Christmas Day 2020. The Legend of the Christmas Wrasse Continues

Los Angeles Smog in the 70s.

    Christmas Day dawned clear and bright in the way they used to have clear days in Los Angeles.  If you looked straight up the sky was blue.  If you looked off into the distance it was quite hazy.  As we drove down to the village, we could barely discern the horizon as we looked out over the ocean.  In California engineers have improved both the gasoline and the car engines that burn it.  The smog is reduced dramatically.  If one stands on the Santa Monica pier and looks out over the Pacific, one can usually see the horizon without difficulty. Perhaps we should ship a few of those engineers over to Hilo and see if they can improve the volcano.

    The surf had been really high all over Hawaii for several days and so most of the places where we would go snorkeling were out of the question.  Kailua Bay frequently escapes the worst of the swell, so it was our intent to start in front of the King Kamehameha Hotel and swim out as far as it was safe.  This might be only as far as the small jetty that protects the Inner Harbour and the king's heiau.  At least we would have a chance at the Christmas Wrasse.

Christmas surf explodes on the lava beach photo Charlene Amsden

     As we got in the water, it was immediately apparent that visibility was going to be an issue.  On the other hand, there wasn't nearly as much wave action in Kailua Bay as we had feared.   By the heiau, we encountered a large whitemouth moray; that was the best fish in the harbor.  There was little in the way of fish both inside the jetty and around the rocks on the outside.  As we swam through the waves on the way to Paul Allen's estate, I was wondering how I would write a  blog with a humble whitemouth as the Christmas centerpiece.  

    We swam past the estate and were just preparing to make the turn onto the outer reef when things picked up.  First, we both saw a small Christmas wrasse.  Although he was only about nine inches, he had full adult coloration, albeit in a small package.  To document mission accomplished I started fishing the camera out of my pocket. By the time I had the camera ready to go, the Christmas wrasse had disappeared, never to be seen again.  In his place however, was a similarly sized fish.  And this one had a yellow flank!

Five Stripe Wrasse on the PAR, Christmas Day 2020.

    This was indeed a male Five Stripe Wrasse.  Over the last couple of years, if we wanted to see a five stripe wrasse, all we had to do was go to Mahukona.  Out on the north cusp, they are almost a sure thing.  I'm including the picture of the five stripe male we encountered on Christmas Day.  I have a similar picture from Mahukona back in early August.   

    At Mahukona juveniles and females are seen more commonly than the breeding males. When we do see a male there are always females around as well. Assuming one wants more of these special wrasses, this is a good thing.  Down here in Kailua, I have never seen but one fish at a time. Out on Paul Allen's reef,  over many years, I have seen less than a handful and they have all been males.  On a couple of occasions I have seen females either inside the little jetty or just outside.  I

Five Stripe Wrasse, Paul Allen's Reef, 2014

have never seen males and females together.  Unlike at Mahukona, the Five Stripe Wrasse probably doesn't breed here and those individuals are just visitors that have swum in for a brief visit.

    The best picture I have of a five Stripe Wrasse is from the spring of 2014 way out on the PAR.  The water was a little cloudy, but one can take care of that with a little extra contrast.  The light was  very good, but there is no substitute for a drop dead gorgeous fish.  Don't you wish you had one like this to hang on your Christmas tree?  

   So Mele Kalikimaka from the land where the setting sun looks like a blood orange as it sinks into the vog and the gibbous moon looks like an egg yolk floating in a glass of skim milk.  Of course, the palm trees are still swaying by the beach, so things are actually pretty wonderful.

Merry Christmas,

jeff