FAQ's for Christmas Island | No More Paralysis by Analysis!

I’ve heard Christmas Island is a PIA to get to. What’s involved logistically for this trip?

Traveling to Christmas Island is truly very easy. There aren’t any charter flights with crazy weight limits or long van rides to reach your lodge here. Anglers fly to Honolulu on a Monday and spend Monday night there. The following day, Tuesday, is the weekly Fiji Airways flight to Christmas Island. This flight is right about 3 hours, and it’s always a good vibe as most everyone on the plane is an angler looking forward to an awesome week (or two) on Christmas. Once on the ground at Cassidy International Airport, you claim your bags on the only luggage carousel and meet a representative from the lodge. At most, it’s a 50 Min truck ride to London, where most of the fishing lodges are located. We’re typically rigging rods by 5 PM!

It is worth noting that Christmas Island is on the other side of the International Date Line and is 1 day ahead of the United States. Flights depart Hawaii on Tuesday and land on a Wednesday. Your return flight departs on a Wednesday and lands on a Tuesday.

At the end of your week, your return flight to the US lands at about 11 am. I’ll usually depart Honolulu around 3 PM, and I’m back home late that night. Anglers traveling further will often add an overnight on their return trip.

Compared to many of the other trips we host, Christmas Island is one of the simplest itineraries to reach a remote fishing lodge. 

What is the best time of year and Moon Phase for fishing on Christmas Island?

We are probably asked about the best time of year and Moon that anything else. And rightly so, people want to plan their fishing trip around optimal fishing conditions.

Christmas Island is so close to the equator; there are no seasons that create a peak or slow period. This is truly one of the few year-round fisheries. While there are no real seasonal differences in weather, there is however, larger tides (King Tides) in May and June that we’ve planned trips specifically around.

Regarding tides, there are benefits to each tidal period as well as drawbacks. During a spring tide (full and new moons), there is greater tidal movement than on a neap tide (first and third quarter). The spring tides are typically thought of as the best tides for Giant Trevally, as they take advantage of the movement of water to hunt baitfish on the flats. Neap tides have long been regarded as the prime tides for bonefish, as water depth stays more consistent on the flats.

Red’s typically schedules our weeks on spring tides, and specifically on full moons. The bonefish spawn during this time creates a unique opportunity to fish the famous Paris flats, and we’ve also found that the larger bonefish get pretty hungry throughout the inner lagoon pre and post-spawn.  My good friend Max Karns landed his best bonefish to date last year on CXI five days after the full moon. One other benefit to spring tides that I’ve noticed is that when the bite seems off, or there just aren’t GT around, the conditions change faster and your whole day can turn around in just an hour or two.

I’ve also fished on CXI during neap tide weeks and have had great fishing as well. You certainly get longer to fish a given flat, and anglers still get shots at GT. On bonefish, it seems like the action and bite is less intense, but they are on the flats longer.

It’s been said many times that the best tide is bright sun, and we totally agree with that! Unfortunately, it’s not possible to forecast this. An epic week can happen at any time on Christmas Island, and I’d encourage anglers to plan their trip around the best time for them to travel as opposed to stressing over the perfect tide.

I’m a trout fisherman looking to do my first flats trip; is Christmas Island a good option for this? 

If you're looking at your first saltwater flats trip, Christmas Island is one of the best places in the world to start. The learning curve is much gentler here than at destinations built around permit or large tarpon. You'll see plenty of fish, get lots of opportunities, and quickly build confidence in spotting fish, making presentations, and reading shallow water.

Christmas Island is primarily a bone fishery and has robust populations. It’s well known that bonefish are a “fair fish”, meaning that with a good presentation, they are willing biters. All of your bone fishing on CXI is also wade fishing. Because of this, the typical casting distance is much shorter than when fishing from a flats skiff. My average cast at a bonefish on CXI is 35’, and often closer. With a little practice, anyone can make an accurate shot at these distances.

Another benefit to a wade fishing program is you’re fishing 100% of the day! Our standard trip packages are two anglers per guide, but anglers who want the assistance of a guide all day have the option to have their own guide at both lodges we travel to.

Of course, the trophy species like Giant Trevally get a lot of press, but we’ve seen many travelers choose to just focus on bonefish on their trips. This cuts down on gear needed, and frankly, you’ll level up faster as a flats angler by getting the most shots in at bonefish.

How many flies do I really need to have for my trip? 

This is a bit of a loaded question, because for most of us we never feel that we have enough flies. I think for someone wanting to target bonefish, trevally, and triggerfish, an angler can be deadly with 24 bonefish flies, a dozen crab patterns, and 10 or so GT flies. Quality is as important as quantity. Well-tied flies hold up, whereas discount bugs fall apart after just one fish.

We have a great selection of flies for Christmas Island, and are always happy to help put together a box for your next trip. For the tyers out there, keep your bonefish flies spare and prioritize bead chain-eye patterns, with some lead-eye versions for deeper water or in current.

What lodge do you recommend?

There are several different fishing lodges on Christmas Island, and we often get questions about which is a good fit for different travelers.

Red’s currently hosts trips to Ikari House and Christmas Island Lodge. We feel that these are the top lodges on Christmas Island, and choose to go to both lodges as the programs offer a different experience. Each operation employs quality guides and staff, and offers single room and guide options. We are happy to help anglers pick the one that suits them best.

Ikari House is located in the main town, London, about 50 minutes from Cassidy International. Its food and accommodations are a bit more basic than Christmas Island Lodge, but it is very comfortable. Ikari House has air conditioning, and their Wi-Fi has greatly improved the last few years. Ikari uses the fastest boats on CXI, and primarily fishes the inner lagoon fishery, although every trip I’ve done to Ikari House we’ve gone to the Korean wreck and fished the backcountry by boat.

Christmas Island Lodge is near the town of Banana, much closer to the airport. It’s about 15 minutes away. The lodge sits on the oceanside and does not have any close “neighbors”. CXIL uses all traditional outrigger boats, and does much more truck fishing than the other lodges. Their program rotates anglers around the Korean Wreck, truck fishing the backcountry, and fishing the inner lagoon by boat. CXIL also has Starlink and

How many rods do I need?

My go to system on Christmas Island is an 8wt rod for bonefish, which I’ll also use for triggerfish when I see one, and carry an 11wt for GT. There are rod holders out there for this, but I’ve always just put the butt of my rod in my left front pocket and run my backpack waist strap around it. Works great and is very simple. When fishing with a guide, they carry the extra rod.

Many anglers also bring a 9wt rod for Triggerfish, and this works great when fishing alongside your guide. Of course, if you’re specifically targeting triggerfish, this would be the rod in hand. I’ve just always prioritized my bone fishing, and never had an issue changing flies when a trigger opportunity presents itself. All the triggers I’ve caught have been on 8wts.

For anglers just wanting a fantastic bonefish trip, I think an 8wt and a backup rod can be totally adequate. If you’d like to target everything, I’d have an 8wt and an 11wt, with a backup for each. If you have a 9wt from another saltwater trip, pack that along as well.

To be fully prepared, it’s great to have some backup lines. Occasionally, lines will get shredded on coral edges

What are the guides like?

The people on Christmas Island are some of the friendliest on earth. The guides tend to be pretty quiet, but very friendly and professional. Just don’t expect to have a long conversation with every guide. They also have a great ability to spot bonefish and put anglers in the right edges and pinch points for Giant Trevally. As with any international destination, there is a language barrier, and every guide's level of English varies.

One thing you’ll learn very quickly from the guides on Christmas Island is how to be sneakier and more effective while wading. Typically, the most experienced guide on the transportation boat will help get each pair of anglers dropped off at a strategic point on the flat. The guides want to know where everyone on their boat is dropped off for safety. The guides position us for walking with the wind and sun at your back. This helps you spot more fish, and make a better shot. They also walk very slowly and softly, I’m always amazed at how many bonefish we spot at under 30ft just by being slow and silent.

What’s the best pack to use? 

There are tons of options for fishing packs: slings, backpacks, chest packs, and hip packs. Truthfully, any of these can work really well on Christmas Island. It’s key to have a waterproof pack to protect your kit from the saltwater and be rinsed off at the end of the day. I personally choose a backpack, due to how nice they carry a second rod and the utility of being my carry-on bag too. A sling or hip pack will provide quicker access, but don’t carry the extra rod as well. If you’re just targeting one species at a time, or on a 1:1 guide ratio program, carrying an extra rod is not a worry.

I’d suggest being more critical of what goes in your fishing pack, than the actual pack itself.  Most anglers bring way to much gear with them on the flats. I like to go very minimal on flies and extra items during my fishing day, and just restock on the flies that I may have lost during the day. If I keep my pack light and clean, I tangle less and feel better at the end of the day.

I really want to catch a Giant Trevally; how realistic is it for me to land a big one? 

This is something that I think is super important to be realistic with, before and during your trip in order to have a fun and successful trip. Giant Trevally have really captivated fly anglers, and many of us have watched in awe as a huge GT crushes a fly on a Seychelles film. Of course, we all want to experience this, but landing a big GT on Christmas Island should be thought of in a similar light to a Permit. They are extremely smart, surprisingly wary, and you’re not going to get tons of shots each day.

I think as long as anglers don’t hang the success of their trip on landing a huge GT, they can pursue them without feeling their trip was wasted by not catching one. I think folks that embrace the fact that a GT fishery exists in such a budget-friendly location enjoy this aspect of CXI the most. It’s totally realistic to get 3-6 shots at nice GT during a trip if you focus on them during the right time of day, and dedicate a day or two fishing for them. Of course, you still need to make the shot, hookset ect to land one.

Also keep in mind that every week anglers land beautiful bluefin trevally, world-class bonefish, and picky trigger fish. Any one of these species could end up being the fish that makes your trip.

Who makes the best sunglasses and what lenses should I bring? 

Quality sunglasses are without a doubt the most important gear item for flats fishing. At Red’s, we stock Smith, Costa and Bajio. All of these brands are making great products; fit and lens color are the most important when picking your glasses. The past few years I’ve been wearing Bajio, and bring the green and violet mirror lenses on all my saltwater trips. During bright conditions, the green is an excellent choice, and the violet is a true low-light lens. The easiest way to spot more fish during difficult light conditions is to have some low-light glasses in your fishing pack. When selecting a frame, I want something comfortable that also has a full wrap to block backlight.