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.

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 vent 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.

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.

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.

With a little bit of overlap in 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.