Maui fishes that we commonly catch on our Maui Fishing Charters:

Three young boys on a boat holding yellow fish with black stripes, wearing hats and sunglasses.

Blueline Snapper (taʻape)

Young girl with blonde hair smiling and holding up a black fish on a boat in a body of water with a distant shoreline and blue sky.

Black Durgon Fish

Three men and a boy on a boat holding a large fish with a man kneeling on the boat's edge, blue sky, and open water in the background.

Giant Trevally (ulua)

A girl holding a fish on a boat with two boys fishing in the background, under a partly cloudy sky.

Hawaiian Hogfish

Woman holding a large fish on a boat, smiling, wearing sunglasses, a blue jacket, and a camouflage cap, with a marina and docks in the background.

Grey Snapper Fish (uku)

Woman holding a fish with a fishing rod and a hill with wind turbines in the background.

Triggerfish

Two young boys on a boat holding up large fish they caught, smiling at the camera. The boy on the left wears a green cap and blue striped shorts, the boy on the right wears sunglasses, a black cap, and camouflage shorts.

Goldspot Trevally (papa papio)

Two men on a boat holding fish they caught, with a clear blue sky and ocean in the background.

Amberjack Fish (kahala)

A line drawing of a boat named Marjorie Ann floating on water.

When trolling to and from the bottom fishing spots we drag artificial lures to try to catch other fish like mahimahi (dolphinfish), ono (wahoo), different tuna species such as aku (skipjack), kawakawa (wavyback), ahi (yellowfin), sometimes marlin, and even some super rare species such as sailfish, striped marlin, and more.

Three people on a boat holding up fish they caught, with ocean and mountains in the background.

What other fish could we catch?

Below list is not comprehensive, but here are some fish we catch that range from more common to extremely rare. If it is your goal to catch a specific species give us a call and we can cater our trip around chasing your dream.

    • A’awa/Milkfish or Ladyfish

    • Hogfish (endemic)

    • Blackspot Wrasse

    • Ala’ihi/Hawaiian Squirrelfish (endemic)

    • Bridled Triggerfish

    • Crosshatch Triggerfish

    • Finescale Triggerfish

    • Gilded Triggerfish

    • Golden Ala’ihi/Hawaiian Squirrelfish (endemic)

    • Hapu’u/Hawaiian Grouper (endemic)

    • Hinalea/Belted Wrasse (endemic)

    • Kagami/African Pompano

    • Kahala/Amberjack

    • Kaku/Barracuda

    • Kalekale/Von Siebold’s Snapper (endemic)

    • Kamanu/Rainbow Runner

    • Kawele’a/Heller’s Barracuda

    • Kumu/Whitesaddle Goatfish (endemic)

    • Lai/Leatherskin or Leatherback

    • Humuhumunukunukuapua’a/Lei Triggerfish

    • Lizardfish

    • Longjaw Ala’ihi/Longjaw Squirrelfish (endemic)

    • Mamo/Hawaiian Sergeant Major (endemic)

    • Menpachi/Hawaiian Soldierfish

    • Milletseed Butterflyfish (endemic)

    • Moano/Manybar Goatfish

    • Moano Ukali/Blue Goatfish

    • Puhi/Moray Eel (3 – 4 species)

    • Nabeta / Razor Wrasse (endemic)

    • Nomiad

    • Opakapaka/Pink Snapper

    • Opelu/Mackerel Scad

    • Palani/Eyestripe Surgeonfish

    • Uhu/Parrotfish (7 species, 3 endemic)

    • Pinktail Triggerfish

    • Porcupinefish

    • Pouo/Ringtail Wrasse

    • Randall’s Pufferfish (endemic)

    • Roi/Peacock Grouper

    • Sandbar Shark

    • Sandperch

    • Sargassum Frogfish

    • Scribbled Filefish

    • Sidespot Goatfish

    • Stripebelly Pufferfish

    • Sunrise Basslet

    • Tilefish

    • Kala/Unicorn Filefish

    • Upapalu/Moonlight Annie (endemic)

    • Yellow Anthias (endemic)

    • Weke/Yellowbarbel Goatfish (endemic)

By using bottom fishing gear, we get a much wider variety of fish. 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.

Which ones are tastiest?

Most of our guests are interested in taking their catch back to the condo to grill it up for dinner. 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), 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.

What if we catch a "trophy"?

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 several local and US-based options to commemorate and create a legacy piece for your family.

What about sharks?

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.