Why Christmas Island Still Matters

Stepping off the plane in Kiritimati feels like home again.

It is a humble reminder that you can find comfort in the most basic of conditions. You can appreciate that they once tried to add hot water heaters to the showers, wired directly into the shower head (glad they did not work). You can appreciate that a large, ill-tempered crab lives under the stairs to your room. You can appreciate that the meals are made with love, and the best food that they can get, which you just have to be there for that one. You can appreciate that everyone here is either going with the flow or struggling to swim against it.

The lack of luxury is well known. It is not just part of the charm it is the entire thing. I just need a cleanish bed, a shower, maybe somewhere nice to sit and watch the sunset, and enough food to refill the energy banks for tomorrow.

With a little help from my friends.

One thing that I appreciate the most is THAT view, the sound of the breaking waves on the beach, the neighbor kids riding waves on broken surfboards, the GTs and tuna crashing bait far beyond our casting range, but still close enough for us to look for kayaks. Just sitting in a cheap plastic chair, enjoying a warm beverage and slowing down for a few minutes.

We have walked through town a few times, seen a couple of stores, bought some terrible Australian wine, couldn't find anything that had tourist t-shirts or souvenirs. There was a bar that looked abandoned and condemned. We were explicitly told by two different guides that it is where they hang out after work, and we were not to go there. Noted.

People often ask what makes Christmas Island different. The longer I fish here, the harder it becomes to explain to someone who has never been. After all, bonefish exist in dozens of destinations. The answer isn't just the fish. It's the place. It's something uniquely Kiritimati.

The Flats Are Bigger Than You Think

It really takes flying over the atoll to see its extreme expanse of these flats. There are so many areas to fish that you could never hit them all. That is always nice when there are anglers already there when you arrive. Plans B and C are always productive too. It's endless bonefish in some spots. I spent most of my time GT fishing, but when the bones were on the flats, they were inundating, coming and going from all directions.

We did not fish the same flat twice all week. We also were not able to get to a bunch of the areas that my guide wanted to fish. Just go with the flow. Plan C was a fine plan.

There are destinations where bonefish fishing feels almost automatic. Christmas Island is different. Here, success comes from spotting fish, making good decisions, and executing when the opportunity appears. It feels more like hunting than harvesting.

Here it's about hunting. Your skill level is tested. The successes and failures of the day are put on your shoulders. The guiding style here is different than many anglers are accustomed to. The guides are excellent, but they are not coaching every cast or holding your hand through every opportunity. Christmas Island rewards anglers who learn to spot fish, stalk them, and make good presentations on their own.  It's not always hard.  The only picture I have this year of a bonefish is this one that ate my fly as it dangled in the water at my feet while I scanned for tails.  It wasn't big, but scrappy and aggressive are fine qualities to have for a fish...

More Than Bonefish

Catching bonefish is on my list of top five things to do, anywhere, anytime. However, most anglers dreaming about Christmas Island are dreaming about GTs.

Success with GTs is very rare. We put zero to hand last year in our group. This year was different. On the first day, my guide and I pulled up to an island to pick up Forest, only to find that he had a fish on, grinning ear to ear. Forest and I had spent months talking about that GT, tying flies, earning that GT. This moment was worth the travel, the headaches, the money, worth the wait. That is what keeps anglers coming back to Christmas Island.

On the last day, I had a minimum of ten shots, including a session where I spent nearly ten minutes sprinting across a six-inch-deep flat chasing a GT that was almost completely out of the water. Another shot involved watching a 4/0 fly get eaten and spit out by two fish on the same cast. Another involved a pair of fish that split me while I was walking, one within ten feet on each side of me. They were just letting me know who was in charge. I am not the head of the ecosystem here.

The Wind Is Real

Christmas Island has a reputation for wind, and that reputation is deserved. The anglers who embrace it usually leave as better casters and better flats fishermen. The anglers waiting for perfect conditions often miss the point of the destination.

It was not terrible on any given day, but it was persistent, and most days were pretty darn breezy. It has been about the same as every other tropical location I have fished. Plus, we live in literally one of the windiest places on earth (Columbia River Gorge, Oregon), so it probably doesn't bother us here as much as it does other folks.

We have never had to sit out a day due to wind on Christmas Island. I can't say that about other destinations. My friends and I had a lovely time sitting on the beach for five windy days in Belize last year.

Why Christmas Island Matters

I heard a great podcast about how original Nintendo games like Mario Brothers taught strength through failure and persistence. You get three lives, and you always start at the beginning. Christmas Island mirrors that philosophy.

Your success is up to you. How much are you going to learn and apply to tomorrow's day of fishing? You have to start over every day at Christmas Island on level one. There are no cheat codes. You get into that slow boat, motor forever to a flat, and then you have to make all of the right moves to catch a fish and make it to the next level.

Christmas Island doesn't hand you anything. There are easier places to catch fish. There are more luxurious places to fish. There are guides elsewhere who will practically cast the rod for you. Christmas Island asks something different.

It asks you to learn.

Despite its imperfections, Christmas Island remains one of the most talked-about and visited saltwater fly fishing destinations on earth. That's because it offers something few places can: endless wadable water, multiple species, a legitimate chance at GTs, and an environment that forces anglers to become better fishermen.

When I look back at this trip, I will remember a few things. One is pulling up in the boat to see Forest battling a GT with a wide grin. That made my trip, really. Another was drinking tequila out of the bottle with Brian and Doug at 8 a.m. on the way to the Korean Wreck. If you have ever met any WSU Cougars, you will know this is just how they operate. The birds on the drive were straight out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

My third never-to-forget memory is the green flash. I have watched a lot of tropical sunsets. I have also heard a lot of people say they have seen the famous green flash. Watching the same sunset next to the same people, I had never seen it, until the last night of the trip this year. Rudi and I both saw it and excitedly announced it at the same time, much to the dismay of several other guys who did not see it at all.

Oh, but THAT view

There are plenty of places to go fishing. There are only a handful of places that become part of who you are as an angler. Christmas Island is one of them.

You learn far more than fishing here.

You learn patience.

You learn persistence.

Most importantly, you learn to go with the flow or struggle trying to swim against it.