The fishing is better today than it was 25 years ago on my first trip!
The food and service at the lodge has been excellent, and the people have been extremely friendly and courteous. I know your crew next week will be impressed. Kevin (who is on his 4th trip to Xmas) told me that the food has been the best he’s ever eaten on the island, and the rooms are nicer than any he’s stayed at. I personally think the food is better than many of our hotels in Waikiki. The portions are certainly larger. There’s plenty of ice in the coolers on the skiffs, cold beer in the fridge in our rooms, and the air con is a nice plus too.
The location on the water is beautiful and very convenient. I’ll do my best to get some nice shots of the lodge for your website. So close to some of the best bonefish flats the guides favored.
The fishing has been fantastic. We’ve already hooked many, many bones up to 6 pounds, both in schools on Paris Flat and skinny water tailers in the inner lagoon. On spinning tackle, we’ve landed many GTs up to 50lbs, ahi tuna up to 70lbs, and I got a 50+lbs sailfish yesterday. Better than our expectaions already, and we’re only on day 3. As you said, the guides have made the difference.
Just returned from the bonefish clinic at the Villages on Christmas Island. While the weather was uncooperative for the first couple of days, the overall fishing was excellent. Seven fishermen(all fly fishing), landed 434 bonefish up to 9 pounds, 65 trevally to 25 pounds, including bluefin trevally to 8 pounds. We also landed 14 yellowfin tuna to 25 pounds, wahoo, barracuda and skipjacks.
The guides were excellent and were rotated daily so that no one felt “short-changed”. The comments from each angler were that every guide they fished was was superior to bonefish guides they’d fished with in other venues.
From the lodge, we were able to board the skiffs, which eliminated a 45 minute to an hour van or pick-up ride, and were fishing within 20-25 minutes. The time savings was a huge advantage over the past trips to Christmas island.
The accommodations were certainly adequate and substantially better than accommodations others had experienced previously at the Capt. Cook facilities on the island. The rooms were larger, the bedding was changed regularly and towels and washcloths on a daily basis. The showers were excellent, lot of hot water as it was well water and heated by electric water heaters. Not collected rain water and solar heated. Everything new helped.
The meals exceeded our expectations and were better than the food we ate in Hawaii before the trip, resulting in the group unanimously voting to tip the chef very generously!
As you know, I have been fishing bonefish 20+ years in Mexico, the Bahamas, the Carribean and had previously fished Christmas Island seven years in a row. This was one of best trips I have had anywhere and dollar for dollar, I believe it is the best value of any bonefish venue, presently!
Everyone in the clinic expressed a desire to return next year.
Giant trevally is now my favorite fish ever; they make the saying the ‘tug is the drug’ a reality. All and all The Villages is an amazing place that I look forward to visiting again soon.
My Dad and I just returned from a week on Christmas Island and we had a blast! 10 years ago I lost my right leg and fishing hasn’t been the same, but as far as ‘Adaptive fishing’ at The Villages the accommodations couldn’t have been better. My guide took me under his wing and made the fishing fun, easy and an experience to remember forever!
Great second trip to The Villages. Sincere and dedicated staff – I appreciate now that each angler has their own guide. Stoked by the fishing opportunities; can’t wait to return!
I saw huge numbers of fish! The giant trevally fight was intense yet I managed to land this humongous fish with the help of the guides. An unbelievable experience, I’m definitely coming back soon to The Villages.
Just returned from another great trip to Christmas Island. Everyone caught lots of fish and The Villages has made noticeable improvements in their infrastructure. Already thinking of putting together a group for next year. Thanks for all your help, Howard
The four Welch’s had a great trip to Christmas Island. The Villages is probably the best run fishing operation I have ever been to. We caught an exhausting number of good sized bones and we were handled with care and every wish was pleasantly and effectively coped with.
Everything at The Villages was way beyond our expectations. The staff was attentive to every detail. The bungalows are designed perfectly with rod racks out front of your room and a hose to clean your gear.
Just back from Christmas Island and it was another great trip, especially productive. A really good bunch of people and all very satisfied. Again looking forward to next year at The Villages, booking with you already – so many fish, so little time!
I had a wonderful time in Christmas Island at The Villages… it was heaven, Lord have mercy… so many bones… I miss it already and can’t wait to get back. I’ve been there seven times… there’s nothing like it.
I caught a ton of fish at Christmas Island and would certainly rate the fishing as excellent. It’s a fantastic fishery, unique on the planet I suspect, something every fly fisher should experience. The people at The Villages were simply wonderful. The food was great, the curried octopus was probably the highlight of the trip as far as food is concerned and the entertainment one of a kind – the little kids dancing was about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and the pride the islanders took in these performances really spoke to the whole feel of the island and its culture
Howard, we are just freshly back from The Villages and wanted to thank you for everything, we had a fantastic time and you operate a top notch program. I will be in touch soon about when I can book my next trip down there!
