Fish Christmas Island

Its not just about Christmas island Bonefish. Many of our Guests find serious addiction in the Christmas Island GT fishing. The rush of an apex reef predator crushing you fly or lure is as exciting as it gets. It’s not uncommon to find large Trevally marauding lagoon flats in search of stray milkfish, bonefish, or mullet. Big GTs can often be seen from long distances churning and thrashing hapless prey. The Atolls exterior flats also provide epic opportunities for hunting fast-moving GTs. Seeing a massive single or aggressive pair surfing down a wave face chasing your fly is what dreams are made of. Make sure to bring a couple of great casts, strong drag, great knots, and a fly tied on a stout hook to get in the game.

Perhaps the most challenging flats target at Christmas Island is the Triggerfish. A number of our regular guests who frequent lodges in the Indian Ocean firmly believe that Christmas island has the best Trigger fishing anywhere. Triggers are often found tailing on shallow flats alongside Christmas Island Bonefish but can be much more challenging to feed. They have excellent eyesight, are very deliberate in their movement, have relatively tough small mouths, and teeth that will turn an average saltwater hook into a pretzel. Fishing tailing Triggers at CXI has become our personal favorite for good reason.

Just outside the fringing reef Christmas Island waters drop precipitously to over 1000 fathoms. This hard edge creates pelagic feeding lanes just outside the breakers within easy striking distance from the Lodge. Large schools of hungry Yellowfin Tuna and fierce Wahoo are the rule with the occasional Marlin or Sailfish thrown in for good measure. Make sure to bring plenty of backing!

The variety at Christmas Island is truly outstanding, besides the vast Lagoon and its many flats species, the Bluewater is a short 5-minute boat ride from the Lodge. Most days will find schools of Yellowfin Tuna and monster bird piles a stones-throw off the fringing reef. The Atoll is also home to numerous Wahoo and the occasional Blue Marlin and Pacific Sailfish. Be sure to send at least one boat on a short run for fresh Sashimi your first day at the Lodge.

Often found in mile-long pods rising to minute food items Christmas Island Milkfish can be a dry fly aficionados wet dream. We have developed an all consuming love/hate relationship with super sleek sippers spending countless hours casting to slurping Milkies. that have resulted in few hookups and even fewer fish to the boat. Then the very next day in the same location with the same fly, you hook a half dozen of the most outstanding gamefish in the Pacific. The combination of their oversized eyes, selective feeding, acrobatic jumps, and seemingly endless energy reserves make for a special

Without a doubt, this flats dwelling Trevally is ALWAYS looking for a snack, problem is the they rarely travel in a straight line for more that a few yards at one time. This erratic feeding pattern makes them an awesome challenge to get a fly in the right spot. The good news is that Goldens love to eat, in fact they will eat just about anything you put in front of them. And, like Homey, the bigger the snack the better. When tailing in shallow water Goldens are easily identified by their light flesh colored tails…and did I mention they get BIG at Christmas Island!

The easily waded flats at Christmas Island are arguably the most stunning on the planet. Stretching as far as the eye can see the 144 square mile lagoon is a patchwork of sand and marl pancakes. Each flat is set into an intricate pattern of deep-water channels and bights providing Bonefish, Triggerfish, Trevally, and other flats dwellers easy access to foraging areas. As tides ebb and flow these flats flood and drain bringing wave after wave of hungry fish.

Christmas Island Bonefish are certainly the fish that put this tiny atoll on the map. Averaging 2 to 3 pounds with trophy specimens into the double digits, these silver bullets are both eager and willing. On many occasions we have waded into a “sweet spot” where waves of hungry Bones follow a specific contour on a flat for a period of an hour or so. During that time, opportunity to cast at dozens of hungry fish in the same zone is available. It is quite a show when you are hooked up to a sprinting bonefish and surrounded by a hoard incoming fish. We also love Christmas Island Bonefish because they are super interesting for both first timers and saltwater pros alike. There are numerous areas where fish are easy to spot and hook, also are challenging flats where coral and deeper water com into play.