Kiritimati TR - February 2013
I've wanted to fish an "exotic" location for a few years, for better or worse drawn by the idea of big fish in shallow water. An opportunity to fish Kiritimati came along so i took it.
Kiritimati is Christmas Island, an island in the expansive Pacific nation of Kiribati. In the nation's native Gilbertese, the "ti" is pronounced as an "s", so really it's a wash...different spelling, same deal...Christmas. In case you've seen, but not recognized it for what it is, this is the nation of Kiribati's (pronounced "Kiribaas") flag.
http://www.mapsofworld.com/images/wo...ibati-flag.gif
Walking by the U.N. every morning has made the meaning of a nation's flag resonate, and this one really does justice to this island nation's core.
Following are screenshots from a fair amount of video taken on the trip. The biggest thing I learned is something I suspected all along...the inshore saltwater fishing here in the Northeast is as good as anywhere in the world, or better.
That said, my primary target in signing up for this trip were GTs in shallow water. I learned en route that this game out there has changed in the last several years. Turns out that two of the three camps on the island actively chum the GTs on certain flats on a daily basis, greatly reducing their prevalence, and willingness to eat while free swimming other random flats. Chances are if you see a big, fly caught GT from the island in the last couple years, more frequently than not it was chummed in on chunks, and possibly even caught with a chunk of milkfish on the fly.
Our group was not there to catch trained fish, so I did not have that preconceived (to me) idyllic experience. What I did learn about, and come to be infatuated with, were Triggerfish. Wandering alone on one coral flat the afternoon of my first day I chased a dark fish tail, and later learned about this spooky, strong, difficult to feed species. To me, they are worth travelling the world to catch. Bonefish...meh...but triggers...they are interesting. More on that later.
The terra firma of the island is not pretty, it's crust and scrub, most structures are cinder block and metal. this is our lavish camp.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...i/P1140658.jpg
Better to not to get sick in the first place...
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...i/P1140644.jpg
There is dancing...shake it Mr. Handsome.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...i/P1140647.jpg
this is about the extent of "retail" on the island. That Spam has not been in the sun all day long, but the tampons might have.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...i/P1140653.jpg
but who cares, the kids seemed happy
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...i/P1140618.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...i/P1140617.jpg
young men were catching sweetlips by hand
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...i/P1140559.jpg
and the beauty and expanse of the flats are absolutely amazing
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...Panorama11.jpg
At times it feels like a moonscape, if moons were milky white and blue. It's almost hard to appreciate while out you're there because there is no contrast, at least in the outer portion of the "lagoon".
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...7MTS-00000.png
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...gMOV-00000.png
I put lagoon in quotes because the interior waters of the island are vast, not what you expect when you hear the word. Heading out the first morning I thought we were going out to the ocean because I couldn't see the other side of the lagoon on the horizon.
As for the fishing, you can catch small to mid-size bonefish all day...as many as you could ever want. There are big bones around, but I did not see any. One member of our party landed a 34+ inch fish the week after we left, and after seeing the fish they've caught around the world, I believe he caught a special fish. This is about as good as I did.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...eMTS-00000.png
Triggerfish. I saw a video in the F3T calling them "Mayan tarpon", or something like that. I don't think that's accurate. They aren't migratory, they eat in a vertical position because god made them weird causing a classic "tailing" position, they're very finicky, they pull much harder than their size would have you believe, they drastically change colors, and they seem to have unique personalities. A better reference for Caribbean fish would be to call these Xmas Island permit.
I would not travel two days and thousands of miles for a bonefish again, but I would do it for these fish. They are a blast to hunt, a pain in the ass to hook, tricky to land, and beautiful.
This is what you see in the distance
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...g?t=1365127483
After two days of stalking, plenty of opportunities, slicing up a finger on some coral, then having a big, BIG trigger follow to within 15 feet after stalking for an honest 30min, only to turn and bolt...this is how they make you feel.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...EMOV-00000.png
There are two target trigger species on Xmas, though the species in general has yet to be thought of as a target when compared to bones and GTs...but I sense that will change. Once hooked, they run hard and fast for their home in a coral head, and if they make it it's game over, unless you trust sticking your hand into a dark hole in the middle of nowhere...don't forget the hospital photo above.
There is a pink species, and another with a dark mustache that changes color from dark orange/brown to more bland colors...but never loses the mustache. The pinks tend to be less finicky, but they're all tricky as their teeth easily cut your leader. It took 2.5 days, but I finally landed one.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...inkTrigger.jpg
Another PITA thing I learned is these fish tend to have small friends. You can land a perfect cast within two feet of the fish (with a constant 20mph "breeze" whipping your line), pull without spooking, and hook some invisible species which freaks all the fish out.
I learned this was a valuable aquarium fish, and unusual fly catch that got me 2/3 the way to the coveted (to me) "trigger slam"...the Picasso trigger
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...i/P1140631.jpg
Of course it's not a slam until you land the tough one...the Mustache. I gave up on catching him, resigned to look for GT, until a special guide named Moano said in his soft way, "where there is a will, there is a way."
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...g?t=1365185772
Side note, Moano literally drew the map of Christmas Island flats, by hand. On the island he is an elder, to a small group of fisherman, he is a legend. For me it was a special day to fish with this quiet man. I felt we shared a similar feeling for why we chase these fish, what it feels like to be close to them for a moment, and how lucky we are to have that chance at all.
Moano was right...we tried a bit longer when the tide was right and after about 20min of casting to this fish, we got lucky. In all its mediocrity in terms of size, this fish made my trip, and has since been in my dreams
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...dMTS-00002.png
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...dMTS-00004.png
Continued..
