Info on Christmas island:

An average-sized bonefish caught at Submarine flats on a 
sandy colored crazy charlie. Even medium sized bones like this 
will give your equipment a good testing.

Christmas Island, Kiribati: Bonefish Mecca!!!
The bonefish, Albula vulpes, is about as close as a fish comes to being the perfect fly-fishing target. Perfectly camouflaged, exceptionally perceptive, and frighteningly fast, bonefish are perfectly adapted to life on the saltwater sand flats of the world. As with most fly-fishing that relies on stealth and sight, nothing is more rewarding than fooling a bonefish all on your own. The following article explains how to plan your own trip to one of the most prolific bonefish destinations in the world, including some guidelines on finding your own “bone”.

Whilst this article is specific to Christmas Island, it will also demonstrate how it is possible to organize an exotic fly-fishing trip anywhere in the world by using research tools such as the Internet. Almost all of the logistical and fishing information presented here was gleaned from the Internet, either through “E-mail” or websites. It has never been easier to contact people that have been there and done that.

Getting There
Getting to Christmas Island is via a 3 hour Air Kiribati flight leaving from Honolulu every Tuesday morning (5.30 am). You arrive at the atoll the next day (Wednesday) because you cross the international date line. Before departing, have your visa organised for your stay in Kiribati by the Kiribati consulate in Sydney. Upon arrival, fishing licenses are purchased at the airport before proceeding through customs and immigration.

Where to Stay
There are two choices for hotel accommodation. The government-run Captain Cook Hotel is 30 minutes outside of London, and conveniently close to the flats accessible by truck. The Mini-Hotel Kiribati is situated close to the boat harbour in London, which is very convenient if using a boat to access the flats. Both of these hotels are used by tour operators but bookings can be made direct with the hotels.

We found alternative accommodation with Father Bermond, the Catholic Priest in London. He had a cheap, comfortable bungalow for two people. He also had another 2-3 rooms inside his home available for visitors to rent. Camping 3 days at a time is allowable with a permit from the fisheries office. There are numerous small “mini-supermarkets” with food and drink supplies in London. For cooked meals, the “Fish” restaurant in London has hearty mains for around $3.00.

Getting Around
When you first approach the island by plane, the view makes you appreciate why it is the largest coral atoll in the world. The lagoon system is breathtakingly vast. Getting to the bonefish flats is either by truck or boat. Transportation for our entire two week trip was a pickup truck. An old bitumen road gets you around the perimeter of the island. Most roads leading to the flats are unmade although easily negotiated by the two-wheel drive pickups.

It is essential to take along a GPS to help navigate through the plethora of dirt tracks which zigzag around the lagoon’s edges. Because the atoll is flat there are no recognizable land marks, making it is easy to become disorientated. Unfortunately, we did not have a GPS, so we resorted to filling the back of the truck with coconuts for markers. This was not what could be described as the most sophisticated navigational system but it did get us home at the end of each day. Way points could have been stored in a GPS so as to navigate home. Taking a map of Christmas Island is useful but do not depend on it to show details of the minor dirt tracks used in getting to the lagoon’s edge. Taking the above precautions will avoid spending the night sleeping out on the lagoon!

Getting Orientated
Initially, hiring a fishing guide to show you the flats where the bonefish are hanging out is a must. You will probably only need a couple of days with a guide till you are able to spot your own fish and learn of locations. We required a guide for two days and then spent the remainder of the two weeks finding our own fishing spots. Some of the well-known flats are: Submarine flats, Y-site, Hellinas, Trailer flats, Poland flats, Paris flats, Little plantation, Banana flats, Rick’s flats. Many flats are unnamed and provide the same quality of angling.

Most of the guides on the island are employed by the hotels. Some guides will work independently when not busy at the hotels. A guide can be organized by contacting either of the hotels prior to leaving from Australia. The cost of the guide depends on their experience and whether they own a boat and/or truck. Generally, the hotel guides charge around $70/day. The famous independent guides cost around $450+/day. Most guides on the island are excellent at spotting fish and know their way around the atoll- even the cheaper ones.

Our guide had 10 years of experience but charged only $75/day because he did not have his own boat or truck. It was a matter of picking him up from his village at around 5.30 am and then driving straight to the flats, returning around 5.30-6.00 pm. August to October more guides are available for hire as this is the off-season for the American fly fishers.

Finding the Bones
Sighting bonefish is a skill that requires some practice. Having previous experience sight-fishing is a great help whether in freshwater or saltwater. When starting out try wading in shallow water around knee-deep. As you become more proficient, try wading waist deep. Equipped with amber Polaroids, start off by wading slowly enough so you can determine if a shadow/shape is actually moving. Once a shape has been sighted, it then becomes important to quickly identify the species. It is common for first-timers to mistakenly cast to puffer fish and milkfish. The puffer fish has a bulky, brownish body and casts a shadow much too large to be mistaken for a bonefish.

Telling the difference between milkfish and bonefish becomes more difficult because they both have similar shapes. Unlike the bottom-hugging bonefish, milkfish tend to swim higher in the water column. Often they swim with their tails out of the water as they cruise quickly along the surface, and should not be mistaken for tailing bonefish. The milkfish has a larger black eye, a more prominent “V” in its caudal fin, a more greenish back than a bonefish, and seldom take a fly.
Bonefish appear a dull grayish or greenish color. Normally the easiest way to spot a bonefish is by their shadow. It is important to take advantage of the sun’s position to maximize the chance of seeing the shadow. Early in the day before 10.30 and in the afternoon after 2.00, it is easier to see the bonefish, as a larger shadow is cast on the sand. Generally, spotting bonefish was easiest when wading in a direction perpendicular to the sun’s direction. This direction produced fish shadows which were easier to see while glare was minimised.
Bonefish will cruise quite quickly. They have a habit of zigzagging back and forth as they swim. Bonefish will enter very shallow water, only inches deep, and very close to the shoreline. At times bones were seen slowly creeping along only inches from shore, waves washing over them in water so shallow their fins stuck out. At other times the fish will be out in deeper water cruising along the edge of a drop-off. Normally, fish were seen in small schools of 2-6 fish, although larger schools up to 15-20 fish were occasionally seen on the incoming tide.

The shallow waters of the lagoon are rich in plenty of bonefish snacks including sea worms, shrimps, crabs, and small fish. It was not essential to imitate these prey exactly. However, fly coloration which matches the sand and coral bottoms was very important. The Crazy Charlie is the most commonly used fly at Christmas Island but a variety of shrimp flies also worked well. Common hook sizes are 4 and 6 (with flattened barbs) but it was found that for very shallow water and spooky fish, size 8 flies minimised “splash”. When a fish is sighted it is important to get the fly directly in its path and on the bottom before the fish arrives. When the fish is close to where you think the fly is, strip very slowly, pausing every 20 cms or so. Sometimes a series of quick, short retrieves will also result in a hook up.

Try to watch the fish when in close proximity of your fly, and if the fish makes any unusual movements you can assume it has engulfed your fly. If you feel any resistance then “strip-strike” rather than using the rod tip to set the hook. If the fish has taken your fly it may feel as though you are snagged on coral but in moments a wildly bucking rod tip tells you otherwise. If the fly has not been taken, the strip-strike ensures it has not been pulled too far out of the strike zone. Let the fish catch up to the fly and then proceed with retrieve as described above. Bonefish over a pound are initially unstoppable, snapping 10 lb. tippet in the blink of an eye if loose line gets tangled on coral or reel handle. The largest fish that we caught were around six pound and were virtually unstoppable for 100-150 meters.

Timing Your Trip
Christmas Island is close to the equator and the weather is stable year-round. July to August is a good time as the wind eases. But November to March the winds can be strong, making casting decidedly difficult. Another consideration is to make the trip coincide with the occurrence of a full moon. During a full moon schools of larger bonefish are more common because they congregate to spawn.
A full moon approximately coincides with the Spring tides, when the tidal variation between high and low tide is at its greatest. 3 days either side of the full moon are prime times to see large schools of bones. There are also spring tides for the new moon but the schools of bonefish that congregate will be smaller. On our trip we had a new moon (spring tides) through to quarter moon (neap tides) but had excellent fishing throughout the two weeks.

An important fact to remember is that the tide in the interior of the lagoon lags behind the tide in the open oceans surrounding the atoll. There is only a small passage for flow into the lagoon system and therefore it takes time to both fill and drain. At the back of the lagoon, the lag is at a maximum with a time difference of approximately 2 hours. Whilst tidal information is not available for the lagoon interior, it can be obtained for Christmas Island. The tide information for Christmas Island is calculated from Hawaii’s tides. It is important that you get onto the flats on the rising tide. There is a huge difference in the ease of catching bonefish between rising and falling tides. The fish are very hungry on the rising tide, almost easy to catch. On an outgoing tide the fish can be extremely spooky so expect plenty of rejections and fleeing fish even with perfect casting.

Finally, since the cost of the flights are the greatest expense of the trip, it makes sense to stay 2 or 3 weeks. This allows more time to explore the endless flats. As well as the fishing, the people of Kiribati were some of warmest and friendliest I had encountered. Bonefishing at Christmas Island is an experience which stays with you. You will be planning your next trip as soon as you can save the money for those flights!

 Check List
- 6-8 weight flyrods (plus spare)
- weight-forward floating line (plus spare)
- large arbor reel with minimum 175 yards backing
- amber Polaroids and wide brim hat
- sturdy rubber boots for foot protection while wading
- long sleeve shirts and pants, suncream
- GPS, first aid kit, maps.

Travel tips
Honolulu to Christmas Island flight ~$1200AUD
with Air Kiribati
Contact Sue Fukuda
Phone: 1808 839 6680
Fax: 1808 839 6681

Accommodation tips
Captain Cook Hotel $80AUD/night (Fax: 686-81425)
Mini Hotel Kiribati $70AUD/night (Agnes, Fax: 686-81225)
Catholic Mission $25AUD/night (Father Bermond, Fax)

Miscellaneous tips
Official Currency is Australian dollars
Fishing License $35AUD- purchase on arrival
Travelers cheques can be exchanged at bank in London
Truck Hire $60AUD/day from JMB Enterprises (John Bryden, Fax: 686-81505)
Vic Bitter available!

Internet Information
Tide information for Christmas Island
http://www.opsd.nos.noaa.gov/tab2wc3.html#166

Moon Phase Information
http://www.ezpics.com/gh/PredictMoonPhase

Kiribati Visa Application Form
http://www.traveldocs.com/ki/

General Information on Kiribati
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/glin/kiribati.html

General Bonefishing Information
http://www.bonefish.com/

Map of Christmas Island
http://www.omnimap.com/catalog/int/christis.htm

Moana Map of Christmas Island
info@fronteerstrvl.com

Kiribati Weather
http://www.wunderground.com/global/KB.html

All information accurate at time of writing.