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Location

Chistmas Island lies less than 2º latitude north of the equator, approximately 1,300 miles south of the Hawaiian Islands. Christmas Island has consistent 72- to 85-degree F. temperatures all year. It never experiences cold fronts, hurricanes, or typhoons. Annual rainfall is minimal and there is no rainy season. It is one of the only saltwater fishing destinations that I am aware of that is consistently good at any time of the year. The greatest angler traffic on the island is during the North American winter months, with anglers wanting to escape the winter weather at home, but the fishing is good any time of the year.

Christmas Island's busiest season is during North America's winter season, but the fishing is consistently good all year.

Christmas Island was discovered by Captain James Cook on Christmas Eve, 1777. At that time the island was uninhabited and forbidding, with no fresh water. The first exploration of the island was undertaken by a small landing party under the command of Lieutenant William Bligh, who later became Captain Bligh of HMS Bounty infamy. The island is one of 33 islands scattered along the equatorial Pacific that make up the Republic of Kiribati (pronounced "Kiriboss"), which became independent from Great Britain in 1979.

When rumors of great bonefishing on Christmas Island reached the ears of Frontiers International, a specialty travel agency in Wexford, Pennsylvania (www.frontierstrvl.com, 1-800-245-1950), Frontiers enlisted the services of Captain Rick Ruoff, a premier bonefishing guide in Islamorada, Florida, who traveled to Christmas Island and returned with an enthusiastic confirmation that the island did indeed have excellent bonefishing potential.

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Frontiers then made an exclusive arrangement with the Kiribati government to bring in groups of anglers to the Captain Cook Hotel on a weekly basis. Captain Ruoff returned to the island for an extended stay and set up the guiding operation, training a number of locals as fly fishing guides. That operation persists to this day and anglers have been going to the island ever since, accessing the island by charter air service from Honolulu.

Neil Jennings is author of Trout Flies of Alberta and Southeastern British Columbia ISBN 0-9735076-0-8. Click here to see his tying instructions for Del Brown's bonefish and permit crab pattern--the Merkin.

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