Maui Fishing Charters

iliketrout · #1 03-01-2018, 11:32 AM

Apparently I am going to be in Maui in December on the west side near Maalaea Harbor.

I would like to get out on a fishing charter specifically for Mahi Mahi and Ahi. I'm not sure if it's standard or not but I am looking to keep some fish as well to cook while we are there. We are huge into seafood and I plan to eat as much seafood as possible while there, we are staying in a condo with a full kitchen.

Looking for recommendations from some members who have done similar trips.

Thanks!

mlee · #2 03-01-2018, 12:34 PM

When I was in Maui we just went down to the docks and talked to a few operators to get a feel for which we liked best. We were on a 44ft troller group of 6 for an 8 hour trip. The captain gave us the choice to either go big but catch less or bottom fish and catch more.....we opted for go big or go home lol. We caught 1 mahi mahi and 2 ohno. Once we got back the captain cut up all fish told us to take what we wanted and they sell off the rest. He even gave us some recipes for cooking the different fillets different ways.
Price was around $200-250/person if I recall and he provided drinks and a cold lunch.

dsh352 · #3 03-01-2018, 01:15 PM

I’ve fished Maui by boat a couple of times and have had great results.
The best outfit was Extreme Sport fishing out of Lahaina. I’ve been with them twice and they gave me some ahi and mahi-mahi for the condo later.
Both times our boat caught way more fish than other boats that were out. Some boats take you out for a nice boat ride but these guys take you out to get fish.
I highly recommend them.
I’ve also heard that Diehard Sport fishing is good as well.
I’ve never done any fishing charters out of Maalea harbour- only snorkel tours
Hope this helps.

iliketrout · #4 03-02-2018, 10:30 AM

Thanks guys!

Xbolt7mm · #5 03-02-2018, 10:57 AM

Can be really rough water there, the fellow that took us out said it is the second windiest place on the planet to fish. Second only to someplace in Australia. We fished in some massive waves. Almost everyone on the boat was sick and it was a big boat.

LCCFisherman · #6 03-02-2018, 03:19 PM

Luckey Charters does some nice inshore stuff and bottom fishing. If you're not wanting to go bash out to the buoys give him a call or want a mixed bag of fish other than pelagics. Gray Snapper is the best eating fish around and he has them dialed in.

WildCats · #7 03-03-2018, 03:08 PM

Diehard is one of the best for off shore. If you want more of an adventure, Jon jon from Local Knowledge is hard to beat. He is strictly kayak fishing but puts his share of wahoo, tuna, mahi and bottom fish over the rail. He also does bonefish on the fly and there's some donkeys on the reefs.

csnow · #8 03-03-2018, 09:14 PM

Not sure if you like snorkeling but if you do and are looking for something different it’s worth trying spear fishing. I went with Lopakas Aloha Adventures a couple months ago and had a blast. Only about $150 for a few hours 1/1. It’s way harder than it looks but the guy was really helpful and ended up with a really fun morning and a couple fish for supper.

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CanadianEh · #9 03-06-2018, 08:47 AM

Capt Fuzzy on the Die Hard. Nuffsaid!

This guy will get you on the fish! When he asked where we were from, and we replied Canada. He laughed and said ok great! He gave us the option of cruising around the Bay or the back side of lanai for a boat ride.. Or to go catch some fish in the big water. Of course we all yelled let's go fishing! Set course 50 miles out to fish in the big water. Turned out to be an angry big wave day.. 10-15 foot swells, ( and I puked all over the place Hahaha) but we caught 5 nice Ahi yellow fin and 2 good mahi. He made up a bunch of fresh sashimi right on the dock for people to eat. and let us keep enough fish for a 38 person wedding.

Ive been 3 other times in Maui and 2 times in Kona. No one is like this guy. He is the real deal. When many many boats come back empty. He is always flying his flags of which fish was caught. Without any extra charge he also allowed us to join him SUPER early in the morning to go catch the bait fish in the harbour that we would use later that day. like 2 fishing trips in one!

DiabeticKripple · #10 03-06-2018, 08:53 AM

Make sure you take gravol! I was super sick all day.

CanadianEh · #11 03-06-2018, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

Make sure you take gravol! I was super sick all day.

^^^^ Yes!

If your prone to sea sickness ( apparently like me) or even if your not... Take anything you can! it is serious ocean action out there

maverick · #12 03-06-2018, 11:27 AM

I have been out several times with Tad Luckey from Lahani. We have caught fish every time. Your morning starts out in the dark fishing bait, you lower five sparkle flies with a lead weight on a spinning rod. It can be a big workout for the kids reeling up five at a time. Once you fill the live bait tank you are off trolling with spinning reels using live bait on downriggers. It is pretty cool setup you can tell when a game fish is coming as the rod tip goes crazy as the bait fish swims for its life to get away then boom big hit and fish on. We have caught mahi mahi and amberjack. If your taking kids they manage the fight better on the spinning rod then big level wind reel. Tad will also stop at a few structures thru the day and rig up a live bait bottom rig and drop it down on some big level wind reels. We have caught shark, amberjack, gray snapper, trevally and opakapaka or pink snapper. Besides some good fishing you will get some great views from the boat and see lots of whales. Tad is a great guy and you will enjoy your day.

iliketrout · #13 03-06-2018, 01:31 PM

Thanks again to everyone that replied, lots to look into. Thanks for the heads up on the water conditions too, in past offshore charters I have been fine with no meds but I'll be sure to bring some along just in case.

DSG85 · #14 03-07-2018, 12:26 PM

100% agree its Die Hard!

Fuzzy was great and we caught 26 tuna that day. load up a pezz dispenser with Gravol though.

Here is a You Tube video of the whale that wanted to crash our bait fishing party...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDLfqfLerqQ
(its dark for most of it but spot light comes on)

Cheers,

DSG

Sundancefisher · #15 03-07-2018, 12:55 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmi2_BvdFfY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj6fdbuDD10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRIwtnKTBV8

iliketrout · #16 03-08-2018, 07:27 AM

Thanks for sharing the videos. The cleaning technique is pretty interesting, especially how they remove the skin. I would have a hard time filleting a fish with a butcher knife like that!

madman · #17 03-08-2018, 12:19 PM

UFO charter out of lahaina. They allow you to keep all your catch, most don't. What you don't want, they give to people who need it. We had a young guy that fishes alaska in the summer. He puts out!