K iritim ati A Fresh look at Christmas Island Outfitters
By Andy Archer
After more than 40 years in the bonefishing limelight, Christmas Island remains the ultimate saltwater playground. Photo: Ken Morrish
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illions of years ago, there was an eruption at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. As lava pulsed from the sea floor into the deepest water on earth it hardened into rock and built a volcano so massive it broke the ocean’s surface. Over time it became dormant, but with its presence came life and the birth of a future that few could have predicted. It became a beacon for birds and its submerged slopes acted as prime habitat for coral and marine life. As these underwater communities grew around the fringes of the seamount and rose to the surface, the volcano sank under the weight of the life it now supported, back down to the depths from which it came. What remains today is a coral atoll. A tiny dot surrounded by endless blue that is home to the people of Kiritimati, the fish of the South Pacific, and a sanctuary for 37 species of tropical birds. On the coral rim of an extinct volcano, one of the oldest and largest this planet will ever know, anglers wade in shallow, warm, turquoise waters and watch their fishing dreams unfold in front of their eyes. This is Kiritimati, the one and only Christmas Island.
A World Away For over a decade, Fly Water Travel has sent more anglers to Christmas Island than any other destination. With its massive size, incredible populations of flats species, 12-month season, and consistent weather, it continues to serve as a portal for countless saltwater anglers. However, it is important to understand the realities of life in this faraway place before planning PAGE 84
your trip. Christmas Island is essentially a sub-third-world locale. For the fishing outfitters and inhabitants, obtaining basic food items, supplies, water, equipment, and tools is a massive challenge. For many that live on Christmas Island, their version of an insurance policy is a fattened pig tied to a palm tree by its hind leg. This real-life rainy day fund is the best assurance they have for putting food on the table if the rice runs out or the cargo ship cannot make it due to weather. Another stark example of life on Christmas Island was recounted by a client of ours. He visited the local “hospital” (a cinderblock hut) and stood in amazement at the sight of intravenous tubes extending from a patient’s arm directly into a green coconut. For locals, basics like potable water can be hard to come by and a majority live in homes without electricity. Ultimately, the island’s lodges do the very best they can with what they’ve got, but when a spark plug breaks or the island runs out of sugar or a door handle snaps off, the closest hardware, grocery, or auto supply store is an 1,800-mile, five-week voyage across the wild Pacific Ocean in a slow-moving cargo ship. If ever there was a destination where traveling anglers were required to go-with-the-flow, Christmas Island is it. If you cannot wrap your brain around spending thousands of dollars to visit a place where you may, on more than one occasion, be required to smash a cockroach with a flip-flop, fall asleep to the click-clack sound of a hermit crab crawling across your
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