It depends on the time of year. In the busy season, which is usually when kids are on spring, summer, or Christmas break, many Maui fishing boats can get pretty booked up. You may want to call us at least three or four weeks in advance if your schedule is tight. If your schedule is flexible or you will be fishing when we have fewer visitors, booking a week or two in advance should be enough to give you plenty of options. Because we book primarily private charters, we suggest flexibility in your schedule if you are looking to book a share charter.

We always suggest booking early in your vacation so that in the very unlikely event we have to reschedule due to weather, you will possibly have another day open to come out with us.

Our fishing charters all have a 7:30am departure time. With our custom charter option we can depart whenever you want! Although the phrase “the early bird gets the worm” certainly holds true for finding the calmest snorkeling and fishing conditions in the mornings. Later departures tend to get a bit spicier as the wind picks up as the day progresses. Give us a call to talk to one of our experienced captains and they will help you choose a departure time that works best for you and for the sailing and snorkeling conditions.

F/V Marjorie Ann: Pricing varies depending on activity (cruising, fishing, snorkeling, combo). Please click here for trip & pricing details.

The type of charter you book will dictate how many guests you can bring with you:

Fishing: 8 fishing, 2 riding

Snorkeling: 10 guests

Combo Trips: 10 guests

Whale Watches, Sunsets, Ash Scattering: 13 guests

Bottom fishing on Maui is great for kids. We usually fish where the water is calm and with a small number of passengers and the captain and crew both available to help out, even young kids get a chance to bring in some nice fish. Our private charters are the most ideal way to fish with young ones so that we can go at your pace and not worry about appeasing the masses.

F/V Marjorie Ann is a 36’ power boat primarily used for fishing, snorkeling, and afternoon whale watches. She is perfect for larger groups looking to spend a few hours on the water.

Yes. We have exterior shade covering nearly the entire back deck, and a shaded cabin. For those sensitive to the sun, we suggest you bring hats, UV clothing, sunglasses, and reef safe sunscreen.

The calm Maui waters we cruise in are the same ones the whales travel all the way from Alaska to winter in, so during whale season, all of our trips usually come with whale sightings.  Sometimes these sightings are close to our fishing or snorkeling spots, but if you are just into watching whales, book a private whale watching charter and skip the other stuff. We generally schedule our shorter whale watches for a 12:00 departure time and suggest 3 hours, but 2 hours during the peak of whale season is absolutely enough time to see a few. A good time for whale watching is usually from about noon to 2pm just after we finish our morning bottom fishing trip.

You are more than welcome to bring your own snorkel gear, especially if you are already comfortable using it. If you have little ones coming along and they are used to a particular set of gear, certainly bring that. We have top of the line SeaSport silicone-based gear which is provided to all of our guests. We do not provide wetsuits, if you’d like a recommendation on where to rent one please give us a call.

We do not recommend bringing your own fishing gear, as we have customized everything to suit the style of fishing that we do on Maui. But feel free to give us a call and we are happy to discuss. Since it is your charter we will do our best to guide you to success.

We have yellow float belts for all of our guests, we find that these are very comfortable hands-free option.

We are able to customize your charter to your comfort level, we have cruised with guests ranging from 12 weeks old to 90 years old. We do recommend that if you have pre-existing medical conditions that you speak with your doctor before in-water activities or activities that may keep you from medical attention for hours at a time.

Swimming is a very important skill to have before snorkeling so we recommend practicing in the hotel pool ahead of time. We do carry flotation belts and are happy to give some guidance on best practices for snorkeling. Swimming is not a required skill for any of the non-snorkeling portions of your charter.

Marjorie Ann is quite stable and is very nice and open so that you can always see the horizon and get fresh air. If you are concerned or have experienced seasickness in the past we do recommend taking a half of a seasickness pill approximately 12 hours before your charter and the other half within hours of departure. You may also speak with your doctor for other recommendations.

Several of the snorkel spots we visit are known for turtle sightings, but do keep in mind that they are wild animals.

There is the possibility of seeing dolphins on our charters, but they are wild animals, so sightings are not guaranteed.

Humpback whale season in Hawaii is during the months of December-May. We run official whale watches from January-March, with several sightings weeks before and after.

Depending upon your charter we have lots of options available to us. For bottom fishing charters we usually like to be out of the wind as much as possible, so the direction we go is dependent on the weather that morning. For snorkeling there are several different spots to choose from that are protected from the wind: some of our most visited spots are along the Pali, Coral Gardens, Olowalu, and North Kihei. We are also known to do drift dives, where you jump in the water with our crew (also a certified lifeguard and reef tour guide) and the boat follows along as you drift over satellite reefs or do a blue water swim.

While Molokini is a unique snorkel spot, it sees dozens of boats and thousands of snorkelers every single day. We prefer to take you away from the crowds and visit less-frequented reefs. If your heart is set on Molokini give us a call and we can recommend excellent operations for you to choose from.

We offer a 48 hour cancellation policy. Any cancellations outside of 48 hours from your departure are 100% refunded. Refunds are not given inside of 48 hours unless we are able to rebook your charter, then we will refund you minus a service fee.

Hawaii is known to have many “micro-climates.” In addition, most forecasts come from Honolulu and are fairly inaccurate for our harbor. While it may be raining hard at your resort, it could be bright and sunny at Ma’alaea harbor. We have decades of experience operating out of our harbor and will not take our guests out in weather that is unsafe. We can experience overcast days, light rain days, and most days of full-on sunshine.

Rain doesn’t necessarily mean we will not be going out. However, in the event the conditions are unsafe we will cancel and provide you with the option to reschedule or receive a full refund. All tours are weather permitting and it is up to the captain’s discretion to take you where conditions are the best overall and safe and enjoyable.

Our snorkeling and combo charters are catered with a picnic-style lunch. All of our other charters (fishing, whale watching, etc) are byo food and drink.

You are more than welcome to bring alcoholic beverages onboard. We have a cooler with ice for anything you’d like to bring. We ask that you try to refrain from bringing glass onboard.

Our standard trip length is 4 hours, but we are happy to run longer charters to get to deeper spots, or have more time for trolling/sport fishing. Some guests find that four hours is plenty of time to either catch dinner or to get tired of trying. You never know what is going to happen, sometimes we have a great day fishing, and sometimes we have a great day catching. Give us a call for our recommendation based on your party, particularly to accommodate the ages of everyone onboard. We recommend shorter trips for younger family members.

There is very little overlap between the species of fish, size of the fish, and style of fishing, sport and bottom fishing are fairly different. Sport fishing (also called trolling or big game fishing) usually involves dragging artificial lures on the surface behind the boat out in deep water for fish like Mahimahi, Ono, Tuna and Marlin. If a fish hooks up, one of the passengers is chosen to try to reel it in. If your number isn’t called, you get to cheer on the person reeling in the fish. The stakes are high and although you are less likely to catch a fish, if you do it is likely to be bigger than the average fish caught bottom fishing. We will often try this type of fishing on our way to and from the bottom fishing spots (’cause we know we won’t catch anything with the hooks in the boat) but mostly focus on the bottom fishing. Bottom fishing can also use artificial lures but we usually use bait like squid. Bottom fishing is done with the boat stopped drifting over “spots” where there is known to be concentrations of fish like snapper, jacks, wrasse, goatfish, and many others, in relatively shallow water (100-300 ft. deep). Once we get to our bottom fishing spots, each passenger is given their own rod and instructed on how to use it to drop pieces of bait (the crew is happy to help you bait your hook if you prefer), down to the bottom and each has a chance to catch their own fish from start to finish. The most successful anglers are the ones who forget everything they know from other fishing styles and follow the fishing instruction from their captain and crew. Most of the fish we catch are small but the tackle is relative light so its a perfect match. If you do hook into a big one on light tackle, you are in for a really fun challenge.

Every day is different and although most of our fish are caught on the bottom, we can also catch some big game fish like Mahimahi/Dolphin fish, Ono/Wahoo, Ahi/Tuna, and even Marlin while trolling to and from the bottom fishing spots. We have even caught a 350 pound marlin on the way out to the bottom fishing spot one morning. We get a much wider variety of fish on the bottom fishing gear. Most of our guests are interested in taking some fish back to the condo to grill up so we usually start by targeting the tasty ones. Snapper, like the blueline (Ta’ape) and gray (Uku), are very tasty though the blueline snapper rarely exceed two pounds. Goatfish like the Moilua and Kumu are caught less often but are equally tasty. Several species of trevally (jacks) are also found here and we can catch any of them. Among the more common are the bluefin trevally (Omilu), goldspot trevally (Papa Papio), amberjack (Kahala), and the highly prized giant trevally (Ulua). Some of these are very good eating especially when small but all are highly prized as game fish, especially the Ulua which is considered to be the most highly sought after inshore game fish in the state. About 30% of our fish are endemic, so it is quite possible that you’ll catch something you’ve never seen before. We have caught over sixty different species of fish on our bottom fishing trips but if you don’t come out and try your luck, you probably won’t catch any of them.

Every day is totally different. We usually say that on at least 9 out of 10 trips, everybody catches something, usually several somethings, and since we target the tasty ones, it is usually enough for a delicious appetizer or dinner. Our record is 59 fish in one 4 hour trip (mostly little guys). Bottom fishing generally offers more of a hands-on approach, while sport fishing tends toward waiting for the big one to bite and sometimes only one person in your party being able to get in on the action.

We catch a lot of really nice and interesting fish here in Maui and if you have room for one of them on your wall, the crew will be happy to set you up with one of two options to commemorate and create a legacy piece for your family.

Gyotaku by local Maui artist Brian Heustis: If you’re looking for a way to display your favorite catch in a unique and time-honored art form, then Gyotaku, otherwise known as fish printing is the perfect choice. This Japanese art form has been the inspiration of artists and art enthusiasts around the globe for hundreds of years and I know you'll love how it brings your fish back to life. Maui Fish Printing is known for expert craftsmanship and finely honed skills reflected in every final product. Commemorate an experience from a fishing trip or your personal best and display it through art. I have over 20 years of experience in the field and will customize each of your fish in accordance with your preferences and your fish’s specifications. Each species of fish provides a unique work of art that will be proudly displayed for years to come.

Fish Mount from Gray Taxidermy: Gray Taxidermy specializes in handcrafting custom fish mounts of all freshwater and saltwater fish species.

All mounts are custom made in the U.S., one mount at the time, making each and every one of them unique.

We have been in the marine Taxidermy business for over 50 years. With over 500,000 custom fishmounts created we have the knowledge and experience to craft the ultimate trophy mount.

A mounted fish from Gray Taxidermy will commemorate a memory of a lifetime. Our world-class artists take pride in reproducing the rich vibrant colors and true beauty of each species in every mount they create. Our goal is to recreate your fish to resemble the way it looked during the memorable day you caught it.

We continue to travel the world to create our one of a kind fish molds which are a vital part in order to build a museum quality fish mount.

We do not target sharks, but they are part of the ecosystem. We do often have sharks steal your catch as you reel your fish up to the boat. Because we do not always know if it is a shark or an edible predatory fish, we will often get it as close to the surface so that we can keep it, or try our best to remove all the fishing gear from the shark.

This depends on the weather and the crowd. We may end up going as far as 9 or 10 miles from the harbor down the coast to get out of the wind but usually stay within 3 or 4 miles from shore where the water is calm in the 100 to 300 foot depth range.

On the Marjorie Ann we always do our best to show you a good time while fishing or snorkeling on Maui, and that means finding the calmest water. Even though Maui is generally a pretty windy place (especially at Maalaea Harbor) we can almost always find nice water just down the coast toward Wailea to the south or Lahaina/Olowalu to the west and have lots of “spots” in these areas to fish and snorkel.

Yes. Anything you catch on your rod is yours to keep, release, or give away. If you get to reel in something on the bonus line or one of the trolling lines you share with the other passengers on a share charter and sometimes the crew. We do not bring any of the fish caught to market, everything is kept by our guests, or in the case of surplus we share with our family. Maui does not have a commercial freezing and shipping facility, so everything you catch will be eaten here on island. We like to say that the ocean is the icebox and if you have enough to freeze then you took too much.

Avet Reels is who we use for our primary reel choice. Founded by two brothers, Harry and Sarkis Alajajyan, Avet Reels are all designed, machined, and assembled in Chatsworth, California. Every part including all internals are made in house with the exception of bearings that are sourced from suppliers around the LA area. Avet Reels combines innovation, quality, and versatility to create reels that cater to all anglers, from beginners to seasoned pros.