An Outdoor View: Bonefishing, Part 2

Author’s note: I recently came across a journal that I kept while on a trip to Christmas Island in 1987. This column, gleaned from the family-appropriate parts of that journal, is the second of a series about that once-in-a-lifetime fishing trip. — LP

Feb. 22 — For someone accustomed to winter in Alaska, waking up in Honolulu was a bit of a shock, but a pleasant one. While Howie and Doug slept in, Joe and I hiked up Diamond Head again.

Coming to this warm place from wintertime Alaska takes some getting used to. Normally, I’d be wearing insulated boots and two or three layers of clothing over long underwear. Walking around in flip-flops, shorts and a T-shirt feels weird, but it’s a good kind of weird.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Part of our planning for this trip was to stay in Honolulu long enough to at least partly acclimate ourselves to the sun. Having spent the previous five months or so in Alaska, all of us are pale. At Christmas Island, we’ll be only 119 miles north of the Equator, and we’ve been warned about sunburn. I like to think I’m prepared for it, having bought one of those goofy caps with the bill in front and back, a supply of long-sleeved shirts and plenty of sunscreen.

Upon arriving back at the hotel, we found that Chip had arrived. We joined him and the rest of our motley crew for a papaya and Mai Tai breakfast beside the hotel pool. The remainder of the day was spent eating, drinking, watching bikini-clad women walk past and wondering what the poor people were doing.

I can’t recall much about what we did on this night, and even if I could, I couldn’t repeat it here. At one place, supposedly an Australian hangout, we ended up singing “Waltzing Matilda,” although there wasn’t an Australian in sight. At one point, I remember wondering if we were getting in or out of shape for our fishing trip. I have a vague recollection of climbing aboard a bicycle-powered rickshaw and racing the others down a Honolulu street, yelling “Faster! Faster!”

Feb. 23 — Joe and I repeated our early-morning hike up Diamond Head, after which the entire group trekked to Sea World. There, we ogled whales, dolphins and lovely Hawaiian ladies in swim suits, took lots of photos, and did all the usual tourist stuff. It was dirty work, but somebody had to do it.

In the afternoon, we visited Charley’s Fishing Supply and outfitted ourselves with plugs, wire leaders, fanny packs and other necessities for fishing at Christmas Island. On that remote atoll, little or nothing can be bought. In the back of our minds, we were remembering everything we’d read and heard about fishing there, that some of the fish were so big and ferocious that they’d break off all your tackle and leave you, bruised and bloody, with an empty tackle box. Charley’s cash register had a good day.

We tried to eat dinner at a nice place, but the head waiter took one look at us and said, “No way.” By promising that we’d wear pants, shirts and shoes, we finally persuaded him into reserving a table for us tomorrow night.

Feb. 24 — Again, Joe and I hiked up Diamond Head. Again, everyone else slept in.

We were allowed to enter the hoity-toity place that refused to serve us last night. Having met their high standards — we wore shoes, long pants and freshly pressed T-shirts, and held our conversation down to an acceptable level of raucousness — we were allowed to dine.

Just another day in paradise.

Les Palmer can be reached at les.palmer@rocketmail.com.

More in Life

Pride celebrants pose for a photo at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Showing up for Pride

Nearly two dozen people marched carrying flags, signs and other rainbow-hued decorations from The Goods Sustainable Grocery to Soldotna Creek Park.

Kids take off running as they participate in field games during Family Fun in the Midnight Sun on Saturday, June 17, 2023, at the Nikiski Community Recreation Center in Nikiski, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Summertime fun times

Annual Family Fun in the Midnight Sun festival take places Saturday.

Nala Johnson hoists a velociraptor carrying a progress flag during the Saturday Market at the Goods in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Goats, baskets and lots of tie-dye

Saturday Market at the Goods debuts.

Kenai Lake can be seen from Bear Mountain, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo by Meredith Harber/courtesy)
Minister’s Message: Speaking the language of kindness

I invite you to pay attention to languages this week.

Metal art by David Morris is showcased in “Steel Sentiments” at the Kenai Art Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Remembering through metal

“Steel Sentiments” is a solo show by metal artist David Morris.

Art by Anna Widman is showcased in “Wonder and Wander” at the Kenai Art Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘Something for everyone to wonder and wander about’

Artists Theresa Ritter, Susan Watkins and Anna Widman are showcased at the Kenai Art Center through July 3.

These little “cookies” are loaded with nuts and fortified with coconut oil to boost fat and calories.
A (massive) meal made with love

These banana oatmeal energy bars are loaded with nuts and fortified with coconut oil to boost fat and calories.

Herman Stelter, seen here in front of his home in the Kenai River canyon, was another of the Kings County Mining Company members to stay in Alaska. (U.S. Forest Service photo, circa 1910s)
Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska Adventure — Part 9

Brooklynite Mary L. Penney seemed to know that she was not ready to settle into middle age and sedately grow old.

Larry Bernbeck poses for a photo with Tugster on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in Homer, Alaska. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
A long-term dream, realized in miniature

‘Tugster’, a flat-bottom boat replica, measures 14 feet, 10 inches.

Most Read