Christmas Island Fishing Report, Opening Week

A couple friends/clients were lucky enough to be on the first flight back into Kiritimati. The lodges, locals and fish had been visitor free for over 3 years. I’ll summarize their experiences re-entering the fly fishing mecca we all missed so badly…

Fiji Airways stressed the necessity to show a vaccine card upon arrival to Cassidy Airport, although they did not check them in Honolulu. We also weren’t sure if a Covid test upon arrival would be required. As the fishermen made their way through the airport, about 25 of them on the plane I’m told, no one asked for a vaccine card and there was no mention of a test. There wasn’t even a face mask to be seen. It remains to be seen if there will be no Covid requirements of any kind, or if they just weren’t ready. I’m told things were fairly chaotic in general at the airport.

They did have a pleasant surprise that no one anticipated, Foreign cell phones now worked on Christmas Island! This was definitely a welcome first. The comment was also made that they noticed a lot of new buildings since their last visit.

The Fishing…

The one consistent statement I heard over and over was regarding the bonefish. There was more, they were bigger and much easier to fool. Fishermen were having 20+ fish days over and over, while spending time chasing GT. One of my buddies, who is a very good and tenacious fisherman, landed/broke off way more than his average numbers. He brought several large ones to hand including a 100+cm fish. A couple days of rain didn’t appear to slow things down.

Safe to assume with each passing week, things on the island will return to normal. Many fishermen who were hesitant to book mainly because of the way Fiji Airways was continually cancelling flights are starting to lock in dates. Reach out to lock in your guided or DIY trip!