# Return to Kiribati (Christmas Island)



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Located in the worldâ€™s farthest forward time zone about 1400 miles south of Honolulu lies the 12th most remote island in the world which belongs to the nation of Kiribati. The largest island atoll in the world, Kiritimati, is pronounced Christmas Island and it has miles and miles and miles of beautiful, unspoiled flats. It is without doubt one of the very supreme fly fishing destinations available to anglers. 

Proof of the islandâ€™s remoteness is most vividly displayed to the arriving angler by the kids and families that come out to greet the once weekly Fiji airlines 737 flight to and from Honolulu. There are not a lot of places left in the world where an arriving/departing jet is a big deal, but it is here on Christmas Island. 

see attached photo #1

The flats in the lagoon seem to be limitless spread out over miles and miles of beautiful unspoiled south Pacific water. Some of the flats areas are restricted as conservation zones but generally can be accessed with permission secured by a financial transaction (aka bribe). The areas are so vast, so limitless that abundant fishing spots are far more numerous than anyone can reasonably cover in any single visit. 

see attached photo #2


There are also miles and miles of surf fishing opportunities where active coral continues the process of building the atoll just like it has for a millennium.This surf fly fishing is entirely different than walking the vast flats and offers the opportunity for shots at really large GTâ€™s that cruise the reefs just off the beaches. Also, large numbers of various fish that will readily take a fly frequent these areas including snappers, sweet lips, groupers, Picassos, bones, milkfish, etc. 


see attached photo #3




On this trip, the beginning of the week was plagued with a lot of overcast skies which at times severely restricted the visibility on the flats. Even the highly skilled local guides who have incredible vision had great difficulty spotting the fish. As the week went on however, visibility improved as well as the fishing results. A typical day, under moderately clear skies can easily provide a minimum of 20 to 25 bonefish a day, a couple of juvenile Giant Trevally (GT) running up to 10 pounds, Blue Fin trevally, and various other flats critters including a shot at an adult GT running up to about 60 pounds on the flats. We also saw but did not catch the beautiful Golden Trevally.

For this angler, I was lucky to get a personal best bonefish of 28 inches and about 9 poundsâ€¦just under the coveted double digit bonefishâ€¦but a trophy fish nonetheless. Notice the red nose which results from rooting through the sharp coral for food. Some flats seemed to be full of large bones whereas most others contained the smaller 2-pound variety typical of other fly fishing venues. I had just switched to 20 pound flouro leader because of the very sharp coral structures on this flat before this beauty hitâ€¦and without the thick leader, most certainly would not have landed it. 

see attached photo # 4




The highlight of the trip, however, was a spectacular 17 pound fully mature Blue Fin Trevally that was certainly one of the most beautiful fish I have ever seen over a lifetime rivaling even the flashy dorados for brilliant colors. The Blue Fin just doesnâ€™t reach sizes much larger than this oneâ€¦and even the locals said they hadnâ€™t seen one this size for many years. As pictured, the Blue Fin was feeding on a pancake flat, a small circular area of shallow active coral surrounded by deep green water. The GTâ€™s are edge feeders, exploding from the deep water onto their unsuspecting prey on the shallow coral. The take of an adult GT is unlike anything Iâ€™ve experienced in fly fishing. 
The drill goes like thisâ€¦First spot the fish, then make an intercept cast well away from the target but in the imagined direction of its travel and line of sight beginning rapid stripping/popping immediately on impacting the water. The strip is done as fast as humanely possible looking like a wounded baitfish that is fleeing the deep green water for the safety of the shallow coral.


The GT is the apex predator wherever it exists even eclipsing the sharks that roam these flats. We watched as a pair of 40 pound GTâ€™s absolutely denied a black tip shark 5 times their individual size access to a flat they were working. They head butted the shark until it had no choice but to abandon the real estate to the aggressive GTâ€™s. Unlike Tarpon, the GT fear nothing on the flats and have absolutely no peer there. They are truly the apex predator, without equal. 

The GT will not be denied a rapidly stripped fly/popper that appears in its zone and will crash it in a visual attack that haunts your memory forever. This is what itâ€™s all about. The long crowded flights, the hassle of airports, the challenges to your bodily systems of traversing time zones and international date lines, and cultures so different as to be incomparable. 

My guide Matt and I whooped and hollered and laughed uncontrollably in an emotional common bond known only to successful GT anglers when they finally land this beautiful fish. Notice, pictured in the background, the circular edge where the active coral meets the deep green water. This is the world of the great GTâ€¦the primary edge feeder. 

see attached photo # 5

Several juvi GTâ€™s were caught when visibility improved along with a first ever for me Queenfish and a large sweet lips (Wrasse of about 8 pounds) caught by a partner which are highly coveted for their eating qualities. The smaller juvi GTâ€™s were generally found along and in cuts that tie uncountable bays together. Any tide, either falling or rising, results in generally strong current flows through these cuts and the GT use these restricted zones as ambush points to grab the hapless baitfish caught in the currents. You can see this particular cut in the background as it funnels down the opening into the next bay/flat. In my estimation, a 10 pound GT is much stronger than any Tarpon more than at least four times its weight and far more aggressive. You better bring your â€œAâ€ game if you want to tangle with these brutesâ€¦as even sharks shun the very presence of them. GT fishing is not for the faint of heart. It requires considerable physical effort just to get a shotâ€¦and incredible mental effort to entice the take and land the beasts.

see attached photo #6 

see attached photo #7 

see attached photo # 8 


The islanders are just the nicest people with a culture that is very different from anything I have observed/experienced elsewhere. They enjoy life to its fullest, in spite of, or perhaps because of a vittual complete absense of modern technology. Housing is very primitive and amenities are almost nonexistant. This is one of the poorest areas on the entire planet. 

see attached photo #9 in next post


The kids, however, live an idealic existance frolicking in a near perfect climate every day. 

see attached photo #10 in next post

see attached photo #11 in next post




The locals honor their guests with fine spreads of polynesian delights as well as the traditional dancing girls. It is indeed a very special place.

see attached photo #12 in next post

see attached photo #13 in next post


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

*Continuation photos*

Photos #9,10,11,12, and 13


----------



## Ish (Oct 30, 2008)

very awesome.

you wanna learn how to put the pictures in with the text?


----------



## FLAT FISHY (Jun 22, 2006)

thanks for sharing ,are those old barracks they live in?


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

FLAT FISHY said:


> thanks for sharing ,are those old barracks they live in?


No, they live in mostly shacks constructed out of materials they scrounge up on the island...those pictured actually have some imported materials and they house multi-families.


----------



## southpaw (Feb 25, 2009)

Hell yeah! Awesome trip and write up. Thanks for sharing the experience with us.


----------



## jackieblue (Jun 13, 2006)

Unbelievable and beautiful as can be. A trip most can only dream of.


----------



## Bruce J (Jun 27, 2004)

It's a great place. I've been there three times, but not since 2004. I was sad to hear that super guide Moana died recently. He was far and away the best guide I've ever fished with anywhere. 

It's one of the top "first-timer" places to bonefish because it's almost all wade fishing and there are loads of fish.


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Bruce J said:


> ...It's one of the top "first-timer" places to bonefish because it's almost all wade fishing and there are loads of fish.


Well, I would very much respectively disagree, Bruce J, with the "first-timer" thought if you mean first time to bonefish with a fly rod on the flats. I wouldn't advise anyone to go there for their first bonefish trip and certainly not without extensive preparation. Much better to try Mexico or Bahamas or other Caribbean destinations for the first time, IMO.


----------



## Bruce J (Jun 27, 2004)

Meadowlark said:


> Well, I would very much respectively disagree, Bruce J, with the "first-timer" thought if you mean first time to bonefish with a fly rod on the flats. I wouldn't advise anyone to go there for their first bonefish trip and certainly not without extensive preparation. Much better to try Mexico or Bahamas or other Caribbean destinations for the first time, IMO.


I'm sure we all have our opinions and favorites. I've taken first timers to all of the places you mention several times and to others like Belize. I've also bonefished in places definitely not for first timers, like Venezuela, Florida, Hawaii, and Bermuda. All can be good to great, but in my experience Christmas Island was consistently the best for those with no or little experience. There can be challenging days and challenging fish, for sure, but we always found larger numbers of school fish with ready appetites compared to the other locales.


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Bruce J said:


> ...There can be challenging days and challenging fish, for sure, but we always found larger numbers of school fish with ready appetites compared to the other locales.


I suspect in the 13 or so years since you have been there, the fishing may have changed somewhat. According to folks on the island I respect and talk to, it has indeed changed significantly.

For me, it is absolutely not a bonefish destination and the bonefish are simply a bonus. I would not even consider going there for the bonefish alone. The Trevallys are the target for me and specifically the GT which I consider the ultimate flats predator in the World.


----------



## Danny O (Apr 14, 2010)

Congrats on the Blue Fin Trevally! Beautiful fish. Excellent report Larry.


----------



## Txflyrod (Nov 11, 2016)

Is that a sweetlips in the last fish picture?


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Txflyrod said:


> Is that a sweetlips in the last fish picture?


Yes, in photo #8. Its a pretty fair specimen in my experience...the three and four pounders are much more common. Excellent, excellent table fair.


----------



## Bruce J (Jun 27, 2004)

Meadowlark said:


> For me, it is absolutely not a bonefish destination and the bonefish are simply a bonus. I would not even consider going there for the bonefish alone.


I guess we'll just disagree on this, but you said you could easily catch 20-25 minimum bonefish a day. I know you're a very experienced fisherman, but those sort of numbers are simply not possible for any angler when the fish are scarce and skittish. I've had those kind of days many times in Christmas Island, but it would be very hard to get numbers like that in just about any other bonefish haunt


----------



## Ready.Fire.Aim (Sep 22, 2009)

Thanks for sharing. Makes for fun daydreaming about "maybe one day"


----------

