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| Pictured left to right: Leslie, Peter, Doug, Kelley, Charlie, John, Jim, Travis, and Lyndsey |
Gorge Fly Shop's Hosted Christmas Island Trip 2025
Travis, Lyndsey, and Charlie were joined by a great group of friends, which makes hosted trips just a little better. John and Leslie were both with us last year. We were beyond happy that they could join us again this year. New to our GFS group this year were Doug, Kelley, Jim, and Peter.
We were a very well-rounded group. We had anglers with a lot of experience and some very new anglers. Some anglers had been to Christmas Island before, and some, it was their first time. But, even if you are a very experienced angler, Christmas Island will keep you on your toes, offering a vast array of angling experiences, allowing a fun experience for everyone. This is part of what makes Christmas Island so special and a bucket list trip!
Two of our crew were flying up from Baja and meeting us in Honolulu. They had packed all of their gear and reels in with their luggage. Their rods were in their own Fishpond luggage. They arrived late the night before the Fiji flight, leaving the next morning, headed to Christmas Island. They had texted us in the morning stating the airlines had lost their Fishpond bag containing all of their rods for the two of them. They worked tirelessly trying to locate it before the Fiji flight. They were unsuccessful. Fortunately, between the rest of the crew and a rod purchase mid-flight from another traveler, they managed to have a great trip. The airlines contacted them 2 days later, their luggage was located, and they picked it up in Honolulu before heading back to Baja. Crazy set of circumstances, but bring extra rods, reels, and fly lines. You may never know what can happen during travels.
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Upon arrival, we were greeted by our host and some of the guide staff. They helped us pack up our luggage and gear, and then we embarked on our 45-minute trek to Sunset Horizon Lodge. After picking our rooms and unpacking, we got our gear set up, and the guides were on hand to help us get our gear ready. We were then served dinner and had our welcome introductions by the Sunset Horizon Lodge staff and guides. If you have read about Christmas Island, you are told that the accommodations are rustic and nothing swanky or fancy is happening here. What you do have is a comfy place to rest your head, AC, good local food, and amazing hospitality.
First morning, we are all excited for our first day of adventures. Some are relaxed and enjoying their coffee, while others are finishing getting gear together and getting out all they need for the day's adventures, hoping they did not forget anything.
Every day, our group is split up between two boats. We all leave the lodge at the same time, together, and take a short truck ride to where the boats are. The guides load up our gear and the coolers, and we set off. We will not see each other until camp later in the afternoon. Within our group, we will pick who we want to fish with for the day, and then the head of the guides, each night at dinner, will assign each group a guide. Typically, it's two anglers per guide, and two groups of anglers per boat. Unless there is a single angler and their guide.
After a great day on the flats, we head to the lodge. After unpacking and cleaning your gear, grab a beer or drink, a shower, and maybe a quick nap. They have a table that overlooks their beautiful beach. This was a great spot to sit, relax, and enjoy sharing stories of your day's adventures. It's time for dinner, and get ready for tomorrow's adventures. It was all we could do to keep our eyes open past 7:30 pm.
Last year was my first time on Christmas Island, and one of my biggest takeaways was how different and unique each flat was. I really appreciated this aspect as each spot was so unique and interesting. I felt the same this year as well. While some things were slightly similar, I got to experience so many new and unique fishing experiences this year.
The excitement that builds as you "hunt" down the bonefish, trigger fish, or GTs, while in Christmas Island, keeps you on your toes. In most situations, you are sight fishing, or in my case, the guide was spotting the fish, then he would point them out to me. Sometimes I would see them, sometimes I had to listen to the guide cues to guide my fly to the fish. Honestly, most of the time, I'm doing my best just to see 20 feet in front of you while my guide, who is standing on my left side, spots all of the fish that I just can't see. He says to me, cast at 11 o'clock, 25 feet. I can see the fish, my excitement is so high, I manage to cast right on top of it. Guide motions his hands away, "Spooked." Honestly, for me, the excitement of seeing them makes casting worse. My first morning on the flat, I had just missed a bonefish. It's the first morning I tell my guide. My cast just "happened" to fall apart, spooking the fish. I then casually make a cast, nice and easy, just getting my line out to pick it back up. The guide looked over and said....yes, that is how I want you to cast. I told him it's easy when I'm not watching the fish, holding my breath, and hoping to get my fly in the right spot. We both laughed! I can't be the only one who feels this way!
Seeing the bonefish and watching them, you are thinking to yourself. Now all I have to do is make this cast, nice and easy. Put the fly right where I want it. But, in reality, the excitement is building as soon as you spot the fish, you are now holding your breath, you are no longer thinking, you just make a cast. You either put the fly right on top of the bonefish, instantly spooking the fish. Or you are so far from it, the guide is telling you to pick up your line and cast again. But, when the fly hits just right, and you are stripping the line in, and seeing the bonefish follow your fly. Boom, he eats, you strip set the hook (not trout set), the connection is made. It's the best feeling, and there is lots of hootin' and hollerin' happening. It's so fun, you grab a quick picture and go onto the next adventure.
We were lucky enough to have some pretty good trigger fishing....by this I mean that we saw lots of trigger fish as they wiggled their tails high in the flats. With the weather conditions, they were a bit more spooky than normal. But, we had a blast trying, Peter from our crew was lucky enough to land one....the only one landed on this trip. Not to say we all did not try our best.
With the conditions and tides set up, there were a few days that we focused our time on trigger/GT fishing. This was fun! It's nice to pivot and adapt to the weather/tide conditions. For the GTs, we would use the plug rod to tease them in and then cast the fly rod to them. While at home, generally, our fishing we are in stealth quiet mode. So, standing on the edge of the pancake flat, splashing and making noise to attract the GTs was so much fun! Standing on the edge of a pancake flat is such a cool experience.
I definitely tried to take it all in, the 6 days of fishing go by so fast. Taking lots of pictures of each other, scenery, and of course, some of the fish. Not as many fish pictures this year, but that is not how I rate the trip anyway.
Life is measured by experiences and the people you share them with, and this will truly be a core memory for me.
On behalf of Travis, Charlie, and me, we thank everyone for being part of our Christmas Island 25' hosted trip. Thank you for joining us in Christmas Island and being part of our wonderful trip and lifetime of memories and stories!
Thank you to Sunset Horizon Lodge, Guide and Boat Staff, and Fly Water Travel!
If you have any questions about Christmas Island, Hosted Travel, Christmas Island gear, or what to bring, please feel free to reach out!
Lyndsey - Beginner Angler, Experienced Fish Spooker!
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"The Gorge"
Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977
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