My Christmas Island Trip

[Stan Wright]

The fishing was fantastic. The bone fishermen in our group waded the endless miles of shallow sand flats casting to 2, 3, and 4 pound fish. Christmas Island is a quantity bonefish area. The largest on our trip weighed just over 4 pounds...... I was often standing in one spot for over two hours casting to schools of 50 or 60 bonefish as the moved up the flats. Most of these fish weighed 1 to 2 pounds, but were so much fun on a 5 wt fly rod. I would catch 2 or 3 fish before the giant school of fish moved past me.

A few hours of the day was spent trawling outside the lagoon where we picked up Wahoo, yellowfin tuna, aku, and GT. We ate fresh fish dishes and sashimi every day.

After dropping the bonefish guys off on the flats, some of us would have the boatman move in close to the reef and drift over the shallow, crystal clear waters. It was like an aquarium, so many colorful reef fish. This is where a heavier fly rod or spinning rod came into play. I would wait for my brother or son to hook up, then cast my fly into the school of fish that followed the hooked fish trying to take the lure out of its mouth. Instant hook up. We caught GT (blue fin and white) from 1 to 35 pounds, lie (leatherback) up to 2 3/4 pound, and a wild assortment of reef fish. Several times our guide spotted an octopus and jumped into the waist deep water to grab it. One 8 pound tako (octopus) would provide plenty of poki and snacks for everyone at the hotel.

I'm still going through the 1000+ pictures before I can add a "Christmas Island" page to my web site. I'm also saving up for my next trip.

Aloha,
Stan

[mmcke]

Stan.....Where did you stay on the Island? Have been considering a trip but have mixed reviews.Not quite as bad for you being in Hawaii but I'm in Ma. .....killer trip!! You really think it's worth it? Did they transport you to the flats by truck or boat?
Thanx,
Mark

[Stan Wright]

The good news is..... Pacific Air out on Fiji is taking over the weekly flight to Christmas Island at the end of Sept. Tuesday to Tuesday. Big new jets make the trip in 2 1/2 to 3 hours and you can take all your luggage. Of course you fly fishermen travel light.. <grin> This will make travel easier and more dependable.

We stayed at the Mini Hotel right in London. It's "rustic". (primitave) The only problem was lack of water pressure in the shower.....If the outside hose was on washing down the rods , or someone in the kitchen had the water on...... the shower uas just a trickle......no hot water, but the cold water felt great after a hard day of catching fish. Three rooms shared a shower and toilet. The other three rooms in back shared their own shower and toilet. The food was excelent. We brought back fish every day so it was different fish dishes and sashimi each night. Lobster twice.. They said the water was safe to drink, but everyone opted for the bottled water.( $1.15 a 16 oz bottle) I could have taken my water purifier pump that we use while hiking and saved some money.

The soda, canned lemonaid, and beer were....... well, I drank the water. LOL But that's just me. Live a little experiment. Coffee and Tang.
We brought candy and energy bars with us. You could buy candy bars at the store accross the street for $2.50, same for soda and beer.

The rooms were clean. Some rooms had air conditioning, we had a cealing fan and even in the August I used a sheet. The owners were super nice and it was only a short 5 minute walk to the harbor.

We went out on boats every day to different locations. I understand that normally smaller boats are used..... two anglers, a guide and a boatman.
We had the larger boat and everyone went together. I guess they figured since we had heavier trowling tackle we could venture off shore for a few hours to try for tuna and wahu. LOL Summer is the "off" season and we 7 were the only anglers on the island.

I like the convience of the Mini Hotel. Yes, I'd go again.

Aloha,
Stan

[Stan Wright]

This last trip (Nov. 2006) we stayed at a new lodge. The Villages Fishing Lodge. Right on the beach in the lagoon. Small frig in each room with water, soda, and beer. Air Conditioned, lots of hot water in the shower. Two people to a room, private bath. The boat picks you up each morning. One guide for every 2 anglers. I would go back just for the food. The fishing is better than ever.

Air Pacific flys down each Tuesday and you return the following Tuesday.
Everything, including tips and my bar bill was under $3000. Not bad for 6 days of fishing.

We booked through Fishabout.com . Here in Honolulu, Nervous Water Fly Shop in the agent.

Aloha,
Stan

[trail_cam]

Stan,

What did you use for a spinning rod on CI? Did the guides supply the rods, or did you bring one with you?

I do a lot of fly fishing for salmon on the American River in Sacramento, and I use a 425 grain sinking line with an extra stiff TFO 4-piece 10 wt TiCr ($229.99) It will handle a 30 pound salmon from bank, but just barely.

The TFO TiCr’s first two ferules look somewhat like a spinning rod, so I tried my medium size spinning reel ( the one with a 2 inch diameter spool ), and fit on the TFO nicely. I haven’t tried casting with it yet. Just wondering if that is the setup for CI?

Richard

[Stan Wright]

Richard,

My son Chris was putting together a gear list for his trip in June.

There is NO fishing gear on Christmas Island. If you don't bring it, you can't get any replacements. Take everything you need and a back up in case something breaks. Don't try to get by on the cheep side. You've invested a lot of time and money to go on this dream fishing trip. On one trip I busted a rod tip in the cealing fan and another got run over by a truck (don't ask) I had plenty of extra rods.

Fly Rods. (2) 6wt and (2) 8wt for the bonefish and smaller GT.
If there is no wind he likes the lighter rods. If the wind comes up you'll be glad you have the 8wt. All weight forward floating lines. At least one spare line for each reel. A dozen leaders. Don't forget back up reels. Good reels with strong drags. Again, you probably won't need all the extra stuff, but if you do need it, you really need it.

If your going for the big GT, you'll need at least a 10wt rod to throw those big streamer flys. The guide carries the big rod for when you see a GT on the flats.

Spinning Rods: (2) rods and (2) reels with 12# test line (and a bulk spool of line) This is for the smaller reef fish. Lots of spinning lures. My last trip I took rods and reels for 4#, 12# and 20# test.... I didn't want to tangle with the really big ones. LOL

For the big GT, tuna, and wahoo he is taking (2) big reels (8000 series) loaded with 50# test Power-Pro line. (extra line and 80# test leader) The spinning rods are 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 foot fast taper with lots of back bone for lifting those 40 to 80 pound fish. Lots of lures.

When you book your trip they send you a gear list of tackle and items you might want to take.

There are so many fish in so many sizes to choose from.

Aloha,
Stan

[jake61198]

Stan,
I'm in agreement with most of your advice,but I would add a spool of backing and a 7wt. rod. The store at the Captain Cook sells flies tied by the guides, but other that that you are right, nothing is availabe. I'm going to disagree with you on only one point. For big GT take a 12wt., a 60lb.+ GT on a 10wt. is like having a knife at a gunfight.