There are so many places to fish, and so little time. My “short list” of places I just can’t wait to return to include a long range trip, Alaska, and Christmas Island. Richard “Cassman” Castaneda from Cass Tours put yet another amazing trip together, and though this year was different than the last, the fact remains- I can’t wait to go back! Our group of 12 sold out quickly, and we made our way to Christmas Island aboard the once a week 3 hour flight on Fiji Air from Honolulu on June 25.
Pronounced “Ki-ris-mas,” Kiritimati Island has a large lagoon that gives it the largest land area (125 square miles) of any atoll in the world. Kiritimati is part of the Republic of Kiribati (pronounced Kiribahss), a sovereign nation of 33 islands spread over 2000 miles of the Pacific Ocean. Christmas Island is certainly one of the most remote- exotic destination in the world that is so easy to get to, just a 3 hour, 1300 mile flight from Honolulu. The atoll was discovered uninhabited, on Christmas Eve 1777 by Captain James Cook. It’s claw –shaped landmass encloses a huge lagoon that has a great tidal flush through its 3 mile wide opening to the Pacific Ocean. In 1975, the Kiribati government declared the entire island a wildlife sanctuary, mainly because it is a nesting and breeding area for at least 30 bird species. The bird population is thriving despite U.S. and U.K. atmospheric nuclear testing conducted above Christmas Island in the late 1950’s. The testing flash-blinded and killed millions of seabirds, but left no residual radiation, proven over and over by testing. More birds nest on Christmas than any other oceanic island.. There are over 5,000 people living on Christmas Island and most speak the native tongue of Kiribati- to me it sounds like a mix of Japanese and Fijian. English is taught in the local schools, and the guides and help at the Villages of Christmas Island (the lodge we stayed) spoke well. Precipitation averages 35 inches a year, but little is retained because the island sits on porous coral rock. A few wells we saw on the way from the airport to the lodge provides most of the water to the island, good for showering and hosing your gear off, but not good for drinking. We had ample bottles of fresh water available for that purpose. The temperature is tropical- mid 70’s at night and mid 80’s during the day. Slightly humid but virtually no mosquitos.
Christmas Island is famous for bonefish on the expansive flats, but the offshore fishing is equally outstanding. Last year, the yellowfin tuna fishing was great, this year it was almost non existent. My concern for this tuna fishery is the 3 “factory boats” we saw at the island. Last year we only saw one. The large tuna seiners come to unload their catch, employing several local people that is good for the island since unemployment is said to be 50%. But are they overfishing the area or is it just a cycle? The Kiribati nation has a 200 mile fishing restriction around the island, but no one to police it. We had reports from a couple of weeks before that tuna fishing was fantastic, so perhaps it was just a down cycle. Though the tuna fishing was slow, the offshore anglers caught wahoo and discovered the incredible giant trevally fishery on the backs of the surf. The also caught multiple snapper species butterfly jigging off the island. No one was disappointed when they returned to the beach with their catch.
This year, I spent all 6 days of fishing on the flats and inshore. The flats fishing is best done with an 8 weight fly rod, but you can also catch bonefish on spinning tackle. Even if you have never picked up a fly rod, you will find it easy and a more enjoyable way to target the flats fish. All the guides are excellent teachers, and had several novice fly anglers casting well in a matter of minutes. Frank Baroudi on his first day fishing with a fly rod in his had caught a 7 and 8 pound bonefish. In two trips, I have still not caught one over 6 pounds! You do not need the perfect 60 foot cast to target these fish, a simple 10 to 20 foot cast most times brought on the best chance for a hookup. When you are walking the flats, you literally have 100 chances a day to catch a bone fish. The “hunt” is the really great part of this fishing, although the hookups are quite sensational. Blistering runs and screaming drags are a common occurrence.
The boats for both flats and inshore as well as offshore are quite unique. Thirty foot outrigger canoes build right on the island. They are very comfortable and extremely sea worthy. Our group of 12 would decide who was fishing offshore and who was fishing flats/inshore the night before. There are 3 boats, 4 anglers per boat. Some days 2 boats would go offshore, some days 1 boat would go offshore. You can go when and where you want. Some days the flats boats had 5 and the offshore boat had 3, but that was never a problem. A new welcome addition was the fact that each flats angler had their own guide. That makes a huge difference in finding fish- these guys have eyes like eagles. Last year it was one guide for two anglers.
One of the things you will notice, you will almost never see another angler other than those in our group. Though there are 2 or 3 other lodges on the island, we only say one boat on a flat one day. You have miles and miles of beautiful water all to yourself. If you want to fish the flats, be ready to walk. I highly suggest you invest in a pair of Simms wading boots (not sneakers) plus a pair of Simms wet wading socks. It would be a good idea to get your legs in shape before you go. If at any time you want to rest, or had enough walking, the boat is a short distance away and will come pick you up. The problem is you don’t want to quit because it is such an incredible experience.
After an great morning in pursuit of bone fish, there were several options, some days we would troll the reefs for snapper , giant trevally, huge barracuda, and other assorted species. Some days we cast poppers, Waxwings and Orca lures on the inside reefs for giant trevally and blue trevally. Then to cool off, jump in the warm crystal clear waters off Captain Cook Island in the middle of the atoll opening for some of the most incredible snorkeling I have ever seen.
Ken Ross was once again the offshore champion fishing all 6 days offshore. He landed a few tuna, a few wahoo, lots of snapper and assorted reef fish on the butterfly jig and released several giant trevally on poppers and other surface jigs. Mike Chivera, Larry Eng, Barry Stangl, Frank Baroudi and Larry and Judy Mestyanek spit offshore and inshore fishing and enjoyed the variety. John Christianson, Larry Mcafee and Leo Schad concentrated on the flats and popping the inshore waters and finishing the day with a jump in the crystal clear water. All three of them caught bonefish over 7 pounds. Leo Schad hooked several huge giant trevally that were unstoppable.
Leo, Frank and Larry Mac (we had 3 Larry’s on the trip) went by truck one day to the other side of the island know as “the Korean wreck”. There used to be a shipwreck of a Korean fishing vessel many decades ago, but it was towed to sea and never seen again, but the name of the general area stuck. They returned that evening to the lodge with tales of huge bonefish and giant trevally, so I had to go the next day. Though I only saw one giant bone, I did catch 12 with my “toes in the sand” on the beach with the surf crashing just outside. Then we made a move to the other shoreline and casted into the surf for giant trevally. I never hooked one, but Larry E was fishing just down the beach and hooked a huge trevally that pulled the hook. We only had 45 minutes to fish the GT’s but the tremendous potential for a giant of both species is huge. I will certainly be back to that spot next year.
The guides and help at “The Villages” are so gentle and kind. They had a genuine appreciation for you being there, and your tips were so appreciated. They like Americans most, as they told me we treat them well and tip fairly. Visitors from other countries are not as nice and generous, but I am sure these great people treat them in the same manner as we were treated.
I must talk a bit about the bird watching. In some spots of the island you feel like you are in the pages of Nat Geo. Terns, frigate birds, albatross, nesting just feet away from where you are fishing, their offspring chirping at your presence. You could spend hours taking bird photos and checking out the amazing scene, that that would take away from fishing!
This is just a short story of an incredible fishing destination. For fishing, bird watching and snorkeling, it is a trip of a lifetime. We have scheduled our trip for next year to May 12 to 20, 2014. The trip is currently sold out, but there is always a possibility for a spot to open, so get on the wait list. I am certainly going again. Call Cass Tours at 800- 593-6510 or check www.casstours.com
