Fishing at "The Villages" of Christmas Island

Coffee is ready at 6:00 or earlier, with breakfast starting between 6:30 and 7:00 AM.

After breakfast anglers will gather their equipment and head to the beach. Guests prepare their own lunch and will order water, soft drinks or beer and all of it will be put into an ice chest and put on your boat. Lunches are taken on the water, to provide the maximum fishing time. Fishers return to the lodge at about 6:00 PM each day. Schedules vary some with weather, tides and fishing location.

The head guide, Teannaki, will schedule the daily fishing, according to the tide, water, sun position and weather conditions. Each day anglers will leave from the beach in their assigned skiff with their guides and boatman. A short ride brings you to some of the best bonefish flats. Christmas Island offers the largest white coral and sand flats on Earth. In most cases a guide will assist every 2 anglers and switch back and forth, according to who might need the most help. All of the bonefishing will be by wading and the flats will vary from 6 inches to 3 feet deep.

The guides will select flats according to the wind and sun position, whenever possible, in the anglers favor. The guides and the anglers will always be in sight of one another for safety on the flats. The boatman moves the skiff to follow the anglers and guides, so you’ll be within easy walking distance from your skiff in the event that you want to get to your tackle, food, snacks or water.

Versatile South Pacific style skiffs are used to transfer anglers right from The Villages beach to the many productive bonefish flats and reef drop-offs. The pick-up trucks used by other lodges have been eliminated here, except for a few select oceanside and shoreline flats, so anglers are able to maximize their valuable fishing time. When fishing the Korean Wreck waters or some other sites that can only be reached by using land vehicles, they will be used. The head guide will discuss these special areas when they are fishing well. If an extra skiff and guide is requested, you may discuss it with Teannaki and find out the availability and additional cost.

In the case of a party coming for 2 weeks and paying for 2 weeks at the Villages, the fishing on Tuesday (change day) is not included in the price. If clients wish to fish that Tuesday, they will be charged based on the guide costing $80.00 plus taxes per day and the boat costing $250.00 per day.

Normally the angler/boat ratio is 4 anglers per skiff. The number of anglers per skiff may vary based on even/odd numbers of anglers. There may be situations when there are 5 anglers on a skiff and there also may be situations where there are as few as 3. There should never be more than 5 per skiff. This will be decided by the head guide each day.

It is normal to have 2 anglers per guide. Extra guides can be arranged for $80.00 per day plus tax for anglers wanting to fish their own guide. Chartering an extra skiff costs $250.00 per day. This will always be based on availability and should be paid for directly while at the Villages.

Christmas Island is one of the most prolific bonefish destinations on the planet! That's quite a statement, but it's supported by the experience of thousands of anglers each of whom have caught and released dozens of fish in a single day. Bonefishing here is done the way it should be - on foot. Fly fishers spend the entire day stalking albula vulpes (White Fox) usually on solid, white-bottomed flats that often stretch as far as the eye can see. It is exciting angling by any standards. Fishing off-shore for blue water fish such as dorado (mahi mahi), yellow-fin, wahoo and others is an option that is available at an additional cost.

You will fish when fishing is best, not when breakfast and dinner are scheduled to be served. Meals are served according to the fishing schedule. The shy, hard-working, natives are part of the cultural and fishing experience that makes Christmas Island special.