The halalu (baby scad) have been schooling in the lagoon and the shoreline is busy every day. It’s another example of how the seasons in Hawaii are marked by changes in the ocean.

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Another seasonal sight are the humpback whales that migrate from the North Pacific to rear their young and wait for the sea ice to come and go in the arctic. On a recent weekend trip to Maui, we spotted our first few whales of the winter from the boat on our way back from diving the “Cathedrals” of Lanai.

Although the bonefish are around, we took advantage of some pretty good weather to go Kona-crabbing with Ed. It was a successful trip and everybody took some crabs home for dinner. So far I have prepared them several different ways, but it seems undeniable that the best way to cook them is to steam/boil them in a pot with water and beer, sprinkled liberally with sea salt. Don’t bother with butter or sauce, or even side dishes, really. Just crack them open and enjoy!

Although this last item was really more of a Halloween surprise, I wanted to give a shout out to Captain Chris Wright who hooked in quite a nice present. All of the regulars had been consistently spotting a golden trevally feeding along a reefy edge of the flat. I had made a few casts to it, as I imagine others had, but no one had caught it.

I was just releasing a small bonefish that I found hunting around a patch of weeds when I heard Chris shouting from across the flat. When I saw where he was I knew immediately that he had hooked the elusive golden. After a determined fight, mostly on Chris’s part as he waded almost chest deep to avoid getting snagged on the reef, Chris brought his present in for a few photos.

Have a safe and happy holidays!