Winter Dreams: Saltwater Fly Fishing Part II

If you fly due south from Hawaii, you’ll run across the furthest-most eastern country in the world, Kiribati (pronounced kirr-i-bas). Kiribati is made up of 33 islands spread across 1.3 million square miles. One of those islands is Kiritimati (pronounced kirr-i-sa-mas or “Christmas”). Christmas Island is the world’s largest atoll and part of the Line Islands. It’s time is the exact same as Hawaii’s, only one day earlier. The three-hour flight from Hawaii, while jumping you forward an entire day, transports you back in time to a slower, easier pace punctuated by living off the land and the sea, and lacking many electronic gadgets and basic medical supplies.

But who needs that stuff? We were there to fish! Christmas Island is mostly known for the bonefish found in the island’s lagoon and along its outer shoreline, but there are also many other species to chase including giant trevally. We chased the GT’s in the lagoon with flyrods, and along the rocky breaks in the deep blue with huge “meat sticks.” The large spinning rods proved just barely adequate for the hard-fighting fish, and entertained us for hours. After a week exploring the far reaches of the island and catching more fish than we could count, we reluctantly boarded a plane back to civilization, but not before discovering what Christmas Island truly has to offer: gifts unlike any Santa can bring, but just as full of wonderment and surprise.

Enjoy Christmas Island, and then check back for some photos from Hawaii. I’m determined to help everyone get through this cold snap! Also, you can check out a few more saltwater fishing photos in my Fishing Gallery.