There really is no fishing seasons in the Hawaiian islands, nothing predictable anyway. Hawaii's gamefish are pelagic and the Hawaii Islands are a stop over on the fish's on going pursuit of food. Hawaii’s gamefish live to eat and make little fish, hopefully before they are eaten themselves by another, bigger predator, with movement based on currents and water temperatures.
Hawaii is the only place in the world where marlin weighing over 1000 pounds have been caught during every month of the year. In Fact, all the top gamefish mahi mahi, ono, ahi, blue and striped marlin can be caught during any month of the year, it’s just that some times of year can be more rewarding than others.
There are seasonal trends and there is overlapping though:
The larger blue marlin that show up in Maui waters during the summer months are tapering off, though a few big ones can still be caught in September. The fall is the time for Big Eye Tuna. Smaller ahi (yellowfin tuna) and mahi mahi (dorado) can still be caught in the fall too, though the number of mahi tend to drop slightly as winter approaches. Marlin hookups, while they do occur, are rarer as winter approaches. Strikes that do occur do so farther offshore.
After Labor day charters tend to slow down, so it can be very hard to get on a shared charter as not enough people will sign up, so private charters are the best way to ensure you will get out.
Winter start of slow in the Hawaii sport fishing industry, but gets busy towards the end. Fishing is good, but with fewer “hot” bites like we see in the summer. Big Eye tuna are in season during the winter. The mahi bite is still consistent, and striped marlin are showing up more in January.
November visitor crowds peak the weekend before Thanksgiving. It is very busy here during Thanksgiving week. After Thanksgiving week, things get quiet again until after the second week of December, when we ready ourselves for the busiest time of the year on Hawaiii.
While spring may not be the best time for the big blue marlin, many of the others big game fish are reaching good numbers. May in particular can be a very productive month to fish off the shores of Hawaii. All in all, spring fishing off Hawaii can be an exciting time to fish. Striped marlin begin appearing in greater numbers in February. March and April they’re pretty common
From Mid March through the first week of April things are busy here for fishing charters, with spring break so book early.
Summer is great for the larger fish such as blue marlin in excess of 500lbs, and ahi (yellowfin tuna) over 100lbs are caught more during the summer than at any other time during the year. The quality and size of the fish can be better than the consistency in the summer, with no catches some days and then huge fish caught the next.
More families and wedding parties or groups come to Hawaii in the summer months, so larger boats are in High demand.
Carl Murphy
Author