Christmas Island - Kiribati . . .Just Incredible! PART II

[mems]

Hey Jim , glad you guys had a good time. Too bad Moana left, he is the best guide I have fished with. He knows all the fish by name. Biita is good fun and the other guys are awesome. So friendly and so low keyed. Congrats on the ono, aren't they crazy fast. Too bad you guys didn't get the big one that hit the teaser. Sorry about the rain and the rough bluewater. It is so much fun wading there because of the variety you can target, not just bones. When the rain hits, having big GT's on a pancacke flat is a great plan B. We will have to plan a trip together one of these days. Don

[Tony Buzolich]

Jay,

First off, I brought WAY too many flies. The average caster will loose two or three bonefish flies a day. If you're a poor caster then you might loose more. Also, the tippet makes a big difference. We started out using 12# test and did okay, but as we'd change days and guides we'd visit other flats and the guides would tell us to use 15# or maybe even 20# for some of the larger bones in deeper water. I only used one 15# leader the whole trip but did add tippet several times.

Each day you go out you will only need two rods. One rod for bones. An 8 wt. is perfect because of the wind. I brought a 7 wt. and a 9 wt. and didn't used either one. The 7 wt. was a little light for the wind, and the 9 wt. was over-kill for both the size of the fish and the wind as well.

The second rod will be your BIG rod. Most guys use a 12 wt. though a 10wt. or 11wt. will work most of the time. This rod you will not use near as much as you'd like as those big GTs are few and far between.

Leader for your big rod should be at least 6 ft. of 60# test fluorocarbon. This will NOT be enough if you should hook up a big GT near deeper water. All of those sandy looking flats are ringed in coral edges with coral rubble on top. If you should hook a big fish he will want to charge over the edge and take off before you can blink.

The day we fished "Hot Dog" we used chum. This little bump in the channel was always covered with water and was surrounded by deep water. As the guides tossed chum the bigger GTs would come up within castable range, grab your fly or bait, and then take off for God knows where. You HAD to stop them right away before they got deep. This is where our guides told us to switch to 100# leader. AND, tighten you drag down to MAX on the biggest reel you have. I lost two big fish using two different Abel #4's both with drags tightened to MAX stop. Those big GT;s pull like four Baja toro's all at the same time. No kidding or exaggeration! Both times I hooked up some one was holding on to my shoulder else I would have gotten pulled over and taken for a ride out to sea.

Now, getting back to flies, you don't loose too many BIG flies because you're not casting that much at BIG fish. The best fly pattern used there was something imitating a MILKFISH, or a MULLET at least 6" - 8" long on a 6/0 hook. Some of the guys used a "brush fly" in that size and did okay when they found big fish.

Take a look at the milkfish we caught in the nets that day for a pattern. Also, while we were anchored, one of our guys was catching small QUEENFISH of about a pound or two on his bonefish rod. A couple of these were given to one of the guys to use as live bait on his fly rod. Try casting one of these on a fly rod

So, with all of that said, take two rods each day, one for bones and one for something big. Your guide will happily carry whichever rod you're not using.

Sparsely tied #6 C.I. Specials or similar all work fine. My best fly I used a whole day only had a pair of gold bead chain eyes and a small tuft of tan wing material (craft fur). No body, no tail. It got chewed off previously They'll eat anything small. Use #6s and #8s. #4s were hardly ever used.

Hope this helps, Tony

[Baja Fly Fisher]

Good information for the guys going in March. I probably have 499 flies too many. But I'm taking all of them and will leave them with the guides. I'm going to tie up a few more wig hair patterns in my favorite purple & black. I'll be on the hunt for milk fish, possibly a few triggers and maybe a queennie or two. I loved those big queens in Australia. Bones will be fun, big GT's will probably not be on my agenda. I don't feel like water skiing across the coral reefs. I'm going in tomorrow morning to my orthopedic surgeon and have my casting shoulder checked out. I could barely cast to carp this morning. I hope a good shot of cortizone will do the trick.
I'll probably be over packed but it's better too have too much than not enough.

Looks like I'll be planning another trip next year in March 2017. Funny thing, March hasn't even arrived yet

Great report

Jay

[mems]

Hey Jay, I agree with Tony, size 6 flies work best. I would have flies that match the color of the bottom. On the white sand flats I liked a bunny gotcha or a pearl gotcha. Tan or orange on the broken coral. Only place you need heavy eyes is at paris flat where they school up. 15lb leader is best for bones. I would have a small crab for triggers. An unweighted olive wooly bugger for milkies. Bush pigs for GT's. Anything flashy with a stinger hook and 70lb tyger wire for ono. You should have some poppers if you get into some ahi offshore. For GT's on the flats 60lb leader with 80lb fluro bite guard. Straight 80 also works, don't try to stop them on the first run, just slow them down. If the break you off, they break you off. Have fun, Don

[Baja Fly Fisher]

thanks for the info. I have lot's of bone fish in a variety of colors. I'll have to tie up some olive wooly buggers. I'm assuming not on trout hooks I guess a Dai Ichi 2546 should work.

[mems]

Hey Jay, long shank black hooks work best, they have incredible eyesight. I am convinced that they eat fish eggs that flow out of the lagoon. If you see them stacked up on a falling tide, they are there in the hundreds just slurping the water. I think you can get them on fish egg type patterns. Problem is the hook would be really small. I think and unwieghted san juan worm would also get sucked up by the fish. The mouth is soft, no teeth and the hook pulls easily when they jump. I can target them just about any day in Hilo, so I am kinda over them, but if you want shots at them by the hundreds, then the lagoon at CI is the place to be. Good luck, Don

[Tony Buzolich]

Jay,

I forgot, you also asked about "snacks. YES, by all means bring plenty of snack. Each person should carry several with them each day, and electrolytes. Add the electrolytes to your water bottle each day out. The boat will carry large bottles of water for each person each day. Back at the room water is $2.00 each for a small bottle, sodas are $2.00, and beer is $4.00. But out on the boat water is free. Be sure to bring it back with you at the end of each day and put it in the frig.

As for snacks and lunch, we were very fortunate as one of our guys had been here several times before. Lunches on the boat are minimal at best, something like peanut butter sandwiches or milkfish salad sandwiches or something similar. This year Joel Biocchi (brother of forum's John Biocchi) bought a couple of hundred dollars worth of lunch meat, lettuce and tomato and mayo at Costco Honolulu before departing and brought it the lodge JUST FOR LUNCHES. What a guy. We all chipped in to pay him back for having great sandwichs for lunch all week.

We still took snack crackers, jerky, granola and protein bars, as well for nibbles throughout the day.

[Baja Fly Fisher]

Mems,
I've caught a few in Australia and one in Baja. Yes they are picky eaters. I've tried black, red, green and blue hooks but black is the player. I have some small Gamakatsu bone fish hooks I can tie up a couple san juan worms, I'll make a couple egg patterns (steelhead style) and some olive wooly buggers on a Dai Ichi 2461.
Tony, how did he keep the meat cold on the plane. Apparently they don't care if you bring in produce and meats.. I was thinking about buying a couple loaves of bread and PB&J. My main lunch diet in Baja. Heck, I might even lose a few pounds in the week.

Jay

[Tony Buzolich]

Jay,

Don't worry about bread. They make their own bread there every day with coconut flour, and it's good. For breakfasts every day we had two eggs scrambled, one day fried, with two pieces of bacon. But the best part was the toast. With lots of peanut butter and jam. Butter was in short supply and they rationed that. No drawn butter for the lobster either

Transporting the meats and produce, I believe Joel just bought a cheap ice chest and checked it as extra baggage. Didn't seem to be a problem.

[dynaflow]

That report about chumming on C.I.left me absolutely disgusted and frankly you ought to be ashamed.There's no place for it and many have worked for some time to get it banned in the lagoon.However there's two serial Lodge offenders who simply won't be told.I'm there next week and will consulting (again) with the local MP.My 20c.