Another Let’s Talk Hook Up/Cass Tours trip to Christmas Island is now behind us, our group of 16 angers found the flats fishing for bonefish to be very good while the offshore fishing was on the slow side for Yellowfin Tuna and Wahoo. Our stay at The Villages was comfortable as usual and the staff provided us with great service.
 Joining us this year were Dana Clor of Fullerton, Richard Horne of Los Angeles, Kenny Ross from Santa Barbara, Bernie Bernard of San Diego, Joe Harris from Long Beach, Bill Mawhorter and son Bryant of Huntington Beach, Chuck Naylor of San Pedro, Rich Ollis of Los Angeles, Dave Cooper of Denver, Colorado, Chuck Carpenter of Denver, Colorado, Peter and Jacob Turnbull of the San Francisco area, Perry Coy of Central California and Dr. Bob Blum from Cypress. Thank you all for joining me on this fabulous fishing adventure.
We began our trip by arriving in Honolulu from our home towns on June 19th, checking into our Waikiki hotel rooms, afterwards we got together for cocktails and to get acquainted at the Aston Waikiki Beach hotel Tiki Bar, Mai Tais definately have a nice way of loosening you up and getting you into the island mood especially at happy hour prices…..Aloha!
The following morning we transferred back to the Honolulu Airport for our noon flight to Christmas Island on Fiji Airways, the flight is 3 hours and 15 minutes. The atoll the second biggest is approximately 1500 miles due south and just north of the Equator. On our arrival at Cassidy Airfield we cleared immigration and customs as well as purchased our fishing licenses, as we exited we were met by hotel staff that loaded our baggage and transferred us to The Villages which is about a 1/2 hour ride. On arrival we were welcomed by the manager of the lodge, given a briefing on our stay assigned to our rooms and along with some of the local ladies sang a few island songs. At 6:00pm we gathered to meet our head fishing guide Ekist who briefed us on our fishing for the next 6 days. You have a choice as to what type of fishing you would like to do during your stay such as fishing the flats for bonefish and a variety of fish including the Giant Trevally (GT) or fishing offshore for tuna and wahoo and jigging for reef fish for a variety of fish. A normal fishing day is from6:30am to around 5:00pm. I always advise those on the trip who have never fly fished to definitely give it a try as the guides are excellent instructors and will have you casting a fly with accuracy to catch fish with in an hour.
Those that fished offshore found the Tuna and wahoo fishing to be slow with spotty catches of tuna to 50lbs each day and an occasional wahoo.  Bill Mawhorter did hook and land a 60lb plus wahoo that bit on a X-Rap Rapala with no wire. On our first day of offshore fishing Byrant Mawhorter had a fish story to tell during cocktail hour, he related that mid-afternoon they were trolling when  one of their lines got bit by something huge, in the ensuing battle they(Bryant, Bill, Bernie and Joe took turns fighting the fish for over an hour without gaining on the fish, they finally got the crew on the rod and with one guy reeling and the other two holding the rod for him, they fought the fish for another 1/2 hour when the line separated from the top shot and lost the fish. They never got a look at the fish but I could only guess that it was a big Dog Tooth Tuna which normally lives around the reef in 200 to 400 feet of water but do on occasion come to the surface to feed. Our groups have never caught one but a couple of years ago we hooked one on the surface on the troll but lost it after it nearly emptied the spool and chewed through 200lb wire leader. We have had reports that 3 years ago some Aussies hooked and landed three Doggies while deep jigging butterfly jigs, they ranged in size from 250lb, 160lb and 80lb. We were also told that a month before are arrival a small 30lb Doggie was caught on the troll so they are definitely there we just need to land one ourselves.
As for the flats fishing inside the lagoon fly fisherman did well on bonefish to 8 pounds with some anglers having 30 fish days along with some small trevally’s and colorful trigger fish. Dave Cooper of Denver a regular on the trip made up a bunch of Christmas Island Special flies that he shared with us, thank you Dave! Jacob Turnbull 16 years old was on the trip with his father Peter was fire on the flats with some impressive bonefish catches each day but what set him apart from the rest of us was a beautiful Golden Trevally and a 40lb plus GT he caught. I’m sure his dad Peter was very proud of him.
This is definitely a buck list fishing trip, we have scheduled next years trip for June 5 to 12, 2018 so if your interested in more information or joining Rock Cod Rick of Let’s Talk Hook and myself you can call me at 951-415 2505 or email at fishwithcass@gmail.c
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