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Practical Tips for Christmas Island

By Scott Richmond

An encyclopedia of tips for a successful trip to Christmas Island--and many other bonefishing venues. Includes useful advice--and some conventional wisdom that should be ignored.

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hristmas Island is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean, part of the Republic of Kiribati (pronounced KEAR-a-boss). It is 1200 miles south of Hawaii, about two degrees north of the equator. Due to its location, it is the most consistent bonefishing venue in the world. It's a particularly desirable destination for Northwesterners because you can have excellent (and warm) fishing November through February, when the weather is bad at home and other bonefish destinations are not at their prime. In fact, when I took my February trip, 10 of the 15 fly anglers on the island were from the states covered by Westfly.

I stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel and booked the trip with Frontiers International, via Kaufmann's. Kaufmann's provided excellent advice in preparing me for this trip.

Things I Was Told That Were Useful

1. Read Randall Kaufmann's book Bonefishing! This is a must-read for anyone planning to cast a fly to bonefish. It covers bonefish biology, habitat, tackle, stalking, and presentation. In addition it has practical details on other tropical/flats critters you'll want to catch. The last half of the book describes all the major bonefishing destinations and what to expect there.
2. View the Craig Matthews DVD, "Bonefishing the Flats."| While it was shot in Belize, an ocean away, it still has useful tidbits and Ralph Cutter's great underwater photos of bonefish.
3. Your Wife Won't Like It. Yours might. Mine wouldn't for two major reasons: the bathroom is not nice enough (you have to be careful not to ingest the tap or shower water) and there's nothing to do but fish all day. Barbara would be happy fishing for half a day, but the program here is to go out in the truck or boat in the morning and you don't come back until the fishing's done.
4. Get a private guide. The Frontiers package price includes one guide for two anglers. That means two anglers and a guide get dropped off on a flat and the guide helps one of them while the other flails around by himself or watches his buddy catch fish. You'll get a different guide each day, picked from the guide pool in rotation, but you don't pay any extra other than tipping him each day.
5. An alternative is to team with someone and hire an "extra" guide for the two of you. Now you've each got a guide, one of which you can select and the other comes from the guide pool in rotation (potluck). You pay for the extra guide ($65), his lunch ($4.20) and tip him ($10 to $20 per day). The third alternative is to hire an extra guide just for you and let everyone else work it out on his own. This can mean that someone gets a private potluck guide and doesn't pay extra for it. BTW, if you have a private potluck guide that you like and specify that you want him for the rest of the week, you pay for him at the full rate.
6. Calibrate your guide. First, calibrate him for distance. I soon found that "20 feet" was really 30 feet, "45 feet" was really 60 feet, and so on. Second, calibrate him for fish size. Frontiers sends along a length vs. weight chart. Measure your first couple of fish and compute the weight. Some guides will tell you a two-pound bone is a five-pounder just to boost your ego. And some anglers will believe it because they want to. (Writers call this "the willing suspension of disbelief.")
7. Take reel covers. You get two truck days and four boat days. The reel covers are for truck days and will keep your reels from banging into other reels in the overhead rack when the truck is bouncing along. They're in the way when you're doing a boat trip, so leave them in your room on those days.
8. Take a kevlar glove for holding trevally. If you catch a big trevally you'll want to hold it for a photo, but these guys have raspy protrusions near the tail. Get a pair of gloves at the hardware store.
9. Change your leader every day. The rocks, bottom, and coral are hard on leaders. Check your leader and tippet frequently and change it when necessary. This may be once a day, every two days, or twice a day.
10. You can troll on the way to and from the flats. Yes, but. . . If you hook something, the boat has to stop while you land it. This subtracts from prime time on the flats in the morning. If your companions aren't interested in trolling with you, don't do it; you'll be subtracting from their prime flats time.
11. Put something on your stripping fingers (index and middle fingers of the right hand, if you're right handed). This prevents line cuts. I used a Strippee, which proved useful; the pad should be dressed with line dressing. Alternatively, use waterproof adhesive tape. Incidentally, I know some anglers use superglue to cover line cuts; DON'T use Zap-a-gap, though.
12. Take powdered Gatorade or equivalent. Staying hydrated and replacing electrolytes is vital. A quart a day of this stuff is sufficient; too much can cause indigestion or other problems. There are lots of brand names. Tip: test brands and flavors before you go; some are good, but others taste awful. Bring a one-quart water bottle and mix the powder with purified water from the hotel; they put a fresh pitcher in your room's refrigerator each day.
13. Buy some bottled water from the store near the hotel. You don't need much. I bought two six-packs and used one in my room and another for fishing. I refreshed my bottle from the purified water in the cooler they brought in the boat or truck, then started the next day with a fresh bottle. The bottles are a convenient size for a fanny pack; a one-quart bottle is too big and heavy.
14. Take some jerky and other snacks. Jerky is good because it's salty and you're going to lose salt due to the heat and humidity. Energy bars are also good for an afternoon pick-me-up. Tip: don't get energy bars with chocolate coating or anything else that might melt in the heat.
15. Use wading socks. Some people--like me--find these more comfortable than neoprene socks. I used Simms' calf-high wading socks. These are long enough so you can arrange them to keep sand and grit out of the flats boots.
16. Use the laundry service. The Captain Cook Hotel will do your laundry for a small fee. It's cheaper to take two sets of flats clothes and get one washed than it is to buy a third set.
17. Take clothes pins. If you do your own washing, you need a way to hang it out to dry without having blow away in the constant strong winds.
18. Don't take anything cotton. This includes briefs and pajamas. Cotton will get damp in the humidity; it won't dry until you get home.
19. Take a bandana. This is the one exception to the no-cotton rule. A bandana around the neck protects your neck from sunburn. It also looks good in photos.
20. Bring eyeglass cleaner and microfiber cloth. Sunglasses will get scummy from the salt air and from spray during the boat ride. Clean your sunglasses two or three times a day. Remember, this is a highly visual fishery.
21. Bring handiwipes. Keep some in your room and some with your fishing kit. Clean your hands before eating, either in the boat or at the hotel. Wipe your hands after using tap water to clean your fishing gear. Wipe down luncheon fruit before eating it. Wipe off your face after a shower. Take four 15-sheet packages. Also helpful, Babywipes make the best toilet paper.
22. Take talc. A small dusting down the shorts can greatly improve comfort and reduce chafing. Baby powder does the same thing, but you're going to smell a little . . . peculiar.
23. Keep your cash and credit cards in a ziploc bag and keep it with you at all times. Don't leave it in your room or with the hotel. Someday you'll be able to pay the hotel with a Visa card, but that day isn't here.
24. Make copies of your passport and put a copy in each piece of luggage. Don't take your passport fishing with you unless it's in a waterproof bag (not a ziploc).
25. Buy a luggage lock. Keep your clothes in your luggage, and lock the two zippers together. Christmas Island is not a high theft area and it's unlikely anyone would steal fishing gear or your camera (where would they use it or sell it without someone noticing?) On my trip, I didn't hear of anyone having a problem with petty theft, but I know anglers who have come in prior years and ended up missing little items, such as a T-shirt or a pair of shorts. As they say out West: "Trust everyone, but brand your cattle."

Things I Figured Out On My Own

1. Be in good shape. This is very hard work: on your feet all day, walking miles in the heat and humidity through the water. Until the weather turned bad in November, I rode a bicycle 50-70 miles a week; in the winter I walked 2-3 miles most days. And I still got tired on the flats at times. The better physical condition you are in, the more likely you will enjoy yourself and not suffer an injury or serious fatigue.
2. Think about single-point failures. I used to work for a company that put very expensive electronic equipment in places where it would be hard to fix, like 25,000 miles above the earth. Everything had to be designed so that a failure of any one component would not cause the whole system to crash. Same thing on the flats: have backups of all critical items, such as sunglasses, rods, reels, lines, hats, etc. For everything you put in your bag, think "what happens if this breaks, blows away in the wind, or gets lost?"
3. Take a seating pad. Thermorest makes a great self-inflating pad for hikers. I keep one in my fishing bag; somehow, sitting on a rock for lunch is not as comfortable as it used to be. For Christmas Island, it's useful for long boat rides and truck rides.
4. Make a list for what should be in your boat bag. Check off each item each day before you leave.
5. Use real flats clothes. Clothes that are designed for the flats are lightweight, let the wind blow throw, block the sun, and dry fast. Do not wear thick clothes or cotton; period, end of story.
6. You have to aim for something. If I'm looking at a fish, I'll cast to it; that's not a good idea here because hitting a bonefish on the nose results in its very quick exit from the scene. On the other hand, if you're casting to a fish your guide can see but you can't, don't just throw the fly out there in a general direction. Always pick something--a rock, a wave, a bubble--and aim for that.
7. Be prepared for the mid-week slump. The third or fourth day--usually the third--of any fishing trip is likely to be a "slump" day; the initial rush has worn off, the week stretches ahead. Many anglers experience fatigue and mild depression at this time. If you're aware of it, you can deal with it.
8. Come at the half-moon. I got differing opinions from anglers about the best time to come to Christmas Island. The guides were consistent in their response, though: come at the half-moon times, not the full moon or new moon. Summer, the wind is less but it's hotter. Otherwise, there is little seasonal difference.
9. Your first day is not a fishing day, but if you have the itch to cast a line head for the shoreline near the Captain Cook. The force of the surf is broken by an off-shore reef, and blue-fin trevally and other critters inhabit the shallow water between the beach and the reef.
10. Practice with your gear before you go. This can be hard to do, of course, because fly lines designed for the tropics don't work real great in the Northwest in January. Do what you can, though.
11. Weigh your luggage and pack accordingly. Some US airlines weigh your bags and some don't. For example, Alaska never weighed my luggage, but American did. And charged me an extra $25 because one bag weighed more than 50 pounds. I've even heard that some airlines won't accept a bag over 50 pounds under any circumstances.
12. The big thatched Maneaba is a shaded place to gather and swap stories and drinks with other anglers before dinner.
13. After the sun goes down, clean your face with purified water (not tap water in the room) and spread aloe on your face. It's refreshing and keeps your skin from drying out.
14. Keep towels and wash clothes separate depending on use. If it's been used with tap water in your room, don't mix it with linen that's been used, or will be used, with purified water. Just a precaution. BTW, I know people who have wiped down their plates and flatware with a handiwipe before eating; I didn't find that necessary.
15. Put a rag or towel over the faucet in your bathroom so you don't accidentally use the tap water to brush your teeth or wash your hands. Habits are hard to break.
16. Leave the water pump at home. Anglers used to take a water-purifying pump to Christmas Island, but the hotel has a new purification system and you can get good water there. However, as a back-up you might bring some water purification tablets (available at REI and other outdoor stores).
17. Clean up before dinner. Clean yourself and your gear before dinner. You won't feel like doing it after.
18. It's possible to put together an "ala carte" trip to Christmas Island. The Captain Cook is a hotel and arranges guides. Air Pacific is the carrier to the island and is a regular airline. So you can put together a trip and by-pass Frontiers and any booking agents. But you won't save enough money to make it worthwhile, and as an individual you will have no clout if something isn't right. It's not worth doing unless you're trying to put together an adventure with special side-trips or other unusual features.

Things People Told Me That Were Less Than Right

As Mark Twain is reported to have said, "It's not what you don't know that gets you into trouble; it's what you think is so that isn't."

1. "Take a 10 weight rod for giant trevally; a 12 is too hard to cast."(see below)
2. "Take a 12 weight rod for giant trevally; a 10 is not strong enough." Okay, a really big trevally--say a 30 pounder--is going to make mincemeat out of a 10-weight rod and you'll wish you had a 12. But you're not going to blind-cast very long with a 12-weight, so you'll catch more trevally with a 10. Your guide can't carry two extra rods for you. It's a trade-off. Next time, I think I pack a 10-weight for the Korean Wreck site and a 12 for fishing the flats. Or maybe not. I don't know. There's not a perfect solution here.
3. "Giant trevally are not selective on flies, and they're so aggressive that you just have to put a fly near them and they'll climb all over it." Wrong on both counts, as I proved several times. Trevally are very sensitive to how you retrieve the fly. They are chasers, and if the fly isn't moving right, they will turn away. I won't go into the right retrieves here because there isn't space. Ask your guide about it the first day, then practice so you'll be ready when opportunities arise.
4. "Christmas Island bonefish are not leader shy." It was clear to me that an out-of-the-package 10-foot fluorocarbon Deceiver leader was not as productive as one that was tipped out with an additional 2.5-3 feet of 01X GMAX. I think the length was more important than the thickness.
5. "It doesn't matter what flies you bring as long as they're heavy, size 6 orange Christmas Island Specials; the fish are not selective about pattern or color." Maybe they're not selective on pattern, but they can be particular about size, color, and how much splash a fly makes when it lands. Bring fluorescent orange, pearl, fire orange, yellow, light green; sizes 6 and 8 and most useful, size 4 somewhat less so; different weights for those sizes and colors are handy (and sometimes essential).
6. "When you get back to Honolulu the first thing you'll want is a cheeseburger and a milkshake because all you get to eat on the island is fish." This was true at one time, and it may be true again. But when I was there, every dinner had a fruit salad, rice, some kind of fish, and meat (beef, pork, turkey, lamb); ice cream was served for desert. Breakfasts included dry cereal and milk, as well as eggs, ham, pancakes, and french toast. I had no complaints about the food.
7. "Don't worry about your casting; all the fish will be within 30-40 feet." I got a lot of fish beyond 50 feet. Being able to accurately cast up to 70 feet will get you more fish, no question about it. Note: your guide will quickly figure out how far you can cast and will only point out fish that are within your range.

For related articles, see Fly Lines for the Flats, What to Wear on the Flats, and Christmas Island Diary.

Scott Richmond is Westfly's creator and Executive Director. He is the author of eight books on Oregon fly fishing, including Fishing Oregon's Deschutes River (second edition).

Uploaded 03/06/2006.

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The shoreline in front of the Captain Cook Hotel. Tip: bluefin trevally inhabit this area.

The "Maneaba" for the Captain Cook Hotel. Tip: A good place to gather before dinner.

Guide and angler fishing a Christmas Island Flat. Tip: Hire a private guide