Today at popular spots (Koggala, Weligama), the 'fishermen' you see are basically models. They sit on stilts for tourist photos, charge for pictures (500-1000 LKR), and don't fish. It's authentic in that stilt fishing existed and these guys' fathers may have done it - but what you're photographing is theater. Photograph if you want the visual, understand what it is. There are still a few genuine stilt fishermen at less-touristed spots (small inlets near Ambalangoda) but they're not the ones you'll drive past.
^ this. If you want to see the visual for photos, go, pay the 500 LKR, move on. If you want to see actual working fishermen, go to Negombo fish market at 5am. That's real.
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