How hot is deep sea fishing in Hawaii? We chartered with Finest Kind Sportfishing in Lahaina, Maui to find out.
What’s Hot
- Opportunity to catch some real trophy fish
- Good weather and good fishing year-round
- Beautiful views of Maui and Lanai
What’s Not
- Wake up very early to catch the big fish
- Can’t send your catch home
- Pricey
Our Charter Boat
Finest Kind is a 37-foot Merritt. Similar to an old Bertram, this is a typical sportfishing yacht with a large cockpit that opens into a covered seating area over the twin diesel engines. There are a few larger boats with more luxurious accommodations available for exponentially more money.
In the cabin there is a table with benches on each side for four people: tow facing forward and two facing the rear. Running the length of the boat on the opposite side is a bench long enough for four. Of all the seats, I recommend taking the rear facing bench. When the boat is on a plane, you can’t see much over the bow from the cabin, so looking rearward is better. The longer bench is set too high to put your feet on the ground, but you can turn sideways with your legs up and take a nap.
The primary controls are above the cabin on the flybridge. This boat had an obnoxiously large set of lower controls in the cockpit that kind of got in the way. A fish fighting chair took up a good portion of the cockpit .
Set up for day use only, there’s cooler space, counter space, storage, and a flushing toilet down in the bow. You’ll find that some charter boats over 40′ have some bunks so you can take a nap on your way out to the fish.
Another company that recommended Finest Kind noted that they were ‘rough around the edges’. I guess I’d agree that is isn’t a luxury charter. A simple old boat, but it was clean. The cabin table kept popping off of its mounts, the toilet was a bit finicky, and the captain smoked on the flybridge. We also had a few smokers in our charter group, but they were polite and went to the stern to smoke.
Advantages of a Crewed Fishing Charter & Sharing with Strangers
Our crew knew right where to go to get mackerel for live bait. They knew right where to go to get us on the fish. They showed us how to use live bait, which I’d never done before. They had lots of very big, heavy gear that I don’t own and wouldn’t have wanted to pack. We would have been totally lost out there on our own.
Most of the sportfishing charters in Maui are limited to six charterers. So, you’ll have the opportunity to share a relatively small space and get to know a few strangers, for better or worse. You also have the option of buying out the entire boat if you’d prefer not to share.
One concern about sharing with a small group is the risk for cancellation. If you are 1 or 2 on a boat of six charterers and the others cancel, the trip could be cancelled…or leave with less than six. Be sure to ask about how your charter company handles cancellations, not just for you, but for the rest of the boat, when booking.
Who Catches the Fish (and who keeps the fish)
On a small boat with strangers, its always a question as to how the catching (and the keeping) will be divvied up. When we left the dock, our mate had the six charters draw playing cards: Ace through 6. The card we drew corresponded with one of six rod positions when we were trolling. When we were fishing with live bait at the buoys, the crew only had two poles out, In this situation, the Ace took the first bite, then the two and so on.
While we didn’t catch any trophies, larger fish are a team effort. If you’ve got a marlin on, you’ll likely tire from reeling and hand off to others on the boat. So everyone gets a turn. The reels on Finest Kind did not have guides to spool the line: you need to use your thumb to guide the line back and forth while reeling it in. So, as an onlooker, you’ve got another activity to keep an eye on your buddy’s line and help keep the reel from binding and losing that fresh meat.
Speaking of meat, how will it be divvied up? Most charter boats in Hawaii will not send you back to the mainland with a cooler full of fish. The crew sells most of their catch to local restaurants. Most will, however, cut up enough filets for you to enjoy for dinner back at your hotel…if you’ve got the means to cook it. Think of it as alignment of incentives: the crew wants to reel in the big one just as badly as you do.
What Kind of Fish Can You Catch on a Maui Deep Sea Fishing Charter
Short (2-6 hour) charters bottom fish reefs near the shore for snapper and jacks. However, longer (8-10 hour) charters that leave before sunrise trawl deeper waters for the opportunity to catch sportfish. We opted for the latter.
George and I arrived at Lahaina Harbor at 5:45am for a 6:00am departure. Finest Kind cruised along at a leisurely 9 knots until about 7:00 when the sun was up and we stopped to catch some mackerel for bait. For such small fish, they put up a good fight.
After getting some bait in the livewell, our crew set 6 rods, one for each of us, as we trolled along towards a series of buoys. For whatever reason, the weather and navigation buoys here attract enough marine life that they’re great spots to find larger fish feeding
Mahi Mahi
When we got to the first buoy at about 8:20am, our crew dropped two poles with live mackerel off the stern and circled the buoy. We had a fish on almost immediately. Another charterer that had drawn card #1 had the honors of bringing it to the boat. He got this beautiful neon green mahi mahi. Apparently male mahi mahis are very brightly colored. But they lose their color within an hour of bringing them on the boat. So you’ll never see a fish like this at the market.
Drawing card number 2, George was on deck when we got a hit while circling our second buoy around 8:20am just off Lanai. Unfortunately, that one got away.
Tuna
While heading back toward the dock, around 1:00pm, George’s trolling rig got a bite. He reeled reeled reeled, and reeled some more to find his first tuna on the line. A small skipjack. The crew said it was a keeper…for bait. Same thing happened to me years ago when I caught a beautiful bonito. The crew said it was a bait fish then sliced it up before weighing it. I’m sure it was the biggest fish we caught all day, but alas without honor. Nowadays, they’re all the rage in sushi restaurants here in Portland. Don’t let others tell you how much pride to take in your catch.
Marlin
Our crew told us that the world record marlin was caught in Hawaii. They told us to be prepared to come back late: if we hook a big marlin it can take hours to reel it in. This is what we all hope for on a deep sea fishing charter. But I have friends who’ve been on dozens of sportfishing charters and never seen a marlin. So don’t set your hopes too high of flying that marlin flag at the dock.
Planning for Your Maui Fishing Charter
Like anything tourist related in Hawaii these days, charters can book up months in advance. If you are dead set on fishing during your trip, be sure to find and book your charter as early as you can. You need to find a boat that’s going out on the day you want with the type of fishing you want. The charter company also needs to fill the boat with other charters. So you’ll need to be more flexible if you are looking for a boat closer to your trip dates.
Use the phone, not the internet, to book. The planning process for Maui fishing charters is very flexible. So, its best to call a few charter companies and discuss what you want rather than trying to request a booking online. Everyone I spoke with was very friendly and generous with information to help us find a charter that worked. The charter operators are a close knit community and are happy to refer you to other operators too.
When to Go
Fishing is open all year in Hawaii. While some species will be more plentiful at certain times, there’s no bad time to have good odds of reeling in a nice fish. Given the choice, I’d go in winter. There’s plenty of warm sunshine to be had this time of year, and you’ll be guaranteed to see multiple sperm whales breach even if you don’t catch any fish. There is more risk of hitting a rain shower in the winter, but summer can be uncomfortably hot when hiding from the sun in a cabin without air conditioning.
Keep in mind that, in Hawaii, the weather tends to start calm in the morning and build as the day goes on. So, the earlier you plan to leave and return, the more likely you are to have an easy ride and not be cancelled or cut short for weather. Read more about boating conditions in Maui here.
What to Pack
Most charters don’t include food or beverages, but provide an ice chest for yours. Pack everything you want to eat and drink. Unless you’ve confirmed that bottled water is provided, bring plenty of your own. Ditto for sunscreen. Remember, its very sunny in Hawaii so bring a hat and sunglasses as well. In addition to a substantial lunch, I like to pack ginger snaps and Life Savers to keep my stomach settled.
Getting to Your Maui Fishing Charter
Maui is an easy place to fly to. There are direct flights from mainland US and Canada. There are also easy connecting flights through Oahu. Once on Maui, regardless of your plans, you will almost certainly need a rental car. Most charters on Maui run out of Lahaina Harbor, which is very convenient to the Ka’anapali resort area. Some charters leave from further south in Kihei; this will be more convenient if you are staying in Wailea. Parking can be a PITA when near the ocean. Pro tip: there is a small free all day parking lot in Lahaina that will have space available if you are picking up a charter before sunrise.
How Much Does it Cost and Where Can You Get a Boat
We did an eight hour charter, which was $450 per person, plus tip. This is a typical price on Maui. Shorter charters will be less expensive, but you’ll be limited to bottom fishing the reefs. For whatever reason, Maui is quite a bit more expensive than the other Hawaiian Islands these days. On the Big Island and Oahu, however, eight hour charters can be had for $300, or a private boat for $1,100.
If its any consolation, you don’t need to buy a license to fish in Hawaii. So that’s a few dollars back in your pocket.
Here are links to a few of the charter companies that run out of Lahaina harbor:
Finest Kind Sportfishing was our choice for this trip. We’ve shared our fun experience above. They were very helpful in booking. They had an empty boat with a recent cancellation, arranged a charter the way we wanted it, and found four more charterers to join us.
Die Hard Sport Fishing similar to Finest Kind with a slightly larger boat and better ratings online. Very helpful on the phone.
Automatic Sportfishing similar to the two outfits above, seems to be the highest rated online. Didn’t return our phone calls.
Like Try Charters offers a more luxurious experience with a newer, faster boat equipped with television, air conditioning, and other non-fishing related accoutrements. Pricing might make your eyes come out of their socket.
Further Reading
Check out our full Busy Boater write up for the island of Maui here. We’ve also documented some fun adventures on the islands of Oahu and Kauai,