Caught trolling (live bait, dead bait, artificial lure)
Mahi Mahi (Dorado, Dolphinfish)
Mahimahi’s colors are dazzling, and run the spectrum between irridescent greens and blues. The colors rapidly fade once boated though so get those pictures early on!! Mahi have a bulbous forehead, with the male’s being quite pronounced. Their girth is narrow compared to other species. The delicate white flesh of the mahi makes for excellent dining! This is a prolific fish, and is perhaps the most common catch on Maui sport fishing charters. Average size ranges between 15-30lbs.
Ono (Wahoo)
Ono are related to king mackerel but do not school, unlike other mackerel species. Despite this fact, when the ono bite’s on, we can get lucky and bring in a few of them in a dingle morning charter. Ono are long, muscular fish that can put up an awesome fight, particularly if you hook into these on lighter tackle! Best of all, they’re amazing on the BBQ. Salt, pepper, a little lemon juice. The meat’s a bit firmer and more slightly flavorful than mahi.
Ahi (Yellowfin Tuna)
Highly prized for flavorful meat – excellent both in sashimi and cooked – as well as the fight when hooked and being landed by the angler, Ahi can be easily identified by the dual dorsal fins and bright yellow finlets along the spine. Ahi over 100lbs fetch a high price on the open market.
Aku (Skipjack Tuna): Difficult to land because of the soft tissues that surround their jaws, Skipjack put up a moderate fight. Their flesh is oily and dark, appealing to those who like the taste of mackerel.
Blue Marlin: Some anglers wait their whole lives at a chance to fight this remarkable and elusive gamefish. Others have luck on their side and hook up their first time out! Ranging from 100 – $1,000+lbs, the blue marlin is the GRAND prize out here. Those over 300 lbs are almost always females, and are usually caught during the spring and summer months, but not always. Hawaii is the only place in the world where marlin over 1,000 lbs have been caught every month out of the year. One promise, this will not be an easy battle. You might be able to bring in a marlin in under 20 minutes, but more likely it will take a lot longer. Sometimes hours. We prefer to release marlin whenever possible, but sometimes the fish is not viable and we take her in (dockside photo-op). Marlin doesn’t taste like swordfish. It’s best smoked.
Striped Marlin: The Striped Marlin is occasionally caught in the Atlantic Ocean but is more often landed in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The Striped Marlin is visually stunning, with vertical blue stripes on the sides which appear vibrant when it is excited or during the fight to land it. It also has a pointed, high dorsal fin, which makes it easy to identify.
Shortbilled Spearfish
Sailfish: A rare catch off Maui. Less than a 1/2 dozen are caught here in any given year. Sailfish are revered for their impressive aerial displays when hooked. Easily identified by their massive, sail-like dorsal fin. Hawaii Sailfish average between 40-50 lbs, with the largest in Hawaii being being just shy of 120 lbs.
Caught using the down rigger, usually with live bait, sometimes dead bait.
In addition to the fish above, which are usually caught while trolling at higher speeds, you may also catch…
Uku (Gray Snapper)
These are caught deeper down, using our down-rigger, usually with live bait. Uku are excellent grilled or baked. Again, keep it simple.
Ulua
Rainbow Runner
Amberjack
Barracuda