BY ANIL SRIVASTAVA

Christmas Island with RIO Flies Product Developer Brita Fordice

April 16 - 23, 2024

About This Trip:

"Join RIO Products Fly Developer and Signature Tyer Brita Fordice as she hosts a fly fishing trip to one of the most iconic saltwater destinations in the world. As an added bonus, Brita will provide fly tying materials, vices, and step-by-step instruction for any guests interested in tying and fishing custom fly patterns for the CXI fishery. Or if you have your own vice and materials, bring them along. There’s no greater thrill than catching a bonefish on a pattern you hand-tied the night before—other than perhaps catching a GT on a pattern you hand-tied the night before. Brita is an expert tyer with over a decade of experience and is responsible for many of RIO’s most productive patterns. Ask Brita what her favorite pattern is for CXI and you’ll be sure to receive a long list of excellent flies that she’s personally tested in the same waters you’ll be fishing. This will be a fun, relaxing trip for anglers of all levels to enjoy themselves, the camaraderie of other anglers, and improve their skills as anglers and tyers.”

About Christmas Island:

Amidst the vast inventory of the world’s saltwater flats destinations, Christmas Island is a unique and natural masterpiece that magically combines all the elements critical to fly fishing success. Endless hard sand flats fishing, remarkable numbers of cruising bonefish and trevally, and consistent year-round weather await all who visit this unique atoll. Fly fishing guides at Christmas Island Outfitters have been handpicked by head guide Bita Kairaoi for their level of experience, skill, calmness under pressure, and instructional abilities. Each day anglers will depart via truck or catamaran for the day’s flats fishing. Virtually all fly fishing entails sight casting to fish while wading in shallow waters. Christmas Island’s plentiful bonefish average two to three pounds, although on any given week opportunities for larger bonefish in the five to ten pound class may be available.

Dates: April 16 - 23, 2024

Group size: 12 anglers per week

Itinerary:

  • April 15: Arrive Honolulu, HI
  • April 16: Depart Honolulu, HI; arrive Christmas Island
  • April 17 - 22: Full days of guided fishing
  • April 23: Depart Christmas Island; arrive Honolulu, HI
  • April 24: Depart Honolulu, HI for home

2024 Rate: Per person based on double occupancy

7 night/6 day package: $2,950

Included: Accommodations, meals, guided fishing, four bottles of water per person per day, ground transportation on Christmas Island.

Not Included: All airfare to Christmas Island, accommodations/meals/transfers in Honolulu, alcohol and soda, fishing license, staff and guide gratuities, departure taxes.

Meet Brita Fordice

Brita Fordice is a native of Washington State, learned to fly fish at the age of 8, taught herself to tie flies at the age of 10. Spending summers and weekends at her family house on the Stillaguamish River fed her desire to explore new fishing water. After a few years in Idaho and Alaska she returned to Seattle in 2005 to begin guiding and working in a fly shop just north of the city. Brita has hosted fishing trips and traveled all over the world, with Christmas Island being her favorite fishing destination.

Brita is a recognized fly tying innovator, and is a virtual encyclopedia when it comes to recognizing and procuring tying materials for both classic and modern flies.  Fishing Puget Sound beaches and rivers for steelhead are her passion these days.  She shares her work time between guiding and research and development for RIO Products, where she designs flies for wholesale production and retail sale.

Suggested Christmas Island Gear

In addition to finding the right water, having the right gear can help make any day that much better. For over 20 years Fly Water Travel has been fly fishing's most trusted and respected source for finding the right water. Now, along with Sage, RIO Products, and Redington, Fly Water Travel is a proud member of the Far Bank Enterprise Family. As part of this larger team, we are able to access decades worth of manufacturing passion and knowledge enabling us to expand our role to include in-depth advice on the world's best rods, reels, lines, and flies.